From the trails of Ennerdale to the roads of Abergele via the UK Trail Running Championships..

October has been a busy month of racing to say the least.. Im my last blog post I shared my success running the first ever Night Trail Wales race in Coed Y Brenin. Since then I have raced every week with a mixture of outcomes.

Ennerdale Trail Race Finish Line.

The month continued to be a good month for me by racing the Ennerdale Trail Race event organised by High Terrain Events in the Lakes District. This event has everything a trail runner would ask! It starts with a groomed single trail run before continuing onto a fast rolling open fire road before heading back along the southern shores of the lake back to the Ennerdale Scouts Hut. But the return leg isn't as straight forward as going out, you start by running through an open field before heading onto a technical single track where rock hopping is needed and a good sense on foot plantation, personally I love this section of the race as it truly is trail running at its best! The views across the lake and opposing fells are just breath taking. If you ankles last through the rocky section you then run/scramble over a small exposed section called Anglers Crag which is once again just brilliant and a great twist to the race! Finishing off on a single trail along the lake shore back to the finish line. The event is a brilliant choice for anyone who wants an achievable but challenging trail run, High Terrain Events offer 3 distances on the day from 10km+, 25km and a 50km route.

Section of the course along the south shore of the Lake. 

My main aim for this race was to try and get as close to the previous course record as possible set last year from a talented local cumbrian athlete. The only advantage I had was the weather was much more favourable then last year what made the rockier section more runnable. I crossed the line in 44 minutes dead what just gave me the new course record by a very small margin. I was pleased at how the race had went and of course a new course record. For anyone wanting a 'real' trail run give this one a go next year, as it defiantly beats the trails races what just run around open fire roads.... www.highterrainevents.co.uk

Race number at the ready..

I followed up Ennerdale trail race with a trip down south to compete in the UK Trail Running Championships at the Stort 30 mile trail race. I wasn't what to expect here as the race incorporated the championships. The morning of the event was a lovely clear day but had a cold crisp feel in the air what in my opinion is perfect to race in.. Stood on the start line I was looking around to see if I recognised any faces, unlikely being hours and hours away from where I usually run. But I did notice one face an English International athlete who I raced back in May in the British 100km  Road Championships where he finished 2nd overall. From the off a small group of 3 of us broke away from the rest of the field and took it in turns over the first 10 mile to lead along the single track river trail towards the turn around point. The first section of the race was muddy and slippy underfoot and all i could think I would have to run over this again on the way back after 200 runners had run through.. Something to add to the fun of the return leg.

Enjoying the sun along the river side..

Around the 10 mile mark myself and Craig pulled away from 3rd place and headed to the turn around aid station at 15 mile after running straight through the first 2 check points.

At the aid station Craig was carrying his own water supply in a waist pack, I just had a small amount of energy food and took a cup of water and coke at the aid station. Just before I started to drink the coke, Craig started the return leg and shot off down the park. This made me neck the cup of coke with the thought i wanted to try and stay as close as possible to the leader all the way back... Problem was as I had rushed to drink the coke it had gone down the wrong way and I instantly started to choke but off I went down the trail to follow the leader. His pace had quickened and started to pull away what I had expected but wasn't as easy running for me as it was coming out, where I had taken in the coke the wrong way I started to get a stitch/cramp feeling in the side of my stomach and started to slow down dramatically.. First thoughts, where was 3rd? and can I continue to run if this stomach cramp got worse..? Of course the answer to that part was of course I can just at what speed. I really started to suffer as each mile got slower and slower and I had started to really doubt myself in my head and was continuously looking over my shoulder where 3rd place was.

About 4 mile to go 3rd overall caught up with me and continued on and left me for dust, his pace was far superior to mine at this time and rightfully he claimed 2nd overall behind the leader. I was extremely pleased to hold onto 3rd overall (3:32:27) in the race and ultimately in the UK Trail Running Championships (Middle Distance) In the end a great day out on the trails and pleased to podium!!

