Lloyd Biddell

In the week leading up to Christmas my left Achilles suddenly pulled and has been tender ever since.  Its been a bit of a shame as things were starting to look like they were back on the up but by all accounts I'm back to square one again.  It was therefore touch and go whether I could run the Wheaton Aston 10k which I had entered some time ago.  On the day of the race my ankle just felt 'weird' rather than painful so decided to run but it was very much a last minute decision. Whilst you don't lose fitness over night I hadn't been running for best park of a week before the race, so thought a bit of rust my be there and didn't think there was much prospect of a super fast time, but you never know.  In the first km I was quite some way back as seems pretty normal for me but I gradually picked off people one by one.  At the end of the first km I had moved into third and about 15 metres behind the leading pair.  What was surprising though was that my first kilomet

Today was my fourth Petzl Grizedale Nightrunner event, having come second the first time I ran it and won it the last two years.  Last year there was significant snowfall during the event and each year I've done the event the conditions were very different and this time was no exception - drizzly rain and fairly poor visibility with occasional fog patches. As in previous editions of the race I set off pretty much in the lead straight away so was expecting to just tempo my way around the course.  It soon became clear though that one runner was on my shoulders and after about 500 metres we were side by side.  On the flat we were more or less even or he was pulling away a little and on the descent he would pull a couple of seconds ahead.  Even on the early ascents which are my strength, we were fairly evenly matched.  I was thinking "right, we have a race on here", although wasn't sure whether the runner was putting too much effort in early on as he was breathing fairl

Since the last post I've done pretty much no road running because of my foot but last Monday I had another hospital appointment following the results of my MRI to have a steroid injection in the ankle joint.  Its too early to tell what, if anything, it has done but I remain hopeful!  In the intervening period it has just been more gym work and some treadmill running, which is all well and good but not as beneficial as the real thing. Today was the Cheshire 10k; a bit far away for a 10k but I wanted a real fitness test on an accurately measured course (ahem Tamworth (almost) 10k!) that is flat and fast with some real competition.  Looking at previous results I knew that I wouldn't be at the thick end of the race so it was all about the time.  There is no hiding in these sorts of events, the time would be a true reflection of where I am at the moment.  I was hoping that I was in some sort of shape and certainly the Tamworth 10k and Birmingham Half both show that I'm certain

Since the Tamworth 10k I feel a little more motivated again although as my foot is constantly in discomfort I'm only doing gym work and some focused treadmill runs.  I had entered the Great Birmingham Half some time ago on the assumption that I would be well on the mend, but with all the recent setbacks I had no idea what to expect or whether my foot would be good enough to get round. I decided to just go out and enjoy it although there is always a little added pressure when you have an elite name on the front and number '2' on the back and being listed as one of the pre-race contenders!  On the day the weather was truly awful, about 10 degrees but pretty torrential rain throughout and significant ponding on the roads.  The worst is hanging around before the start and getting cold and soaked through so was glad to get going on time. Chatting with a work colleague at the start. I consciously made sure I didn't go too hard at the start as it is gradually uphill f

Just when I thought things were on the up since Mykonos, I've had another set back in the last couple of weeks.  During a jog I felt a crunch in my tendon and it has meant I've been almost back to square one.  The foot has just about been runnable but I've avoided any outdoor sessions and just focused on gym work instead. In the meantime I went back for the results of my MRI in the last week and I've been told that I've got Osteocytes which are basically some bony growths in my foot causing irritation in the ankle joints, which is then causing a cascading effect of issues that includes my tendons.  The bad news is that the bony growths is something that I will have to live with to some degree but the consultant is reasonably confident in the diagnosis and that I should be able to start running again properly in time.  So in effect the tendon issues is not really the cause, its the effect of other issues elsewhere in the foot.  I'm scheduled for a dose of stero

As is usual when booking a holiday I usually have a quick look to see whether there are any local races on.  As we were going to Mykonos for a week I was highly doubtful there would be anything on such a small Greek island, but as it happened there was the annual Mykonos Run 10k on the day of our departure.  The slight logistical problem was that the race was scheduled to start at 5pm, whilst my flight was 9.05pm with check in closing an hour before.  There was also an issue in that it was a ‘point to point’ race so had no idea how I would get to the start.  In any case I entered on the basis that I could figure it all out nearer the time. A couple of days before the event I thought I’d pop to the town hall to just check that my entry was all in order only to find they had no record despite me having paid!  It was all sorted though and lucky I did pop by as I was told that there would be a bus from the main town to the start about an hour before the race but was only given vague dire

What a nightmare 2018 so far.  Everything was going to plan in January and all the signs were there that I was starting to move to the next level.  As usual, part of training is about managing niggles and I had some minor ankle discomfort but over the course of a couple of weeks it got worse and worse.  It eventually got to the point of not running for a week but every time I tried to run again nothing had changed. Roll forward five months and the ankle pain was diagnosed as posterior tibialis tendonitis but no matter what treatment I tried the pain would not budge.  I even had a dose of steroids, xray and MRI to try and understand what was going on but alas nothing.  In the end I rolled the dice a bit and at the beginning of July I tried some short runs (like 5 mins on a treadmill) and I was just about able to run pain free, although far from sensation free.  I've been able to build up bit by bit since then and I'm convinced the running in a controlled fashion has helped the

In a similar vein to the Wheaton Aston 10k, the Captain Cooks Fell Race on New Year's Day is starting to become a tradition whilst having a break in the Yorkshire Dales (although the race itself is North York Moors).  The 2017 edition was a very unusual race in that of the three main contenders I was probably only the fastest of the three of us in two small sections, but it was my consistency and perhaps a little doggedness towards the end where I dug very deep to effect an overtake 300 metres out from the finish and claim the victory.  I was therefore looking forward to the 2018 race and hoped I could retain my title. Start. In the first km along the road section I was well positioned and slotted into second, just ahead of last years runner up.  Towards the end of the first km it was just me and last years runner up who pulled away from everyone else and even at this early stage it was pretty clear it was going to be a head to head shootout between the two of us for victory