Blog

'The more that you read,

The more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

The more places you'll go...'

Dr. Suess

The blog posts below pull together ideas absorbed from world-renowned thought leaders and link them to my own thoughts, observations and experiences. They combine elements of the business world, general life and competing as an endurance athlete - as the human brain doesn't exist as an isolated entity, and is influenced by our physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing. These concepts are linked to a broader perspective of sustainable performance which combines mindset, movement, exposure to nature, nutrition, hormones, neurological health, social connections and other factors.

Explore Discover Run - ULTRA X Sri Lanka

Anna-Marie

Apr 30, 2019
7 min

Explore Discover Run - ULTRA X Sri Lanka

The founders of ULTRA-X Jamie Spark and Sam Howard are on a mission to shake up the multi-stage scene rotating events through exotic locations; whether winding through luscious Sri Lankan jungle, exploring the desert wilderness of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan or following in the footsteps of the Tarahumara Native Mexican tribe through the Copper Canyons of Mexico immortalised by Christopher McDougall in the running classic book “Born to Run”. All these courses are designed to

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Explore Discover Race - Salomon Cappadocia Medium Ultra Trail

Anna-Marie

Oct 23, 2018
5 min

Explore Discover Race - Salomon Cappadocia Medium Ultra Trail

A warm Turkish welcome immediately engulfed me upon arrival at Kayseri airport. I was swept into an awaiting mini bus with a number of other runners as the call to prayer echoed across the city and lightening flashed across the dark sky. I breathed an extended sigh of relief. I’d finally made it and could leave the travel dramas of the past eighteen hours behind. The late-night puncture heading north on the M25 to Stansted Airport, the pre-dawn start and the super tight fligh

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Anna-Marie

Oct 15, 2018
5 min

Change as Good as a Rest

Looking back over the seven-month period from September 2017 through to the spring of 2018, I’d crammed a catalogue of mammoth races back to back alongside work and life: Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc Half Marathon des Sables Fureteventura Trans Gran Canaria Marathon des Sables These races were arguably four of the toughest mountain and multi-stage events on the International Ultra-Running calendar*. By the end of April, I was physically, mentally and emotionally tired. My “Qual

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Anna-Marie

May 4, 2018
4 min

The Call of the Desert

Utter the infamous words the “Marathon des Sables” amongst the running community and it’s likely you’ll receive a mix of responses… a) OMG that race sounds insane. Why would anyone want to do that?! b) That sounds amazing but I’d never be able to do something like that. c) What a challenge. Maybe once in a lifetime…cue little glint in eye ;-) The concept originated from a solo traverse across the Sahara Desert by Patrick Bauer, a French concert promoter in 1984; two years lat

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What Coaching Resources Would You Recommend?

Anna-Marie

Jan 30, 2018
7 min

What Coaching Resources Would You Recommend?

Following on from the first couple of “Discover Coaching Series” posts this time I focus on key TED Talks, books, articles and podcasts that I’ve tried and tested over my coaching career. This builds on the previous” post that covered different coaching professional associations and other online resources. It's also worth checking out the first post “What’s your personal coaching journey?” to start from the beginning. BOOKS The Art of Coaching: A Handbook of Tips and Tools -

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Anna-Marie

Oct 21, 2016
3 min

Say Yes More.

Say Yes More… These three simple words are what encouraged me to take action and set the ball rolling for a brilliant running weekend micro adventure in Spain. How? If we rewind a couple of weeks to when the monthly newsletter from my sponsor WAA the French endurance equipment company popped into my inbox it should make sense. I scanned through the usual athlete results and equipment updates then my eyes stumbled across an invitation to take part in the 3CIMS (Summits) trail

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Anna-Marie

Mar 8, 2016
4 min

TGt Meets...Anna-Marie Watson

I was delighted to chat to Liz Ledger from "TGt" as part of annual International Women's Day celebrations on 8th March. The interview series covers a variety of inspirational women from the local area in business, entertainment and sport about their personal and professional experiences. Which woman would you compare yourself to? Question number 1 and stumped already!! I’ve genuinely never compared myself to anyone, as I’m simply Anna-Marie. I draw inspiration and positivity

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Anna-Marie

Feb 28, 2016
3 min

Mind Over Matter

This may be difficult, but get ready and step away from the self-help fluff!! Performance coaching focuses on motivation, goal-setting, mental toughness and balance with a healthy dollop of science. Trainers – check Race entry - check Training plan – check Nutritional plan – check Mindset plan - ???? The collective running community spends The collective running community spends hundreds of hours pounding the pavement, hundreds of pounds on the latest kit or technical gadgets

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Anna-Marie

Jul 30, 2015
2 min

Life in Motion

My diary schedule reflects an immense professional and personal period of transition experienced over a small time frame in the last month. Sunday 28th June 2015: International Coach Federation Monthly Board Meeting, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Monday 21st July 2015: Coach Training Business Development Meeting, London, UK The time scale of a few weeks separates these meetings and two distinct worlds to mask a “complex process of extended and ambiguous ‘in-betweenness’” (Basit, Brown

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