I do seem to recall ending my last article saying that I was about to run a race called Sierre Zinal in Switzerland, for which I had done zero preparation, other than racing for 8 hours the previous weekend (not advisable!).

It’s a very prestigious race in the mountain running community and always attracts a very strong field of elite athletes from around the world. I guess the race could be described as a double Vertical Kilometre followed by a fast half marathon… 

My legs were what can only be described as exhausted going into the race but I had nothing to lose, and it’s amazing what the power of mental strength can do to overcome physical inability! I somehow seemed to get stronger and stronger as the race progressed and in the end finished five minutes faster than I had last year, eighth in the most competitive field the race has ever seen after my cramping calves prevented me from catching seventh place by four seconds!

Three races in four days

After the race I returned to the more affordable land of Italy and enjoyed a wonderful week competing in every race going – three in four days. I seemed to become a bit of a local celebrity which was fun and it certainly gave a boost to my wine and cheese supplies.

My parents had come out in their campervan as well and I even managed to persuade them to partake in one of the races!

Next on the schedule was the Matterhorn Extreme Skyrace in Zermatt. As a considerable chunk of the race was going to be spent above 3,000m I decided to have a few nights up on the Simplon Pass at 2,000m – I rigged up my hammock and enjoyed a few relaxing days, letting my legs recover before the big race to come.

SimplonPass Redemption

I even discovered that there were showers in the public toilets at the famous Simplon Pass Hospice -huge bonus when you’re living in a van! Back from a freezing cold run in the rain, I went into the hospice to get warm and clean, but as I was putting my shoes on to leave a cleaning lady came into the toilets. 

“Are you staying here?”,

“Erm, no”, 

“Well you are not allowed to shower, are you also stealing food?” 

“No, of course not, I was just cold and dirty and wanted a hot shower” 

“This is not a public place, YOU CANNOT SHOWER!” 

“Ok I’m really sorry I didn’t realise, I thought it was a place to welcome weary travellers, I won’t shower here again”… 

I went to leave the bathroom, but not before the lady ran to the door, slammed it in my face, and proceeded to lock me in. It was quite a ridiculous situation to be in. I’d effectively been taken prisoner in the toilets by the cleaning lady. I went over to the window to see if I could climb out of it but it was far too big a drop down to ground level. So I just started tapping on the door. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. 

Eventually an Italian male voice came 

“Who is it?”, 

“A person…” I responded (what else was I supposed to say, introduce myself!?) “The cleaning lady locked me in here!” 

He said no more so I presumed he had disappeared. I continued my tap tap tapping. After what seemed like a very long time, there was a key in the lock and the door opened. There was the cleaning lady looking extremely smug with herself. 

“Why did you lock me in, are you a child?” I asked her, quite calmly. 

“At least I didn’t kick you!” she retorted, laughing menacingly. 

Although I would have loved to, I didn’t retaliate at all and just walked off, still somewhat incredulous as to what had just happened. I guess some people take power trips to the extreme. Whatever floats your boat. Anyway, a word of warning…. Never take a shower on the Simplon Pass! 

Back to normality

Anyway, I ultimately made it to Zermatt; it is a bit of a crazy place which seems to be mostly filled with people who like to look at mountains rather than being up them. The race itself really was quite extreme – vertical scree downhills, a glacier to cross, and sadly I ended up coming down in a helicopter after hitting my head on a rock as I scrambled up the first climb.

Having never dropped out of a race before, despite the blood coming from my head, I was intrigued to see what the rest of the course was like so I decided to continue and thought I felt ok.

Unfortunately, those feelings of being “ok” turned to being “not ok” and I started to feel really dizzy and sick. It was a huge effort to get to the first aid station at 3,200m, even just walking very slowly.

I said to the guys at the aid station that I’d carry on, even though my dazed body was telling me to stop. With the most technical part of the race still to come, and my condition deteriorating significantly, I ended up being bundled into a helicopter to get down to the valley as quickly as possible.

