Also
look at News for
December
2012
The race in
Norway didn’t go according to plan. I ran well for 12-14 hours but
my breathing deteriorated and after taking time out for this struggled
to get back on target and wasn’t strong enough to achieve the goal
I had set and so called it a day. It has been a very busy year with
many races completed, and almost an ultra a month, two world records
achieved and some great times experienced all over the world. It
was time to rest and reflect and plan 2013, which has some exciting
races I can’t wait to compete in. Since Norway I have come down
with a cold that has completely wiped me out for running and as
of 19th December I can boast just one 3 mile run for the month and
a chest infection has now put me on antibiotics. I think my body
is forcing me to rest and so have nothing planned for the rest of
the month. A real rarity for me. There have been several highlights
for the month though. It was a privilege to unveil a plaque to the
late Ashok Kumar at our local Guisborough swimming pool where I
am patron. This pool is so close to where I live and where I usually
carry out aqua-jogging and is a real asset to this little town.
Ashok fought hard to keep the pool open. The other highlight was
going on stage at the Royal Albert Hall at the annual “evening with
the stars” for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. I saw many famous
faces and went on stage with 8 other torchbearers as part of the
Olympic theme.

November
2012
Nearly every
weekend this month I have run around marathon distance and done
a shorter race. I have run 8 races in total and around 70-80 miles
per week. Not easy in the cold, wet and muddy conditions experienced
most weekends. It was good to do some consistent training and speedwork
but the pace is not as good as I hoped for as it nears the end of
the month and am having an easy week going into my last ultra for
the year that is a 24 hour race in Bislett, Oslo in Norway on the
first weekend in December. Although I am not running as fast as
I hoped there is nothing wrong with my endurance and I am not “unfit”
or injured. I have been informed that selection criteria is 206km
and so am planning that as my goal. The world 24 hours do clash
with the Hungarian 6 day race next year and may be this will help
make my decision on which race to run.
For now you
can watch live on the webcam at www.ustream.tv/channel/bislett-24-timers
and updates every few minutes on results here http://topptid.no/results/live/race/949
and the race starts local time in Oslo at 10am on Saturday 1st December
– and finishes 24 hours later of course! Weather outside in Oslo
is predicted well below freezing during the day and evening, the
stadium is heated but will be a cold journey back to the station
after the race with evening temperatures predicted to be –16.
October
2012
I arrived home
at the start of October after the Grand 2 Grand Ultra. The result
was 167 miles of running over 6 stages, 1st lady and 5th overall
in 42 hours 32 minutes – a hard training week! I had anticipated
an amazing experience and that is exactly what I got. So much so
that I had to write a full report – a very long one! Just
as an overview this was how the event went:
The first stage was 31 miles, hard because the pack was at its heaviest
with 7 days worth of dehydrated food and all the other essentials
that go along with a self supported ultra. The camp was amazing,
on the edge of the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Water was provided
roughly every 10km. The first part was fast going along gravel tracks,
can't say it was a highlight but a tarantula plodded across the
path in front of me, hope to never see one again! Then along cross
country which was rough bushes and VERY sharp cacti, had to stop
a couple of times to take shoes off and remove needles from toes!
More cross country of rough stones and undulations to finish. My
shoulders were killing me by the time I finished 7 hrs later (only
had time for 3 weeks training with the pack) and had taken asthma
pumps a few times as it was quite high in altitude and very dusty.
Day 2 was 28 miles, starting with a long steep climb, then following
tags in trees to the next checkpoint which was more undulating now
and had two heavy falls on the same right knee that needed some
patching up. The scenery was much better today and after the trees
came some gravel tracks, then some more undulations and steep ravines
to cross, finishing with some soft sand tracks. Over 7 hrs running
again.
Day 3 was the long stage,
47 miles and the most spectacular day so far, there was always something
superb to look at in this constantly moving event. The faster runners
started an hour later than the rest of the field and I was in the
top 11 to start after 9am. The terrain constantly changed. Initially
some hard climbing, then some constant sharp undulations which were
energy zapping, but the views were worth it. Then almost rock climbing
where I certainly needed a helping hand when the foot holds ran
out! A nice downhill sandy track to checkpoint 4 and then Cave Lakes
Canyon and snakes! Scenic but scary and only 1 snake encountered
by me. Then it was really soft sand dunes, nearly 5 miles of these
as the light faded and ran this by moonlight, simply amazing. Some
really rough cross country next with many scratches and falls and
finally uphill on soft sand to camp. Finished very cold, just before
midnight and first lady on this stage, this lead was enough to take
me through to the end as the first female. Day three was around
14.5 hrs of running for me and was 4th person overall today, a big
leap from 14th on the first day.
