I talk to Olly Stephenson in Edinburgh about hiking the 2650 mile Pacific Crest Trail which he did in an incredible 88 days this summer. In Olly's words "the trail traces a line up the mountains of west coast USA, traversing five major regions: Desert, High Sierra, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington", linking Mexico to Canada. Olly is no stranger to long distance adventures, with the UK Big Three, the 220 mile John Muir Trail and the Petite Trotte a Lyon  (300km) being a few previous adventures. 

Well known by many as the Carnethy Five race director, a fit 50yr old Olly found himself suddenly breathless and unwell in late 2018. A succession of tests showed he had non-Hodgkin follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer affecting the body's lymphatic system. Olly had to endure six cycles of chemotherapy, with various complications, which he describes as his most difficult challenge yet. In remission since 2019, he talks about the shift in his priorities, motivations and outlook. 

Olly is fundraising for Maggie's Cancer Care, a charity which he found incredibly supportive. If you wish to donate or find out more about the charity please go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/olly-stephenson

One slight edit as I had a coughing fit in the middle!

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I talk to visiting American Jack Kuenzle who has been over in Scotland gearing up for some big mountain rounds. On 28th July he set out hard on Lochaber's uber-classic Tranter's Round and came in with a new record of 8h38m23s, shaving almost 15 minutes off my best time of 8h52m53s set the day before (more on that in the conversation!). The previous record to that was 9h0m5sec set by me in 2020. It's brilliant to see this aesthetic 60km round of the Mamores, Grey Corries, Aonachs and Ben Nevis getting some hot international attention. Jack has reccied the route extensively over the past month and found some surprising similarities (except the bogs!) to the terrain in the American North East where he holds several FKTs including the 100mile White Mountains record - set just last month on the New Hampshire portion of the Appalachian trail. He has also been known to break skimo records in his underpants! - on Mount Hood in Oregon last winter. The 26 year old ex-Navy SEAL is clearly one to watch, as he turns his focus to the Lake District and a certain round there...

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I finally caught up with Jasmin Paris on the Isle of Jura the day before the eponymous race to chat about some of her more recent achievements. We start off with the iconic Isle of Jura Fell Race and what it means to her, before moving on to talk about The Green Runners. This is a new group set up with the aim of connecting runners concerned about the Climate Crisis, and helping to give them a united voice to try and foster change within running culture (in terms of reducing personal footprints of travel, kit and food) and the wider world (by speaking out and political change).  

Jasmin's running CV has a depth to rival the deepest Jura bogs (!) so I've tried to focus on a few of her more recent feats, namely The Spine Race and the Barkley Marathons. The Spine Race crosses a humungous 268 miles along the Pennine Way in mid winter, and in 2019 Jasmin bagged the overall record of just over 83 hours. There was rightly a massive media interest in this globally, celebrating Jasmin the mum as well as Jasmin the ultrarunner. I try to get into her process a bit; what gives her the grit and determination that she clearly has in bundles. We also discuss what it means to be a top woman in sport and how she balances running with family life. We finish by talking though some of the highs and lows of the Barkley Marathons ultra that Jasmin completed the 'Fun Run' 3 lap version of in March this year. This event has developed a reputation as a gruelling and esoteric 100mile+ event that only 15 people have every completed the full 5 laps version of in its 27 year history. With bush wacking in the dark, snowstorms and difficult navigation it's a full psychological assault, and we examine what resilience tools and tricks Jasmin employed. 

Photo by Howie Stern / inov-8 (taken at the Barkley)

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I talk to Keri Wallace of Girls on Hills about my recent new record on the Paddy Buckley Round in Snowdonia. I ran solo and unsupported, starting in Llanberis at 5am on 26/4/22 and completed the rugged 105km round in 15h14m45s - improving on Kim Collison's 2021 record of 16h20m.

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In this episode I talk to Hillary Gerardi in Servoz, Chamonix, about the record she established with Valentine Fabre in April 2021 on the iconic Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route. The duo completed the tough 110km (with 8100m elevation gain) route in 26h21m using race skis and tactics and with a small support team. The journey is documented in the film ‘The Traverse’ by Ben Tibbetts and Jake Holland, which has been shown on the mountain festival circuit. The trailer is here: https://youtu.be/UR_ZR22SHRo. Hillary is a trail runner and skyrunner from Vermont, USA, who moved to the Alps around 11 years ago. In a long list of top racing performances, wins at Glencoe Skyline, Trofeo Kima and Tromso Skyrace speak to her enjoyment and proficiency in rough mountain terrain. Apologies to Hillary for mispronouncing her surname- I got nervous!

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I caught up with Inverness-based Alec Keith who has been a prominent figure in Scottish hill running over the past 30 years. One-time holder of records for the Cairngorm 4000s, Cairngorm Big Six and Mullardoch Round, Alec revels in good long days out in the mountains, often alone, and he was quietly doing what he loves in the hills long before most of us were eating hot dinners! Over the years Alec has made the top few places in rough, rugged races such as Glamaig, Glenshee 9 and Jura Fell Race. We talk through some of his top hill memories, touching on the Hebridean Challenge and Scottish Islands Peaks races as well as hearing about the best way not to carry 22 bananas on a 60 mile run...

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On 28th August I completed the second fastest Bob Graham Round ever, touching the steps of the Moot Hall in Keswick in just under 13 hours - less than 7 minutes slower than record holder and all round megastar Kilian Jornet's time. I had an incredible support team who helped me to push myself further than ever before, forging memories that will last a lifetime. I'm delighted that endurance running godfather Martin Stone offered to interview me about my run.

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The Lake District's Kim Collison chats about his 24hr Munro Record set in July this year. Kim is no stranger to long distance running records - he holds records for the Paddy Buckley Round, Winter Bob Graham Round and Lakeland 24-hr Peaks. The 24hr Munro Round is simple on paper: how many different Munros can you tag in 24hrs, starting and finishing at the same point? In practice of course it is a gruelling physical, mental and logistical challenge. Kim's round took in 33 Munros in the Cairngorms/Glenshee region in 23hrs 48mins, over 160km with 9000m of ascent. This bettered the record of 32 Munros set by Sasha Chepelin in 2020. 

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I saw from Strava that Lakes-based runner Josh Jardine was up in Scotland on a climbing trip. He came round for a cuppa and four hours later still wouldn't accept a second! We chatted about his running and climbing projects, in particular hearing about the Lakes Classic Rock Round which he completed in September 2019 with fellow Helm Hill runner Pete Rigby in a then pairs record of 18hrs 59mins. The route involves climbing the 15 Lake District routes from Ken Wilson's revered book Classic Rock in a continuous 40 mile quest around some of the Lakes' best rock climbs.

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In this conversation I'm delighted to chat to previous British Fell Running Champion Kelli Roberts of Ambleside about her experiences on the Cuillin Ridge of Skye. In August 2020 she improved the female record for the 12km ridge traverse to 5h56m46s from Anna Wells' 6h34m set in 2016.

The record is timed from end to end summits, starting at Gars-bheinn and finishing on Sgurr nan Gillean. Kelli and partner Pete Rigby first traversed the ridge in 2018, and returned last year to learn the route and practice the climbing sections. On the record traverse they simul-soloed the whole route including the 4 'climbing sections' which are traditionally included in a record attempt. It was a very hot day and lack of water added to the challenge.

More details on Kelli's record can be found at: www.ukclimbing.com/news/2020/08/kelli_roberts_breaks_womens_fkt_on_the_cuillin_traverse-72450

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