In the year that Jasmin Paris became the first female winner of the 268-mile Montane Spine Race, smashing the course record while expressing milk for her baby daughter, it’s hard to imagine a time when women were restricted to racing the mile.
After the ultra that wasn’t
The Ultra that wasn’t – part 2
2014 was meant to be all about going ultra.
My friends Val, Paul and I had trained all summer. We’d learned how to run through mud without losing a shoe. How to run in the dark, while stargazing. How to navigate like a ninja. Or at least, how to get a little less lost a little less often.
The Ultra that wasn’t – part 1
2014 was meant to be all about the ultramarathon.
Partly to find a new challenge. After seven road marathons, it felt like a good time to try something different.
Partly to learn more about my running, and improve technique. It’s when you stretch the mileage that you discover where your weak links are.
2014: Time to go ultra
I still remember my first run. Well, not literally my first, but my first ‘recreational run’. Done through choice, with no PE teacher at my back and no train to catch.
Still high on inspiration after being part of the finish team at the London Marathon and experiencing the heroics, guts and glory of the runners, from elite to first timers, my friend Maggie and I had applied for places in the following year’s race through the marshals’ ballot.