Most people enjoy their expensive helicopter rides with views of the Matterhorn – I didn’t even look out of the window as I had my head in a sick bag – how silly. 

Photo: Hillary Gerardi

Moving on with a helmet

Anyway, I had a couple of days feeling the concussive after effects of the rock encounter, but on the third day I decided I was well enough to join a friend climbing the Aiguille du Tour – an eight hour day including a long glacier traverse and scramble was obviously a great way to test my physical state – but at least I was wearing a helmet and we had a wonderful day out!

I was heading to Chamonix to stay with the Adidas Terrex Team for the week of the UTMB, “the world summit of trail running”.

This would be the fourth year I would be there that week supporting but not actually racing. Given that my legs felt reasonably fresh after missing most of the descent in the Zermatt race, and my mountaineering trip the previous day showed I seemed to be over the concussion, I mulled over whether to toe the startline of the CCC race, 101 km with 6,100m climb.

I had entered back in December as I had enough points to qualify for a free elite entry so thought I may as well have it as an option though had never really contemplated doing it. 

A step into the unknown

Most people said it was a ridiculous idea; I’d done no training for it, it would ruin the rest of my season, I would end up broken…. But a couple of people (including myself!) thought I should give it a go. So after a long and painful decision making process, I decided to do it. Yes I could prepare properly and do it well the next year, but who knows what would happen the next year – I might not have any legs! 

The kit list for the race is notoriously contrived and I spent the three days before the race running around Chamonix like a headless chicken collecting bits of kit from people, buying bandages, spare batteries for the two headtorches we had to carry, do two ITRA Quartz blood tests, signing autographs on large posters of my face (why!?), and then looking at where on earth the route went. 

Race day

The race was Friday and by Wednesday night I seemed to have some kind of stomach upset. I didn’t think anything of it and thought it would pass before the race. Sadly it didn’t and I spent the 30mins before the race holed up in a toilet [There’s a bit of a theme for this blog – Ed.] I’d commandeered in a restaurant in Courmayeur.

No need to go into a long race description, other than it consisted of 80km of rather intense gastrointestinal distress, so much so that I could hardly run at all from eight kilometres in; I had a few moments of feeling better, but mostly it was a pretty grim 11 hours of trudging / baring my arse to passing runners as I squatted by the trails. I kept telling myself the stomach situation would improve but it didn’t. 

Feeling good when it got dark

I finally started to feel good once it got dark, and having run so much of the race with no competitive ambitions, as soon as I put my headtorch on I felt good; I could finally run normally and managed to overtake lots of people on the last 20km section; I felt like I’d only just started running, it was such a wonderful feeling.

I had so much energy at the end that I even did a crazy dance on the finish line. I wouldn’t call my experience a race, as I never felt that I was racing anyone, it was very much myself against the course (and my intestines) and having told myself pre-race that I would only drop out because of a “mechanical” e.g. knee pain etc, stomach problems fit into that category so I was pretty determined to finish. 

Photo: Ian Corless

Since that not so wonderful experience I’ve been having a fairly terrible few days and I’ve finally resigned myself to seeing a doctor today as it’s getting a bit ridiculous. But I’ve now had my first taste of running 100km; it didn’t seem too bad, my legs held up ok and I’d definitely do another one, ideally with more optimal stomach conditions.

What a peculiar hobby this is

It did however occur to me as I was shovelling pasta and sweet potato into my mouth with my hands at one of the aid stations what a ridiculous sport this is. 

When we look at it in the greater context of the world – here we are, so privileged that we choose to force ourselves to run ridiculously long distances for “pleasure” – we pay to do this!?; depriving ourselves of sleep, shovelling as much sugar into our mouths as our bodies can handle and expelling bodily fluids left right and centre when we can’t… it’s all a bit silly really!

I’m not saying that we should stop doing it, but I think it’s important to remember that it’s all a choice, a game we’ve chosen to play, and when we feel “terrible”, we are pretty damn lucky to be in a situation where our greatest suffering is entirely self-inflicted.

