This was the first proper week of getting back into it after a lighter spell, but with a lactate and VO2 test booked for Tuesday I did keep the back end of the week a touch gentler.

In this conversation, Ben and Fletch discuss their personal updates as they kick off 2026, focusing on training strategies for endurance sports, particularly in preparation for the Badwater 135 Ultra Marathon.

This week felt like proper training. The big one was the 30 km session on Saturday, that went 10 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 - each split getting faster. You do not blag 135 miles in a desert. You build it, one session at a time.

The dust has settled on the news I received on Sunday 8th February - I’ve been invited to race in Badwater 135.

Racing Badwater 135 has been a dream for many years. It has been the overarching goal that all other athletic pursuits have fed into. It has defined so much of what I do and who I am - and now, after all those steps, I have been invited.

I wasn’t sure if waking up at 0100 to watch Netflix was a good idea, but it was Alex Honnold free solo climbing a skyscraper—this was not your normal binge. And my two younger kids wanted to watch as well. (I was a little unsure about that… if there’d been one slip.)

Photograph credit: Chong Kok-yew/Netflix

This website has been something of a journal;  an account of why I want to race the monster that is Badwater 135.  I’ve shared insights into my training. I’ve talked about the races I’ve done – as both a means to prepare, and also as qualifiers.   And now, the application is submitted.   I will find out my fate in February.   I will either race Badwater 135 in July, or I will apply again in 2027.

Well that was bloody brilliant. Just finished my Saturday session and felt compelled to scribe.

So here we are again, a few weeks have passed since crossing the finish line at Nove Colli Run (NCR) for the second time and it's time to reflect: what happened, what went well, what didn't and what's next.

A year ago today I woke slightly bleary-eyed, it was Monday morning and we’d had some friends round for lunch on the Sunday.