The new redesigned home of the Stroke and Stride series.

Each summer on eight weekday evenings, a crowd of athletes gather together to work themselves into the ground. Punishment comes in the form of 20-40mins of peak physical exertion limited only by how ugly one wishes to get. While, officially, placings are determined by finishing time, unofficially, bonus points are awarded to those competing in speedos only (don’t worry, competitors are always within 300m of the water). This is the Stroke and Stride and for many, this is why summer evenings were invented.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to work closely with the good folk that run the series to redesign their website and overhaul their online setup. This new site is now live, just in time for people to get their season entries in and begin planning for glory. The series has developed and evolved to become world famous in New Zealand and the new site aims to capture this by better representing the feel and the quality of the race. All while making it easier for a busy race organiser to manage.

Check out the new site at swimrun.org and read more about the development at the Stroke and Stride project page.

A street stall vendor prepares his equipment for a hungry customer.

Nutella and banana: in short, the breakfast of champions despite the fact that there isn’t anything actually nutritious about this combination. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times but not a single crepe ordered during my stay in Paris was made by a Frenchman. For that, you’ll need to go to the stall in Southbank, London outside of McDonalds or the Dean’s Bush weekend market in Christchurch, New Zealand. In Paris, these culinary delights were predominately made by some very talkative and interesting Sri Lankans and Indians. As the saying goes, “a crepe a day keeps the immigrants in play”.