UTMB – Ultra Trail du Month Blanc 5:45pm on Friday 1st September, Vengalis’ Conquest of Paradise, echoes around the streets of Chamonix. After an hour sitting in the blazing sun we get to our feet and surge towards the start. 2700 Runners clap down the final 10 seconds, until the church clock strikes 6pm […]
9th September 2023 It’s 09:37, the race should have started seven minutes ago. It’s hot and the runners are getting impatient. The race director loves to talk and we are a captive audience. Someone is typing out a race review on their phone to express their frustration. Enough is enough, we are going to storm […]
It has taken me 6 days to be able to talk properly about my experience in the Alps… I have just competed in one of the singularly most important events in the trail and mountain running calendar – The OCC race in The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB). This is a mountain ultra marathon race, first […]
When did running begin for you? I ran cross country in school, but then stopped completely until my mid-20s. I started running again by accident when my gymnastics friend invited me to run with her before our class. We ran 1k and a few months later I signed up for the Paris half marathon. […]
“Up and down like a stripper’s knickers” offered one participant. “Absolutely f**king horrible” spat a second. “SO MUCH FUN!” yelled a third. This year’s Green Belt Relay certainly inspired a broad range of heartfelt, if somewhat lewd, vulgar and shouty, reviews. What manner of contest could elicit such passion? For those of you not yet […]
When did running begin for you? My main sport at school was netball, but I was never ‘sporty’ per say. I had always preferred playing Goal Shooter in order to do the least amount of moving about as possible, whilst still getting the glory due to a minor height advantage. After a very sedentary university […]
My journey to the TDS, a 145km alpine trail event from Courmayeur in Italy to Chamonix in France and part of the UTMB series, started three years ago. At the end of August 2019, I undertook another UTMB event; the CCC. I stood at the start line on a hot morning feeling sick with terror […]
When did running begin for you? Running began for me at school. I ran the 200m and 400m for the school athletics team. When I went to university I ran with a campus club, but unfortunately it all came to a stop in my third year after I developed an eating disorder. Fast-forward about 15 […]
When did running begin for you? In 2016. I was living in Spain, had piled weight on and was not in a particularly happy place. A good friend of mine at the time was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and suggested my life wasn’t all that bad considering! Helen asked if I’d run a Race […]
I write this after running my first marathon, with my medal sitting on my desk reminding me of the incredible achievement and all the hard work that went into running 26.2 miles. By writing this story and sharing my essential top 10 beginner tips, I hope to inspire people who have never done a marathon […]