Below are my favourites. I hope they inspire you as much as they do me  Feel free share the joy by passing on to your running buddies!

Run Forever

Nicky Spinks is a (s)hero of mine! Amazing athlete, amazing person and what she has achieved is beyond words. Awesome film of an awesome woman. Loved her team and the camaraderie. Tears, smiles, awe.

Paradise Lost

Absolutely love the raw honesty and vulnerability portrayed by Frosty in this film. Incredible cinematography. What an amazing land & culture Papua New Guinea. Haunting yet very uplifting.

Cape Wrath Ultra

Truly wonderful! Made me wonder at what it is to be alive and what we can do. Wonderful people, wonderful scenery, wonderful adventure. Blown away!

Mt. Marathon

Insane! Laughed out loud. Added to bucket list! Didn’t want it to end!

Life On The Fells

Inspirational. Fell running does indeed make you feel like a kid again. Gives you perspective when most of us complain about little injuries and you have people like Adam dealing with heart transplant and BG attempt!

The Bob Graham

Just love this story. The simplicity, the history, the mountains! Great music and imagery. Amazing.

The Crown Traverse

Brilliant, brilliant film. Adventure, friendship. Amazing traverse. Loved the 599.7 miles realisation at the end! Superb.

Trail Dog

Beautiful life lessons and joyous message. Incredible short film.

Beauties and the Bog

Excitement, awe, fun. Very uplifting film showing how great challenges in a team can be. Love the mix of sunset, head torch, daytime shots. Great music too.

Chasing The Distance

Fantastic film. Moving and humbling yet inspiring.

Running Sucks – Story of a Barefoot Runner

Love the sound of the slate scree! Great little film.

Yours in sport
Jeff

* Judging was as part of the Trail Running magazine team.

To say I was over the moon to receive the “Trail Running Magazine Best Reader Blog Award” is an understatement! When Editor, Claire Maxted emailed me to confirm I was doing somersaults (in my head anyway!).  It was a good job she asked me to keep some of the news quiet for a few days

Evidently they loved my “concise style, entertaining writing and variety of subjects covered.” To be complemented on your writing in this way is awesome. Thank you so much Claire and the entire Trail Running mag team

For that I have to sincerely thank all the people I’ve interviewed since launching this site in Mar/Apr 2015:

Jill Butterworth, Lana Jane, Robbie Britton, Suzanne Stolberg, Nicky Spinks, Sarah Morton, Renee McGregor, Graham Patten, Dom Williams. You’ve all shared amazing insights and experiences.

So now I can say exercise and blogging truly lift me. I hope your running and any blogs you read continue to lift you. Keep exploring and enjoy

Trail Running Magazine is the leading off-road running publication. If features gear reviews, event listings, runner interviews and much much more. Latest issue is in newsagents. Or you can subscribe here.

Jeff

The Build Up

Friday lunchtime thoughts started wondering to the Saturday and that’s when I seriously began to worry and get excited about what was in store. Would I get round? Was I being stupid even trying? Was I putting people through worry? The answer to all three I knew would be yes. The latter because treasured family and friends knew what I’ve been going through since May 2013 onwards – as my Lyme Disease post revealed. My wife, parents and friends had all ‘had words’ with me saying I should not attempt it if my body was feeling low, or to pull out at a checkpoint if it was too much. I promised them and myself I would – and I really meant it.

Fortunately Train Running Magazine shared this inspiring video on Friday. In it, Matt Williamson, elite ultra runner says: “You’re never going to know what you’re capable of unless you ask your body to do it. And if you ask your body to do it, the amount of satisfaction you can get from that is unlimited.” These words were to ring so, so true.

Pre-event earworms and euphoria

I had words of wisdom on repeat in my head – honestly couldn’t help it.  Two earworms in particular looped:

“We were born to run; we were born because we run.” Chris McDougall, Born To Run

“Endurance is what we were built for.” Matt Williamson, Endurance Video
(Note: This doesn’t mean I believe I’m built for endurance!)

After travelling up Friday evening, I knew I’d wake early Saturday so decided to register 07:30. On heading back to my accommodation I felt strangely euphoric – singing my head off in the car as peaks appeared above cloud, a lovely breeze etc. I knew it would be special on many levels. Little did I know how much the heat would take its toll.

What I did know was I was woefully under-prepared in terms of a total lack of regular ultra training and recce runs. With the ongoing recovery, the longest run I’d done had been one half marathon trail run in Coniston!  In fact I’d only ever done one marathon back in 2011. Yet, bizarrely that wasn’t really important to me. What was most important was I’d been able to make it to the start line. So I joined five other Rochdale Harriers, each of us ready to undertake something we hadn’t done before.

Nice legs, shame about…

Some apprehensive faces?

Fuel regular and often

Nicky Spinks had stressed the importance of eating regularly, even if you don’t feel like it. So I worked on eating something every 30-40 mins, packing 6x date bar slices and 4x power energy balls, plus the banana slices etc I knew I could pick up at each checkpoint. Not forgetting the mini feast the organisers had told us would be waiting at CP5 – Stickle Barn Tavern!