Holly Page features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share her running journey. You can follow Holly on Twitter and Instagram, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post How many races can you really do in one month? appeared first on Fast Running.

Gideon Kimosop of 1ZERO1 Athletes was the winner of the Waterside Half Marathon in Derry on Sunday (September 1).

Kimosop, a regular visitor to Ireland for the past four years, raced away to victory in 66:43. For second place, Kyle Doherty of City of Derry Spartans just outpaced his club mate Declan Reed with the pair timed at 68:34 and 68:35. Reid was first M45.

First woman in 16^th place overall was Ann Marie McGlynn of Letterkenny AC in 76:58 – faster that her winning time of 77:21 from 2014. Sinead Lambe of Donore Harriers was second in 82:53 and Gemma McDonald of Ballycastle third in 87:06. In the team competition, Foyle Valley AC, with four in the top seven, proved best of the men, beating City of Derry Spartans. Spartans had the consolation of finishing first in the women’s category. A total of 1,442 completed the race.

In Belfast, also on Sunday, John Black of North Belfast Harriers and Emma Mitchell, Clonliffe Harriers newest recruit, were the winners of the Laganside 10km in Belfast. Full results here.

Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Hiko Tonosa of Dundrum South Dublin AC made the trip to Cork on Saturday (August 31) where he came out on top in the John Buckley Sports 10-Mile with a time of 49:57.

Finishing a close second was Jonathan Escalante-Phillips of Cambridge and Coleridge AC in 50:09, with Tim O’Donoghue of East Cork AC third in 50:41. First woman was Jill Hodgins of Leevale AC in 59:26. National half marathon champion Angela McCann of Clonmel AC was second in 59:38 with Claire O’Brien of Watergrasshill AC a distant third.

Keeping busy with racing

Escalante-Phillips was a busy athlete, running four races in as many days. On Thursday evening, he won the Portmarnock 5 mile in 25:04. Next up was the Tara 5km on Friday evening where again he was the winner in 16:17.

On Sunday, he was back in Leinster and proved the class of the field when winning the Boyne 5km in Drogheda in a time of 15:18. A distant second in 16.37 was Ruarcan O Gibne of Ace AC in 16.37. First woman was Amy Bulman of Willowfield Harriers in 19:25. In Portmarnock. Colm Rooney of Clonliffe Harriers was four seconds behind for second place, while Raheny’s Kate Purcell was first woman, while in Tara, Laura McvDonnell of Tallaght AC was first woman in 18: 15

On a congested weekend of fixtures, Freddy Sittuk and Aisling O’Connor were the winners of the Tullamore Half Marathon on Saturday (August 31).

Sittuk, currently resident in the Wexford area, was a clear winner of the race in 68:31. Local athlete Liam Brady of Tullamore Harriers was second in 70:20 and Stephen Conroy of Celbridge AC third in 71.27.

O’Connor was first woman in 80:20, with her Edenderry AC clubmate Caroline Donnellan second and first W40 in 82:51 and Dunleer AC’s Karen Costello third in 84:57. Fourth and first W50 was Olympian Pauline Curley in 85:19. She was also leading Tullamore Harriers to team victory over Dunleer AC and Ferbane AC.

First M40 was Paul Buckley of Ferbane AC in 73.08. Brendan Donagher of Naomh Mhuire AC was first M50 in 78:47 and Barry Potts of Donore Harriers first M60 in 93:54. Tullamore Harriers were first men’s team, finishing comfortably ahead of Ferbane AC and Newbridge AC.

Gareth Lyons of North Belfast Harriers and Catherine O’Connor of East Down AC were the winners at the Ards 5-mile on Saturday (August 31). Lyons finished in 28 mins 14 secs, with O’Connor clocking 30:42.

Sean Doran of C& E Products raced away from the field for victory in the Pfizer BHAA 5km on Wednesday (August 28) in Grange Castle, Dublin.