Collection of medals from the UK Trail Running Championships

Abergele 5 mile road race was the following weekend where I got to run for the regional team North Wales in a match Vs the Staffs who we had previously raced earlier on in the year. The race also was the North Wales Championships for the distance. Going into the race I was feeling good after having a good 3 races before hand and confidence was high, this soon changed when I started the race on Sunday. Usually I love the tougher courses and hillier the better but on running up the first climb of the race I just wasn't feeling the love, my legs struggled and I felt like I didn't have much energy..! Had the pervious races taking their toll on my legs/body I don't know but it just wasn't happening unfortunately. I crossed the line in 29:35 and my worse time for the distance since starting running 10 years ago.. The only positive of the day we had done enough as a team to take the win Vs the Staffs in the Mens race and get our own back on home ground. I run for Eryri Harriers running club what saw us pick up gold in the team event also. So not all bad as a day but a disappointing personal performance but I can't expect to run well every week and will just go back to the drawing board and looking forward to my next race/challenge.

My North Wales kit with my trustworthy Hoka One One shoes! 

Next in the calendar is another road race at this weekends Langley 7 in Macclesfield, where I will make my debut captain role for the regional team (North Wales) in a match Vs the Cheshire team. Fingers crossed I will perform better than last weekend! Not much planned after this for the rest of the year but as normal I'm sure something will crop up..

Thanks to everyone who follows and supports!
Paul x

Petzl Night Trail Wales - 10th Oct, 2015

All set to go..!

The inaugural Petzl Night Trail Wales race at Coed y Brenin took place last weekend. A concept what had been around for a few years in the form of 6,12 & 24 hour enduro races. However Matt and his team grew/changed that idea into an event what you'd expect out in Europe. The rules were easy, 3 hours to complete as many laps as possible of a challenging 3km loop with enough climb to make you legs think after the first 3 laps... The person or relay with the most laps as the clock hit 00:00 after starting at 03:00 was the winner, simple! Just to make it more interesting we set of at 18:00pm and had our head torches going within the hour, after each lap we arrived back at the start/finish area where the atmosphere was electric! We had a live DJ playing music and strobe lighting to light up the area, whilst many spectators took full advantage of the arch way and stairs around the centre to get above the race and gave us as much support as possible whilst we concentrated on running as many laps as possible before 21:00pm. For me knowing I was coming into the centre after each lap gave me the moral boost I needed to push on for another.. The support was fantastic! 

Course profile recordings from my Sunnto Ambit 3 

18:00pm struck and we were off, as we started with the reply teams as well the pace was quick! I happily sat back and just trailed off the top 10 as we raced around the first loop, a fellow team mate from Eryri ran hard and lead the solo event around the first lap. No way was I going to catch him right away, I was thinking more long term and try not to get into a race off within the first 30 minutes of the event like I often do and pay big time for it an hour later.. I tried to keep a good steady pace each lap knowing I'd slow slightly each time as my legs got tired. 

A brilliant picture of me taken by Sports Pictures Cymru! 

I caught up with the race leader towards the end of the second lap and decided to push on and try possibly put a small gap between us and with not knowing where 3rd place was I was keen to get some gap between us. Lap by lap I continued to absorb the energy of the centre what gave me the drive to run another lap. On arriving at the start/finish area on lap 5 I picked up a bottle of Mountain Fuel Xtreme Fuel from dad who was there supporting and took it around with me to sip along the way in a bid not to loose too much time by stopping at the feed station each time like I usually would. I have often looked back at my GPS data from long races and have found I have lost so much time at aid stations over the years. I'm out to try and get out of this habit now and fuel on the go! Mountain Fuel is a product what does just that, not like a lot of other brands on the market the Xtreme Fuel is a very light tasting energy drink what doesn't upset your stomach and gives you that feel good feeling along the way! 

By lap 7-8 I was starting to slow as my legs were getting heavier and my right knee started to stiffen! Knowing that 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on was still by this time chasing me down I started to loose m gap I had created over the last 5 laps. My 4 minute lead was now cut to 3 minutes and was dropping every lap! Determined to hold on I got my self to lap 10 still in the lead JUST! With around 1:30 to go before 2nd caught me, I changed my tactic for the last lap to running out of the centre to the bottom of the climb and power hiked up to the highest point of the course with the aim to rest the legs a little and use everything I had left to race down hill and along the forest track to the finish where I crossed the line in 1st place holding off Sam Orton of Eryri by 34 seconds! Another lap and it could of been a different story... 

My Lap split times.. 34km covered with 1250m of Climb involved.

Overall I was extremely pleased with my run and grateful to be back running after taking a long rest period from any form of distance running after completing the UTMB last month. I'd like to thank Matt and his team for such a great an exciting race and to all the sponsors who provided such awesome prizes! 

Great set of prizes, also included a case of local beer what I gave to dad for his support!

Top 3 Solo Runner.