Day 4 was a rest day
while the other runners were still finishing. The camp was stunning,
on a high spot looking towards Zion National Park where we were
to run. Felt a bit groggy in the morning but perked up by the afternoon
and spent most of the day trying to eat food, I had not eaten much
during this event. Total intake is in full report.
Day 5, the route
just continued to get more amazing by the day, just under 26 miles
today. Into the bottom of the Canyon and through a tunnel and up
a ravine. Up yet more very soft sand to the finish.

Day 6, almost 26 miles
again today, but even more fantastic scenery. Slot canyons today,
weaving between very narrow slabs of rock right at the base of the
canyon, occasionally ladders were needed to scale the base of the
canyon. Looking up was amazing seeing the depth of the rocks. I
felt very privileged to be here and was a very special experience.
After this was a rocky river bed and then a steep climb out to hit
gravel roads to camp.
Day 7 was a
short 9 miles all uphill to finish with. An early start for the
slower runners, morning call was 4:30am and normal 8am start for
the faster runners so we could catch the bus back to Las Vegas at
midday. The climb was hard with altitude finishing around 10,000ft
and about 2 hrs of running for me. The finish emerged from the trees
to a breathtaking finish line overlooking rock formations and back
towards the north rim of the canyon where we started.

This event was
amazing and the reason I signed up, it was a fantastic adventure
of spiders, snakes, sand and super stunning scenery. Many people
get to see the Grand Canyon, but how many will ever go into the
Canyon and run through it and get to see what we saw. An unforgettable
experience. The freedom of camping for a week away from technology
and phones. It was wonderful to get back to basics, simply water
provided by the organisers along with tents and unbelievably portaloos!
I switched my phone off at Manchester and never switched it on again
until returning back to the UK. A week I will remember fondly for
many years to come.
Download full
report: Grand_to_Grand-2012.doc
(2.9Mb)
As for the rest of the month, I have done a few more off-road races,
the Pathfinder 25 miles and Kilburn Kanter 24 miles, November will
simply be another hard training month and adapting back to the cold
damp weather.
September
2012
A very busy
month planned. With the van purchased, just a day after it was taxed
I went to Wales to take part in the Dragons Back race, around 200
miles and 50,000ft of climbing over 5 days. I was ready for long
days, ready for the climbing and distance, more than ready for the
glorious weather, but was not ready for scrambling and rock climbing!
This was billed as one of Britain’s toughest races that was held
20 years ago and was resurrected this year. It was a special one
to be part of but the terrain underfoot was beyond me. I am a runner
and for nearly 12 hours I tripped, stumbled, fell and clung to rocks
trying to make progress. For me it wasn’t fun and by the time I
had to descend from Tryfan I was at my limits and was left clinging
to a rock face being coaxed down by some walkers. The first day
involved all 15 peaks over 3,000ft, some 35 miles and 15,000ft of
climbing and the route was only revealed 10 minutes before starting.
Previously this was just 7 of the peaks. They claim it to be one
of the toughest races as many races do, but believe me this was
a tough one. Although the first day was the hardest, there was less
climbing on subsequent days and most of those that made it through
the first day went on to finish. Around 2/3 of the field failed
the first day, myself included. I retreated off the mountain with
a couple of others and then hitch-hiked back to camp. I had the
dilemma whether or not to continue the next day, which this organisers
allowed, but talking to others the underfoot conditions were not
for good running and there was also some more scrambling involved
and decided it was not for me. This was supposed to be a training
run for the next event just two weeks later and could not risk getting
injured for this one.
So the next
one – I am off in a few days for this adventure and can’t wait.
A week in the Grand Canyon. This is a 6 stage race over 7 days,
along the lines of the Marathon des Sables where you carry everything
for the week and water and tents are provided, but what a spectacular
setting! You can follow my progress at www.g2gultra.com.
Do take a look at the photos, who could not be envious of this one?
It’s been hard work training and getting used to the pack again,
my shoulders are aching more than my legs, but as least the load
will get lighter as the days progress and the food is consumed.
