Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode I speak to Robin about the recent backyard ultra championships.

But firstly we talk about his instagram page "The Running Accountant"
where Robin breaks down the past week in ultra running and explains this crazy sport that we love, for newbies and the ultra curious.

'Robins Running Roundup!' breaks down races and events and explains how they work to your average Joe. Robin aims to get more people into trail running and this is one of the avenues he uses.
The other way is to organise trail runs in the Peak District through Highpeak Runners where he aims to fill the gap between couch to 5k and trail running.

So who better to come onto the podcast to talk about the recent Backyard Ultra National Championships!
Robin breaks down the weird and wonderful world of backyard and speaks about who did well, what the challenges are and what to expect from our own British backyarders next year at the world championships!

Something tells me that Robin might become a regular feature on the pod so keep your eyes peeled for more of Robins Running Roundup!

links to his socials below

@highpeak.runners
@the.running.accountant

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Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In a break from our usual programming......I speak to Amy Hart.

Amy is, in her own words, 'just a normal runner' which is true, but aren't we all? Even us ultra runners are just normal runners! Well, between snacks and sit downs when we're actually running......

In this interview we talk about Amy's life growing up in foster care, her struggles with moving schools frequently and feeling like she would end up uneducated, jobless or even in prison!
But Amy didn't let herself become just another statistic, she threw herself into university and came away with a degree.

Throughout the years Amy has used running to destress, see new places and most importantly to keep her mental health in check. She now believes so strongly about running as therapy that she is running London Landmarks  half marathon for the mental health charity Still I Run and is team captain for Just Strong.

Still I Run are a charity dedicated to promoting the benefits of running for mental health, which is a subject close to not only Amy's heart, but mine as well.

We talk candidly about our own struggles with mental health and how running has helped us cope with what life throws at us!

links to Amy's fundraising are below.

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

https://www.realbuzz.com/just-strong-london-landmarks-half-marathon

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

On this weeks episode I speak to former SAS: Who Dares Wins contestant and now author, James Gwinnett.

James has had a colourful past to say the least!
After a serious neck injury ended his rugby career, he fell into a deep depression that turned into alcoholism. But after seeing the London marathon on TV, he decided enough was enough and sought professional help.
AA and running helped him quit his drinking and set him up with his new passion of running. The London marathon was just the beginning and he quickly found himself signing top for some big ultras! including the 145 mile Kent and Avon canal race. (where he came a very respectable 2nd place)
This is where he met our mutual friend Matt Fynn and struck up a conversation about their shared troubled past.

James realised that in capturing the stories of others that have overcome great odds to achieve something in life, he was building up conversations that could help others navigate similar struggles.

This is how the book was born!
Ready Set Life is a collection of his own stories of struggle and change, but also that of many others. From former special forces, doctors, ultra runners, a former heroin addict, polar explorer and an England rugby captain....to name just a few.

The book is in his own words, a cynical look at society and although it deals with some serious subject matter, it is equally as funny as it is serious!

Go buy the book on Amazon. 

https://amzn.eu/d/4mz2kfo

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode I speak to Sarah Perry.

Sarah by her own admission is a reluctant podcast guest, but after months of me asking, she finally relented! I'm so glad she did because we had a great chat about a number of subjects.

We did the obligatory "superhero question" to find out how she got into running. We talk about her successful FKT of the South West Coast Path earlier in the year and we obviously talk about her record setting win at 13 valleys over the weekend.

We also dive int a subject that came up after a post she made on the morning of our interview. At the startline of 13v she was subjected to a comment about her weight. This sparked a conversation about body shaming in our sport.

Listen to the interview to hear how she felt about it.

URS 

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Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode I speak to returning guest Kim Collison.

Last month, Kim won the Swiss Peaks Trail 360km 85,000ft mountain race.
In this interview Kim talks about overcoming past DNF's in long ultras to finally put together the performance he knew he had in him.

Kim talks about how significant this race is in his build to the Spine race in January 2025. With this successful race in place, Kim plans to hit 'Britains Most Brutal' race with everything he's got. With 3 unsuccessful attempts now behind him, he is laser focused on getting the result that we all agree he deserves.

To be honest, I even told him in the interview that he was giving away too much of his plans to his competition. He just shrugged his shoulders and more or less said 'what will be, will be'.

This years race is shaping up to be an interesting one!

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

I speak to Kate Allen from RUNULTRA about the Camille Herron controversy.

We talk about what allegedly happened and what the media has to say about it all. We discuss 'trial by social media' and the effect not just on Camille herself, but also how it affects our beloved sport of ultra running.

This isn't an episode of hate towards Camille, just a conversation about what actually happened and what could happen in consequence.

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

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Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode we welcome back Will Roberts.

Normally we speak to Will about all things  @SpineRace but this time we did a deep dive into his professional career as a photographer in some of the worlds most extreme environments.

We talk about his career in media, his passion for travel and how he essentially blagged his way into his first media job for  @BeyondTheUltimateRaces  

Obviously we do speak about the Spine Race because we both feel so passionately about Britains most brutal race!

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode I speak to US ultra running legend Max King.

Max recently popped over from the USA to win the legendary Dragons Back Race. A 380KM stage race over 6 days traversing the length of Wales from Conwy in the north, to Cardiff in the south!

In this interview we chat about his experience of the iconic British stage race, that tests even the hardest ultra runners. We talk about his nonexistent recces of the course and how everyday was for him, fortunately a nice surprise.
We discuss his previous experience of UK trail running and how his love of the British fell running scene keeps him coming back for more!

Max is a great runner and it was an insightful interview that dealt with some of the minutiae of running in what has fast become a legendary race on the UK ultra scene.

As always, please like and subscribe to the channel and audio podcast.

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

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Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

Josh returns as a guest to the podcast with an outstanding performance at this years UTMB.

Josh ran himself into a final position of 11th, making him the highest placing Brit at this years race!

When you hear how his race started out, the more you realise what a great result he had on a day that could have ended as a DNF, like it did for so many others at this years race.

As always, we talk about his training leading into this years race. We talk about his reflections on the result and what he has lined up for the rest of the year.

Josh is a genuinely funny guy too, so its always a pleasure to talk to him.

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

For the super nerds that wanted to hear the first edit before it was cut down for visual aesthetic reasons!

An extra 7 minutes of training talk that was removed from the video version after this version. So it's essentially the same but with some additional insights into his training and prep.
More conducive to listening in the podcast format.

The video can be found here 

https://youtu.be/qQcDPLj1YUY?si=rP_FCDy__4sPNvun

URS

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam