Just a quick video to show you the great places I get to train!
Andy's Blog
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Posted: 28 January, 2012
Tallahassee training
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Posted: 24 January, 2012
In the News: Andy Baddeley wins New Balance Games mile
Category: In the NewsNEW YORK — Showing solid early season form, Britain’s Andy Baddeley won the elite mile at today’s 17th New Balance Games at the Armory here in Upper Manhattan, leading five men under the four-minute mark.
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Posted: 24 January, 2012
In the News: Milrose Games 5000m hotting up
Category: In the NewsSource: www.armorytrack.com, Published: 1 January, 1970Milrose 5000m field looking good. 3 US national records could fall in one race.
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Posted: 24 January, 2012
My results from the: New Balance Games
Category: Competition21 January, 2012New Balance Games: The Armory, New YorkEvent: MileTime: 3.57.22 – 1st
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Posted: 24 January, 2012
Sunshine in Tallahassee, Snow in New York
On January 2nd 2012, I flew out (together with Mark Draper) to Tallahassee in Florida to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine state. With the help of Total Sports US, we met up with Pete Rea and the members of Zap Fitness, a group of elite runners who are normally based in North Carolina. They were kind enough to show us around, despite the pending US Olympic marathon trials, and I am incredibly grateful for their help.
The trails in Tally are fantastic, and we have hardly had to repeat a run since we’ve been here, with the option of running on gravel trails, grassy “greenways”, pine forest tracks, clay roads or tarmac cycle paths. We’ve also had the good fortune to be able to use the track at Maclay High School, which is in the middle of a beautiful forest, with miles of trails right outside lane 6.
This training, whilst continuing to build my winter base, is also aimed at achieving the best possible results in a series of US indoor races. I am writing this after having just arrived back in Tally after the first of these – the New Balance Games mile in New York. The whole trip to New York was fantastic, as it also served as the launch for a new documentary initiative from New Balance and Kimbia – The British Miler (click on the link to see the full website and the trailer premiered in New York). Make sure you tune in to see how I’m doing!
As an added bonus, I got my season off to a winning start, running 3.57.22 to take the victory (and for the moment at least, the world lead!). The New Balance Games is always a fantastic event, with a handful of elite races taking place in the middle of a high school meet – so the atmosphere is unbelievable! This win was my third, having also won in 2008 and 2010. The toughest part of the day was waking up to 3 inches of snow, and subsequently having to “warm up” for the race in sub zero temperatures! Thankfully, on my return to Tally it was 26 degrees, so just a pair of shorts for the morning run!
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Posted: 20 January, 2012Category: Tweets
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Posted: 7 January, 2012
My results from the: BPTT
Category: Competition
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Posted: 7 January, 2012
Stockport Harriers, foam disc guns and burlesque
Where to train over the Christmas period is always a tricky one, but luckily for me Steve Vernon, Dave Turnbull and co. came to the rescue to proudly let me use the facilities at Stockport. And they’re right to be proud. The track is in the middle of a great little park, with a 1km loop on a road surface (marked every 200m by plaques), a changing room with ice baths, and a shipping container that hides an Olympic lifting platform! It was great to meet up with them for my warm up, and to see what a great group Dave has training together.
Whilst Christmas involves training as usual, it also involves games, and toys that come out once a year. So imagine my excitement when I discovered a “rapid-fire foam disc shooter” at my parents house. After populating every corner of the living room with said foam discs, and having sent my family running for cover, I turned my attention to the reindeer atop the fireplace. There would be no escape from my sniping… that is until one of the discs whizzed down the ventilation grill of the gas fire. It was a great shot, but one that ultimately led to the fire being dismantled – apparently a foam disc is “a potential fire hazard”. Oops.
From toys, to more grown up pursuits – in the form of burlesque dancing. Thankfully it wasn’t me in a corset and feather boa. Amazingly a group of friends and I had managed to persuade our lovely wives and girlfriends that the ideal way to see in the new year would be by watching already scantily clad ladies disrobe even further. I still don’t know how we managed that one. Still, we had a great night at the Naked Turtle (yes, really) jazz restaurant, where the fantastic (and fully dressed) waitresses sang amazingly throughout the evening. The only bad thing during the whole evening was that one of my friends had misinterpreted the dress code of “bohemian splendour” and somehow came dressed as someone from Miami Vice. I won’t mention any names though, Richard Jones.