Doran’s time of 15 mins 36 secs saw him finish over a minute clear of Phelim Glynn of Eir who was first M55 in 16:46. Third in 16:55 was Cyril Cuddy of host club Pfizer, with his team finishing first of the grade A teams ahead of Eir. First woman was Lynn Hennessy in 18:35. Luke Whelan O’Loughlin of Pfizer was second and first W40 in 19:48 and Grainne Butler third and first W55 in 20.22, with Butler leading the Health Group to team victory. With no teams in grade B, Eir won the C grade while ESB was best in D.

Photo: Catriona Jennings

50km on the flat and all the way around Mont Blanc

Caitriona Jennings of Letterkenny AC finished seventh in a new Irish record of 3 hrs 19 mins 49 secs at the World 50km Championships in Brasov, Romania on Saturday (August 31). Finishing 46^th in 3 hrs 16 mins was Raivis Zakis of West Waterford AC who was representing his native Latvia.

Best of the Irish at the Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc in and around Chamonix, France, was Paddy O’Leary who finished 41^st in 26 hours 5 mins 54 secs for the 171.6km distance in his first attempt at this most daunting of off road running challenges.

Finishing 52^nd and 3^rd M50 in 27 hours 17 mins on Saturday evening was Eoin Keith of Sportsworld AC in Dublin, who was delighted to complete the race after three DNFs in the past three attempts.

“That went well. Managed to hit my targets, and finishing in a respectable time. Overall I was 52nd, which in a field with way more than 100 elite athletes is pretty good. I was delighted to manage to get on the podium as third in my old old man age category. The UTMB podium is a special place to be!” Keith wrote on his FB page.

Fast Running’s Robbie Britton saw Keith in a sprint finish through the streets of Chamonix in the final miles and said “the sheer determination Eoin was showing in the final push of such a long race was inspirational. It just showed that competitive spirit that has seen Eoin win races and set records across so many years.”

Over the 146.9m TDS distance (with over 9,000m of climb), Gavin Byrne finished 31^st in 22 hours 57 mins 22 secs. Byrne suffered with stomach issues in the early stages, but showed his ever growing experience by moving through the field over the entire race even if the hills “weren’t built for Irish lads”.

Lonan O’Farrell from Castlegar AC finished in 27:11.16 and Munster mountain runner Joe O’Leary in 28:05.07

In the shorter 56.2km race, which took place earlier in the week, Irish international mountain runner Eoin Lennon finished 45^th in 6 hrs 23 mins 17 secs. Finishing 170^th and 26^th woman in 7:50.13 was Nicola Duncan who, like Lennon, is a member of the Carnethy club in Scotland.

Moving towards Doha on the track

Thomas Barr of Ferrybank AC finished sixth in the 400m hurdles at the Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday (August 29) in his second fastest time of the season.

Barr’s time of 49.17 secs was just off his season’s best of 49.11 set in Oslo in July.

Ahead of him, Karsten Warholm with a sensational time of 46.91 secs not only extended his unbeaten run of 2019 but ran the second fastest time ever – a time only bettered by the American Kevin Young who ran 46.78 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

At ISTAF Berlin on Sunday (September 1), Michele Finn of Leevale AC clocked a personal best and national record time of 6:16.67 when finishing seventh in a high quality 2000m steeplechase.

On Friday evening at the Tonbridge Twilight Invitational in England, (August 30), Mark English of UCD AC continued his preparations for  the World Championships by winning the 800m in 1:45.98 – just off the Doha automatic qualifying mark of 1:45.80. A close second in 1:46.08 was Spender Thomas.

Marcus Lawler of St LOT AC was at the 100m/200m sprint series meet in the Lee Valley stadium on Wednesday (August 28) where he ran a wind-assisted time of 20.63 (+2.5) to win his 200m. In the 100m, Stephen Gaffney of Rathfarnham WSAF ran a personal best 10.63 (0.6) in the 100m.

parkrun

Lynne Hennessy and James Hamilton ran the fastest parkrun times in Ireland this weekend (August 31st). Full rankings here.

