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James | Trail Runner & Ultra Running

@runningtofeel

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Ordinary runner. Stubbornly going long.
Trail running for the head as much as the finish line.
Resilience, big mountains + questionable humour.

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Who finds a friend, finds a treasure 🪎

~ The summer of ’26 edition 💜

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What if your next challenge took you across the Pyrénées together?

WhyWeRun Pyrénées is a different kind of organised trip.

We are not here to race you, rank you or see who gets to the refuge first. WhyWeRun is about shared challenge, connection and supporting the people around you when it gets hard.

This trip brings that same ethos into the mountains.

Three mountain days. 48.4km. +3,500m. Remote refuges. A border crossing on foot. Big climbs, tired legs, shared meals and plenty of time properly off grid.

We have also put everything we can into the package to make the experience as easy as possible. Group transfers, accommodation, breakfasts and dinners, local mountain guides are all included.

You get yourself to Barcelona. We take care of the rest.

18 places only.

Secure yours with a £300 deposit, with monthly payment plans available. The earlier you book, the lower those monthly payments will be.

Bookings are open now.

Come fastpack the Pyrénées with us.

🔗 Full details and booking via the link in bio

Tag the person you would want beside you in the mountains, or send this to someone who needs to see it. Let’s go!

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On Saturday I celebrated 15 years of business here in Chamonix
Can’t believe how quick it has gone
I’m so grateful to all the clients that continue to book and support my business
We celebrated with bubbles and smiles 🤩🥂🎉🥂
Thanks again

#chamonix #chamonixmassage #chamonixvalley #chamonixmassagetherapist #chamonixmontblanc .

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WhyWeRun Pyrénées is coming.
 3 mountain days. 48.4km. +3,500m. 18 places.

A different kind of WhyWeRun experience, but with the same values at the heart of it. Shared challenge, real connection, and moving through the hard bits together.

We’ve also taken care of nearly everything for you.
Arrive in Barcelona, meet the group, and we’ll take it from there. Transfers into the mountains, accommodation, breakfasts and dinners, local mountain guides and WhyWeRun hosts are all part of the experience, and we’ll get you back to Barcelona again at the end.

So all you really need to focus on is the adventure.

Bookings open Friday and all the info you need will be on the website.

You’ll secure your place with a £300 deposit, then the balance via the monthly payment plans available. The earlier you book, the lower those monthly payments will be. 💪

There are only 18 places for this first Pyrénées experience , and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

We think this is going to be an incredible adventure.

If you know someone who needs to see this, share it with them. 
Or tag the person you’d want beside you in the mountains.

Come fastpack the Pyrénées with WhyWeRun.

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253km of discomfort. And somehow, an almost ridiculous amount of joy. ❤️

How can such a brutal physical event facilitate so much joy and love at the same time as such immense physical and psychological discomfort?!

Well, we have an idea.. the long version of that answer would require a rather long caption so we’ll condense it for you.

Purpose beyond yourself
Power in human connection
Pursuits past physical and mental limits..

(now for the most important part)

TOGETHER AS ONE ❤️

253km ✅
7000m+ elevation ✅
£32k+ raised for @bigmoose.charity ✅
Life changing experience ✅
Strangers become like family ✅

The class of ‘26 everyone, thank you 🙏

And if you’ve watched this wondering what it might feel like to be part of it…

Entries for WhyWeRun 2027 are now open.

Maybe next year, this could be you 🤝

🎥 @raybrand.media

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we’re strangely bad at saying important things.

we assume people know.

maybe they do.

tell them anyway.

tell your kids you’re proud of them.

tell your partner they’re loved.

tell your mate what their friendship means.

say the slightly embarrassing thing.

i’d rather say it a hundred times too often than discover there wasn’t going to be another opportunity.

the world needs more love, pass it on.

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WhyWeRun 2026 complete! ✅

For those of you that don’t know what this is - it’s a 250km multistage event that we founded in 2022 to raise money and give back to @bigmoose.charity - they were there for me in lockdown when I needed them for support with therapy, and have been there for so many in the community since.

Anyway, it’s always a strange feeling coming back to real life after this crazy beautiful event. @runningtofeel and I spend basically a whole year planning for it, and as soon as we arrive on site, it’s go time.

We’ve done this a few times now, and every single year it ceases to amaze us how incredible people are.

There was a smaller group this year, a lot of deferrals, much more than normal and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the place feeling a little ‘empty’.

However…

I will go as far to say that this was one of my favourite WhyWeRun experiences BECAUSE it was so intimate.

I’ve left this week personally feeling like I know and have been a real part of every single persons journey 🙏 everyone gave all of themselves, left absolutely nothing out there and showed again how people of all backgrounds, ages, places .. it doesn’t matter, you showed what it means to be truly human - in the best possible way ❤️

The word ‘inspiring’ doesn’t hold enough weight to really encapsulate how amazing these people are - runners and crew included.

So to everyone this year, thank you for choosing us. Thank you for expressing the most authentic, beautiful version of yourselves and creating what was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had.

