The 26 Lake, Meres and Waters is a less known route in the Lake District. Andy recently became only the 18th recorded completion and the 2nd fastest run of all time! Andy chats about the planning, training and preparation, the amazing crew of supporters and generally what it takes to complete such an epic run! Great chat and great introduction to an interesting route. Many thanks to Andy for being very patient too with a recording issue on the first attempt! Looking forward to catching up with Andy again after his next epic achievement!  You can find out more about the route here https://achille-ratti-climbing-club.co.uk/?page_id=411 and can follow Andy on Instagram @ottermaps  Huge thanks from Andy to all of his support team, Paul, Tim, Matt, Guy, John, Paul, Martin, Matt, Carl, Tom, John K, Rob, Jossie, Charlie, Dougie, Amby, Andy, Tori, Matt and Sara. 

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Andy Ford - The 26 Lake, Meres and Waters

Anna Troup AKA #SuperTrouper returns to the show to chat about breaking the record for the fastest lady to run the Pennine Way #penninewayfkt which was a follow on from breaking the ladies course record at the Summer Spine #summerspine and winning the Lakeland100 all in less than 3 months!  Lovely as always to chat with Anna, we talk about the adventures, the strategies, nutrition, sleep, training and more...  Anna wishes to thank all of her amazing Pennine Way support crew, Richard, Nick, Stu, Tom, Rob, Amelia, John, Sharon, Kev and those wonderful extra people that popped up along the way, Mark, Gary, David and everyone else! 

Anna Troup - SuperTrouper!

Becky Howard joins Kev to chat about her amazing story, going from a badly broken leg to running a Bob Graham Round in 2 years! Always inspirational to hear from someone who loves the outdoors, hills and mountains as much as Becky does.   

Becky Howard -Broken Leg to BG!

Gav gives a very honest, over sharing, insight into his brilliant 5th place at the Summer Spine Challenger a 110 mile race up the Pennine Way national trail from Edale to Hardraw!   

Gav Pittman - Cheeky Boy on the Summer Spine Challenger!

Great chat with Carly about her running story and running philosophy. Carly shares her amazing journey from an illness that made 400 metres of walking extremely difficult to now being a very happy and capable runner. Carly has built this phase of her life around running as a running coach and nutrition coach. Such an uplifting person to chat with.  You can contact Carly about coaching through www.existfit.co.uk @our_running_revolution on Instagram @Existfitrunningfitness on Facebook

Carly Spear - It's only running, but it's RUNNING!

Laura shares very openly and honestly about her experience of living with bulimia for 16 years! Laura is in a great place now thanks to help from First Steps https://firststepsed.co.uk/ a charity specialising in helping people to understand their eating disorders. Trail running has been one of the pieces to the puzzle of being in a happier place. Laura is passionate about helping others with their eating disorders and now volunteers at steps.  Thank you to Laura for sharing so openly and honestly. I hope that we can help to encourage anyone who thinks that they might have an eating disorder to make that first step and talk to somebody that you trust.  As well as First Steps https://firststepsed.co.uk/ there are other charities such a Mind https://www.mind.org.uk/ who can also help. 

Laura Beth - Eating Disorders & Running

Calderfornia with Alison Walker! Alison is a remarkable, talented runner who you will hear on this podcast is also very modest. You could easily listen thinking that Alison is an average mid pack runner but she holds the Malaysian women's 100km record, recently completed the 300km "Smog Graham Round" and has finished in the top 3 of a number of 100km+ ultra marathons. Native to Malaysia and having spent time living in London we talk about why Alison and her husband Matt moved to the Calder Valley. What this move means to her running and why she does not expect to ever look back! A lovely down to earth chat with this very talented lady. Enjoy! linktr.ee/ultraalison

Alison Walker - Calderfornia!

It is such a pleasure to chat with another amazing lady who is so modest about her ability and capability. I always love catching up with Steph and am excited to share this chat with you about the challenge that Steph, Jill and Helen are planning in order to raise money for Cave Rescue Organisation and Mind the mental health charity! Steph is the course record holder for the Spine Mountain Rescue Challenge event which covers the same course as the Spine Challenger. Steph and her friends Jill and Helen who are taking on this challenger are all members of the cave and mountain rescue team CRO. Mountain rescue in England and Wales is free at the point of use with a 100% of mountain rescue personnel being unpaid volunteers. Each team raises money to pay for the world class equipment that is used to rescue people. You can help CRO today by donating https://cro.org.uk/  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/yorkshire10cro Mind is a mental health charity, here is how they describe themselves "We provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding." https://www.mind.org.uk/  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/yorkshire10 

Steph Dwyer - Yorkshire Top 10 Peaks Challenge!

Friend of the show elite runner Howard Dracup joins Kev to chat about Solo Unsupported running, in particular long winter solo unsupported challenges. Both speaking from experience share what went well and what lessons were learned along the way.  With no races going on in the UK due to Covid and support being difficult due to lockdown solo unsupported is one option but it is very different challenge to supported races. Listen in to find out more. 

Howard & Kev - Solo Unsupported Running!

Mental health is becoming an even bigger issue during the Covid crisis. In particular men's mental health. Andy's Man Club is a UK charity that creates space for men to talk #itsokaytotalk https://andysmanclub.co.uk/  Sinead and Gav are taking on the challenge of running 30 miles a day on hilly trails for 7 consecutive days in order to raise money and awareness for Andy's Man Club! You can sponsor them on https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/feb30x7?utm_term=2qe6JZrzp  https://www.facebook.com/30perday/  Many excellent businesses are supporting! MSA Huddersfield Thaiboxing, Everybody personal trainer, Plan eat meal prep, Chapman Construction, Colne Valley Selfstore, Voom Nutrition, Colne Valley Chiropody, Jan Lark Yoga, Riverhead Brewery, Katies Handmade Kitchen, Tog24

Sinead & Gav - 30 mile per day for Andy's Man Club!