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

Lindie Naughton is a journalist and writer based in Dublin who joined the athletics club at her college many many years ago and has never quite escaped. You’ll normally find her jogging around some orienteering course somewhere – or down at the Irishtown track coaching kiddies!

The post Athletes at UTMB, World 50k Champs, track & the roads – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

She came, she saw, she conquered

There is only one place to start this week. Aly Dixon gave a phenomenal performance for her first, and judging by her social media last, 50k ultra, claiming herself a new world record! Dixon broke Frith Van de Merwe’s 30-year long record by 1 minute 19 seconds to win the 50km World Championships in Brasov, Romania.

It was a British 1-2 as Helen Davies join Dixon on the podium as the Ipswich Jaffa athlete also went inside the previous British record with 3:09:16. Dan Nash picked up a bronze medal and was the leading British male.

The British women walked away with a gold medal ahead of USA and Austria. The British men’s team also made the podium with a bronze medal. More details can be seen in our report here.

50km 3:07:20
World Champion
World record*
European record*
British record*
Sunderland Strollers club record
Ultra running over and out!!

*pending ratification pic.twitter.com/DzgaVeKsI1

— Aly Dixon (@alydixon262) September 1, 2019

British success at UTMB

The Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) is one of the highlights of the world ultra distance calendar. The standout British performances were the three athletes who finished inside the top 10. Tom Owens in his first 100 mile race finished 4th overall with a massive smile on his face as he crossed the line in 22:04:29. Andrew Symonds hiked his way down the finishing straight to finish 5th overall in 22:35:15.

Beth Pascall finished 5th in the women’s race in 26:26:48 having been in 3rd overall. Pascall gave the race a real crack and suffered in the second half but after finishing 4th in the Western States earlier in the year it’s been a fantastic 2019 for the Brit.

Harry Jones finished 15th in 24:03:53 overtaking 10 people between the final checkpoint and the finish for a storming closing section. Experienced ultra athlete Paul Giblin was the other British athlete to make the top 30 finishing 24th in 24:53:30.

The race was won by Pau Capell of Spain in 20:19:07 who led from the gun to take a fantastic front running victory. A group of American men chased hard but could not deal with the pace set down by Capell. In the women’s race Courtney Dauwalter came from behind to claim a stunning victory in 24:34:26 which was her also finish 21st overall.

In the 101km CCC race Holly Page finished 9th in 13:56:57 having struggled with stomach issues from the start of the race but she finished first Brit male or female. In the 145km TDS race Sophie Grant finished 11th in 26:58:53.

Credit: UTMB

Around the oval

At the inaugural Tonbridge Twilight Invitational, conditions were perfect for fast times. There were some impressive performances all the way from 800m to 300m.

The men’s 800m field was filled with high quality athletes battling it out. Mark English took the win, crossing the finish line in 1:45.98, just dipping under that 1:46 marker. English was shortly followed by Brighton Pheonix’s U23 athlete, Spencer Thomas, in a personal best time of 1:46.08. The bronze medal position went to Guy Learmonth in 1:46.31. The start of the results from a night of fast running!

The women’s 800m also had a strong field. Rebecca Mehra claimed gold with 2:02.99. It was Mari Smith who took the silver medal in 2:03.40, and Sarah MacPherson in 2:04.66.

The legendary 4-minute barrier was broken by two athletes in the men’s mile. Elliot Giles ran a very impressive race to win himself not only the gold medal, but a new PB. Giles dipped over the line in 3:56.47, placing him 7th in the overall men’s mile rankings in the UK for 2019 so far. Whilst James West was just over a second outside of his PB, he still gave an impressive race to claim second place. West was followed by Jeremy Dempsey in 4:00.88, just outside of the 4-minute barrier, but claiming a PB no less!

