Jamie Beards
Decide what kind of life you actually want. And say no to everything that isn't that.
@vivobarefoot code Jamie.beards
Documenting my training and adventures!
Decide what kind of life you actually want. And say no to everything that isn't that.
@vivobarefoot code Jamie.beards
Documenting my training and adventures!
Jamie Beards
For You, Mum 🛡️🎂
Today, giving up was never an option.
When the miles got heavy and the pavement felt like it was fighting back, I just thought of that hospital room and the strength you showed.
Carrying this Shield across the finish line on your 80th birthday is the greatest honour of my life.
Mum, if I can become even half as amazing as you were, I’ll consider my life a success.
You were the one who never stopped reaching out and never stopped smiling, even when things were at their hardest. The light in your eyes never faded. I truly hope I made you proud today by bringing the Shield home.
London, you were brutal and beautiful in equal measure. My heart is full, my legs are done, toenails likely running away, cramp in my left foot form mile 13 onwards, shoulders dead, back is in bits, lots of trophies but the mission is complete.
Everything is still raw at the moment. But I'll update you all more soon.
Thank you to everyone who supported this journey and helped us raise awareness for every family still in that fight. 🫡
Happy 80th Birthday, Mum. We did it. 🦋
1 week ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
The Confession... 🛡️⚖️
I’ve got a bit of a confession to make.
You know how I’ve been mentally preparing to carry a 10kg shield around London for the @londonmarathon
Well, I finally put the gear on the scales today and... SURPRISE! 🥳 It turns out 10kg was a bit of an optimistic estimate. We’ve weighed it with me, and we’ve double checked it with Will the heavyweight lifter @anytimefitness_stratford_avon just to be sure.
The official damage: 12.1kg. ⚖️
Now, I’m sure I should be straight onto Google looking for lighter straps or reconsidering my life choices. But me being me, I just looked at the scales, gave it a bit of a shrug, and figured the universe just wanted to make sure I was getting my money’s worth out of the "Art of Suffering." 🎨🏃♂️
Now I'm not naive enough to ignore the toll this kind of weight will take on my body over 26.2 miles, but seeing the donations, spreading the mission and reading all your messages... honestly, it’s amazing. You beautiful people are the reason I can look at that extra weight and keep smiling.
So now it seems my engine doesn't just run on cheesecake, it runs on sheer stubbornness and your incredible support.
I will be bringing this shield home for my Mum’s 80th birthday on the 26th of April. That shield is my gift to her, but the gift from you is the money we are raising for @alzheimerssoc thank you all so much.
The Mission Update:
The Weight: 12.1kg (Because apparently, 10kg was just too "aerodynamic").
The Strategy: Exactly the same. We start slow, make noises and find that rhythm.
The Goal: Spreading the mission and raising as much as possible for Alzheimer's society
The Vibe: Embracing the extra 2.1kg like a long lost friend who won’t stop hugging you. 🫂🛡️
This extra weight just means there’s a bit more to endure, and if I’m honest, I’ve always preferred a bit of a "slog" anyway.
Hopefully London is ready for this 12.1kg Diesel engine to come rattling through the streets!
Always a pleasure. Never a chore. 🫡
#LondonMarathon2026 #DementiaAwareness #NothingBeatsBelief #GymKing #RunForADementiaCure
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
8 WEEKS TO LONDON: THE "ANTI SNAP" PROTOCOL 🛡️.
We are 8 weeks out and it’s officially time for "The Cut." No crash diets here, just slowly clearing out the "recovery" cheesecakes and the emergency chocolates so I don’t arrive at the start line carrying extra podge. The goal is to be a racing machine, not a vending machine. 🏎️🍭
The Mid-Block Maintenance:
* Engine Power: Skeletal Muscle UP 1.3 kg 📈 (Protecting the joints and building hill power).
* Cheesecake Clearance: Fat Mass DOWN 2.7 kg 📉.
* Internal Health: Cleaning out the "hidden" fat so the engine runs smoother.
* Bio Age: Dropped 2 years. I’m officially ageing backwards, If I do start to feel like I'm 21 again, I'm pretty sure my knees will remind me now I'm not.
