Beyond the Ultimate first encountered Nick Watson in Kenya during the first For Rangers Ultra in 2018.  Through his passion for adventure and enthusiastic nature, Nick quickly established himself as a part of our extended family.  We were over the moon then when he came to us with a plan for an epic new race in the UK.

Now we are all looking forward to April next year when we get to journey to the remote and wonderful Knoydart Peninsula in the West Highland's of Scotland for the first Highland Ultra.

In this episode, our founder and Race Director Kris King chats with our newest Course Director Nick Watson about the race he dreamed up and about what goes into bringing an event like this to life.  

Learn more about the Highland Ultra.

Against a backdrop of the Covid_19 pandemic and the slew of race cancellations it led too, a few runners have managed to salvage the spirit of competition and a number of epic achievements from the clutches of what could have been a very quiet year in trail/ultra-running.

There can be few claims to greater success this year than Damian Hall's.  He has just grabbed his 3rd record of a busy summer after a nail-biting 14hr charge along the South Wales Traverse.

We cover this, his year as a whole and also the upcoming film 'Totally FKT' which documents Damian and John Kelly's exploits on the Pennine Way earlier this summer (see episodes #42 and #44).

In a special feature, Will also chats to Matt and Ellie Green of Summit Fever, the film-makers behind this amazing documentary which premieres on Sunday 22nd November at Kendal Mountain Festival 

Learn more at: https://www.summitfevermedia.com/pennine-way-fkt

Cover Images: (c) innov8/Dave Macfarlane

Kristian Morgan is an ultra-runner, coach and podcast host with his sights set on breaking massive records.  After covering over 1000 miles of the Appalachian Trail last year as part of the support team for Belgian runner Karel Sabbe's FKT, Kristian was intent on taking on the same challenge himself, until Covid scuppered his plans.

With the hunger for an epic challenge already in him, and with some close ties to the iconic South West Coast Path here in the UK, Kristian decided he'd make an attempt at breaking Damian Hall's already impressive record.

After running an average of 60 miles per day, on around 4 hours sleep a night for a total of 10 days, 12 hours and 6 minutes, Kristian had has record.  In this episode we hear about his earlier adventures and about his experiences running along Britain's beautiful south west coast.

You can find Kristians Podcast here: https://www.kristianultra.com/podcast

And learn more about his coaching services here: https://www.kristianultra.com/onlineruncoaching

Support his Appalachian Trail FKT attempt here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/appalachian-trail-speed-record-attempt

Three letters have dominated ultra-distance running this year and those three letters are FKT. As the pandemic put paid to most runner's plans, their thoughts collectively turned to other outlets for their competitive natures and records began to fall on a near-daily basis.

In Broken, Ally Beaven takes an entertaining look at just why 2020 was so unusual for long-distance running. With his interest in Fastest Known Times (FKTs) piqued, Beaven immerses himself in the scene. His summer becomes one of spending hours in the hills feeding, cajoling and generally trying to keep alive the runners he is supporting, as well as following the dots of live trackers in the middle of the night and endlessly refreshing his Twitter feed as records tumble around the country.

Who looked the most knackered? Who took on the biggest challenge? What is Ally willing to draw in the signed copies? These questions answered and more as Will and Ally chat through the ups and downs of putting this amazing book together.

N.B. this episode comes with a slight colourful language warning!

Pre-order at https://www.v-publishing.co.uk/books/narratives/broken/

Kris King is a Race Director and adventurer with a history of fastpacking style adventures, multi-stage races, and even a 31-day running tour of the UK, he has tried and tested a multitude of backpacks on the trail over the years.

What should you consider when choosing the right backpack?  How should you approach packing it?  How can you avoid chaffing and rubbing whilst running/hiking with your pack?

All these questions and more, such as what's the weirdest thing you've seen a runner pack for a race and where does a bald man stop washing his face, are answered by Kris and Will in this latest episode.

This year, John Kelly became a Spine Race winner and broke a Pennine Way FKT which had stood for over 30 years (setting a record which was rudely broken a week later by Damian Hall!).

As if this wasn't enough achievement, he also recently completed his 'Hartley Slam' project by completing the Grand Round.

This monstrous endeavour saw John take on all 3 UK grand rounds (the Paddy Buckley, Bob Graham and Charlie Ramsay) consecutively, whilst cycling the distances in between.  Each of those runs are around the 100km mark with stacks of ascent, and the rides between are around the 300km each!

John Kelly was fundraising throughout the Hartley Slam for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.  Read all about their work and donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/hartleyslam

Cover Background Photo: @the_phbalance 

On weds 2nd September at around 5am, adventurer, ultra-runner and coach Donnie Campbell finished a record attempt that had taken him 31days and 23hrs to complete.

He had summited all 282 Munros (Scottish mountains over 3000ft in height), completing the entire journey under his own power.  He covered almost 900 miles on foot and the same on a bike whilst enduring enough ascent to climb Everest 14 times.  In doing so, he beat the previous record by over a week!

In this episode we chat about his epic journey from forming the idea, through planning the monster logistics, to tackling a serious contender for the most epic record of this summer of FKTs.

Donate to Donnie's fundraiser for the British Red Cross here ---> https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/donniecampbell84

Learn about the Virtual ForRangers Ultra ---> https://beyondtheultimate.co.uk/ultra/virtual-for-rangers-ultra/#!/2020

In July, a group of passionate runners formed an organisation with the aim of increasing inclusion, participation and representation of black people in trail running.  That group called itself Black Trail Runners.

In this episode we chat to 2 of those runners, namely 'Marathon Marcus' Brown and Sonny Peart about their own passion for running and outdoor sports, their experiences on the trails, and about what can be done to tackle a lack of diversity that leaves many people missing out on the physical and mental benefits gained from running and other outdoor sports.

Follow BlackTrailRunners on instagram---> https://www.instagram.com/blacktrailrunners/

Contact them at ---> [email protected]

Hear Marcus' 'A Runner’s Life' podcast ---> https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-runners-life/id1504303593

Learn about the Virtual ForRangers Ultra ---> https://beyondtheultimate.co.uk/ultra/virtual-for-rangers-ultra/#!/2020

We promised you a third installment of our series on training for endurance events/ultra-running with our very own Kris King, and here it is!

Why should runners worry about strength training? Is strength work actually good for runners? Are there any exercises every runner should do? What role can strength training play in the prevention of injuries? All these questions and more are answered as Will and Kris are reunited for another episode of Everything Endurance.

Alongside Kris King's role as Race Director for Beyond the Ultimate, he is also an experienced fitness coach with a track record of helping athletes to prepare for epic feats, including training Will from being an overweight kebab enthusiast with a morbid fear of running into an ultra-runner capable of a top-10 finish at the Ice Ultra, in under a year.

Carla Molinaro is an elite ultrarunner and coach with a glowing CV.  After the cancellation of all her races this year, Carla began training for a world record attempt under lockdown in South Africa, where she could only run up and down a 100-metre driveway.

Nevertheless, on 28th July she set a new women's world record having run the 874-mile/1400km length of Great Britain in 12 days and 30 minutes.

We chat to her about preparing for a world record under lockdown restrictions, and about the grueling 12 days of hard running it took to reach her goal.