Brave performance from Norman

Phil Norman and Ieuan Thomas attended the meeting to have a final crack at the World Championship mark in the steeplechase of 8:29.00. Norman gave it everything and narrowly missed out finishing in 8:29.54 with Thomas crossing the line in 8:39.15. It remains to be seen whether Norman will be considered for selection to join Zac Seddon on the plane to Doha.

Over  3000m the performances continued to be high quality. The women’s race was won by Muriel Coneo Paredes in 9:10.27. The columbian middle distance Olympic athlete took a massive chunk of her previous time over the distance. The U23 Bracknell runner Amelia Quirk proved her strength, crossing the line in second place, just behind Coneo Paredes in 9:12.21. After suffering from heat exhaustion in last weeks British Champs, Kate Avery bounced back with an impressive performance at the Tonbridge race, clocking 9:23.23 and claiming third place.

The men continued to show their strength over the longer distance. The victory went to the Shaftesbury Barnet athlete, Kieran Clements, in 8:07.59. Clements did well to claim his position, with Ricky Harvie crossing the line just behind him in 8:08.72. To round of the men’s podium, Jack Gray took third place in 8:09.72, proving this event is one to put in the race diary for next year.

10k’s galore

10k’s were plentiful this weekend, with some very impressive elite performances at Cardiff, Wilne, Wigan, and the Edgar Nicholls 10,000m.

Hayley Carruthers gave a brave performance at the Edgar Nicholls 10,000m, conquering the 10,000m distance and achieving a lifetime best of 33:03. Adam Stokes of Bristol & West AC was the first male to cross the line, taking the win in 32:01 in his 25.5 lap debut. Stokes was closely followed by Adam Peacock in 32:29 and Trevor Osborne 32:41.

Also taking place on the track at the time of publishing is the increasingly popular Ladywell 10000 with seven races taking place throughout the afternoon and evening. Keep an eye on our social media and @kent_ac on twitter for updates.

Hayley Carruthers. Credit: Stephanie Garstin

The Wigan 10k was another race that saw some noteworthy performances. Philip Robertson was the first male to cross the line in 30:44, a massive 55 second PB, improving on his performance from last year’s Trafford 10k. Only 6 seconds behind Robertson in 30:55 and just 29 seconds off his own personal best was Ben Johnson from Southport Waterloo. The third male athlete in 31:45 to cross the line was Daniel Cliffe.

There were also some impressive times ran in the women’s race. Eleanor Whyman-Davis took home the gold medal in a time of 34:57, gaining herself a 4 minute 27 second lead. The second lady to finish was Carnel Edwards in 39:24.

In Derby, the Wilne 10k didn’t disappoint for some more rapid results. Alastair Watson of Notts AC took home the winning title in 30:55, a cracking time giving him a 18 second lead ahead of Freddie Hessian. Hessian and Charlie Brisley battled it out all the way through the line, with only a second separating the two runners. Hessian finished in second place in 31:13 and Brisley in 31:14. A cracking run from both athletes.

In the women’s race, Notts AC got to the top of the podium once again. Samantha Harrison ran an impressively strong race finishing in 33:29, earning herself a 3 minute 18 second PB! Behind Harrison in 35:08 was Calli Thackery with a seasons best. To complete the top 3 women across the line, Sarah Lowery claimed an 11 second lifetime best of 35:33. Some very strong running in Wilne.

At yet another 10k of the weekend, fast times were present. The Framingham 10k saw some impressive performances. The overall title went to Framlingham Flyer’s Andrew Rooke who truly did fly. Rooke took home gold in a time of 31:40, ahead of James Patterson of Ipswich. Patterson crossed the line in 32:45 and was followed by Callum Bowen-Jones in 34:28. The first woman home was Alice Heather-Hayes of Hadleigh Hares AC in 39:42.