August
2012
I had a great
month of training and racing. Lots of short 5km and 10km races,
some fell races and some off-road marathons. It was another good
month of solid, consistent training without any ultras to prepare
for another busy month in September. At the end of the month we
were going to have a week away walking and running in Wales and
visit an auction to buy a van. Things didn’t quite go according
to plan. Our little dog Walnut is getting on a bit now and fell
down the stairs and was unable to take her with us and couldn’t
leave her as she couldn’t walk too well. So none of us went and
Bill cancelled his holidays and continued working.
As for the auction,
I did a telephone bid on an unseen vehicle and we now have a VW
transporter that needs kitting out as a campervan. The only thing
we have brought for it is a new registration plate that suits me
nicely!

July
2012
This month started with my third ultra in five weeks.
The race was the Energia 24 hours in Belfast and the goal was to
run the minimum standard for selection criteria for the 24 Hr World
Champs. Unfortunately I chose the wrong weekend to run this as it
was the weekend of the rain, it was torrential for hours. As we
didn’t have a vehicle with us we took a tent. It didn’t
take long for this to become waterlogged enough to tip water out
of the tent. In the early hours of the morning (this was an evening
race start) I had been wet for so long and was getting cold and
it was time for dry kit. There was no chance, although I had stacks
of kit it was all soaked, as was poor Bill who was trying to support
me. I had no option other than to withdraw with no dry clothes to
put on. I came home in others clothes (thanks again Jenkin’s
family).
Ed did a great
job in organising the race and had a good enough field of runners
to qualify the event for an IAU Silver label, but the weather hampered
anyone’s chance of a decent run and it was a challenge for
anyone to go over the 200km mark, just two men achieved this and
only the winner made over the 204km mark that is female selection!
For the rest of the month it was back to consistent training again
and a progressive training program. Within a couple of weeks of
the Energia race I had already run five short races with my speed
improving all the time.
June
2012
I have had a wonderful
month of training and racing and enjoyed every minute of it. The
highlight of the month had to be carrying the Olympic Flame through
Redcar with massive crowd support at 7:30 in the morning, the weather
played ball too and gave us all a glorious sunny morning. The torch
has barely rested since, I have duly obliged every request to see
it.
In terms of running,
at the start of the month I ran the first 60 miles of the Hardmoors
110 from Helmsley to Saltburn. This was barely two months after
my world record and at it was so local decided to put in a last
minute entrant. I enjoyed the section I ran and this was an event
that had to be within my comfort levels as consistent training was
now important. By Saltburn I was content and stopped close to home
and was back racing again midweek and recovered well.
Next up was
the most superb trip to Salzburg. I have been to Europe many times
but this has to be one of my favourite cities. We were fortunate
in having a few days to explore the city, a rare break for us and
the closest we ever get to a holiday. We had three days to enjoy
the city and then ran the Mozart 100 on the Saturday. There were
many races going on, a 100km, 56km, 24km and relay. The route was
typical “The Sound of Music” countryside and a real
mixture of quiet lanes, tracks and footpaths – oh, and about
8,000ft of climbing! This event had real atmosphere to it and was
superbly organised from the magnificent start in Mozart Square to
the sound of Mozart’s music to the red carpet that lined the
finish route. Bill ran the 24km route and thoroughly enjoyed that
too. This event was so good it deserved a rare race report from
me – don’t get much time for writing these nowadays,
still haven’t managed to write up the Irish journey yet!
Download
Mozart 100 report: mozart-100-report.doc
(54Kb)
Below: Photos
from the 2012 Mozart 100 race

May
2012
I had to reluctantly
follow the Balatonfured 6 day race on the internet instead of running,
wishing I was there and doing battle, but my decision not to run
was the right one. I had planned to break the world record there
having taken the British record in Athens last year. I was ranked
no 1 in the world with that performance in 2011 and was sad not
to make the start line.
Instead I was
getting stronger all the time and looking forward to my other challenges
planned. I stilI have a heavy workload to start the moth with a
trip to the House of Commons, a public lecture at Teesside University,
three interviews with BBC Tees and the Olympic torch relay had started
its progress. My turn will be at Redcar at 7.31am on Monday,
June 18th starting in Redcar. I will start on theCoast Road (A1085)
near The Crescent and Walnut Grove: the best place for friends and
family to cheer me on is between these points! I feel very
honoured to have been nominated and selected in this truly unique
event. I thought this would be a bad time so early in the morning,
but as it works out many working people can make it and have time
to go to work afterwards, so may be its not such a bad time –
just another early morning!