Thanks to everyone who follows as always and all the support along the way! 
Paul xx 

What's next..??

My goal for 2015 was always to cross the finish line of one the biggest ultra races in the world, the UTMB a 109 mile race with 10,000 meter +/-. Now I had ticked that dream off my bucket list the problem I had now was where do I go from here.

Loving my time in Chamonix last month.. 

I have be very lucky so far with my running having the opportunity to compete in over 20 different countries to date and have toed some of the biggest races around the world! Trying to upstaged what I did the previous year is increasingly getting harder every year.. But as far as 2015 year goes, I'm about done for the year. I haven't trained much since the UTMB last month and defiantly haven't raced much either. I did how ever race the Clwydian 15 mile fell race with 3,600ft +/- the week after competing out in Chamonix just to see how my legs would cope and what they would be like under pressure so soon after a big effort out in the Alps. As predicted my legs didn't really want to play, I was running up hill ok but descending just wasn't happening with my tight quads, I was pleased to have taken the win overall... JUST! After thinking I had a 2 minute lead it came down to a 300 meter sprint at the end after a brilliant run from Mark Davies from the last check point to catch me on the descent. I crossed the line in 2:04:38 with Mark hot on my heels in 2:04:44.

A shot from a recent trail run I was on in the Lake District, UK

The following week I was home for the weekend and decided to have a run around the local Parkrun here in Conwy again with the legs still feeling sore but crossed the line in 1st overall after running in some tough conditions. The pathway was extremely wet underfoot and slippy on corners what made the times a lot slower than usual and also one of my slowest times on this course. This also took my Parkruns to a total of 15. A number what I wish to grow each year as these events are great for that 5km speed session each week and best of all they are all free to race!

Wet/Muddy conditions at the local Parkrun.

Looking forward I only have 2 more races in the calendar so far but I'm sure this will grow as we edge closer to the year. One being a home match at the Abergele 5mile race where I will run for the North Wales team in a match Vs Staffs County.

The big question is where and what will I do in 2016? Any suggestions and recommendations would be grateful. I will continue to explore and see as many new places I can around the world and compete in many new events around the UK. My first thoughts are to have 2 A races throughout the year and target everything towards these. I think these will end up being ultra races but am still very open minded on what! I would then like a further 3 maybe 4 B races what I will aim for but also use these races to help me achieve my goals in the A races. Again what races I'm not sure.. I have been researching and writing down many events but yet to set any in stone..

Along side these 5/6 races I will race local races and more low key events to help me keep my race fitness up and use them to develop my training through out the year. Something that I haven't always done over the previous years but I now I feel to move forward I need to target more key races and work towards them to achieve higher goals. I look forward to 2016 racing calendar!

Taking a moment to enjoy and take in the amazing views of the North Wales Coast Line.. 

Thanks to everyone as always who follows me and supports me along my adventures!
Paul x

Dreams do come true - UTMB

After nearly 10 years of dreaming about competing at one of the most prestigious ultra races in the world, this year I finally got to toe the start line of the world famous 'Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc'. 5 years ago I started collecting qualifying points to enter the UTMB by doing races around the world but had missed out on the lottery to gain a place each time till this year.

Dreams do come true!

The UTMB is basically a 170km race with 10,000 meters of vertical climb what circles around the Mont Blanc mountain range whilst crossing from France - Italy - Switzerland and back to France.

The adventure all started for me whilst still in the UK! Good old public transport delays made me arrive at the airport to be told my flight had closed and if I had any chance of making it onto the plane was to chat to customer service who gave me the chance to run through the airport with the aim of getting to the gate before the plane left. Lucky we made it and off to Chamonix we flew.

In the couple of days building up to the event I spent exploring Chamonix and collecting my number which generally started to get me excited to race with Gem and my old man as support crew..

And were off..!

Friday 28th of August at 18:00pm finally saw me starting my dream of racing in the UTMB. As I raced out of Chamonix the energy inside was building higher and higher but I controlled the speed and came into check point one right on scheduled time. The first section of the route was a great mixture of open trails and single tracks with a few warm up climbs for later on in the course. Gem and my old man was acting as support crew for me and was catching the organised transport the race had put on to get to the allow check points with food and nutrition for me to top up on the way. In my pre race plans I had decided to use each check point to take 10 minutes and recover/rest before taking on the next stage. The guys over at Mountain Fuel UK had kindly helped me with my fluid nutrition and I topped up my bottles at each station. I was using the Mountain Fuel Xtreme tropical flavour what was a great easy on the stomach drink to keep me moving forward.

Pleased to be going down for a change.

Supporters trying to keep the runners warm..

As I continued my run into the night we started running on a lot more single technical tracks winding up and down through the mountains of France towards Italy. For no reason at all I started to feel really tired and legs felt extremely heavy whilst trying to navigate my way over the rocky trails towards the next check point. I ran through the sub check points and slowly made my way towards the second check point where my support team was to help me re-fuel. On reaching 'Les Chapieux' check point I had lost a bit of time on my original schedule but I was starting to feel a little better and sun started to rise over the mountains in the distance what was making a stunning view to run into.. Again after a bit a food from Gem and some new bottles full of Mountain Fuel I was off again up the next climb towards Italy and the Courmayeur check point.

Refuelled and good to go again!

From here onwards my race was getting harder and harder by the step as the sun was now high in the sky with no cloud cover and temperatures reaching upto 35 degrees. Coming from Wales we defiantly don't get the chance to train in such heat and I was suffering every minute of the way.. At this time everything in my head was telling me stop and try cool down as I was going to over heat very quickly but I decided to carry to push on knowing that it was going to be down hill towards Courmayeur where dad was waiting to give me a good kicking and get me on my way again. On leaving Courmayeur the heat was getting worse and I started to lose more and more places as I moved towards the summit of Grand Col Ferret (the highest part of the course) which i started to climb in the hottest part of the day, lucky the organisers had put extra water out at the bottom for us to try and cool off. After a very long slog I reached the summit in a mess, I was extremely hot and as I stopped running to take a breath I just starting vomiting violently all over the side.. so much for the medic to keep me sat down for around 20 minutes till I had stopped being sick and they were happy for me to push on. As I descended down towards Champex-Lac aid station it had started to go a little cooler and I managed to pick the pace up again a bit and start picking people off. Each step I started to gain a bit more confidence and mentally I was over the worse of the race, or so I was hoping at the time! By this time I was over the taste of coke and water and really craved apple juice at this point.

Amazing mountains all around..

As it was night time again it wasn't an easy task for Gem and Dad to find me some apple juice but they managed to find me some and get it to me at the Vallorcine checkpoint, which is the last checkpoint they can assist before the finish ,  I was really grateful and it didn't disappoint . After another night of running and a the last of 3 big climbs I reached La Flegere check point just as the sun was rising up over the mountains in the distance what made the whole experience ever more special!! I knew from here it was all down hill and I was feeling strong and driving off the excitement inside my stomach to race hard (or as fast I could) down to the finish in Chamonix where Gem and Dad was waiting for me. I picked off a couple more runners on the run in down town to finally cross the line in 37 hours and 1 minute. Way off my original predicted time  but I was so ecstatic to finish, with over 900 of the starting 2600+ runners not completing the course due to this years tough conditions.

37 hours later....

The support I have received before, during and after the race has been amazing! I am so thankful to everyone who took the time to text me, fb and twitter message me. I even received good luck cards before the off from 2 good friends Em & Lar! Thank you to everybody.. It truly was one of the more amazing experiences I have had in my life and a huge running high to cross that finish line.

My run in numbers..

After dreaming for 10 years and trying to get into this race for the last 5 year, the big question is: What's next??? Any one got any ideas... And most importantly follow your dreams!

Paul xx

Good things come to people who wait...

After racing around the world for the last 5 years collecting qualifying points for the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc 107 mile / 10,000 meters of accent race. It's all come down to the final few days before I fly out to Chamonix to participate in this years event. I have tried over the last few years but just haven't been lucky enough to gain that lottery place. But 2015 is the year I finally get to toe the start line!

UTMB Course Profile..

Since my last blog post I have done a couple more races and that extra training ready for next weeks event. I am a strong believer of keeping speed work up whilst running ultras and not just going out doing long meaningless miles, for my speed work many of you know that I enjoy racing my 5kms and these last few weeks was no different! Below is a few race results from the last couple of weeks:

• 1st August - Conwy Parkrun - 2nd Overall in 16:48
• 8th August - Conwy Parkrun - 1st Overall in 16:53
• 9th August - Vale Of Clwyd 5km - 1st Overall and New Course Record in 16:36
• 15th August - 200th Anniversary Highbury Fields 5km - 1st Overall in 17:24
• 16th August - Richmond Ultra - (Joint) 1st Overall in 4:13 





