MartinNikel

09/06/2025

“Knight Rider. A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight: a young team member on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.”

If you’re even looking for a team event with a REAL endurance element, with the drama of unexpected twists, abject chaos, brotherly love, camaraderie, and premium type 1 and type 2 fun, the has to be it.

This year wasn’t my year still rocking a serious MCL injury, but KITT helped me get around one dry and one wet lap, steady paces (and had to use Turbo Boost for Heartbreak Hill - it really honestly has that, plus it’s voice activated).

The two teams (14 total) of Official Hoffs were absolutely epic as usual, some twists along the way, but we’re on the podium again next year, we promise.

What an excellent weekend and we raised a bit for to boot.

Thanks to

and extra special thanks to for providing the fuel for the turbine.

24/10/2024

"I used to be a runner but..."

Back in the ‘90s, I joined Peterborough Athletic Club. I was scrawny and slow. By my late teens, I was running sub-9 for 3K and sub-16 for 5K. My "Wonder Years." I even raced ‘against’ Mo Farah on track and cross country.

But life had other plans. I was a club-level runner, and to progress, I’d have needed to fully commit to athletics—which I didn’t. Instead, I went down different roads, some good, some bad. I smoked 20 a day, drank too much, and by 20 years later, I’d hit 96kg, and couldn't run for the bus.

In c.2023, I decided to change. I joined an old PAC mate for Parkruns. That first run? 27 minutes. But the support from my small posse of ex and current athletes pulled me back in.

Slowly, my times improved. When I broke 24 minutes that year, I was overjoyed. Running brought back something I had forgotten: resilience, focus, competitiveness, and the ability to find a rhythm. What a buzz!

Still, I found myself frustrated, looking back at that teenager and wondering why I couldn’t progress like I used to. I couldn’t fathom how I’d ever hit a sub-16.

Enter professional coaching. brought honesty, real knowledge, and no runfluencer fluff. Phily held me accountable, kept me balanced, and curbed my tendency to run away with myself.

Now, a year and a half later, at 46, I’m about to (yes, I WILL) break 20 minutes for the first time in 25 years. With a new half marathon PB of 1:34:49, I’m hungry for more. Next year, I’ll run my first-ever marathon - and it will be sub-3 hours.

Yes, I’m putting it out there: Sub-3 hours. Maybe I’ll hit it, maybe I won’t, but I’m giving it my all.

I need all the advice I can get! Comment, message—support, derision, encouragement, disbelief, positivity (piss-takes welcome). I’ll be sharing my insights too.

Will I make it in 2025? Or before I’m 50? You may not care, but I do—so I’m posting about it anyway. 😎

20/10/2024

Running progression since last year! Whoop!

19/10/2024

So much fun to be a part of my first Ekiden, the Brussels Ekiden.

Great team, the “Still Running” group from the EU DG Comp, and stellar performances from all.
managed 21:20 for my 5k, which wasn’t too bad considering the half-marathon legs from last weekend and the rolling ‘hills’ past the Atomium.

Ending in the Van Damme stadium was a cool feature, first time on a track in 22 years or so…

Would do this event again in a heartbeat!

15/10/2024

Going from struggling with 28 min Parkruns to a 1:34:49 half marathon at the Great Eastern. In 1.5 yrs.

Not bad for a 46 year old who, by 2020, had written himself off as ‘on the scrap heap’ physically. And mentally.

is imho one of the most underrated HM courses out there. It’s flat, it’s fast and it should be as big as the GNR..! Excellent organisation, friendly, and the support all the way along was unreal!

Thanks so much to my little running cohort of friends who got me back into running and kept me consistent and honest.

for providing the guidance and motivation. First class coaching!

for the podcast - which by the way is now not long enough for my long runs.
endurance for the best socks

for putting up with it all.

What are the odds for me making a sub-3 hour marathon in 2025? It’s a different ball game, but how hard can it be? 😂🤣

07/06/2024

Salty Rims have arrived!!

15/01/2024

The Post Office inquiry hearing on disclosure issues may have seemed "super dry" as Jason Beer, KC put it.

But to me, the disclosure and eDiscovery issues that have hampered the inquiry are nothing short of an explosive example of why it's important to ensure tight Information Governance and preparedness and planning for potential legal requests.

Here’s a link to my write up https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366566395/How-legal-disclosure-failures-disrupted-the-Post-Office-Horizon-inquiry

Having now met with some of the sub-post masters, I was able to - in a minimal way - contextualise some of the human impact.

The inquiry has now rolled on for three years, but new information sources are only just being discovered, and a holistic look at the data landscape only just being undertaken.

Burgess Salmon's Chris Jackson was able to demonstrate work towards a corrective course for the tangled web of issues that such a large exercise has caused, but it remains to be seen if the solutions proposed to the inquiry can instill some sense of confidence in a disclosure process underpinning one of the most significant miscarriages of justice in British legal history.

The ongoing hearings in the UK Post Office’s Horizon software scandal drilled down into an area rarely addressed in detail by the courts or inquiries – the topic of legal disclosure of documents and evidence.   With the ITV drama bringing home the real human cost of the scandal there have been ...

24/06/2023

Baking hot day full of workouts, sweating buckets... was built for recovery…! 👼

25/05/2022

Love this little thing, always around nearby the house. I call it GTX.
Kestrel GTX.

17/04/2022

I’m no Deer expert, but this Roe Deer (?) I see all the time but it’s so quick I never get a shot.
Nice to bump into it early Easter Sunday morning!