Author Archives: Roads

138. A winter Sunday on the North Downs

Posted on 5 February, 2007 | 12 comments

It was a perfect winter’s morning as I headed across the hills from Guildford towards Newlands Corner yesterday. The weather was just perfect for running, even if the combination of sun on frosted Chalk downland proved a tricky one.

The cinematographer duly went for a purler, very shortly after filming this clip. Fortunately, both plodder and camera emerged unscathed, if distinctly muddier.

Related articles:
58. Running in the North Downs
112. Forests of fire and iron – Surrey Hills 1
83. Seven Bridges Road – the Wey floodplain
113. The Pilgrim’s Progress – Surrey Hills 2
123. Bridge on the River Wey

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Posted in 2007, Guildford, Surrey and Sussex, winter

137. Otro día más sin verte: a return to Spain

Posted on 2 February, 2007 | 5 comments

2007_01_almeria-011.jpgIs it possible to fall in love with a whole country, with her people and landscapes and lifestyle, and to do that again every single time you visit?

Yes, it is. Si.

I know that an account of a mere running race can’t possibly begin to explain it. Or even pictures of a city, her mountains, a desert and sky.

But that’s what I’m going to try to do. And I know it’ll take me a while.

So for now, until I’m complete, here it all is, in music. Hasta que puedo volver.

Play: Otro día más sin verte — Jon Secada

Related articles:
90. Iberian chains – Tierras del Cid, Spain
91. Madrid me mata
78. Spanish stroll: Almería Half Marathon
129. Tenerife – 1: the light at the end of the world
136. En directo – Medio Maratón de Almería 2007

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5 Comments

Posted in 2007, life and times, music, Spain

136. En directo – Medio Maratón de Almería 2007

Posted on 31 January, 2007 | 4 comments

A picture is worth a thousand words, and movie footage … well, maybe more.

It’s a thrill to complete a major international race, even in the heart of the pack.

There’s just no experience quite like it – the patter of trainers on tarmac, the companionship of fellow-runners, the roars of the crowd, and the ghastly rasping sounds which form the soundtrack to my own near-terminal efforts.

So here it is – Roads in southern Spain, and en route to a 1:59:57 half marathon.

Spanish steps – La Rambla de Almería: the ascent for glory (advisory – this film features poor Spanish grammar, right from the start)


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Posted in 2007, racing, Spain

135. Backs against the wall – Footdee, Aberdeen

Posted on 26 January, 2007 | 4 comments

union-terrace-aberdeen.jpgBefore taking on the four-minute mile, Roger Bannister and his Oxford colleagues most famously abandoned their training to spend three days climbing in Scotland.

Widely considered a reckless decision at the time, in fact that unwise trip unearthed the missing mental sharpness which proved so decisive at Iffley Road in May 1954.

I’m far from certain that the same approach will work for me in the Almería Half Marathon this Sunday, even though I’ve had my own personal kind of mountain to climb this week.

A trip to Scotland with my back firmly against the wall.

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Posted in 2007, life and times, Scotland, training, winter

134. Before the mast: Pewley Down, Guildford

Posted on 19 January, 2007 | 12 comments

pewley-down-and-st-marthas-hill-may2006.jpgI love Pewley Down.

It’s a wonderfully scenic and beautiful piece of landscape, right next to the heart of Guildford.

The land was given to the town by the Friary Brewery after World War I, so that the hillside could be protected from development and enjoyed by local people in perpetuity.

I strolled up here one lunchtime soon after starting a new job in 1995, and the outlook which greeted me that day is certainly the reason I moved to Guildford a few years later. I’ve enjoyed walking and running here ever since. With time, this place has become a part of me, and even of who I am.

The views from here, both over the Weald Basin and the Surrey Hills to the south and towards London to the north, are outstanding, as is the green prospect of the Chalk ridgeline from the fields and countryside around the town.

And so it’s disappointing to recount that Orange has long been intent on erecting a massive telephone mast high on Pewley Down.
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Posted in 2007, environment, Guildford, Surrey and Sussex

133. Tomorrow – Avril Lavigne and global warming

Posted on 5 January, 2007 | 31 comments

2006 is over, and it’s more than high time that I penned an update to my articles from 2004 and 2005 on global warming and the energy crisis.

Science content is a key component of this site, and I may yet return to write that article, but in truth I’ve been struggling with it all week.

As I ran today, my iPod was set on shuffle, taking me to places that I rarely go. And finally it struck me that instead of writing, I should just leave you with this simple message, delivered directly and emotionally by one young singer-songwriter.

It sounds like a conversation on the environment, from my daughter’s generation to mine.

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31 Comments

Posted in 2007, A1 - the best of roads of stone, environment, global warming, life and times, music, peak oil, science, winter