Mountain Fuel UK, kindly help me with my nutrition. (www.mountainfuel.co.uk)

The 16th of August I had entered the Richmond 48km Ultra Race along the Thames Path in London. I wanted to run this race as my last longish run before the UTMB but also to run in the race environment what I often prefer than our training by myself. From the off it was clear the leading 3 (including myself) wanted to get away from the field and race towards the finish line. 10km in myself and 9Bar athlete Darryl Carter pulled away from 3rd and continued towards check point one. My aim was to keep a steady pace and tick the legs over without having to work too hard and ultimately not recovering in time for next week. We both come into check point one within seconds of each other and was informed we was easily under course record pace. A quick fuel up and drink of Mountain Fuel Xtreme Energy from Gem my support crew who had made the trip with me to look after me along the course, and off I went towards check point two. 

Arriving at Check Point one! 

Little did I realise this was going to be like running blind.. I pulled slightly away from Daz and was feeling great and fresh until I started to get lost! Somehow I managed to miss one of the Thames Path signs and ended up running along the streets of London right out side the Westminster buildings what wasn't a great idea I must admit.. After managing to escape form some Asian tourist who wanted to take pictures of me running I found my way back to the correct route only to see Daz further up the road. Picking the pace back up I caught up with 1st place again and we was running together towards London Bridge and ultimately check point two. Daz had also had a few problems with the navigation side of things with signs along the way, trying to navigate around busy, narrow streets along the river Thames is harder than you think! You miss one sign and you could all of a sudden miles from where you need to be what happened to us. We had overshot a sign somewhere and continued to race towards London Bridge and missed check point two. Working out we was a good mile and half passed the check point we made a quick call to the organiser explaining we had overshot the check point but had cover distance needed just via a different route and agreed to carry on towards the finish line. Problem was we both was running out of fuel and water not being able to top up in check point. The sun was beaming and both was getting warm/dehydrated, next second we ran past a little corner shop where we took a pit stop and topped up on water/coke and sweets to get us too the finish.

Finish Line - Shared the victory. 

Pushing on together, through gates, narrow alley ways and tunnels under the river Thames we finally found the finish after a few more hic-ups and shared the joint win overall. An adventure was defiantly had and I was very pleased at how the run had gone (apart from getting lost of course, covering an extra 4-5km along the way) my legs felt great the whole way, never felt any struggles and my heart rate was kept low most of the way. Great way to finish my training for next weeks UTMB.

Follow me here: http://utmb.livetrail.net

For anyone wanting to follow my progress next week at the UTMB, live tracking will be available online and updates will be posted along the way on my Twitter and Facebook pages from my support crew...

Thanks again to everyone who follows and supports me along the way!
Paul x

Race Hard, Train Easier..

Everyone who knows me will agree that I don't like to follow the crowds and do things the same as others. It's basically the same with my running, the original moto is "Train Hard, Race Easy" for me it's the opposite way round. I enjoy racing hard and training easy... Why? I don't know! I have always enjoyed racing a lot more than I have done training, maybe because I train a lot on my own i can never motivate my self to push harder when it needs but in a race I can! So I have always stuck by racing lots and training less, therefore I still get the same amount of recovery as normal athletes who train hard before racing then have a rest. I just do it the other way round! 

A great shot from my local Parkrun early on in the month.

July has been no different... I have done a few races and kept up a little training in between each race. I am now 5 weeks out from my first 100 mile race. It's actually a 107 miles with 10,000 meters of climb involved (Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc) I am really looking forward to the race, one for the area where the race is based and two that I love to challenge myself and see how far I can push my body/mind before it cracks! 

The UTMB is defiantly going to test my limits to the max, I will to heading over with a great little support crew Gem and my Dad. All i have to do is run.. simple right? They have the hard job of keeping me going and making sure I fuel up and maximise my chances of finishing! 

I have been slowly going through the kit list I am going to need for my challenge and one area I was really lacking was my fuel/food. I have played around with many of things of my other ultras and have a good idea on what I am going to use at this one but I was wanting new form of hydration. My answer: Mountain Fuel UK. They had a philosophy what was so simple but seamed to come across so effective - 

Mountain Fuel at the ready! 

‘Food first, supplementation second‘ – get your training and fuelling strategy right and you should not need to a) spend a fortune on supplements or b) guzzle supplements that may not actually be really helping your performance or health and well being.

