Welcome!

Hi!

My name is John Trott and I'm 47 years of age. I work full time as a Police Officer (I'm a Detective Chief Inspector in charge of the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Public Protection Unit which includes investigating crimes and safeguarding victims of Domestic Abuse, Child Abuse,Vulnerable Adult Abuse and Child Sexual Exploitation), am married with five children and am a cycle coach to youngsters of the One & All Cycling Youth Academy and also preach occasionally.

In September 2009, I was involved in a life changing cycling accident which resulted in me being airlifted by the fabulous (which probably saved my life) Cornwall Air Ambulance and I then spent the following weeks in hospital and on my back with a head injury and 11 broken bones, (including four in my neck). I was in a great deal of pain and in a brace 24/7. Gradually, my body healed albeit sadly my neck remains broken as the vertebrae cannot fuse together as they are too far apart and are therefore held in by fibrous tissue! As a result I suffer from varying degrees of pain constantly. However, I am so blessed to a) be alive and b) not to be paralysed in anyway shape or form.  My Consultant informed me that to try and stop me from having pain  and potentially being in a wheelchair as I get older I need to try and stay as fit as possible. I can do anything except rugby or surfing. At my age I can tell you I would not consider those anyway!!!!

When I was lying on my back in hospital for those weeks I challenged myself to try and complete the Montane 100 mile Ultra Tour in 2011. In my late teens and early 20's I completed some Ultra runs including the then 80 mile South Downs Way Run and then as I got older I gravitated towards Triathlon, Ironman and then more cycling and a 24 hour Time Trial. However, despite this, my sensible wife did not think that the 100 mile event was a responsible or realistic goal and suggested I aim for the 50 miler instead and then, depending how that went, maybe the 100 miler in 2012. Well, 2011 came and went and I completed the course in 17 hrs 31 minutes. Not the fastest by any means but by no means the slowest. I took it steady, had no blisters and no real stiffness over the following weeks and met a new friend along the way, Sarah Wilde who has her own Blog. (well worth a read). I was hooked!

I waited with baited breath and at 0900 hrs on 1st October 2011 entries opened for the Montane UTLD 100 and I had entered by 0902 hrs to make sure I got in.

I attempted to complete the Lakeland 100 mile Ultra event but due to circumstances beyond my control, I failed to finish. You can read why (if you wish) on my blog at My 100 mile Ultra Run Training Blog

I now have to turn my attentions to something different but I don't know what but know that it will be endurance based. I have not trained properly since June 2013 since I had some problems with my neck injuries so I am starting effectively from scratch again.

I will share with you my training to show that you can achieve results even with a job, a family and various other responsibilities. It's about balance and some dedication. I try to get out around Cornwall, the Lake District and France so to try and make it slightly different from a same old, same old training diary and to show those areas, I will take pictures where I can (slows my average pace down) and add any local history I am aware of and share it with you as well as publishing my routes on my RunKeeper phone app.

You can also follow me on Twitter at  @DCI_JohnTrott