I stuck to this rigidly. On several occasions I didn’t feel hungry at all but knew from every ultra story I’d read that regular calorie intake was critical. Ditto fluids. Sipping water and/or electrolytes very regularly, particularly during uphills. I have never sweated so much, so relentlessly as I did on Saturday. My top half was literally drenched from 5km onwards. Thank goodness for wicking fabrics! Every feed station I made sure of filling my bottle again with either water, Nuun energy drink or half of each. Volunteers at every checkpoint constantly cheerful and encouraging. They really entered into the spirit of things. Over the course I burned about 4,300 calories, so didn’t stop refuelling until 8pm Sunday!

Strategy for the Day

Again, based on advice from Nicky Spinks, the approach was to walk every climb, run the flats and walk some descents. I love rapid descents but had been warned that your quads can suffer massively if you don’t ease off earlier on. I did ease by walking up ‘The Struggle’ to Kirkstone Pass and held back quite a bit on the descent towards Brothers Water and Hartsop. What a view too!  That beginning climb of almost 1500 ft was certainly a welcome to ultra territory!

Descent towards Brothers Water

My lack of any recce was a nagging doubt that came to mind on several occasions… Did it make much difference? Yes and No. It would have helped knowing what was in store. But the further you go it just becomes a case of keeping going no matter how far is left or how much further the climb. All ifs, buts, maybes which would make no difference to me on the day so I just got on with it.

The last 10km I felt strangely strong again. 2 big climbs apart (one of which was Loughrigg) there were a number of flat parts. I was really able to get into a relaxed rhythm and build up my pace again – at least that’s what I told myself, my Garmin battery had died at about 50km! Results later revealed, that out of 521 listed starters, 311 finished and I placed 95th in 8:52:59. My fellow Harriers all did better placing between 27th and 53rd.

What Got Me Through?

Matt Williamson’s mindset of breaking things into small chunks worked a treat. I’d began to run for some time with club mates Mark & John and unintentionally ran a little quicker than I should have. Checkpoint 2 (17km) came 10 mins ahead of schedule and the three of us enjoyed a very welcome top up of fluids, some banana and a brief chat. We knew the biggest climb of the day was next so took our time.  The initial 400+ft climb out of Glenridding was relatively comfortable, being mostly in the shade of the trees. But after a descent and undulation came the 1200 ft climb past Grisedale Tarn to Grisedale Hause. My quads cramped really badly from about halfway up and I almost fell backwards twice. Remarkable views back down towards were some compensation – as was the fact I knew the pain would subside at some point. Nausea was a sensation I was to experience for the first of several times during each climb. As Robbie Britton has said, it’s part and parcel of any ultra.

The descent from Grisedale Hause saw us drop about 1600 ft in around 6.5km. The marshall at the top ensured I didn’t mistakenly take the 110km route and offered a friendly warning to take care on the descent with it being very rocky and in places slippy, despite the incredibly hot weather. So I took my time though my quads took another bashing. Cramps again heading downhill and I wasn’t even halfway round the course

Looking back on climb out of Glenridding

Grisedale Hause descent to Grasmere

By the time I reached Grasmere I was in a pretty bad way. Trying to relax very tight thighs, calfs and hamstrings while trotting along part of the A591 south, I was nearly overtaken by an enthusiastic 5 year old! Had a laugh with his dad about it because again this encouraged me to keep going. Same as kids applauded myself and others as we ran across the lush field just before getting into the Grasmere checkpoint. That stop at 29.3km was so welcome. It was at this part that I did question whether or not I could continue. So I took time to consume and top up fluids, grab a bite and briefly chat to fellow runners. Yet again, feed station volunteers, particularly the little girl, were infectious in their enthusiasm. Part of me genuinely wanted to stop here but I resisted this and made myself step out of the school building. Two friendly faces in the shape of Chris and Karen gave me the chance to stop, say hello, ask how the others were doing and to adjust my laces. (Anything for a few extra seconds rest!)

Looking back towards Grasmere & Rydal Water

Chatting to a fellow runner I discovered I wasn’t the only one questioning myself at this point. In her case, her other half walked with her out of Grasmere and reminded her how much she’d achieved getting this far, so to continue. We soon passed one fellow runner who said the heat was simply too much for him. I’d already decided to just deal with each section, in this case Silver How which was a bloody climb of about 600 ft in around 1.5km-2km! At this point, we reminded ourselves the next checkpoint was only around 8km away. This helped me deal with each and every undulation I was to ascend / descend. Hardly any flat here and plenty of slate scree. The marshall was revelling in the incredible 360 views up here, proudly suggesting he’d got the best spot of the day. It was hard to disagree One fantastic moment of distraction came when hearing and seeing overhead fighter planes. Someone, somewhere kindly videoed this and shared on Twitter.

