Adam in Runderland

There are currently (2021-2022 season) 13 London clubs in the English football league system. Six of these are in the Premier League, three are in the EFL Championship, two in EFL League One and two in EFL League Two. My goal was to run to all of the grounds from my home in Lewisham. I began with Premier League and record 14 FA Cup winners Arsenal FC. Emirates Stadium is located in Islington although the club originally formed in Woolwich. It seats 60,704. I ran there on the same day as visiting Tottenham Hotspur's ground, they are arch rivals separated by the Seven Sisters Road. The Emirates 'Spurs' had played at White Hart Lane from 1899 - 2019. The new stadium is currently known as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium while it awaits naming rights and was built on the site of the previous ground along the A10 in Tottenham. It is the largest club stadium in London seating 62,850 and the third largest in England behind Wembley (90,000) and Old Trafford (74,994).  Tottenham Hotspur St...

Following on from my runs along the Ravensbourne and Darent rivers, I had my eyes on the Wandle. This river begins just outside Croydon and snakes it's way north to Wandsworth. It is just over 12 miles in length and passes through the boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth before emptying into the Thames. It was once known as the hardest working river in London with over 90 mills along it's banks.  The river actually rises in two places; Carshalton Ponds and Wandle Park. I began my run in Lewisham and made my way through Penge and Croydon to Wandle Park. Passing under Purley Way I emerged at Waddon Ponds where I spotted a beautiful heron and many mallard ducks and moorhens, along with Canadian and Egyptian geese. The route then leads past Beddington Mill into Beddington Park.   At this point there is a diversion as you aren't able to follow the river. I headed to Sutton to see the football stadium before returning to Carshalton Ponds. This enabled me to follow ...

My friend Matt entered the Centurion Running Autumn 100 mile event this October. I was pleased for him, but had no interest in running such a long way myself. When he asked me to crew for him and pace the last leg however, I was honoured and excited to experience it. The run is four 25 mile out and back sections with the base in Goring, near Reading. The first and last sections are flat(ish) with the middle two taking everyone along the Ridgeway. The elevation total is 5000 feet. He would start with 250 others at 8:30am on the Saturday and there was a 28 hour cut off. He hoped to complete it in under 24 hours. Matt kindly booked a hotel for me nearby. I would have to follow the dot tracker to know his progress and at what time I needed to get to the base to meet him. We estimated between midnight and 2am. I managed a short snooze on the Saturday night, but spent most of my time keeping track of his of his dot on the map and sending encouragements his way. Earlier in the day I had knock...

Trafalgar Square - L to R - Chris, Anna, Lyndon and me with Jesus and Hung in the background from another wave. The night before the London Marathon takes place, an intrepid - crazy - group of people get together to run the course backwards. In the dark. Most people would probably hear this and ask the natural question, Why? I, on the other hand asked, Where do I sign up? Impact Events is a running organisation. Their staff used to do the challenge as a social, a team building event. Then they decided to open it up to others. Everyone meets by Trafalgar Square, walks to the Mall and then heads along the marathon route backwards. Let me rephrase that - heads along the reverse marathon route. We don't run backwards. There are different waves depending on time; 4 hours, 4.5 hours and 5 hours. I decided to aim for 4.5 which meant leaving home at 01:45am for a 02:30 start. Lyndon from Kent was our guide. The group consisted of him, myself, Chris from Doncaster and Anna from Walthamstow....