When most people get to the junction of the Pacific Rim and Tofino-Ucluelet highways, they turn right to Tofino, one of the best known tourist destinations in British Columbia, famous for its white sandy beaches, glitzy resorts and beautiful rainforests. My girlfriend and I instead turned left to Ucluelet, a fishing village often thought of…
Author: Stephen Gurr
Pain in the midst of beauty: My Cascade Crest 100 adventure
I was one of the lucky few selected in the lottery to take on the 2025 edition of the Cascade Crest 100, an iconic ultra trail race in the heart of the Cascade Mountain range in Washington State. Run entirely by volunteers, the race is considered one of the “old school” ultras, which was evident…
The simple (pastry) in life
240g of plain flour, 180g of butter, 40 ml of water and a pinch of salt. Mix together, chill, roll-out, bake and indulge. This beautifully simple recipe, known to pastry chefs the world over, came to me from my Mum, who most likely got it from hers. It’s a recipe that has, and forever will,…
Victoria, Vancouver Island: 12 months in
I moved to Victoria, BC (well Colwood to be exact) for work at the start of the year. Here are some impressions so far, told mainly through some of the many pictures I’ve taken since I’ve been here. Hiking trails Vancouver Island is famous for its abundance of stunningly beautiful hiking and mountain biking trails….
Riding the struggle bus at the Lavaredo 120
To celebrate turning 50, I decided to tick off a bucket list item and do the Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120, which just happened to start an hour before I officially could call myself an old man. Starting and finishing in glitzy ski resort town of Cortina D’Ampressso, the race is regarded as one of the…
The last time
The last time mediation encourages us to treat each and every activity that fill our lives as if we were doing them for the very last time: the last time we take the dog for a walk, read a story to our children, go for a hike, have a drink with friends or make love…
Miles not travelled
Endurance athletes are famous for keeping meticulous records of their training metrics e.g. miles and minutes logged, elevation gained, time spent in different training zones etc. etc. And with advent of apps like Strava, they are able to share this information with their brethren all over the world. Owing more to laziness and not being…
My new favorite breakfast
If someone were to wander into our home around breakfast time, chances are that they would find us eating one of four things – some version of Bill Grangers banana and maple oatmeal, overnight oats (or as I recently saw them referred to by someone fed-up with time management advice, overnight (expletive) oats 😁), scrambled…
Profit over public health: It’s time to have an adult conversation about alcohol
“The fiduciary responsibilities of all corporations require them to maximize their profits regardless of the consequences to health, society, or the environment and thus to oppose policies that could reduce their profits” (1) This quote succinctly highlights the conflict between the goals of corporations and that of governments and institutions tasked with promoting and protecting…
Wendy’s bread
My wife and I met in Doha, over lunch (or was it dinner – we can never agree on this 😁) at the home of a wonderfully generous and welcoming couple from South Africa. In addition to running, this couple, my future wife and I shared a passion for good food. Always a staple at…
Eat, travel, run 