This week we're joined by fell running historian and author Steve Chilton for a really interesting conversation about the history, quirks and community behind one of the UK's most unique forms of running.

We start by breaking down the difference between fell running, mountain races, mountain ultras and FKTs, and what makes fell running so different - from route choice and navigation to the community feel and low-key nature of the events. We also chat about some of the unusual places you can find fell races taking place.

Steve shares his own journey into running, the training lesson that shaped his coaching philosophy, and why he believes training needs to be individual rather than following a one-size-fits-all plan.

We also get into the history of women in fell running, navigation skills and tips for getting better at running technical descents.

Find Steve's books: https://itsahill.wordpress.com/

Find fell races: https://www.fellrunner.org.uk/races

Introductory sessions for women: https://www.girlsonhills.com/

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This week we're joined by Kallum Pritchard to chat about his recent win at Runaway Racing's R86 along the Ridgeway, where he overcame the heat to take the win. 

We talk through the race, how he adapted his pacing as the day unfolded, and the cooling strategies that worked for him.

Kallum also talks honestly about the challenges of balances training around a full-time job, two young children and a part-time master's degree, and the creative ways he squeezes training into everyday life.

We look ahead, covering his build towards UTMB's Nice Côte d’Azur event, training for big mountain races while living in London, fuelling for long days out, and the challenges he's expecting on the day.

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Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

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Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

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This week we're joined for the second time by the mighty talented (yet incredibly humble) Chris Cope to look back on his impressive win at the Montane Spine Challenger South, before turning our attention to his exciting upcoming challenge – an attempt at the Double Bob Graham Round. A successful attempt would see Chris become the first person with Type 1 diabetes to complete the double. 

Chris talks us through his Spine race strategy, training, nutrition and diabetes management, including why he's moved away from traditional carb loading and how he's refined his fuelling to support long days in the mountains.

We also discuss recovering quickly from big races, preparing for 48 hours on the fells, and the huge logistical challenge of organising a Double Bob Graham attempt with a team of pacers and supporters.

To sponsor Chris' double Bob Graham attempt in aid of Diabetes UK click here with many thanks from Chris, Amie and I in advance for any donations.

Code 'CHRIS10' for 10% off at Voom nutrition 

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

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This week Jon and Amie, Neil and Hannah, sit down to debrief Jon's South Downs Way 100, taking a look at the planning, crewing and pacing strategies that helped make the day a success. We review what worked, what didn't, and the lessons learned from managing nutrition, hydration, heat, diabetes, chafing, and the inevitable highs and lows of a 24-hour effort.

We discuss the role played by Jon's crew and pacers, why good communication can be one of the most powerful performance tools in an ultra, and how small logistical details can make a big difference over 100 miles.

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

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We can't tell you how much we *loved* speaking to Jan and Rob this week. 

Inspiring, genuine, warm and full of love for the trails; we hear how Jan and Rob prepare for and complete ultramarathons on a near weekly basis. 

Jan recently become the first V70 woman to finish the Thames Path 100, and went on to complete the Ridgeway R86 in under 25 hours a few weeks later, also coming out on top as the first FV70 finisher. We hear how Jan battled heat, blisters, GI issues and cut offs in both races. 

Jan and Rob share their approach to strength training, recovery, nutrition and pacing, during a busy summer of ultras. There's no excuse not to get after it when listening to these two!

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

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In this week's episode, Kevin Brady joins us to tell us about his latest adventure, Wantage2Westminster, 80 miles along the Ridgeway, Thames Path and through the sights of London.

Six months in the planning, Kevin tells us about where the idea came from, the logistics of creating his own epic adventure, training, and how a super crew and pacing team came together to help Kevin complete the journey in hot conditions.

All donations welcome in support of MS Trust:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/wantage2westminster

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

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This week Jon and Amie cover their recent adventure in the Lake District, the George Fisher Tea Round. A bucket list challenge!

Hear how Jon and Amie, and George the dog, approached the ~32 mile, 12,000ft adventure over two days.  What they packed? How they accessed water? The scary bits!  What a reverse round meant? and whether they made it! 

Get the full experience of adventuring in the Lakes with Jon and Amie recording live from the campsite with the atmospheric rain falling. 

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

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This week we’re joined again by Joe Turner to talk about his build towards the South Downs Way 100, and the lessons he learned during a recent DNF at the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100k.

Joe reflects honestly on what went wrong during a brutally hot day that ended at 85k, how he’s changed his approach heading into SDW100, and why patience will be the key theme of his race strategy this time around.

We chat about training around life with a new baby, adapting to hill training while living in flat Cambridge, back-to-basics strength work for ultras, crew planning, cooling strategies, and using continuous glucose monitoring to better understand fueling and performance.

Alongside his own racing, Joe also talks about launching his new running coaching venture, supporting runners with a practical, long-term approach shaped by his own experiences in endurance sport.

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

Support the show

This week we’re joined by Nat Taylor to talk about her recent experience setting the new Dragon's Back Race FKT.

Nat completed the 380km route from Conwy Castle to Cardiff Castle in an incredible 75 hours and 39 minutes — taking more than 26 hours off the previous supported FKT record.

We chat through the attempt from start to finish, including the huge team effort behind the scenes, pacing through the Welsh mountains, night navigation in the Rhinogs, sleep strategy, fuelling challenges, kit failures, and the mental battle of the final miles into Cardiff.

Nat also shares lessons from years of adventure racing and ultra running, why consistency matters more than huge training volume, and how running with friends can completely change an experience like this.

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at an extraordinary performance.

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

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In this episode Jon and Amie take a practical deep dive into the Chimp Paradox model and how it can be used to create a plan for high-pressure situations, in the context of big races.

Using the model’s three systems — the Chimp, Human and Computer — Jon works through a real example based on his build towards the South Downs Way 100 in June, creating a five-step mental preparation plan for race day.

The plan includes anticipating difficult thoughts and emotions before they happen, understanding what your brain is trying to protect you from, reconnecting with your values and intentions, and building practical strategies to stay present when things get tough.

Although the conversation is centred around ultra running, the ideas are designed to be applied to any high-pressure situation, whether that’s racing, work, public speaking, or everyday challenges.

We hope you find this a really practical approach to doing the mental preparation which is so important for your race or big challenge. 

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This episode is sponsored by Empowered2. 

Most businesses significantly underinvest in leadership development.

Leadership development should be bespoke and appropriate for the needs of your business, adding value by improving the performance of everyone involved with immediately deployable tools and techniques.

Jon helps organisations serious about creating high performing leaders and organisations to create meaningful, memorable and lasting leadership legacy. 

Support the show