Vulcan XH558 passing over Bassenthwaite Lake @cumbriatourism @CarlisleAirport @keswickuk @XH558 #Keswick pic.twitter.com/DVHFsUAL0E

— Antony J Cross (@antonyjohncross) June 27, 2015

From just before the halfway point, my mantra became “Ask the question”.  At every incline I’d walk. Then on approaching the crest, my inner voice would utter “Ask the question” and I’d force myself to jog off again. Every single time I made my body respond. The ultra really became a metaphor for life – and for my own journey since May 2013. Breaking things down into achievable goals: The next checkpoint; drink; over the next boulder; to the top of the ridge; drink; get to the next gate; food; run past applauding spectators; one foot in front of the other…

At every opportunity I tried to encourage others, whether they passed me or I passed them – sometimes repeatedly with the same participants. Just before checkpoint 4 at Langdale my mate Luke caught me up and after a brief chat seemed to effortlessly pull away – git We wished each other luck at the checkpoint while enjoying another top up of fluids and fuel food.

Circling the Langdales

Sucking up more suffering was inevitable. Blisters had been forming on my right foot and I took the opportunity to tend to them – and have a 5 min sit down! Not sure what the passing tourists made of me snapping a pic of my foot?! Many fellow participants were to endure similar.

Approaching Stickle Barn was another very difficult phase for me. Across very boggy ground, up bridleways, down steep very rocky terrain. I felt like I had very little left physically. But like others, I was determined to push on… “Ask the question“. Lakeland day trippers applauded us into the pub. I fuelled up with flat coke (I never usually drink coke), some leek and potato soup, plus a few fat chips! Sat down and chatted to a few 110km participants and voiced my admiration. So I felt the least I could do was get through the final 12km over Loughrigg and into Ambleside. I will never forget leaving Stickle Barn to the sound of cowbells and cheers ringing in my ears. Neither will I forget the bloke behind me muttering “Now that climb is just taking the piss!” as we began ascending the penultimate major ascent Slightly less of a surprise was James Kirby hiding in the bushes ready to take a snap – he’d been on duty for about 24hrs!

Let me finish on a huge positive:

Endless encouragement

I’ve always felt there is a joy to running with and against others. But I now know the true meaning of Chris McDougall’s words: “The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other,… but to be with each other.”

Every single clap. Every smile of a pub goer or rambler. Every child shouting out “Keep going!” “Well done!” as they held their arms out for a high five. How I enjoyed returning the favour every time!

As I came back towards Rothay Park, I still didn’t know whether I had 1km or 400m left. But one little girl made a massive difference and I will never forget her enthusiasm. Standing on the grass verge, she clapped me and shouted “The finish is just round the corner!” I smiled and said “Thanks!”  Immediately I was running between lines of spectators who all applauded and shouted encouragement. I turned the corner around the hedge and there it was: “Ultimate Trails” writ large on the big black inflatable! My eyes scanned the finish to check I was really at the end – and to the right I saw my wife and kids star jump, massive smiles on Louis & Izzy’s faces as they shouted “Dad!!”. The MC welcomed me back and said something along the lines of it being an epic achievement for me given what I’d been through – my face as the medal was placed around my neck was probably one of immense pride, relief, fatigue. Anne Marie’s face was pure relief and she thrust a latte and flapjack into my hands. For some reason I developed a Latte craving that next 24hrs!

I later discovered the last finisher came in around 01:40 Sunday morning. What an achievement to get through! Fellow Harrier Jill completed the 110km with Davina – a feat I struggle to get my head around…

Would I do another ultra? Well I certainly haven’t uttered the words “Never again” so perhaps I will I’d kept telling myself I was no Ultra runner but actually I got round, got through severe quad cramping, nausea etc etc. People got me through it and I hope I helped others achieve too Ultra marathon entry next year then?

So to every single marshall, to every volunteer, to every person in the parts of the Lake District we passed through: “Thank You!”. There was the fella I saw on a bike three times. The lady I saw three times in the last 15km: She appeared at the top of the last climb before Stickle Barn Tavern, clapping and shouting encouragement. She was there when I exited Stickle Barn. She was there clapping me at the finish line. I began to wonder if I’d been hallucinating! Possibly having run 58km of mountain terrain…

My main thought from the experience? “Ask the question.”  You’d be surprised at the answer

Yours in sport!

Jeff

nicky on bgr leg 3

In my fight to beat Lyme Disease, I’d perhaps stupidly signed up the the Ultimate Trails 55km which takes place 27 June 2015. That was borne out of a sense of frustration and a determination to push myself further than I ever had – whether or not I was fully recovered (I’m still a long way off that). I very quickly realised I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. No miles in the legs, no idea of the ultra challenge that lay ahead, nor a training plan. I briefly spoke with fellow Rochdale Harriers member Jill – an excellent ultra runner as her recent interview proved.

My luck was in though. Seeing a “Day with Nicky Spinks” advertised I didn’t think twice about signing up. For a very reasonable fee we were going to benefit from Nicky’s vast experience as a multiple mountain record holder.

I was pretty nervous before getting there, thinking I’d be the only novice among ultra thoroughbreds. I was wrong – and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway such was the community ethos.

As the agenda shows, the day had been well planned – typical for Nicky as I was later to realise! Lots of time built in to ask Nicky questions, to chat with fellow runners and to enjoy some practical time with bits of kit. For a start, we were welcomed with freshly cooked bacon butties and fresh drinks Everyone briefly introduced themselves and it quickly became apparent the group ranged from total novices (me) to experienced ultra runners. Nicky could not have been more accommodating or pleasant. Here are the key notes from the day.