Maria Harron joins me (Kev) to chat about her Virtual London Marathon and mental health. Maria chose to fund raise for Andy's Man Club a men's mental health charity in memory of a friend, Mike, who took his own life earlier this year. There have been a lot of great VLM stories going around, great achievements, this is a local story that caught my attention and I wanted to be able to share with you all. Thank you Maria for sharing your story.  https://andysmanclub.co.uk/ #itsoktotalk 

Maria Harron - VLM & Mental Health

Episode 42 is all about the Hardmoors 60! Guest host Sinead Battarbee steps in to chat with Mark Thistlethwaite and Kev Robinson about how they got on running in the HM60. We chat about the race and the changes made to allow it to go ahead during these extraordinary times of COVID pandemic. Staggered starts, outdoor checkpoints and not knowing what place you finished in until everyone's come in! Brilliant work by race directors Jon & Shirley!  We chat about Mark's brilliant performance taking almost 3 hours off his time from 2019 and with Kev about doing too much and still taking nearly 50mins off his time from 2018.  Huge thanks to Sinead for keeping the boys on topic! 

Harmoors 60 race in 2020 - Mark & Kev

With the UTS (Ultra Tour Snowdonia) cancelled Howard needed something to fill the void. "What about the Steve Parr Round?" asked Paul Willson. Just 5 days later Howard set off to not only complete the round but to break a record that has stood since 1984!  The Steve Parr Round is 61 Lakeland Summits, about 116 miles, about 42,550 feet of ascent! Howard set a new record of 42hours 37minutes and 15 seconds!  We chat about training, change of plans, the round itself and big up the community!  Howard would like to thank everyone that helped and all of his sponsors: Maggie May Dempsey, John Parkin, Jacob Tonkin, Liam Mills, Nathaniel-Jon Ingram, Scott Newburn, Steve Birkinshaw, John Knapp, Ben Turner, Andy Fid, Paul Nelson, Tim Ripper, Max Driscoll, Martin Stone, Chris Richards, Dan Armstrong, Dave Heterington, Heather Driscoll, Paul Wilson, Jess Pealing, Wim Stevenson, Max Dillon. Coach (The Boss) Margarita Grigoriadi.  Sponsors: Montane, OTE Sports, Mountain King Poles, Precision Hydration, Vaga caps, XMiles and Squirrels Nut Butter. 

Howard Dracup - Steve Carr Round Record!

From July 2019 Jacob had to stop running due to "Gilmore's Groin", a debilitating injury that left him unable to walk for more than 15 minutes. Following surgery on 18th December 2019 Jacob has been focussed on training and getting back to his best. By August 2020 Jacob not only completed the gruelling Hardmoors 110, a 110 mile trail race. But he won the race breaking the course record!  This is a fascinating chat with a very down to earth champion who eloquently reminds us that we can all achieve a huge amount through self belief and hard work. And of course with help from amazing friends. Jacob would particularly like to thank Sabina, Aga, Gosla, Tadek and Marek. What an amazing support crew Jacob has!  Thanks also to Jacob's sponsors La Sportiva, Coros, Mountain Fuel, Bridgedale and Mountain Massage Sports Therapy! 

Jacob Snochowski - Hardmoors 110 Course Record!

Sabrina Verjee - What an amazing athlete and example being set in our sport. Sabrina set out to try to set a new record for ascending "All of the Wainwrights". There are 214 mountain peaks in the Lake District in the UK that Alfred WainWright wrote about in his 7 volume book. A few people have run them all, the route covers 318miles and over 4 times the ascent of Mt Everest. Last year Paul Tierney took the record from Steve Birkenshaw. This year Sabrina attempted it. Completed it. And then gained an even greater reputation by declaring "It's not a record". Sabrina was running, walking, crawling, bum sliding for almost 7 days to complete this epic adventure. Due to injury Sabrina had to lean on some of her supporters to safely descend some hills backwards. Therefore Sabs has rejected the record and vowed to come back and complete it in a pure style in the sprit of British fell running. We catch up with Sabs tired again after supporting her husband Ben on his "Bob Graham Round". Sabrina is absolutely clear that the support of her wonderful crew made it a fantastic adventure and would like to take every opportunity to thank: Her husband Ben, Kim Collison, Jacob and Sabina Snochowski, Simon Mills, Sally Fawcett, Tim Miller, Steve Birkinshaw, Tom and Astrid Gibbs, Paul Tierney, Dave Cummins, Charlie Sproson, Jeff Powell Davies, Joe Faulkner, Helen Jackson, James Thurlow, Victoria Rose-Miller, Ben Abdelnour, Shane Ohly, Josh Hartley, John Knapp, Neil Talbott, Nicky Spinks, Mike and Hazel Robinson, Lou Roberts, Bruce Duncan, Dave Spence, Peter Sowerby, Rob Bond, Giles Ruck, Paul Wilson, Gaynor Prior, Wendy Dodds, Jonathan Whilock, Dan Duxbury and Howard Dracup. Photo courtesy of @howard.dracup

Sabrina Verjee - "It's Not a Record" - All the Wainwrights!

Inspirational stories from amateur runners. Inclusive stories about running for all abilities and disciplines. Ordinary people, extraordinary stories.

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Running Your Stories

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