Our products are naturally balanced nutritional supplements which have been engineered to deliver energy and recovery. Mountain Fuel powers individuals and teams involved across a wide variety of activities. Whether you are doing exercise for fun, fitness, as an amateur, a professional, into extreme and or endurance sports; Mountain Fuel has a proven track record that delivers results.

Trying to break away at the Llyn Alwyn Trail Race, but legs didn't want to go... 

After the guys over at Mountain Fuel helping me sort out a range to try, I have used and trailed a few different products of there's now and have been happy so far.. The major factor/winner for me personally is that even tho have all the nutritional supplements needed in a energy/recovery drink it doesn't sit like a tone of bricks in your stomach like many other brands. Their drinks are easy to make up and not sticky/messy either. When I'm running I don't particular like having strong tastes from my food or drink and Mountain Fuel is perfect for this as the flavours they use are nice and light and don't taste sugary and heavy like others. I will comment and give more feedback once I have used, and used these products over a range of distances and circumstances but so far can't complain! Thanks guys for helping me out on this matter, much appreciated! 

A little summery of how my races have gone since my last blog: 

11th July - Conwy Parkrun - 1st Overall in 17:25

12th July - Ty Gobaith 10km - 1st Overall in 35:59 in a new course record for this hilly course.

18th July - Snowdon International Race - 47th Overall in 1:25:41 Pleased with time as it was a longer course this year due to the 40th Anniversary. 

19th July - Llyn Alwen Trail Run 12km - 2nd Overall in 42:10 Legs just didn't want to play after 7km due to Snowdon race still taking boss! 

22nd July - Race The Train 5km - 4th Overall in 15:52 Super fast course, and very pleased with going sub 16 minutes.

Local Newspaper write up after my Ty Gobaith 10km win.

A couple of long runs in over the next few weeks and get some climbing in the legs and we should be good to go at this years Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc! 

Thanks to everyone who follows and always supports me! 

Paul x 

My UTMB attempt moves a month closer!

As June has been and gone I am now 8-9 weeks away from my first 100+ mile race and preparations are going well... So far! 

Any one who isn't sure what the UTMB is, it stands for the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc and is a single-stage mountain ultra marathon. It takes place once a year in the Alps, across France, Italy and Switzerland. The distance is approximately 170 kilometres (106 mi), with a total elevation gain of around 10,000 meters. It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in Europe.

UTMB Course Map.

This has been my target race for all this year and will be my biggest challenge yet.. Obviously I would like to run well and get a good time for the course but I feel that I am going to complete the race and will go back in time to come to be in a better place to race around! A lot can happen in a 24 hour + race but I am setting a very rough time of 30 hours to complete. Where there this will happen on the day we will find out but I'm sure I'll enjoy every step of the way and gain life time experience along the course. 

On way my to 8th at this years Snowdon Twilight race.

I have used the month of June more for speed work and shorter races, as I don't want to completely loose speed as I run distances. Many top world class ultra runners state that speed work is still as important to ultra runners then to shorter distance runners. I have raced distances from 5km to half marathons including uphill mountain races through out the month. A summary of my June races can be seen below: 

• 13th June, Rock & Roll Liverpool 5km - 16:53 (1st Overall out of 1396 runners)
• 14th June, Rock & Roll Liverpool Half Marathon - 79:49 Suffered from a very tight hamstring after the first 8km (18th Overall out of 5530 runners)
• 21st June, Stone 10km - 34:23 (6th Overall out of 512 runners) I was apart of the North Wales team Vs the Staffs team.
• 26th June, Snowdon Twilight Uphill 8km with 1000 meters of ascent - 51:56 (8th Overall out of 103 runners)
• 27th June, Conwy Parkrun - 17:43 (2nd out of 175 runners)
• 28th June, RunFest Wales 5km - 16:49 (1st out of 86 runners) 

Running for North Wales Regional Squad at the Stone 10km.

July is going to be more longer runs and building up the leg strength for the alpine climbs around my 100 mile race.. The next 10 weeks is all going to be a learning curve for me from training to racing for over 24hours in one go! But any one who knows me, I am going to give it 110% on the day and will do everything I can to complete this challenging event. 

People have asked me how I got into ultra running and what makes it different..?! All I ever say is give it a go and you'll be hooked. I've listed a couple of events below from a mixture of a starting ultra to an ultra for someone who wants to challenge them selfs! 

