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