Training

For Nicky, the whole point of training is to stress your body. It has to feel uncomfortable particularly on the second day of a training weekend. So…

* Plan your sessions so they are hard, easy, hard, easy…
* Don’t be too rigid with your plan. Sometimes you have to see how you feel and just go with it.
* Use AL class fell races for speed training (rather than my usual shorter CM!)
* Hill training is essential. Get the hills in! Your legs have to be able to climb for some time without stopping. If you live in flat areas, do reps on small hills. You’ll need to try and do a proper hilly weekend every 4-6 weeks.
* For a [ahem] short ultra of around 55-60km, do roughly 5-8 hours in an area like the Lakes.
* For a long ultra of 75km-100km+, do 8-9 hours.
* Rehearse your pace for the ultra. If it feels hard, your pace is too fast. Learn what works for your own body. For Nicky this is 3mph on the Bob Graham Round (BGR).*
* On any ultra recce, get used to taking it easy on the first downhill.
* Walk up hills on any ultra – even if everyone else is running past you. There is a very good chance you’ll pass them later as they bonk due to their earlier excersions!
* Walk before you need to. That way you’re recovering and not using important energy which you’ll need later.
* Take on food & water as you walk the hills. Very efficient way to keep yourself consistently fuelled without costing you lots of time.
* A slight gradient you can run carefully. DO NOT run steeper climbs no matter how good you feel.
* Before your first ultra, do 2 days on hills about 3 weeks before the event. (Circa 30 miles each day.)

* The BGR is one of the very toughest running challenges in the world. A 66 mile, 27,000 ft circuit of 42 of the highest peaks in the English Lake District within 24 hours.

Nicky stressed the importance of massage and stretching.

Sports massage is extremely important for ultra training. That includes deep tissue massage (painful!) and light touch. Preventative care of your body in this manner will really help your muscle recovery and help head off any injuries. So Nicky recommended storing the details of at least one excellent local physio.

Stretching is vital. For example, really look after your glutes, hamstrings, Iliotibial band (ITB), calfs, hip flexors. Do not forget your core, particularly your upper and lower back.

Route preparation

What I particularly admired about Nicky was the extent of her meticulous preparation for any ultra or 24 hour round. It was very evident that Nicky pays far more attention to respecting the event, than ever thinking her own experience and achievements will see her through. So if careful planning is needed for Nicky, then it’s surely needed for us lesser mortals

Here were Nicky’s suggestions for preparing the route – and therefore your mind:

* Immediately get the key route detail, distance, profile, checkpoints, kit required.
* Buy maps for your run. Soft laminate them. Number them. Knowing the route, check points, where your food will be etc, relaxes your mind. The route will become more familiar in your mind and help reduce any stress on the day. Nicky writes what food package is to be used at each feed station – and clearly labels what items are in each! These are very useful map providers: BMC, Harvey maps, Splashmaps (already laminated).
* Note any cutoff times – again more to reassure you than worrying about whether or not you will make them.
* Look and learn from other people’s schedules and actuals. Nicky suggested always getting their post-run report – that way you can really make sense of their actuals. E.g. they may have rested or got lost.
* Break down the ultra into bite-sized chunks. (E.g. 10 miles of + ascent, – of descent.)
* Look at pictures of the route and any previous staging of the event. This will help you assess the terrain, the weather, what kit runners wore.
* Take spare socks WITH YOU! Nicky suggested from painful experience.
* In your preparation, treat any problems before they become a real issue – again the importance of massage and stretching.

Below you can see an example of Nicky’s ultra preparation. Course profile & key points downloaded, then Nicky develops her own schedule based on the event information, her own pace, research of previous runner schedules vs actuals… Such detailed preparation helps relax her mind – the mental side being a key element in ultra success.

This was a real eye-opener for myself and other participants and far exceeded my expectations. A big part of the appeal was the chance to run with a running legend. There aren’t many sports where you get the chance to run with true champions and ultra running I’m quickly realising is a very collegiate group of people.  What I didn’t expect was some revelations regarding kit and pacing.

Lesson 1: Even though Nicky had earlier stated her pace, the point about rehearsing it was really brought home when she showed us her BGR pace. It felt almost too slow – but that’s on a little demo on a local trail which is clearly totally different to maintaining it during an ultra on such varied terrain and profiles. Lesson 1 learned.

Lesson 2: Running/trekking poles are a revelation. Nicky admitted to her own scepticism of poles before she’d used them later in her running career. I was to later hear precisely the same thing from Graham Patten, former international runner and recent BGR achiever. You can read his BGR report here.

We were shown the proper technique for using poles by Andy Heading, (Yukon Arctic Ultra winner and race organiser of the Transylvania 100km). Andy demonstrated the double benefit you’d gain from proper and efficient pole technique: (i) Harnesses upper body strength; (ii) saves valuable energy for your legs which you’ll no doubt draw on later into the ultra.

