Julien

From Richmond Park to Surrey Hills - weekend trails in/around London (and all the animals). Bigger hills and mountains coming soon! _______ #runlondon #trailrunning

Good vibes (run-)exploring Istanbul last weekend, chasing landmarks and spotting kittens. And most of all feeding those runs with fantastic local food! ________ #runistanbul #istanbul #urbanrunning #kitten

London Marathon finisher - 2:54🏅 Big day in town today with two sub-2h finishes (and many people not far above…) 🤯 History was made. Sawe’s achievement with the win, the world record and being the first breaking the 2h barrier in a city marathon will be forever remembered. It was more mundane on my side. Happy I could hold a sub-3h after a bad twitch on my left calf just before Tower Bridge. I did enjoy crossing the bridge as always but it was getting painful while on it! I did my best to grind it through the rest of the race but felt frustrated I couldn’t push the power a little higher because of it. On the cardio front all went well and I still felt fresh (relatively speaking) when crossing the finish line. The crowds were amazing and London earned again its place as the best marathon in the world (and now the fastest with these breakthrough records!). Looking forward to having another chance at running it in the future. ______ #londonmarathon #marathon #endurance

Another long weekend of Athens running 🏃🏻‍♂️🇬🇷 - trail version ⛰️🌲 While all the tourists stick to the Acropolis, Plaka and Monasteraki, this city has much more to offer on the trail front side. Big hills and mountains on your doorstep. Loving it 🥰 ________ #trailrunning #runathens #endurance #ultramarathon

🏃🏻‍♂️ Full length Northern Line ✅ 84km / 693m+ / 7h15 connecting all 52 stations, stopping at each one of them to take a pic (scroll right). I was due to race the Northern Traverse this weekend (300km of trails linking the Irish Sea to the North Sea along the Wainwright Way / recently upgraded as the Coast-To-Coast National Trail) but the RD stopped trading and the race got cancelled (see my last post). Like during Covid when races got cancelled I pivoted to an off-project looking to run another Northern Something. The Northern Line is definitely less scenic than the Northern Traverse (despite being fond of London)… 🙄 It’s a route I’d wanted to have a go at after running the full Central Line last year and going after another FKT. Kept postponing it, and this time got my head around it. Being a Saturday on decent weather, running through central London was chaotic (especially the West End and Camden). Glad I survived that and the long slog doing an out and back on the southern leg to Morden. The other out and backs to Mill Hill and Battersea was short fortunately. It managed to keep it unsupported thanks to the numerous water refill points by many of the stations. Fed on gels and Snickers during the run and enjoyed much craved pasta after the finish 🙃 Update: figured out I got mixed out putting the pics together (blame the sheer number of them) and didn’t upload the Claphams/Balham pics on this post despite running them twice __________ #endurance #ultramarathon #northernline #fastestknowntime #londonunderground

Going places gearing up for a race that won’t happen 🤷‍♂️ I was due to run Northern Traverse in less than 2 weeks, 300km of mostly trails along the beautiful Wainwright Way, a coast-to-coast from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. Unfortunately the organiser Ourea stopped trading, cancelling the event at the last minute (alongside Dragon’s Back that I wanted to run maybe next year, Cape Wrath, etc - some of the best mountain events in the UK). It’s sad news and I heard many varying opinions, good (for what Ourea did other the years for the ultrarunning community) and bad (for the people who had already entered and paid for the 2026 events) about what just happened. I don’t think I have much or new to add to the debate. Nonetheless it put the Wainwright Way on my radar and I really hope I’ll be able to run in the future. Since running the Arc 50 late January till getting ready to head up north for the Traverse it’s been a journey of recovery. Managing the falls I had during the Arc, handling shin splints and various colds. But it all went in the right direction and I was feeling ready for the race. I used cross training to help, with much time spent at the gym, strength, cycling and even giving pilates a go! And had a few weekends away, including to the awesome Nice Carnival! 🎡 🎉 Bit of a photo dump in this post to reflect these past weeks. What’s next? An entry in the London marathon next month and a 80km trail race in Norway in May. LFG! ___________ #endurance #resilience #trailrunning #ultramarathon #northerntraverse