The Strategy:
I'm starting a 2 month taper. Yeah, you read that right. Two. Months.
I know it sounds properly excessive, most people only taper for a fortnight but after 24 weeks of war, my joints need a holiday.
I’m moving onto the Altitrack program for this cutting phase the "calculated chaos" has officially started. Using @rossedgley Suprā program to stay ultra jacked while we wind down the mileage and what's needed for the Chaos of running with a shield for 26 miles. (Some videos of my final sets) All this will hopefully keep.the engine ticking over without red lining it. Basically, keeping the body going, but stopping the "push" so I don't accidentally run around England... yet. 👀
Today’s Stats:
* The Mission: 8-Week Milestone / The Great Podge Clearance 🍰
* Distance: Weekly Review & Body Tracking
* The "Diva" Scale: 3/10 (The Shins have declared a temporary ceasefire) 🩺
* Road to London: 56 Days to go
Scoreboard: 2026 Progress
* Total Miles Logged: 114.7 Miles (184.59 km)
* Status: Entering Technical Taper. Muscle up. Podge down.
Always a pleasure. Never a chore. 🫡
2 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
New Year’s Eve: The Eight Year Audit 🥂🛡️
2018: The Spark.
I started this journey looking to change my life. From the mud of Wolf Runs and the grit of Spartan races, I was building a foundation I didn’t even know I’d need yet.
2020: The Mission Begins.
When my Dad passed away from prostate cancer, everything changed. I didn't just want to run anymore, I wanted my miles to mean something. The seeds of the mission were sown here, but the real graft was yet to come.
2023: The Great British Plant & The Loss.
This was the year I stepped up. To honour my Dad, I took on the Great British Plant, including 40 miles with a 12kg Olive Tree on my back. It was the first time I realised that physical weight is nothing compared to the weight of grief. But 2023 ended with another devastating blow.... we lost my Mum to her battle with dementia. The world got a lot quieter, and the mission became even more personal.
2024–2025: Grief and Graft.
I decided to turn that grief into graft. The road hasn't been a straight line, but every setback was just more fuel for the engine:
* 2024: The Jurassic Coast Ultra (DNF at 52 miles).
* 2025 (May): Completed the Bath 50k.
* 2025 (July): Race to the Stones (DNF at 36 miles).
The Turning Point:
I took everything those failures and losses taught me and, in September, I conquered a self supported 100k. No crowd, no medals, just the proof that the engine (and myself) was finally built for what’s coming next.
2026: #ProjectBloom. 🛡️
Tomorrow, the 16 week countdown to the London Marathon officially begins. I’m taking eight years of Grief and Graft and carrying it all in the 10kg Beards Bloom Shield.
This is for my Dad. This is for my Mum and her 80th birthday. And this is for every family fighting a battle that the world can't see. For anyone carrying the weight of a diagnosis, the heaviness of grief, or the struggles that make the daily miles feel uphill.
You are not carrying it alone.
Moving into 2026 as determined and as full of dreams as ever, I’ve made a promise to myself, to take a breath, to consider everything and everyone around me, and to keep moving forward.
Whatever your dream for 2026 might be, no matter how heavy the load, keep pushing. I can't wait to see us all redefining the possible together.
I’m running to raise awareness for the Alzheimer's Society, but I’m carrying this shield for all of us.
New Year. New load. Same stubbornness.
Always a pleasure. Never a chore. 🫡
4 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
Merry Christmas, everyone! 🎄
While most people are doing the most sensible thing and sleeping. I've just wrapped up my 25 Runs Before Christmas challenge. The final miles are in the bag, the building blocks are stacked, and I am officially ready to drop-kick myself into 2026
But today isn't just about the miles. I’ve been keeping this gift for today and it’s time to show you the 10kg piece of epicness.
This is the Beards Bloom Shield! 🛡️✨
I’ll be carrying this 10kg masterpiece for the London Marathon. To some, running with a massive blue shield for 26.2 miles sounds like a special kind of madness. To me, it’s an honour, I’ve carried a tree for 40 miles before, so clearly, I have a history of making life difficult for myself for a good cause.
The "Why" Behind this mission.
This shield is a tribute to my mum, Christine Beards. She went through a battle with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS), a rare forms of dementia that carry a weight far heavier than 10kg.