Practically, poles are best for more gradual hills – see image of Nicky above. For very steep, you’ll need to use the ‘hands on knees’ technique.

Poles will draw on your upper body strength, particularly your triceps and shoulders. The key however is to stay very relaxed and not to ‘grip’ the pole handles – the straps will do the gripping for you. So relax your hands. On an ultra, Andy also highlighted how they can help compensate for niggles, e.g. a sore knee on a descent, your calf when climbing a hill.

The technique was very simple and it’s one runners either take to very quickly or not at all. So you immediately know whether poles may be for you.  (I should have videoed this bit!)

Firstly, hand up and through the pole strap so takes pressure off having to grip handle.

Secondly, never place the pole ahead of your foot. It should hit the ground in line with the side of your striding foot.

Thirdly, use a nice light staccato motion. This really helps your rhythm.

Thanks to kit kindly provided by Colin Barnes of MyRaceKit, we were then invited to give this a try outside and, as I said, it was a real eye-opener. I took to it immediately and really could not believe the difference it made even on a tiny incline on a field. So I took them out on the ‘run with Nicky’ session. People were given the choice of running with Nicky or going on a walk if suffering from any injury. This was key to nobody feeling left out at all. I took the opportunity to try out the walking poles and tackling a short bridleway climb, it felt like someone literally had their hand placed at the base on my spine helping me along. Even more obvious was the difference it made to posture when climbing – shoulders back, chest open, head up. I can only imagine the difference this would make on 55km and beyond so have ordered a pair to help me on my first ultra in June

If you are thinking of buying a pair, you have two main choices:

1. Fixed length: To find the right length, you should have a 90 angle of elbow when planted on floor.

2. Telescopic: Stronger and will give you some variety however most people don’t change during run.

Lunch was a very healthy buffet and an excellent chance to chat and share experiences with other runners. This really was informative and again a highlight of the day. 

The afternoon was all about Nicky sharing tips on kit and other key elements of event preparation.

Running Kit

* Nicky recommended the same stuff lives in the same pockets – again taking away any unnecessary thinking come ultra day.
* Know where your poles go – again it becomes automatic.
* Go up half a shoe size for the ultra – your feet will need the room.
* On multi-day events, you can use a liner sock inside normal socks. Later on you can lose the liner sock to create room as your feet swell.
* Consider the weather for what you will put in your drop bag.
* Consider carrying a torch in your hand as well as a head torch. Helps with scanning terrain in the dark.
* Remember anti-chaffing talcum powder, or cream!
* Label kit bags up as required, e.g. l/s waterproof
* Remember essentials such as Rennies, Blister plasters, Ibuprofen…

Food

* Above all, find what works for you when out on your training runs. Everyone is different.
* Gradually get your stomach used to eating small and often, particularly as you begin tapering for ultra.
* If it very common to feel pretty bad when tapering – don’t worry.
* On the run, get food down you early on. This helps your digestive system work efficiently as you begin the little and often on race day.
* Nicky found rice pudding works very well for her. Easy to digest.
* Salts are essential!

Race Strategy

As Nicky highlighted, this is all important to the undoubted highs and lows you will experience during an ultra or 24 hour round. Remember everything you have done to get to this point and think positively.

Visualisation is a very common and effective technique used by elite sports people. So practice the technique yourself when tapering and during the ultra. Visualise yourself cresting a climb, running a ridge, at the finish… imagine how you’ll feel at these points.  Below are some of Nicky’s images that are implanted on her mind

Remember to stick to your own schedule. DO NOT get well ahead of it as your legs will probably pay for it later.

When you hit the lows – and you will on any ultra – find a reason to keep going. This may be family, charity, spectator checkpoint… Your bad spell will pass.

Use the RULE OF THREE. So don’t think of anything more than three times – just do it. E.g. eat, drink, put your gloves on…

Lastly, and very importantly support.  For your own on any 24 hour round attempt, have support working in teams, ideally who already know each other.

Offer support to other people attempting their round, or in need of pacing where it is allowed on an ultra. Giving something back will mean people do the same for you when you may need it.

You can read Nicky’s own thoughts on her most recent BGR record here.

To book yourself onto Nicky’s next training day 7 November 2015 click here.

What Next For Me?

Well I’m still feeling somewhat under-prepared for my first ultra. Nevertheless I now have lots to draw on thanks to the wisdom of Nicky and fellow participants. So I’m practising with poles, enjoying some very early rises for long hilly runs when I’m able. Lyme Disease recovery means some days I’m fine and others I’m very rough so I just have to go with it and not beat myself up if it stops me training.

Rapidly approaching is my first ever ultra: the Ultimate Trails 55k – eek! My visualisation techniques start with this video!

Yours in sport!

Jeff

Jill Butterworth shares her inspirational story

World meet Jill Butterworth  We celebrate the launch of the runeatrepeat.co.uk blog with this interview. Learn about Jill’s running story, how she got into running, her inspirations and how she ultimately progressed to an amazing 2nd lady in the 100k Canalathon Ultra! Inspiring for anyone considering running or looking for their next challenge – regardless of distance or ability.