Arc of Attrition 50 (miles) finisher ✌️🌊 The Glastonbury of trail running, with extra mud and puddles (lakes?), water streamy paths and lots of rocks, all by the very scenic cliffs and beaches of Cornwall. You’re never too far or too high from the sea, but it’s a relentless race up of down those cliffs. The path has always been technical but this time was a real piece of work, with the aftermath of storm Ingrid the previous day and hundreds of Arc 100 (who suffered the full blow of that storm) churning the ground before us. I slipped a few times, landed on my bum on most but banged my knee and thigh on two occasions - narrowly avoiding game over but having to manage the pain and subsequent reduced mobility. Glad I crossed that finish line. That being said, the Arc is a fantastic race. Stunning landscapes and the friendliest organisers and volunteers (the ‘Arc angels’). I ran the Arc 100 two years ago and said I’d come back to see by day on the Arc 50 what I missed by night on the Arc 100. This time I did wear waterproof socks, they greatly helped me going through so much mud and water. Last time I didn’t have any and ended up with trench foot. This time my feet looked great post-race. One of those races you know you’d want to come back for another go. ________ #endurance #ultrarunning #trailrunning #seeitrunit #arcofattrition @arcofattritionbyutmb

Final leg of the NZ trip, around Rotorua. Much geothermal activity (think geysers, bubbling mud pools, chemically coloured ponds, sulphur fumes - one day this will all erupt), a big forest (sometimes Planet of Ewok style, sometimes Jurassic Park style, with great trails for running and for MTB) and the beach isn’t too far (just an hour drive). Most of all I finally got to see a real kiwi bird (in the conservation centre)! __________ #endurance #trailrunning #rotorua #newzealand #seeitrunit

Back to NZ’s North Island, right in its middle paying a visit to Mordor, Mount Doom and their greener surroundings (aka Tongariro National Park and surroundings). While some trails have many visitors (like the excellent Tongariro Alpine Crossing) I’ve been able to enjoy true wilderness vibes on some other trails. The weather wasn’t always on my side but I didn’t care. Much epicness overall, in true LOTR style! 💍 🤩 __________ #endurance #trailrunning #tongariro #newzealand #seeitrunit

A few days running in the mountains in New Zealand’s South Island. Take me back! ____________ #endurance #trailrunning #newzealand #seeitrunit

👋 Hello Auckland! 🇳🇿 My first time in New Zealand and I didn’t know much about it beyond very basic facts. Like… I didn’t know Auckland is built on a volcanic field, there’s other 50 volcanoes around town! It makes the landscape interesting with many sharp green hills popping out. I spent the past few days doing long runs exploring the area and climbing most of the hills/volcanoes located close to the city centre. So far I managed to check out and summit The Domain, Eden (the highest at 143m), Hobson, St John, One Tree Hill, Three Kings, Kennedy, Albert and Mangere volcanoes, with running in between. That makes many view points to enjoy Auckland’s skyline and cityscape. It felt challenging running around at times with all the traffic and stopping at every light. The roads are much wider than in London (and cleaner too!). I’d probably try to see more if I stayed in town longer but I’m about to head to South Island… It’s all very chilled here. Good times. ________ #endurance #resilience #ultramarathon #urbantrails #auckland #seeitrunit

2025 was busy after all! Collected some bling (some for around the neck, some to wear, some for the mantelpiece), swipe for details ➡️ A redemption year following months of rehab after breaking my leg in 2024. It feels good to be back on my feet 😊 Feb - Transgrancanaria 🇪🇸 Apr - London Marathon 🇬🇧 May - Transvulcania 🇪🇸 Jun - Grand Raid Ultra Marin 🇫🇷 Jul - Lakeland 🇬🇧 Aug - Bath 2 Tunnels Half 🇬🇧 Aug - TDS 🇮🇹🇫🇷 Sep - Battersea 24h 🇬🇧 🏆 Oct - Diagonale Des Fous 🇫🇷 Nov - Athens Marathon 🇬🇷 Dec - Hurtwood 🇬🇧 ________ #endurance #resilience #marathon #ultramarathon #trailrunning #seeitrunit