Keira Bond

After months of preparation, the Yorkshire Marathon finally arrived. In this episode, I break down the final days of tapering, carb loading, race-day strategy and, ultimately, how the marathon unfolded. For the first 18 miles, everything felt like it was coming together. The pacing was controlled, the legs felt good and I was confident there was plenty more to give. Then, almost without warning, things started to unravel. I reflect on what happened, the frustratingly familiar quad issues that brought my race undone, and the questions I'm now left trying to answer. A 3:01:41 finish, plenty of frustration, and a reminder that marathon running has a way of exposing even the smallest limitations. Not quite the ending I'd hoped for, but certainly plenty to learn from.

Two weeks to go until the York Marathon, and the taper is officially underway. After months of building fitness, the focus is now shifting towards recovery, freshness and getting to the start line in the best possible shape. In this episode, I break down the first week of tapering, the reduction in training load, how the body is responding and the mental side of doing less after doing so much. I also talk about a few things I am factoring in this week and the days leading into the event, including the pacing strategy and nutrition. The hard work is done. Now comes the challenge of trusting it.

This week on Spill The Watts, I’m joined by Isla Short — British XCO Champion, World Championship top-five finisher and one of Britain’s leading mountain bikers. Most recently, Isla took on the iconic 3 Peaks Cyclocross for the first time — winning the race, taking all three summit primes and breaking a women’s course record that had stood since 2003. We go deep into exactly what went into that performance: the research, specific training, running and hiking, carrying the bike, equipment choices, course recce, fuelling, pacing and how she executed it all on race day. But this episode goes much further than 3 Peaks. We go right back to Isla’s unusual route into professional cycling — growing up in a cycling family, attending a specialist music school, and eventually choosing bikes over a potential career in music. We talk through the highs and lows of her career, racing at the highest level of XCO, finishing fifth at the World Championships, becoming British Champion, finally cracking the Elite World Cup top 10, and why achieving those things ultimately changed what she wanted from the sport. Isla also speaks incredibly openly about a much more serious experience within professional cycling that she specifically wanted to use this podcast to talk about. This ended up being one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had on Spill The Watts. Isla is incredibly open, self-aware and willing to question her own experiences and feelings, and I came away from this one thinking about quite a few things differently. 🎙️ Spill The Watts with Isla Short.

Three weeks to go until the York Marathon. This week was the final big week before the proper taper begins — including my hardest session of the entire build, some very bad nights of sleep, and a few reminders that marathon training doesn’t always happen in perfect conditions. I break down the key sessions, how the legs are feeling, where I think my fitness is at, and what I’ve taken from the week as race day gets very real. The big work is done. Now it’s time to freshen up and get ready to race.

Welcome to The York Build. Over the next few weeks, I’m documenting the reality of my build towards the York Marathon — the training, the good sessions, the bad ones, what I’m learning and everything that happens in between. In episode 3 (4wks to go), we go through the weeks training in the lead up to the marathon, we talk through what was arguably the hardest session of the whole block, and how sometimes getting stuff done - regardless of how it feels is sometimes exactly what you need.