What was your life before running?

I never ran at all before the age of 30. My dad and uncle were very good club cyclists from a fairly young age and although I had gone out on the bike once or twice with my dad I never really got into participating in sport at all. In fact I used to get out of cross country at high school by using my asthma as an excuse!  If anyone had suggested I would run at all, at any distance, I would definitely have thought they were being ridiculous.

I did enjoy following the cycling though. We spent a couple of family holidays following the Tour de France and I marshalled at the Leeds Wincanton classic cycle race with my dad. My first sporting heroes were cyclists such as ‘Big Mig’ Indurain (resting heartrate of 28bpm – just amazing). My dad’s hero was Tommy Simpson, the British cyclist who died while racing up the Ventoux during Le Tour. The way he refused to give in did stick with me – refusing to get off the bike and dying on the mountainside, his last words reputedly being “on, on, on”. I’m currently reading the biographies of him and Eddie Merckx.

When did you decide to run?

Running had never crossed my mind until about two years after the birth of my daughter. Mia was born with complex congenital heart defect, needing several surgeries and hospital visits, especially in her early years. She will need further surgery in the future. I was involved in some parents’ support online forums, and someone posted about the inaugural Great Manchester Run (2003) and that they were looking for runners to raise money for Francis House Hospice. I signed up straight away. Shortly afterwards my best friend Claire signed up too. We ran/walked the 10k in 1 hour 15 minutes, stopping to take pictures of ourselves along the way! I got such a buzz when crossing the finish line that I knew I definitely wanted to run another race.

Being a complete newbie to running the only other race I’d ever heard of was the London Marathon. So I signed up for that (and fortunately didn’t get a place straight away!!) I managed to get a place in London 2005. This coincided with waiting for a date for Mia’s open heart surgery in Birmingham – a very cheap NFL jerseys complex, rare operation called the rastelli-senning. I thought it was the Юбилейный, worst timing possible. As it turned out all the long runs helped with my stress levels immeasurably and training went well. Half way through my first marathon I hated it though, and decided “if I’m only doing one I’m going to make sure I bloody well run it all the way”. Which I did  Mia had her (successful) operation a few weeks later. Never in a million years would I think I would go on to complete 12 marathons and 3 ultramarathons.

Who or what inspired you to run?

Mia was and continues to be my inspiration to run. Everything is for her. When she was diagnosed I really felt quite helpless. As a parent you just want to “kiss and make it all better” for your child. But of course I couldn’t – I’m not a surgeon, I don’t have the ability to make her heart defects better. What I could do though problem was raise money to help the people that could make it better for Mia and others like her. I raised money for the hospitals, for charities that fund research into heart defects, for organisations that fund state-of-the-art hospital equipment… Pendlebury Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Heart Association, The British Heart Foundation, 3D heart scanner appeal for the children’s hospital, defibrillator fund at Mia’s school, The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital among others. The hospitals and all the charities were so amazing that I really wanted to express our thanks to them for all the excellent care and support they’d given us. That’s as true now as it was at the beginning.

Who is your running inspiration?

Obviously I came into running quite late! Of course Paula Radcliffe was an inspiration when I first started marathon training. Sonia O’Sullivan, who won the Great Manchester Run the second year I ran it. And Jo Pavey who also has won the Great Manchester Run (twice!). You can’t fail to be inspired by Jo Pavey’s remarkable achievement in the European champs recently and it was amazing to actually meet her a couple of weeks ago!  I’m really inspired by athletes that never give in and push themselves beyond what’s expected. It’s the endurance thing that fascinates me, that ability to push on and on and never give up. That drive that makes someone carry on beyond the point at which the body should stop. Tommy Simpson comes to mind again.

Ultra running inspiration has to be the amazing Nicky Spinks – with her achievements over the Bob Graham, Ramsay Round and Paddy Buckley. The fact she is taking on the men in such tough events and smashing it. What a great role model.

I must say though, the people who really inspire me to keep striving to improve my running on a day to day basis have been the amazing athletes in the running club. Colin and Brenda Robinson, team-mates Anna, Jan, Ann-Marie, Jenny and Josepha to name just a few. Whenever I think I’m doing okay with my running I look at their achievements and it makes me realise I’ve got a long way to go!

Did joining a running club help you?

Absolutely yes. Being in a group of so many like-minded people is brilliant – and of course I met my partner Nick at the running club!  Nick has helped me so much of course, encouraging me, supporting me and enabling me to go out running for hours at a time (effectively from dawn until dusk for several Saturdays this winter).

The club has an amazing range of runners with a range of different interests – track, road, cross country, fell. There’s always someone with the experience to be able to offer advice and support, and I know that’s something that I’ll continue to benefit from. I love the team events, relay events and just competing for the club, it definitely makes you push yourself harder. It’s always a fantastic atmosphere at the races. I love being a part of the Harriers. I was blown away by the support from the club at the canalathon, it really did lift my spirits seeing my club mates and I’ll never ever forget it. I can’t thank everyone enough, Sharing the support has been priceless.

When and why did you decide to get into ultra running?

