Let’s be real, sometimes long runs can be a little bit boring, they can be hard going at times, especially if you’re doing the same loop or out-and-back at the moment during lockdown.

I’ve been reading a great book by Dave Urwin, an ultra runner, who talks about how he used to be big into bird spotting and how exciting it is to record all the different species you can see in a year or even in a day.

During my next 10 mile run it got me thinking, I wonder how many different birds I will see on this run.

So I started to pay more attention to the wildlife around me, and whenever I was having a littke walk break (more often than not for me) I would jot down what I had seen in a notes section of my phone.

I ended up seeing 17 different species of birds in that 10 mile run, which was 2 loops around local farm fields at the end of the March.

When my next long run came in April I had made the decision to keep all of my running to the farm to avoid using styles and gates and crossing other peoples land. And once again, I made sure to record every different species of bird I spotted during my run.

This time I saw 16.

Throughout the run I kept reminding myself to pick my head up and look around. To observe the wonderful nature and life around me.

It made that run a little bit more interesting and gave my mind something to think about.

Its a simple activity that can easily be done on your walk or run anywhere, you will find birds wherever you live.

And if you dont know the species just write down a description or try to take a photo and then you can look it up when you get back home.

Let me know how many you see!