We love speaking to folk from right across the running world. This week's guest we discovered by chance. We love chance. Ellis Bland, there's a surname to set expectations for life, kindly took our chance offering to blether to us on the pod. Ellis was raised on the fells, he dipped away from the fells for a bit before they called him back. When they called him back Ellis found renewed vigour, and then decided to run further by saying hello to ultra marathon. Ellis takes us on a tour de force of his running career. It's delightful stuff from start to finish. A wonderful story, anecdotes galore and many words of wisdom. He has a beautiful take on the world of running, keeping things simple yet complicated. Strong views and values mixed with some whimsical storytelling. We also find out about Vaga. The unmistakably recognisable hat brand that's swept into races over the last 3 years. Ellis is co-founder of Vaga, he lets us know about their mission goal and how the business grew from a nutshell. Our main topic of discussion though is Ellis. He's had some unforgettable race experiences, not all end well sometimes the stars align. With his sights firmly set on Double Bob Graham's and a running holy grail we should all embrace Ellis will leave an indelible mark on you. Ellis is a dude. He's our kinda dude. Whether you like to run hills, run ultras or just run you'll be absolutely buoyed by this feature length cracker of an episode. ENJOY. ENJOY. ENJOY.

Ellis on Instagram: @ells_fells_

Nadir Khan book link: Extreme Lakeland: A photographic journey through Lake District adventure sports