And London Marathon 2026 falls on a very special day, April 26th because It is my Mum’s 🎂 and she would have been 80 years old.
So I’ll be celebrating her life by carrying her name through the streets of London.
Now I have to give a huge "wacky" salute 🫡 to the legends at norton armouries they turned my vision into a reality, and I can’t thank them enough for the craftsmanship.
2025 Final Year-End Stats:
*Total Steps: 6,434,160.
*Activity Distance: 752.3 Miles (1,210.8 km).
*Running Activities: 127 Activity.
*Time: 218h 12m.
Merry Christmas everyone, now time for the Christmas calories.
Always a pleasure. Never a chore. 🫡
4 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
💥 6 Weeks In: Engine Check & The Gym Lockdown
Week 6 starts today! The strategy shifts from base building to pure adaptation. It’s time to face the facts, celebrate the gains, and prep for a mandatory 3-week gym lockdown.
1. The Physical State.
The strength training is the engine’s firewall. I closed out the gym access phase with a strong Arm Day session (the very last one before the closure).
My latest body scan shows great progress (Nov 12th – Nov 16th):
* Fat Down: 0.70kg lost
* Muscle Up: 0.20kg gain
* Boditrax Score: +1 improvement!
The Honesty Check: My Leg Muscle Score dropped -1. This is due to me doing what any runner shouldn't: ignoring knee discomfort and running straight through it. For whatever reason, the reckless tactic seems to have made my knee happier! 🤣 That strategy is just my way of being in denial.
The gym is closed, so the Bodyweight Focus starts now. I need to give myself no excuses for just eating cheesecake on my gym days.
The Marathon goal requires two types of discipline.
* A. The Soul-Crushing Shuffle (Z2): This is the work that feels like you’re in one of those "I can't run" nightmares. We maintain the slow Z2 runs to build my massive aerobic base. If I ditch these Mundane Miles to chase speed, I’m putting a Yamaha engine on a tortoise, it won't last 26.2 miles.
* B. The PB Pursuit (Z3 Push): The reward for that Z2 patience is the ability to push. This weekend’s 6.11 miles trail run proves it:
* Avg Heart Rate: 168bpm
* Time in Zone 4 (Threshold): A massive 43.5\%
The New Benchmark.
Honesty about speed is critical. I've had to remove my old, speedy but unsustainable 5K personal best. That speed was earned back when I was training for an Ironman, and it was built for 26.2 miles, but it is not built for the body I have right now. The focus is on achieving an older 5K time.
On to Week 6!
Always a pleasure. Never a chore 🫡
5 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
Suprā by @rossedgley
Program: (Gym) Bulletproof hybrid and Run strong.
🏃♂️📈 Four Weeks In: Data Don't Lie (But the Weekend Might). Check post
The London Marathon training is officially four weeks deep, so a four week body scan was needed.
Muscle (kg) Date 1: 56.20 Date 2: 58.80 (+2.60 💪)
Weight (kg) Date 1: 68.10 Date 2: 69.70 (+1.60)
Fat (kg) Date 1: 8.90 Date 2: 7.80 (-1.10 📉)
TDEE (kcal) Date 1: 2917 Date 2: 3041 ( +124 🔥)
* +2.60 kg of Muscle packed on! That leg day session today (run strong speed) is already paying dividends.
* Dropped -1.10 kg of Fat. Burning off those extra pounds.
* The +124 TDEE increase means I need more calories just to exist. Sounds like a win to me! (More cheesecake)
Plot twist: These results are despite having a "couple" of pints yesterday... which somehow ended up being more like seven. 🍻 Don't worry, the extra +1.60 kg is mostly water (I hope). We call that carb loading, right? 😉 It's all about balance (okay admittedly maybe my balance was a little bit off yesterday)
The knee is getting stronger every day thanks to the speed work and strength training. It’s non negotiable for me, especially If I wish to keep this old body running still.
