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This is a solo news episode.

I opine on Northern Traverse results, who's going to Western States, the controversies surrounding Destination Trails race, The Monster 300 and what's being said about it on social media and Reddit.

I also chat about my recent race at Ranger Ultras PB137 and and how I rolled my ankle 3 times, threw up 4 times, but still managed to hold onto 2nd place!

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This episode is an emotional one, so be prepared!

Luke talks about the moment as a 24 year old, that he now says was the end of everything he ever knew to be right with the world. The moment he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Having ignored a nagging pain in his shoulder for nearly 6 months, he finally went to the doctors and found that he had a tumour the size of a mango under his shoulder blade, as well as multiple metastasis in his lungs.

Rather than wallow in sadness, (which nobody could have denied him) he did what he could during his treatment. Cycling on a stationary bike for a hour and walking around Bristol Harbour for an hour. He even managed to start running and somehow ran a half marathon in 80 minutes during his treatment! 

After treatment he upped his cardio and cycled from Bristol to Beijing on a tandem bike! (see the film 'A life in tandem")
From there he realised that he had a diesel engine and turned his attention to trail and ultra. Wnning his first ultra in Wicklow Ireland and then a sky running race, all within 2 weeks! From there he has won Golden Trail races, races by UTMB and it seems there's no stopping him now!

Lukes life may have been marred by tragedy, but his upbeat and positive attitude seem to exude from him and you can't help but be inspired!

Good things to come for this lad from the South West!

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In this podcast we speak to returning guest Fiona Pascall.

Fi is back for a third time to talk about her recent success at Chianti by UTMB.

Fi beat some of the best international ultra runners to win the race and secure her golden ticket to the big dance in Auburn for Western States this June.

Although she is undecided about wether to take the ticket to WSER, we all know its probably to most likely outcome as even she admits that it could be a once in a lifetime situation. 

We talk about her training leading into the race, how it went on the day and how it didn't feel like a decisive win for her, even with a 19 minute gap over 2nd place.

We also dive into her new project, Trail Retreats, to hear about the long term plan that Fi and her partner Matt have for the running camp that recently came to fruition.

We can't wait to see how she does toeing the line at WSER in just a few short months!

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Instagram Live with Robin the Running Accountant!

We dive into all the action from Barkley Marathons and we chat about what might go down at Chianti by UTMB this coming weekend!

Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode I speak to Dicksy, AKA Simon Dicks.

Simon is a very humble, but also a very accomplished ultra runner. Whose won races in opposite environments. From the jungle and desert, to the snow and ice. 
I caught up with him at the end of this years winter Spine Race and we booked to talk about all things Spine Race......But we couldn't make it work until now. 
So although we do talk about Britain's Most Brutal race, we mainly talk about his growing business helping ultra runners sort out their running technique and get themselves into the best shape they can for running big races.

Simon talks about the people he's helped and the races he's now done to gain the experience he knows his clients need from him.

To get in touch with Simon to book coaching, hit the below links....

www.focusedrunning.com

Instagram - ultradicksy_coaching

Facebook - Focused Running

TikTok - focusedrunning_coaching

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Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode I speak to returning guest Stu Westfield from Ranger Ultras.

Ranger Ultras hold a special place for me and my racing career, with the PB57 being my first race win back in 2019.
So this conversation is a catch up with Stu and a chat about what we've both been up to over the years since we last sat down for chat. 
Stu's races really are representative of what local grassroots ultramarathon's are all about. Low prices, maximum fun and a loyal community of racers. If you haven't done one of Stu's races before then I suggest you look them up!

Stu spent many years as part of the Spine safety team, before setting up his own race company rangerultras.co.uk.
Ranger Ultras delivers financially accessible events in and around the Peak District and Yorkshire Moors.

In line with his ethos of low key, high quality events. Stu felt that trail runners should be able to enjoy the views of the Pennines that the big corporate sponsored multi-day races offer (mentioning no names) but without the huge price tag. This led to the conception of his PB270 and PB137 races in April.
Both fully supported start the clock ultras up the Pennine Bridleway, from Middleton Top near Matlock, to Kirkby Stephen for the 270.
The 137 goes from Hebden Bridge to Kirkby Stephen, starting a day later.

All of the wow factor of a multi-day race along the Pennines, but without the traveling circus and high costs.

Ranger Ultras currently offer the below races throughout the year for you to get stuck into!