And let’s not forget - over £30,000 worth of funding for those that need it!! The impact of that is not to be played down. And it’s only one of the many byproducts of putting yourselves first, running for something bigger, growing as people through a shared challenge, being brave and strong enough to take that risk.

The point never really was the 250km.. 😂

The point IS the environment, the connections you make and the person you allow yourself to be in it.

You are all incredible. Thank you.

❤️🙏

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WWR Class of ‘26

250km, 5 days, £30,000 raised for @bigmoose.charity (& counting…)

Once again the narrow technical coastal path & pavement pounding showed no mercy, leaving all the ITBs & ankles no where to hide loop after loop

But we got to meet some incredible humans, sharing some amazing tales over the last week & creating new core memories to last ✨

The magic happened once again & I’m feeling very grateful to get to work with such amazing people & call it my JOB

Thank you to the @itswhywerun & @bigmoose.charity team - you guys never fail to make memories 🫶

One last time for 2026: together as one, WWR 🧡

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And just like that, the final day is done 🫡

The air in the room this morning was filled with nervous energy. Sleep hadn’t come easily to many of our runners and there was still another 35km to complete before the handcrafted WhyWeRun medal could be handed out to our class of 2026.

Unbeknown to our runners, @bigmoose.charity had a final surprise for them. Each runner was given a letter from someone who had been supported by the charity.

It was an incredibly emotional moment in the room, with plenty of tears and a powerful reminder of exactly why they were running 250km this week.

After a famous final day talk by Cookie (aka @runningtofeel) the runners and crew headed out for a walk together to start the day.

Together as one.

Every year, this is a special moment of the week to remember. There’s even a puddle that’s been nicknamed Paddy because it’s been part of the walk for as long as we can remember - rain or shine.

Then it was time to run.

Two loops of the Blue Lagoon. 30km. One final push.

Whilst some of our runners found their own rhythm and a surge of energy to finish the week with an emotional embrace from family at the finish line, others ran together and crossed the finish line holding hands.

If we’ve learned anything from this week, it’s that there’s no single way to complete WhyWeRun. However they found the strength to cross the finish line, we’ve once again been reminded that what makes this week so special isn’t just what these runners achieve physically, but how they support each other along the way.

What a way to finish the week 🚀

A huge well done and thank you to all our runners and crew of WhyWeRun Wales 2026

🧡

🎥 @raybrand.media

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Day 4 ✅

🏃🏼‍♀️56km
📈 ~1300m

215/250

They wanted a challenge, and Wales delivered.

Every year we experience at least one day here that has the potential to derail the runners.. and today was that day.

We experienced consistent rain and storm like winds with gusts up to 60km per hour, which meant one thing - we had to close the coastal path.

Safety is always our highest priority, and even though we had a few runners that might have been disappointed they couldn’t attack the coastal path one last time this afternoon, they were quick to reframe the situation and make the most of the rest of day - which was plenty of aggressive tarmac! 😵

And you know what? It worked out for the better. We had more interactions between runners due to the route change - they had more opportunity to run past, and with, each other and from what we saw.. not only did they complete the distance quicker, there was also so much joy and fun in the process.

@stoppy79 even decided to race one of our crew, @laradrewes_sportpsych with 56km in his legs (we won’t share who won or lost 😉)

Groups formed, friendships deepened, and memories were created that we are sure will last a very long time to come.

We say it often on here, but we’re so inspired not only by their physical feats on course, but how they are as people.

One. Day. More.

Let the victory laps commence 🚀

📸 @danbentleyphoto @kajmil_adventures

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The hardest day is underway.

In every WhyWeRun experience, day 4 is always the hardest climb to overcome. And so on this day, we bring out the big guns.

At the very first WhyWeRun, a certain James Cooke - having rolled his ankle on day one and chosen to stay with the group - was given the opportunity to act as Race Director for the last two days of the event..

He delivered one of the most memorable moments we’ve ever had in his pre day 4 speech. It’s a memory every single runner there at the first event will carry with them always.

And so, every 4th day since, Cookie has delivered a similar kind of inspirational talk that may just be the difference between finishing or not.

Day 4 - there’s a storm coming 🚀🌧️

🎥 @raybrand.media @shug_snaps
📸 @danbentleyphoto

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We need your help, next week is set to be extraordinary.

Our group of incredible human beings are about to run 250km over 5 days, along the Welsh coastal path, in what is always unpredictable conditions 😅 and they need your help.

Yes, this is a personal challenge for every one of them, but it’s also for a bigger purpose too.

Every £100 these runners raise for @bigmoose.charity pays for an hour of therapy with human givens trained therapists. People get a response within 24 hours and seen in a matter of days, not months.

It’s genuinely life changing, not just for the runner but for those that receive this support as a direct result of their journey.

The charity have been there for @runningtofeel and I, we’ve been the beneficiaries of that service, it makes it that much more important for us to give back - as we know how powerful it can be.

We’ve learned that we’re stronger together. Asking for help is a strength. Life is meant to be a shared journey; and we get to create this space for others to explore this for themselves.

So as I said at the start of the caption, we need your help! Help us raise as much awareness and money as possible so we can help as many people as possible in return.

Thank you and we hope you’re inspired by what these incredible people are doing 🙏

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