Four weeks down, and I’m feeling good. Now I just need a few goals to keep that competitive side going against myself. Perhaps a half marathon or a cheeky 5K PB personal best? 🤔
Always a pleasure. Never a chore 🫡
-
-
-
-
#LondonMarathonTraining #LegDayWins #MarathonPrep #DisciplineAndBeer #TrainingLog #RunStrongSpeed #BodyComposition #Gains #RunningCommunity #CharityRunner
6 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
The Reckoning.
I've always believed the universe pushes you exactly where you need to be.
Getting pulled at 36 miles from the Race to the Stones and then being forced to step back from the Thames Path Ultra due to illness wasn't failure, it was redirection.
This was not the time to be easy on myself. I had to redefine what "race" means.
This journey has become about more than just a distance or a finish line. It's about honoring the lessons learned and the quiet determination to keep going.
It became about building my own mountain, one I had no choice but to climb. It was about tilting the scales so far in one direction that you start to wonder if you’ve completely lost it. I didn’t need rest, I more repetitions, more miles.
So this is exactly what I came for, to push my physical boundaries to their absolute limit and find those small, strange moments of beauty in between the suffering.
I know my body was screaming. Running 100K is a hard thing to do.
But I remembered.
I remembered the times in the hospital with my amazing mum, reaching for my hand and still managing to smile, even as she was going through everything.
I got to walk out of that hospital, but so many, including my beautiful mother and my father, did not.
Understanding what "hard" truly means shifts when you see people battling conditions like dementia and cancer every single day. That is hard.
I left a lot out there on that racecourse. Running around it by myself, lap after lap, I learned a lot about myself, body and mind.
One of them is to make sure you order your energy gels way before the run 🤣. But I manage to survive on Mini Soreen Bar, Jammie Dodgers, rice Krispies squares, crumpets of jam and jam sandwiches.. and let's not forget the tea 🤣 a complete DIY winging it fuelling system.
Are there improvements to be made? Certainly.
But for now, rest and recovery.
P.S. My knee is still not talking to me BUT! I don't have any blisters. Rhino feet for the win! 🤣
Always a pleasure, never a chore. 🫡
7 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
Well I've had time to chew this over.. and Well, sometimes adventures take an unexpected detour. My Race to the Stones journey didn't end with a medal around my neck this time. I made it 36 tough miles in, pushing through the relentless heat that was genuinely screaming at us all day, before eventually, heat exhaustion brought my personal race to a halt.
Medical staff pulled me from the course and told me to stop. It was a decision made for my safety, and deep down, I know it was the right one. Maybe, I could have carried on and maybe even finished it but then the consequences of a constantly high heart rate could have ended pretty badly.
But honestly? That feeling of 'not finishing' a challenge like that, especially when it's taken out of your hands, still doesn't quite sit right with me. It's a tough pill for any runner to swallow.
But here's the thing about ultra-running (and life, I guess): you learn, you recover, and you come back stronger.
This time? This time it's personal. Every step I take from here to the next start line will be fuelled by that unfinished business. The shoes are still getting put through that paces, the calves are complaining but healing, and the fire in the belly is raging.
And I have learnt some lessons from this and one of them is, I really don't need to be carrying a 6-7kg bag with me for 36 miles (58km) 🤣.
Until my next Ultra.
Always a pleasure, never a chore. 🫡
9 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Jamie Beards
What a week it's been! The Jurassic Coast Ultra may have slipped through my fingers due to unforeseen circumstances, which was a tough pill to swallow, especially given how much that race meant to me. But you know what they say: when one trail closes, another one opens.
I've had my sights set on the Race to the Stones for a while now, and the time has finally come to take on that ancient journey towards the 5,000-year-old Avebury Standing Stones!
This week was all about re-introduction and adapting to Suprā 600, which is making a guest appearance to help with my cut for this new challenge. I'm trying to build something different for this run, so I've swapped my running shoes for two wheels until my three glorious weeks of Suprā 600 strength training are done. Let me tell you, those leg days are no joke—my quads are currently having an existential crisis! But hey, at least I'm getting those miles in, even if my bike is doing more work than my glutes right now. I'm still winging it on whether it's kilometers or miles, but it's all good.
And yes, my cut is going well too!
Aiming for strength and speed for the Race to the stones as mainly flat, instead of strength and power for the Jurassic coast brutal hills.
Always a pleasure, never a chore! 🫡
11 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Load more