I had done several marathons and was finding that the training wasn’t as challenging as it used to be and that I was feeling good pretty much all the way through the marathons. I’d started to think about trying ultra distance a few years before I actually went for it!  I’m a fairly average competitive club runner but I do seem to suit plodding through the long distances in ultras. And I enjoy them, in a way!

When did you realise you were good at it?

I’m not sure I’m particularly good at it!  Feels a bit vain for me to say I’m good at them, but I definitely think that the ultra distance events seem to suit me very well. I really love the training, I find running for hours and hours on my own is really relaxing, and I just love the endurance aspect of ultra distance. One of my most memorable moments was running my first ultra, 35.9 miles at Ladybower in the Peak District in 2013. Training had gone really well during that summer, although I kept running out of water during my training runs!  It was during the very hot summer and I had to get water where I could, from non-drinking taps up at the res, and beg water from a small cafe in Todmorden! During the actual event I had a plan and I stuck to it. During the first few miles I was right at the back of the field. I felt pretty good most of the way and found that I was overtaking a lot of people after about 26-28 miles. In the end I finished 2^nd lady and was 5^th overall. I was absolutely over the moon! I was glad I’d not panicked in the early miles <a and had stuck to my plan. I think that’s probably key in the ultras.

What made you decide to do the 100k Canalathon?

I’d taken part in the 2014 50k Canalathon. I felt I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped in the race, I think I finished about 6^th or 7^th lady and ran about 5 hours 20 minutes. I’d run it all the way rather than fitting in walking breaks as I did during the Ladybower race. I felt that 50k was maybe a little short for me and that I might do better in a longer event. So when I heard that John was putting on a 100k option I signed up as soon as the entries opened. And then a day or two later it sank in, and the thought of running a 63 mile race nearly made me weep!

How did you prepare for this?

Well, I knew that I would have to experiment with eating and taking on calories during the race. I also knew that I needed to do all my long training runs along the canal and I decided I wanted to have run and experienced every mile along the canal at some point during training. From my experience of the 50k canalathon I knew that it was mentally pretty challenging to run a long distance along a relatively flat path with sometimes very few landmarks around. I ran several long runs along the canal, usually running from a central point, out for 7.5+ miles and back and then out in the other direction for 7.5+ miles and back, totalling 30 miles for example. Sometimes I was limited time-wise so would run do the same kind of thing but base it on time rather than distance, so out for 1.5 hours then back and out the other direction for 1.5 hours and back again, totalling 6 hours for example. This worked quite well, I think I got up to about 35 miles doing this method. Most of the training was done in the winter months, in the limited daylight hours, so effectively running from dawn until dusk. A few long runs were done in heavy snow and terribly icy conditions. I wanted to do the long runs whatever the conditions though, I mean, you never know what the weather will be like on race day. And if I know I can run 34-35 miles in the snow/hail/wind the at least I’ll know that if it’s snowing on race day I shouldn’t be too phased!

I experimented with eating during my long training runs too. I wanted to replicate as closely as possible to what I’d be doing on the day. My runs over 30 miles went really well, I ate roughly every 1.5 hours, just crisps, chocolate, some jelly babies or Soreen and my stomach was absolutely fine. I built up the runs so that my last long training run was about 41 miles. I found that I got to 40 and (to coin a cycling term) ‘bonked’. I had to stop, I just couldn’t run. I was hungry, so ate some chocolate and managed to finish the 41 miles. It had felt dreadful and as my last training run it could have left me somewhat demoralised, but actually it was a really useful experience and I was glad it had happened as I knew then that I wasn’t eating enough to sustain me over the 100k distance on race day! A learning curve!

Describe your experience of the day (100k Canalathon).

We started from Sowerby Bridge at 8am. Everything went well, I was really familiar with the canal route and I think this really helped psychologically. I was sipping energy drinks every ten minutes (which I’ve done in every long race since I started I think, it seems to work for me as it keeps me hydrated and also breaks up the time a bit!). I also drank water from my hydration pack during every walking break. I worked on a 25 minutes run, 5 minutes walk schedule which had worked well for me at Ladybower. I saw friends at Smithy Bridge and crossed paths with some team-mates who were on the 50k race, running the opposite direction… high fives and a hug really gave me a lift! The leg out went quite smoothly, I saw Mia and my aunt and uncle, plus more friends, near Castleton which was lovely.

Had a bit of a wobble when I thought “I’ve still got about 10 miles to Manchester and then I’ve got to run all the way back!” Thankfully the wobble didn’t last long. I knew I had to control thoughts like those, to not think about the distance and just try and enjoy the Barbershop day. It felt warm running into the sun all the way to Manchester, I definitely hadn’t been used to this during training. Luckily at the last minute I’d packed sunglasses and I wore them pretty much all way – the first time I’d ever run in sunglasses!

I reached Manchester just after 5 hours 30 minutes which was pretty much as expected. I filled my water bladder in my backpack, quick nip to the loo (and had a shock when I looked in the mirror to find my face full of freckles – running into the sun for 5½ hours will do that though I suppose!  I had found it difficult to eat as much as I’d planned, I wanted to try eating every hour but had only managed a bar of chocolate and some crisps during the first 31.5 miles. Some friends from the running club met me at Manchester and that gave me a huge boost. Paula gave me some gels when I said I’d struggled to eat much. I don’t tend to use them much but took them gratefully – even though I didn’t manage to eat them.