Arter and Smith claim Cardiff titles

The Cardiff 10k returned for yet another year, with an even more impressive than ever British and Irish elite field. The largest 10km race in Wales saw a stacked women’s and men’s field battle it out for a place on the podium on a beautiful day. In the women’s race, the gold medal was retained by last year’s winner and Cardiff’s own, Charlotte Arter, in 32:45. Arter was followed by Hoka One One athlete and this year Inter-counties cross country champion, Jenny Nesbitt, in a time of 32:52. Rounding off the top 3 female finishers was Clara Evans in 34:06.

The race featured a high quality men’s field boasting plenty of sub 30-minute PB’s. In total, 4 men dipped under the barrier with a close battle all the way to the line. The win went to the U23 athlete, Jake Smith, in a time of 29:30. Smith equaled his fastest ever time over the distance. In second position, and only 3 seconds behind Smith (29:33), was another one of Cardiff’s own, Matt Clowes. Ciaran Lewis was the third male to cross the line, earning himself a 2 second PB of 29:45.

Arter on her way to Cardiff victory

Wood dominates Maidenhead Half

Over the half marathon distance quick times were seen at Bedford and Maidenhead. Ash Harrell took the win in 1:09:32 at Bedford Half ahead of Michael Waddington (71:17) in second and Alex Metcalfe (73:14) in third. The women’s winning, Emma Hodson, crossed the line in 1:20.32, just 30 seconds off her personal best. Helen Bleeze was second in 83:10 and Armana Rai third in 84:17.

The Maidenhead Half featured an international masters match age group athletes from the home nations. Katherine Wood of Sale Harriers Manchester ran an impressively strong race, running herself to a 1 minute 46 second PB of 1:15:25 ahead of Annabel Gummow (76:11) and Eilidh Bell (77:54). Rob Corney claimed the men’s title in 1:07:53 ahead of Neil Kevern (68:50) and Paul Piper (69:45).

High quality racing at Mid Cheshire Summer 5km

The end of the week kick started with some impressively fast performances in the Mid Cheshire Summer 5k. This fast and flat road race had plenty of PB’s from both men and women.

The women’s race saw an impressive 24 women dive below the 18-minute mark over the distance. In first place, was the Atlanta-based athlete, Emily Kearney, in a time of 16:09, a huge 41 second road 5k personal best. Following Kearney in 16:30, was the Leigh Harriers & AC’s Abigail Howarth, with yet another lifetime best, 15 second faster than her previous time. To conclude the women’s podium and add another PB by 10 seconds to the list, Eleanor Bolton crossed the line in 16:44. Some very noteworthy performances.

The men’s race was a similar, impressive story. Charlie Hulson of Liverpool Harriers & AC took home the gold title in a time of 14:21, just 4 seconds ahead of second place. Hulson was shortly followed by the Vale Royal athlete, Chris Perry, in 14:25, a time equal to his personal best set in Armagh earlier this year. The Stockport runner, Andrew Davies completed the men’s top 3, claiming bronze in 14:33. The men’s race saw a total of 15 runners dip underneath the 15-minute barrier.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Dixon breaks 50km WR and top racing on the track and road – weekend roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

The Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc (UTMB) is a 170km mountain race with 10,000m of up and down around western Europe’s highest peak. Each year thousands of runners take on the challenge.

The 2018 event saw British runners winning sister races and hitting the top five of the big dance. Damo Hall and Beth Pascall both cracked the podium of UTMB and Sophie Grant was 12th. Meanwhile, Tom Evans excelled in the 100km CCC event, taking first place in a competitive field.

There were many other excellent performances, such as Rob Forbes’ breakout 12th place in the TDS, Natalie White racing smart to 13th place in the same race, and Harry Jones finishing eighth in the CCC. Jim Mann and Jo Meek both rocked into the top 20 on first UTMBs.

Fast Running asked Damo, Beth, Tom and Sophie for tips from their experience this weekend for anyone lining up the UTMB or any of the sister races in future.

