Seth Kennard, Author at LUCA

Why I ran the New Forest Marathon dressed as a rhino

November 21, 2018 Seth Kennard

If you take a look at the news at the moment you could be forgiven for thinking that you’re watching repeats or recordings of unwelcome news. Famines and earthquakes, riots and strikes and politicians fill the airwaves with dreary tidings. There are several ways you can respond to such as stimuli; you could: a) stop watching the news and watch children’s cartoons instead, or b) do something about it. After experiencing first hand the effects of rhino poaching after conducting a post mortem on a deceased rhino, I, as part […]

Drizzle can’t dampen vet’s race

April 11, 2018 Seth Kennard

The Hawkshead Hobble, held at the RVC Hawkshead campus, took place on Sunday 8th April. In total 71 runners started and finished the course. Light drizzle throughout the day and a wet and muddy course made the run even more challenging, but it was thoroughly enjoyed (and endured) by all. The organising team are grateful to all of the RVC staff that supported the race as well as all the RVC student marshals who guided runners around the course and helped tremendously with the post-race clean-up. The race, now in […]

#Breaking2 Hour Marathon – Close But No Cigar

May 8, 2017 Seth Kennard

Early on Saturday morning (6th May), Nike made their bid to make history with a sub-2 hour marathon. Three runners, Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese, started together on the Monza’s Formula One race course in Italy. Only Kipchoge came close in the end, crossing the line in 2:00:25. That time takes 2:30 minutes off the previous record, held by Dennis Kimetto. This was an impressive 2:02:57, set in competition at the 2014 Berlin marathon. Technically though, Kipchoge’s incredible run won’t count as a world record because it was […]

It’s Nothing Personal

April 23, 2017 Seth Kennard

The news no one wants to get. That email you hope you to never receive. The unthinkable has happened. There’s an email from Strava saying, “Uh oh, someone stole your CR” (course record). No record can stand the test of time. No record should ever be totally beyond the reach of others. Healthy competition is good, it’s inspiring, it’s stimulating and it’s fun. But that doesn’t mean I want my CRs beaten. So when I had a chance to return to a remote corner of Wales, to the scene of the […]

London Alumnus does a Gump

February 22, 2017 Seth Kennard

Rob Pope, a graduate of the Royal Veterinary College, has set himself quite a challenge- to recreate Forrest Gump’s trans-American voyage of running and discovery. Along the way he’s boiled in the sub, frozen in the snow and raised a lot of money for Peace Direct and the World Wildlife Fund. LUCA News caught up with him online to ask him a few questions about his adventure. So I think the first question must be one you get quite a lot; Why? I’ve always had running as a big part […]

Fancy doing a proper hard race this year?

January 30, 2017 Seth Kennard

“Britain’s toughest event”, “World’s most demanding course” and perhaps my favourite, “a hardcore race to challenge the toughest of the tough”. There seem to be plenty of tough races out there, each one claiming to be tougher than the last. Some can be completed in a morning with a quick dunk in a muddy pond and climbing a few walls; others take much longer. But surely they can’t all be tougher than each other in a never ending circle of toughness? Well the circle of toughness must end somewhere, and […]

2016 – What a year.

January 9, 2017 Seth Kennard

Another year done and thus marks the passage of time. Right now the afternoons are dark and damp, the trainers lie forgotten and muddy in the corner. Trainers ruefully awaiting the spring and beyond the spring, the warm summer filled with daylight, perfect running conditions and plenty of races. It’s time to start training hard again and if you’re thinking of starting a gym membership you’re not alone. Google searches for ‘gym membership’ are doubled in January compared to any other time of the year – partly thanks to people trying […]

Letting go is the hardest part

December 5, 2016 Seth Kennard

We’d been together for so long. We’d done so much together. We’d been places together, seen places together. I thought our partnership was strong, was unbreakable, and that our bond would stand the test of time. But nothing lasts forever, I know that now better than most. Looking back, I should have done more for you, protected you better, cared for you better. The signs were there, the discolouration, the pain, you just didn’t feel the same. But this isn’t just my fault, you needed to tell me when […]