I set off back for the return leg to Sowerby, feeling pretty good. Things soon started to go somewhat downhill shortly afterwards when I started to feel sick. I’d never experienced anything like it in training or any time I’ve run. I’d regularly run much further quite comfortably with no issues with nausea at all. The only thing I can think that was different in the race compared to training was the sun. I really struggled, I couldn’t eat anything other than a few crisps and half a piece of Soreen all the way back. I did manage about half a dozen jelly babies though. Even the energy drinks were going down with a real struggle. I’m not sure just what my body was running on during the second 31.5 miles! I caught up with the lady in 3^rd place, at the checkpoint near Rochdale. She was also feeling sick and had been unable to drink or eat and decided to retire from the race.

A high point cheap MLB jerseys on the way back was seeing a group of Harriers stood out along the stretch past the Sandbrook pub at Rochdale. What a fantastic feeling it was to see them all out to support me, I can’t express how much I appreciated it. Littleborough was a particularly tough section. 50 miles in my legs and still another 13 to go. Luckily more friends were there to cheer me on and my dad came out too. It was really hard to keep going, in fact I’d call it quite de hellish. I just wanted to stop and lie down! I can remember saying to Nick ‘it would be fine if I wasn’t feeling so sick!’ Ian and Paula travelled along from Manchester and I was so grateful for the company and encouragement, just after Littleborough especially. Nick had been cycling along and joining me for walking breaks too which was so helpful. I can remember thinking ‘I’ve only got to do this one thing today. There’s nothing else I need to do, as long as I finish this one thing’. I remember saying how hard I was finding it but then saying ‘I’ll do it, I’ll finish, but it won’t be pleasant’ or words to that effect! I was wholesale jerseys also aware of the fairly strict time cut off points and had been a bit worried about missing those and being asked to retire from the race. Then I realised that even if I didn’t make the cut off times I could carry on under my own steam and still complete the distance, so I relaxed a bit then. I caught the lady in 2^nd place at the checkpoint just outside Todmorden. She retired from the race at that checkpoint. At Hebden, 7pm by this time, I had to stop and get the head torch on and ran the last hour in the dark. It was a wonderful feeling reaching the last checkpoint at Hebden, knowing there was only 5 miles left. And I counted down every single mile. I had a couple of trips running in the dark (even with the headtorch – tired legs!) and actually fell over at one point. The last few miles were in a woody area, not many lights around. Finally I passed the sign saying I was a mile from Sowerby, and could just see the lights of the town. Elation!! The last mile was my fastest mile over the previous 26 miles, I was so thrilled (and relieved) to have reached the end.

What kept you going?

As above!  Also the thought of letting all the sponsors down in my fundraising for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.  I think you get to a certain point and things start hurting – roughly 25+ miles. They seem to then plateau and never really get any worse but of course it then becomes a mental challenge – the distance – that takes over… and just carrying on and not giving up. Just keep going.

What tips would you offer anyone considering running further than they’ve ever done?

Train for the distance and terrain you’re planning on tackling. Train train train. Practice, practice, practice. Talk to other people about their experiences and practice every aspect in training, don’t leave anything to chance. Know that you will at some point (or several points!) feel quite dreadful, that this is to be expected and that you will push through.

You’re generally capable of doing much more than you think you are.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever had?

When I first started running marathons – put your name on your vest and you’ll get the spectators cheering you on, it gives you such a fantastic lift! And also, when you start running long distance that expect it to hurt at some point. That’s pretty normal!

What has running given you?

I can’t imagine my life now without running. It’s given me a release from stress, amazing friends, a wonderful partner, immense personal fulfilment. Having personal goals and really pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone is so important. I hope I never ‘sit on my laurels’. There’s always another challenge to do. I had a really good friend, Joanna, who died when we were only 28, just before Mia was born. Mia’s was then given the middle name Joanna in memory of her. I think about Jo often and feel that I should really try to make the most of my life. That I should make the most I possibly can of the fact that I’m fortunate enough to be fit and healthy and able to run. Running is a massive part of who I am now. I just hope I can carry on running for several more years (decades) yet!!

What would you say to anyone thinking of taking up jogging/running?

Do it. Do it now.

And…!  Go slow, and build up slowly. Walk if you need to, take it easy and enjoy it. Make the time even when you’re tired after work etc.. it’ll energise you and you’ll feel amazing for having done it. If you don’t try you’ll never know. If I can do it any one can do it. And think about joining a club, we are all very friendly!

Jill’s club is Rochdale Harriers.   To find your local UK club visit…

England Athletics ‘Find a Club’

BBC ‘Get Involved’

Jill, thank you so much for this. I know you’re not normally one to talk about yourself and had never considered yourself a role model. I’m pretty sure your ongoing running journey will prove to be inspirational to the running community as a whole.

Jeff