getting better daily

Well ... I'm no longer having any pain from my achilles and heel bone injuries which is a good thing.  Still cross training hard but the most frustrating thing has been that it isn't a running injury.  It happened when I fell down the stairs at home back in October.

Things are looking set for a gradual return to running at Christmas time but a visit to the physio in ten days will confirm that - hopefully.

The recent 24 hr race in Soochow seems to have been a hard one judging by Martin Fryer's comments on Facebook.  Glad that he's captured a couple of national age group records though and I hope he recovers well.  And a new women's world track record for Mami Kudo who ran 255.303km (158.637 miles).  It appears that those runners who were used to the heat and humidity did best in Taiwan.

That makes for potentially a fantastic battle between her and Lizzy Hawker next September in Katowice.

I was under the impression that Soochow was in the frame to host this year's World Championships but it couldn't be done because of scheduled works at the university where the track is situated ... or have I missed something ?  Obviously that all happened after the original venue, Basel, pulled out.

Also in the news this week ... a sprinter from London is seeking a sponsorship deal for the 2012 Olympics via eBay.  He intends to advertise on the site with a reserve of £30,000 ($47,000) for which he will wear a sponsor's branded kit at training in the run-up to next year's Games.  Full details can be found on the BBC website.

I like his ingenuity but I can offer any potential sponsor a similar deal at a fraction of the cost.  Please contact me for details but in brief it involves one race in mainland Europe in May followed by the World Championships in September.

An article recently appeared in the Bradford Telegraph & Argus which can be read here.  And if you missed the official team announcement by UK Athletics - here it is.

About that race ... the official website now has started posting team lists - and there are some interesting names NOT appearing.  Two that immediately spring to mind are the top Japanese runners Ryoichi Sekiya (over 263k last year) and Mami Kudo (254.425k last December - new women's world record).  Also missing from Brive will be Martin Fryer who won the Commonwealth Championships last year for Australia.

Following my coffee policy mentioned in a post earlier this month I've been drinking Starbucks French Roast this week.  It seems to be an acquired taste - very dark roasted (burnt almost) and smoky sweet - but I seem to be enjoying it more with each passing day.  Something good from Taylor's Of Harrogate next week, more on that later.  Perhaps.