Ennerdale 50km - A great lower lever race around the beautiful lake of Ennerdale. A great mixture of fire road trails, single tracks and a small technical section along the return leg of the race. More details here: http://www.highterrainevents.co.uk/#!ennerdale-trail-run/c22jn

Ennerdale Ultra Trail 50km 

SkyRunning UK 3x3000 Ultra Trail - Based on the classic Lakes 3000's but eliminating the long road sections this will be an 80k off road route incorporating Scafell Pike, Helvellyn and Skiddaw, starting and finishing in Keswick.

From the boulder fields of Scafell Pike to the smooth grassy ridge running of the Dodds, the route combines all the elements of a classic Lakeland run combined with aspects of european style ultra running. More Details here: http://www.highterrainevents.co.uk/#!3x3000-/cfib 

3x3000 Ultra Trail

Or if you'd like a very friendly and experienced team to cover everything ultra/trail running over a weekend, High Terrain Events have a ultra trail running weekend in November details here: http://www.highterrainevents.co.uk/#!trail-running-weekends/ca3b

Example of the runs covered on the training weekend.

Thanks to everyone who follows and supports me through my adventures! 
Paul x 

April/May in a flash!

I'm slowly getting worse and worse at updating my blog. The month of April and May just flew by for me. I have had many of good and bad times over the last two months from winning races to being hospitalised for a few days due to illness.

April saw me race many road runs in a bid to find some fitness and hit some small goals I had set for myself. One of them goals being going sub 17 minutes for the Conwy Parkrun. I have ran sub 16:30 several times but the Conwy 5km is a tough little course and I just couldn't get under the 17 minutes barrier till I finally achieved this in April. (All results below) I also won the Denbigh 10km and placed on the podium in 3 other events over the month.

Flying the flag in the Anglo Celtic Plate 100km, after a tough day on the course..!

Not that many expected me to make the start line of my Welsh International vest race in the Anglo Celtic Plate 100km, I did.. I wasn't going to miss this for any thing. Unfortunately I didn't run any where near what I wanted to but I was still pleased and proud to have pulled on the Welsh vest and give it my best on the day.

Exploring the Picos National Park

I followed this up by a brilliant 3 weeks out in the Picos De Europa National Park, just a couple of hours outside of Santander. I had received an invite out from the UTPE Ultra race with work to basically go and experience their race. For anyone who loves mountains and a huge range of trails you have to check out the Picos National Park. The UTPE race has to be one of my favourite races to date, the course is spectacular and gives you a real experience of trail running at it's best. Technical trails to gorge running and wildlife. Never in a race have I raced along cows, descended with mountain goats or climbed with vultures flying over head! This race had it all.. Apart from racing the UTPE out there we had several running/hiking adventures around the local areas.

From 30 degree heat on some days to snow on others! 

Making the most of every day in the mountains!

Racing with the locals..

I also got a last minute entry in the Edinburgh Marathon for the end of May. I was pleased with my run after not doing any marathon training or road running for that matter. The return leg of the marathon was all into a head wind too what made things harder too, but good to get another one under my belt and take my marathon/ultra race number to 27 now.

Recent trip to the Lake District with Work. 

Results for April - May:

• 4th April Morning, Conwy Parkrun 5km - 17:15 (2nd Overall out of 239 runners) 
• 4th April Afternoon, Llandudno 5km - 17:09 (3rd Overall out of 169 runners)
• 11th April, Conwy Parkrun 5km - 16:58 (1st Overall out of 194 runners) Course Record
• 12th April, Denbigh 10km - 36:24 (1st Overall out of 74 runners) Course Record, new event.
• 2nd May, Anglo Celtic Plate 100km - 9:52:38 Wales 3rd team in British Championships. 
• 16th May, UTPE Ultra - 8:29:59 (51st Overall out of 381 finishers) 
• 31st May, Edinburgh Marathon - 2:51:22 (52nd out of 7814 finishers)

I look forward to racing and training more in June as I'm now a month closer to the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc 100 mile race at the end of August. 

UTMB Race Profile.

Thanks for following and reading as always!

For more pictures from my adventures follow me on Twitter: @PaulWathan

Paul x 

The dream of a National Call Up /// High Terrain Events - Buttermere 10 Trail Race

This last weekend saw High Terrain Events organise their very popular 10 mile trail race in partnership with the National Trust around the shores of Buttermere and Crummock Lake. This event has sold out the past 4 years and continues to get better each year. 

I travelled up to the Lake District a few days before the event and on the way up I had an email come through with congratulations from the Welsh Athletics. I had been called into the National Team for the upcoming Anglo Celtic Plate 100km (including the UK Championships 2015) down in Redwich. This was my first senior call up for Wales, my last call up was as a junior back in 2008. As many of you know I have been racing ultra marathons for about 3 years now and have raced in many races around the world with the dream that maybe one day I would get to run for my country in the Ultra's... Well tick that one off the list! Dreams do come true!! 

Call up letter from Welsh Athletics..! 

On arriving in the Lakes I was working on the Buttermere 10 trail race with Ian,Emily and Simon. The day before the event we headed down to a very wet and windy Buttermere to set up the course and race village. The weather was some what challenging with high gusts of winds and driving winds. (A typical lakeland day) we split up and marked the route the best we could with the conditions we was facing. Once the course was marked we started to put up the event tents and secure them in place for what was a very wild evening spent in a tent. Driving winds and high winds meant no sleep for me before race day. Sunday morning still had showers and gusty winds but after a couple of hours in the early morning we had managed to get everything set up and in place ready for race time of 10:30am. This event was kindly supported by 9Bar and Salomon Uk. 

Runners head along Buttermere Lake ( Picture credit of High Terrain Events)

Stood on the start line in the rain I took a minute to compose myself before the gun and come up with a race plan, I knew there was some stiff competition from a former Ennerdale 25km Trail Race winner and CastlebergOutdoors/Salomon supported athlete. And others who I wasn't aware of at the time. With my Wales call up still fresh and exciting inside me I decided to use this excitement to overcome no sleep and run hard from the off. We set off along the shores of Buttermere Lake for just over a mile before returning back along a higher trail. At the turn point I was greeted by encouraging words from a good friend Simon as I had reach him with about a 20 second lead on the second runner. Battling on back towards the start/finish area I continued to relish the tough weather conditions, the underfoot terrain and the technical rocky sections. Along the west side of Crummock Lake the terrain got even more testing with flooded trails and knee deep bogs to run over, the single/technical track in tough weather conditions is what I call brilliant! I really do enjoy the challenge and the mentality that goes into a race like this. 

Me on a mission .. (Photo credit of Grand Day Out Photography) 

On reaching the far end of the lake I knew I hadn't really gained too much of a lead from the ever persisting second place runner. (Still sat at around 25 seconds)  Seeing a friendly face and some words of encouragement from Ian gave me that extra boost to push on knowing that the terrain was going to be quicker on the return leg with a few added climbs.  Running right through the aid station I pushed on to race back along the east side of the Lake trying to keep a pace that would let me keep the lead I had over second at this point. I raced over the first smaller climb through the Blueberry Fields and onto the second and highest climb of the day up a challenging range of technical trail and slippy wet steps. On reaching the summit of the climb I noticed 2nd had gained on me a little and was moving well. I descending of the back of the climb as quickly as possible trying to gain them extra few seconds, the final few KM's were through a mixture of muddy fields, single tracks and finished with a 500 meter hard packed trail before entering the finish field. I crossed the line to take victory in 1:07:48 a lot slower time than my usual 10 mile races but was extremely pleased considering the weather and conditions. Christopher Armit crossed the line in second 1 minute 3 seconds behind me and 3rd a further 3 minutes back.. The woman's win was separated by 28 seconds between two international athletes, with Lizzie Adams just taking the win away from youngster Heidi Davies. 

Top 5 overall. 

Overall I really enjoyed this great race, the route was perfect had a good mixture of everything what made it a good challenge but not impossible for even the beginner trail runners. I would recommend this race to anyone looking for that course what just sums up trail running! But I'd enter early if your wanting a place as it fills up quick. Thanks again to all the marshals along the course and to 9Bar for fuelling all us runners along the way. I even got a great Salomon pack for my win (Thanks Salomon!) and a unique trophy from High Terrain Events (A framed picture of Buttermere with a plaque on the front saying 1st Male Buttermere Trail Race 2015) Beats the usual cup trophies you get in most races... I then finished off a good day by running round the course again to collect the markings.

Great 1st price from High Terrian Events. Well worth the effort! 

Stephen Wilson (Grand Day Out Photography)  took some great shots along the route of the runners too, what can be seen here: http://www.granddayoutphotography.co.uk/high-terrain-events-buttermere-10 

Thanks to everyone who follows and supports me through my adventures! 
Paul x