As many of you know, my main sport is ultra-distance running, which I have been doing competitively for nearly 12 years. In this time, have completed many races and distances, most notable are the Fellsman Hike, 61 miles with 11,000ft of ascent, and the Bob Graham Round, 63 miles with 27,500ft of ascent.
On Saturday 13th January 2024 I will taking on my biggest challenge yet, the Montane Winter Spine Challenger South.
This will be my first 100+ mile race and is going to take me into unknown territory. Those who know me know I am ambitious, love a challenge, and I am obsessed with performance and seeing how far my body can go. Over the course of the next year, I will be focussed on building the physical and mental resilience I need to complete this challenge. Initially, this will involve a lot of specific gym-based strength and conditioning, while also building a strong base of running conditioning. In addition, I will do several races and Spine Related training runs in preparation for the day. During the race, I will be carrying a weighted rucksack and using poles, something I am not currently experienced in doing, so I am also building this into my training schedule. Nutrition and fuelling during this extreme endurance event is something I will need to take careful consideration of, and will take a lot of practice during training. Anybody that has dipped their toes into ultra-running before will know that it is as much an eating competition as it is a running one! I am currently running around 55miles a week over technical trails, which will build up closer to 80-100 miles a week at certain points along my training cycle. If you are interested in following my training journey towards the Spine, please follow my Instagram @totalascentcoaching where I will be posting regular training, nutrition, and video logs.
a 108-mile race along the Pennine Way. Beginning from Edale in Derbyshire, runners have a time limit of 60 hours to get to the finish at Hawes in North Yorkshire. The race covers the southern section of the trail which features the iconic moorland of the Kinder Plateau, numerous National Parks, Malham Cove, and Pen-y-Ghent. This challenging and technical section is a physically and psychologically demanding route that requires concentration, good physical fitness, resolve, and respect. This becomes even more demanding with the full intensity and ferocity of the British Winter in deep snow, storm forcewinds, and driving rain.
 The Montane Spine Races are widely regarded amongst the toughest endurance races in the world...It would be silly not to try it, wouldn’t it?
 While this is a sport I am passionate about, I will also be using this opportunity to raise awareness and funds to support a charity that is close to my heart, ‘Bliss’. Bliss exists to give every baby born premature or sick in the UK the best chance of survival and quality of life. I speak first hand of how scary it is to have your child born prematurely. My son Lucas was 6 weeks early and we had to stay in hospital for 2 weeks while he went through the necessary checks and procedures. I also have several close friends that have had premature children, some of whom haven’t been as lucky as we have. Without the support of Bliss, professionals, hospitals, families and most importantly, our children, would not have the research or support to improve their chance of a normal life.