We are still without
a van (and the funds to buy one), am on the lookout for a VW transporter
that hopefully will not rust as quickly as our transit van. Bill
is now taking his turn at going to work on the bike now that the
better weather is here.
My running is
progressing well, but still had a few problems with my asthma this
month. My parkrun 5km times are sub 21 minutes again and have run
up to marathon distance this month. It was a busy month of marking
at Teesside University but now (as I write this at the end of the
month) that has finished and I have a wonderful few months with
only running planned. Time to catch up with the normal jobs now
– like putting up the fence in the garden that fell down weeks
ago, digging the garden and putting the vegetables in, cutting the
grass and enjoying the sunshine. Life is good!
April
2012
The
result in Ireland was 346 miles in 4 days 1 hr 39 minutes and took
over 21 hours from the outright world record, currently being ratified
by Guinness World Records. There were major problems for me in the
week leading up to the event. Two of my crew had to reluctantly
withdraw on the Wednesday before Friday’s planned travelling
for me. I had a husband and wife team but with Shirley sadly losing
her mum there was no option, upsetting for us all. On top of that
our famous van went for its annual MOT and although we knew the
bodywork was failing the report was terminal for the van that has
served us for 10 years. It was bought at an auction, a year old
with the proceeds of the Flora 1000 Mile Challenge, it had been
all over Europe, did LEJOG with me, had been around the clock and
was supposed to be my home from Mizen Head to Malin Head.
Martin Scaife
amazingly stepped in at short notice on the Thursday before the
event. I am not entirely sure he knew what he was letting himself
in for but as a dedicated athlete himself I had confidence he would
serve me well – as a sub 30 minute 10km runner he could outrun
me any time!
So all the planning
and preparation had to change immensely, from having two vans we
were reduced to one (a cosy 4 berth hired from Bunk campers in Belfast)
and down from an original five crew in January to three crew now
– husband Bill, parkrun co-director Alan Guy and Martin Scaife.
We all travelled separately, I flew from Newcastle Friday afternoon
and was collected and looked after by Paul Jenkins. Bill took the
ferry late that night after work to take the bikes and equipment
in our van, and Alan and Martin flew to Belfast early Saturday morning.
We all met up at Belfast parkrun, transferred the equipment to the
hired campervan and the rest of the day was spent driving to Mizen
Head.
The early mist
at 7am when we started on Sunday 25th March was reminiscent of Land’s
End six years ago. It soon cleared and we were to have the first
warm and sunny week of the year. With having a reduced crew and
one van this gave me much more flexibility but made the crew work
much harder as they barely had time to rest. With just 10 hours
sleep in the 4 days it took me to run they all had their turns in
falling asleep (and falling off bikes). Martin late at night was
wobbling all over, Bill was staggering on the grass verges early
morning and taking caffeine pills and Alan, well I won’t mention
his biking skills, but as determined as he was to stay awake on
the last day while parked up, he failed miserably and luckily got
a tap on the window as we ran by.
We all celebrated
with champagne early on Thursday morning when I finished and a memorable
week was had by all. I am deeply indebted to Alan and Martin for
their time and commitment and hard work in making this event the
great success that it was and am sure it will live with them forever.
Photo below:
My world record breaking crew – Martin, Bill and Alan

Photo below: Just finished at Malin Head

Photo below: Bill on bike and Sharon running, third day of Mizen
Head to Malin Head

After returning
we let our van go and had to choose the wettest April in years to
cycle to work. We had just replaced our 11 year old Suzuki car before
Ireland and could not afford to replace the van as well so were
down to one vehicle. I was left very tired after Ireland and had
some tight shins that had developed on the last two days of the
run and ended up taking three weeks off. That meant the next challenge
in Hungary, just six week after Ireland had to be postponed for
this year.
I was both mentally
and physically drained. Since the treadmill run in December my workload
had been immense, trying to hold down my work at Teesside University,
many public commitments and
interviews,
keeping my running program together and planning the Irish world
record. I needed a break. By the end of the month I started short
distance running again and was feeling fresh, recovered and I would
say happy to be out in the fresh air again, but cycling to work
in the rain most days had given me plenty of that!
March
2012
It is only the start of March as I write
this. The big one for this month is Mizen Head to Malin Head, the
end to end in Ireland. I will be starting at 7am on 25th March 2012.
The current record according to Guinness World Record stands at
4 days, 23 hours, 3 minutes. Richard Brown has run this "unofficially"
in 4 ½ days (he has many ultra records to his name). The plan is
to try to break four days. Ambitious? Of course it is! But then
I always am - aim high! I have to live up to my motto. The route
has been prepared and hopefully you can connect to it. I have done
this in two sections as 250 miles was the longest it would accept!
Mizen Head to Tang (200 miles) http://connect.garmin.com/course/708629#.T04Y3gehqsk.email
and then Tang to Malin Head (145 miles) http://connect.garmin.com/course/713118#.T09qwh2zGTA.email.
I have a great crew for this one that have once again dedicated
that much precious commodity of time to my cause - Alan Guy, Shirley
and Will Gibson and the ever faithful, ever enduring, husband Bill
(our 20th wedding anniversary this month!).
There will be updates on this website
for you to follow thanks to Ella Towers. Please be aware that signals
in Ireland were not great on our trips, but will keep you up to
date as best we can. The charities for this one are the same as
before – Charlotte Wren’s Forget –Me-Not Fund
(Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and Zoes Place.
February
2012
This was supposed to be a month of solid
training, preparing for Ireland and may be a short ultra. The only
ultra that really fitted was the Donadea 50km in Ireland. This fitted
well with one last recce of the route in the van (we cycled the
route late September last year), to mark the finer details on the
maps (directions, shops, parking areas etc). The ferry was booked
for Friday 17th February for the race the next day and then the
plans very suddenly changed. On arriving home from work on Thursday
evening I found a great email waiting - someone had dropped out
of the 48 hour treadmill challenge in France did I want to run?
I had known about this event for some time and was a really unique
event - 6 people running on treadmill side by side with the aim
to break the world record. This was just 8 weeks after my week of
treadmill running. I hadn't quite said "never again" as in some
ways it had been an unexpected pleasant experience. All I wanted
was to do one long run this month and did I replace 50km in Ireland
with 48 hours on a treadmill? The opportunity was too good to miss,
nothing to organise and prepare, simply fly in, do the run, fly
home! The men's record was a tough 405km set by Irish athlete Tony
Mangan (currently running around the world). I knew that was beyond
me, but the female record of 309.8km felt as if it was waiting to
be taken and wasn't too much further than I had run by the end of
the second day of my 7 day run, so that became my goal.
My preparation
wasn’t ideal. By the time I went to bed that night the flight
was booked and everything else organised. I was at work all day
Friday and after Bill arrived home we only just caught the 23:30
ferry to Belfast – a 4 ½ hour drive in our slugglish
van. We parked up in Belfast at 2:30am and were out running the
Belfast parkrun later in the morning (a friendly event that even
had free coffee and biscuits at the finish!). No time to spare it
was a 7 hour drive (350 miles) to Mizen Head. With little daylight
remaining we started the recce parking up at 10pm. Driving again
before the sun got up and arrived at Malin Head at 6pm on the Sunday.
The job done it was back to Belfast for the ferry, checked in with
plenty of time to spare this time and arrived in Scotland at 1:30am.
Arrived home for 6am on Monday for Bill to shower and go to work
again for 7am and I went to bed for 3 hours. Up again to unpack,
do the washing and repack for France – I was leaving home
at 9am the next day to fly from Newcastle to Paris!
The next day
was race day! I had a schedule which I stuck to for 24 hours. The
event was in a sports complex with weights machines and a dance
floor close by. The peace and quiet was shattered by the noise of
the treadmills and nearby music and was often hard to communicate.
I had no Bill by my side and did my best but began to tire after
around 28 hours. It was hard to make a decision. Ireland was now
four weeks away and very important, and here I was taking an opportunity
to try and break another record. It wasn’t to be, the desire
wasn’t great enough, the preparation flawed; I faltered and
took a break and the record was beyond me. There was no time for
sleeping in this race. I rested and then walked to finish the event.
I only ran 228km. I have run 226km outdoors in a day and ran much
further than this by the second day of my 7 day challenge. A poor
performance but I live to fight another day! Ireland is closing
in and I still have a great year to look forward to. Gerard and
Michael did a great job in organising this event; a world’s
first and felt privileged to be part of it. The event gained much
publicity as it was so unique, www.ultrathletic.fr details some
of the coverage and there are links on facebook too.
January
2012
Well what can I say about 2011? It was
just about everything I dreamed about. I wanted it to be my comeback
year after major issues in 2010 that included an operation and stem
cell treatment. So what were the highlights? The first small ultra
was a freezing cold local ultra that lived up to its name of Frostbite
50 - first lady, third overall and the record still stands this
year. The first real big one was running for 6 days of the Athens
Ultrafest 7 day's race, if my body held up to this one I was fit
for anything - the result was 750km, an outright win and a new National
record. Barely two weeks on and it was another ultra, one to enjoy
anti-clockwise and clockwise around the island of Texel, a very
elite race in Holland (qualification is tough), a glorious race,
picturesque, very elite, very hot and lots of sea and sand and another
win and UK best for this race. Next up was a local one for training,
the Hardmoors 110, yet another course record. Then an undulating,
sunny training week in Spain running the Al Alandalus Ultra Trail,
I was more than satisfied with my second ladies place as it was
only two weeks later that I was in the Himalayas for The High. This
was a monstrous 222km with two big climbs up to nearly 18,000ft,
left over from 2010 this was a real challenge in every sense and
great to be the first athlete to cross the line and reduce the overall
course record by 11 hours - even if my breathing is only just recovering
now! As if that wasn't enough I had one last challenge for the year,
a very different one, the treadmill run, who can ask more than to
finish with an outright world record. One great year! I think I
can say I am back!
So
onto what happened for this month. Everyone was asking - how are
you recovering from the treadmill run? In reality that didn't take
long at all, the truth was I went into this event injury free but
with my lungs still recovering from The High and my body recovering
from two viruses in previous three weeks leading up to the event
and underweight even by my standards. I started on the treadmill
at 48.5kg and soon after was 45.5kg, my usual racing weight is nearer
to 50kg and even got up to 52kg before LEJOG a few years back. I
had much media interest after the treadmill run, this took up much
of my time as did preparing the paperwork, detailing the photographs
and waiting for the film to edit.
I
only had one goal for this month - to get away from everything and
all the attention for a week and get back to the peace and solitude
and "loneliness of the long distance runner" that I love. I entered
one big event, called The Spine, a 268 mile winter challenge along
the Pennine Way with little support and carrying everything on your
back. This was one to enjoy and experience. I last walked the Pennine
Way many years ago on my own and it intrigued me to go back. It
wasn't to be though, I always knew the weather would dictate this
race and thought the freezing conditions would harden many of the
boggy sections, but in reality the lying water was frozen and slipped
and fell many times on the first day, a couple were very hard falls
with carrying a pack. The last thing I wanted to do was end up with
broken bones and force a rescue team to find me and so I reluctantly
withdrew in the darkness hours. The event had superb organisation
and backup, far more than I had anticipated and was looked after
very well. Part of me says I want to run this for training in the
summer months and may be have another go (and do some specific training
with the pack which was my lack to time to prepare), the other part
of me says the weather will dictate what happens - so who knows,
I will not say I won't do this again, but have every respect to
those that battled on and to those three tough finishers.
After
this event I sat down and studied the year and planned my events
for the year. I had one great dilemma - to run for GB or not? The
rules on this from UK athletics and from the IAU seem to be continually
changing, a few for the better, but a few much worse and these are
not the enjoyable environments they used to be. Partners can be
left out in the cold (that are extremely important in such races)
and stricter rules limit communication during races. I am getting
on a bit and know there are not that many years left in me where
I am capable of representing my country and feel I have served my
country well since 1994. As these are my last few years I decided
it best to take them so I will have no regrets when I do retire
from putting on my GB vest. Poland in September was announced for
the World 24 Hour Champs and so was the first race to put in the
calendar (unfortunately this clashed with the only race that I had
already entered because of closing dates - The Dragons Back). I
will probably have to make another qualifying mark so planned the
Energia 24 hour race in Belfast for this (July). The only other
date in my diary already was Mizen Head to Malin Head in Ireland,
345 miles in March. My next priority was a 6 day race to have a
crack at the world record having set the UK record. A 6 day race
in Hungary in May stood out as a very well organised event that
would serve this purpose. Then a big race to enjoy! Some of those
high on my list all clashed with the more important planned races
and was struggling to find one until I got a great email - The Grand
Canyon (www.g2gultra.com) this sounds extreme enough and was promptly
in my diary! The updated calendar on this site has website links
to the races planned.
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