It's that time of year when the cold fingers of winter wrap themselves around our legs as we run headlong into wind and hail. For some this is a time to head for the gym or contemplate hibernation, but for others it's a time that puts a spring in their step; a time to awaken the senses and revel in nature's test of their mettle; a time for heading to the hills and playing in the dirt. These are hill runners, cross country runners and trail runners, those with a cavalier attitude to the comforts that others take for granted. Not for them the lie-in on a Sunday morning watching the rain battering the window. Not for them the Saturday afternoon spent wrestling with a supermarket trolley. For these are the men and women who live for the hillside, for the mud glorious mud of cross country, the howling wind and the biting cold.
They know that with the right equipment they need bow before no mountain. With laminate tights and GORE-TEX jackets, with footwear built to survive whatever the world can throw at it, with hydration packs and gloves and hats, they can and do run anywhere. For those who heed the call of the wild, there is a place where they can read of each others' exploits and be regaled with up-to-the-minute news about the sport they love. That place is the appropriately titled mudsweatandtears.co.uk, an online blog with a team of writers headed up by Matt Ward who founded the site as an outlet for his passion for running. With excellent and thorough kit reviews the blog is the place to get all the latest information about running in the mud, the hills, the trails, in fact anywhere off road.