PB270 - Pennine Bridleway Challenge
PB137 - Pennine Bridleway Challenge
Yorkshire 3 Peaks 
Peak District South and North (1 day or full weekend options)
PB55km Ultra
PB18km Ultra
High Peak 70/100 Ultra
High Peak 18km Trail
As well as the grand slam over the race season.....

Follow the below link to find out more 

rangerultras.co.uk

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Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

If you're a shoe geek, you won't want to miss this one!

Chris, AKA The Key Cobbler, has shot to social media fame with his instagram reels showing his skills as a cobbler, based in Kendal in the Lake District. 
Returning running shoes back to their former glory, he has quickly gained a reputation for being the go-to guy for anything shoe repair.
But it's not just his repair skills that he's in demand for. He's also gained a reputation for modifying shoes. Including, taking brand new road super shoes and fitting them with Vibram trail soles, to make them trail super shoes!

Chris is clearly a guy that's passionate about his job and I must admit that when we arranged the podcast, I was worried that we would run out of things to talk about! But that's obviously not the case!

We talked about the challenges of running a business through the pandemic. We dive into sustainability in shoe brands and how he now finds himself rubbing shoulders with Damian Hall, The Green Runners, PairUps and other organisations who are pushing back on fast fashion.

We also briefly talk about how his skills recently got him in trouble with a major brand and a very well known ultra-runner.......we'll mention no names, but you may already know who I'm talking about!

With his partnership with Vibram, he's on a mission to get 1000's of more miles out of our trusty old daps!

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Audio taken from the documentary on YouTube 

https://youtu.be/G0C8ACMuayE?si=TQisjHbHhj9Zu7Gw

Welcome to HOME TRAILS episode 3.

This time I interview Kim Collison about his return to this years Spine Race, to take the win on his 4th attempt!
When his critics said it couldn't be done in the way he approached it, Kim silenced every one of them by winning the race in the way he always intended. From the front, pushing all the way!

For the TRAILS part of the interview we hit Kims local fells around Blencathra, in the Lake District. Taking in the local trails that he used to prepare for all 4 of his Spine Races over the years.

For the HOME part, we sit down in Kim's kitchen and dive into his 'CONFIDENCE' approach for this year. An exercise that involved him writing down the word 'Confidence' on a piece of paper and then writing all the reasons he had for confidence going into this years race.

Kim talks openly about his struggles over the years to get the result he wanted, in the way he wanted it to happen.
He is also very open in his thoughts on the infamous Spine kit list! 

This is a long form conversation with one of the greatest UK trail runners of all time. Sit down with a coffee and enjoy HOME TRAILS Ep:3

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In this episode I speak to Danny Stokes from TrailFam.

TrailFam is a charity that Danny set up after seeing the kids at his school suffer because they didn't have access to green spaces during the pandemic.

TrailFam provides access to nature and the outdoors through the sport of trail running. They're programs are designed to inspire, motivate, and empower young people. TrailFam is on a journey to transform the lives of young people across the UK. 

In the episode we speak about Dannys own running, his job as a secondary school teacher and his own experience during the various lockdowns that we all endured during the pandemic. 

Danny talks about the positive influence that the charity is achieving through its work and how the support of some well known UK trail runners is helping to inspire the kids to do great things on and off the trail!

If you want to get involved with the work of TrailFam then please hit the links below to find out more! 

IG - trail.fam

Web - trailfam.com

Email - [email protected] 

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Get in touch with Ultrarunning Sam here ⬅️

In this episode of the podcast I speak to rising ultra star Sam Skinner!

Sam shot to fame in 2023 when he took 2nd place at the Centurion Winter Downs 200. Since then he's steadily made a name for himself as one of the nicest guys in ultramarathon. But don't let that fool you....Sam is one determined cookie! 

We talk about his route into ultras, which involved some serious life adjustments. From a stalled career in football, then as a boxer, Sam was a sportsman in every sense except one.....he was addicted to binge drinking!

Sam put all of this behind him to not only quit drinking, but also to restart his life as an athlete. Focusing his 'all or nothing' drive into training for long ultras and at the same time building a community of runners with his George and Falcon Trail Running Group. A community designed for likeminded trail runners to come together through the love of the trails.

Sam's journey led him to this years Spine Race which is obviously where our paths crossed!
Sam spent much of the race at the sharp end, running with the leaders for the majority of the race until he found his pacing stride with Robyn Cassidy who he stayed with until reaching Kirk Yetholm.
Sam ran the Spine in aid of a cancer charity that is close to his heart.

Please follow the below link to donate and also look up the George and Falcon running group.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/samuel-skinner-1732141833668?
utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

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