Damian “Damo” Hall – UTMB – fifth in 22:35:13

Firstly it’s worth stating that Damo has admitted to a bit of a UTMB obsession in recent years. The dedication shown by the inov8 athlete to repeatedly come back to the big race, improving each and every time, has been an inspiration to many a runner.

After narrowly missing out on the top 10 in 2017 the follically challenged athlete gambled on this being ‘the year’ by having a film made by Summit Fever Media. The team followed ‘Underdog Damo’s preparation and build up and boy will it have paid off. The film is due for release in September 2018, and you can follow for updates here.

Prepare for the downhills

“For most Brits (including me on my first UTMB), the long downhills (several are 1,000m) are likely to punish you the most and make quads scream out, then progress often becomes slow and ouchy,” says Hall. “Strength work and weight vest hikes can help bolster puny British legs, but better still to bimble up and down Snowdon a few times in a day, a la Jez Bragg (other peaks are available, but look for good trails).”

He also stresses the importance of using poles.

“If you don’t use poles you’re a stubborn eejit,” he says. “Think of UTMB as part hiking race. You need to be efficient at it and develop good form. I try to pack my poles away for flats and downhills when possible as it can lead to significantly slower technique (our legs tend to mimic our arms).”

Lastly, Hall adds you should practice eating cheese: “Simple, you’re in a French race and it’s on all the checkpoints.”

Beth Pascall – UTMB – Fourth in 26:26:40

Brits cheering on Beth on the final climb.

British international Pascall struggled with the cold in 2017 and stopped whilst in a top ten position. 2018 was no different weather-wise, but the Raidlight athlete was clearly better prepared and ready for the terribly British weather.

After a steady start, the NHS doctor started moving up the field and was charging past competitors in the second half. Her fourth position is arguably the best British result of the weekend, although Damo and Tom Evans might have something to say about that.

Trust the plan

“There has to be something about trusting your race plan/pacing strategy, having the confidence to hold back and not get carried away,” she says. “The race starts at Champex Lac [which is a mere 124.8km into the event].

“In terms of training, I’d say the key months are June & July, and certainly not August. It seems that loads of people come out to Chamonix and do big miles in August which is detrimental. UTMB deserves a big taper.”

Tom Evans – CCC – First in 10:44:32

Photo: Hoka One One

Since bursting onto the ultra running scene with a third-place finish at the Marathon des Sables in 2017 the Welsh Guardsman has gone from strength to strength.

First place in the CCC might well be the finest run of his career so far, just out doing the Hoka One One athlete’s third place at the World Ultra Trail Championships earlier in 2018.

After a fast start by Min Qi of China, Evans focused on his own race and let the North face athlete build up a solid 15-minute lead.

Despite some stomach troubles before halfway, the race continued and eventually, the Chinese runner was caught at the final checkpoint. With Evans the stronger downhill runner it seemed the writing was on the wall and a rapid descent he became the 2018 CCC champion.

Tom’s three top bits of advice

1) It’s better to start slow and finish strong. The race isn’t over till you cross the finish line.
2) Keep your nutrition and hydration simple and test it in training. Little and often is the best way.
3) Remember why you’re doing it and have fun!

Sophie Grant – UTMB – 12th place in 27:51:07

Photo: Zoe Salt (also a very good ultra runner)

Sophie Grant is no stranger to the UTMB. 2018 was theKiwi-born British international’s fifth running of the event and her best performance to date.

As has been a continued message throughout this article, the La Sportiva runner started sensibly and then crushed through the field in the second half. Remember the race starts at Champex Lac.

Sophie’s nuggets of wisdom

1) Listen to your coach and don’t start like a racehorse.
2) Make sure your crew has everything they might need to make your race is as smooth as possible. Including packing backups of kit in case you have a malfunction.
3) Consider using music to help override the pain of running downhill towards the end.
4) Enjoy yourself!! This is what all the training has been for so make sure you smile and thank the volunteers.

RELATED: Tom Evans and Beth Pascal excel at the World Trail Ultra Champs

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