Way back in April 2006, I ran the London Marathon as a member of a team. It was the English National Marathon Championships, I was running for Newcastle (Staffs) AC, and our ladies team came away with national team gold that day. It was an incredible result for the team, and to top things off even further, I personally smashed my marathon PR by another 7 minutes, finishing in 2 hours 47 minutes which gave me 14th place in the ladies event.
The marathon was always my strongest distance and I rarely lacked the confidence that I could hit my goal - I've now stood on the start line of over 60 marathons over the years, and even today, I could still probably predict my finishing time over the distance.
A few weeks after running my marathon PR, I received a letter from Norman Wilson, the Team GB Ultra Distance Coach and Manager, asking if I'd be interested in competing in the Boddington 50k in the August. This race would provide the opportunity to qualify to represent England at the World IAU 50K Championships in Italy - he said he saw potential in me for becoming an ultra runner and believed that one day, I could run for Great Britain in ultra distance races.
I didn't race Boddington, I didn't go to Italy - instead, I came down with some kind of virus that knocked me out for a good couple of months, where running even 2 miles left me exhausted.
Thankfully, I was back running again by the new year. I reached out to Norman asking if there was still a possibility of running a qualifying race and being considered for the national team. That same year on my birthday in February, I raced my very first ultra - the Draycote Water 35 miler which I think was 5 laps of the lake if I remember correctly.
I had no idea what I was doing. It was 9 miles further than I'd ever ran before, and yet somehow I still maintained a similar pace I'd ran at the marathon the previous year. I won the ladies race in 4 hours and 35 seconds, and that was the start of my ultra running "career".
The result at Draycote Water led to me being selected to represent England at the Anglo Celtic Plate Home Countries International in Edinburgh in May, which was also hosting the British 100km Championships. That day in May back in 2007 was very surreal - I won the 100km in 8.14.39, not only becoming the British 100km Champion, but also qualifying to represent Great Britain at the World 100km Championships, to be held in Holland in September that same year.
That whole year was a whirlwind for me. I went on to become the national 50km champion when finally getting to race Boddington, I won a bronze medal at the World Trail Running Championships in Texas when representing Great Britain, and at the World 100km Championships, I finished 9th in a shiny new PR of 7 hours 53 minutes.
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It's crazy looking back on how ultra running took off for me. I never dreamt I'd be good enough to represent my country, but when I got that call up, it was one of the most amazing feelings ever. I was honoured to fly the flag for Great Britain, and I had the honour of representing Great Britain or England on a further 8 occasions, competing at other World Championship events, as well as the Commonwealth Ultra Running Championships.
Unfortunately, time takes its toll on all of us and we all grow older, and with that comes the inevitable slowing down. I still like to be competitive, and occasionally I'll still make the podium, but I know in reality I will never run a PR again. There are some runners that get faster as they get older and are achieving PRs which is very inspiring, but for me, I've tried to be at the top.of my game for over 40 years - I've had no breaks for children or university or career - I've ran and raced for years, I've thousands of miles on the clock, and I'm perfectly happy with what I've achieved over the years. But there was still one thing I wanted to do before I decide to gracefully retire from competitive running .....
Back in the 1970s, my mum and dad were approved for emigrating to Canada. My brother was a baby, and I was just a glint in my parents' eyes - had that move happened, I would have been born Canadian, and I would've been raised in Calgary which is where my parents were set to move to. Long story short, the move didn't happen, but there was always something I found fascinating about this beautiful country, and I wondered if one day I would be able to move there myself.
Almost 14 years ago, our opportunity came to move overseas when Andy was offered a job in Calgary - we seized that opportunity, and the rest is history as they say. Moving to Canada was a dream come true, but my ultimate goal was to become a Canadian citizen - finally, in April last year, that dream too was fulfilled.
What the monkeys does this all have to do with my ultra running?! Well, the timing of my citizenship ceremony meant that I would be eligible to register for the Canadian National 24-hour Championships which would be hosted at the Survivorfest event in Sherwood Park close to home. I ended up registering and my goal was to run over 180km and hopefully qualify for - and be selected for - the Canadian team for the World 24-hour Championships, which would take place in France in October the following year. I ran just over 184km that day at Survivorfest, but it would be another year before the team would be announced, resulting in a very long wait to see whether I would be one of six ladies that would be flying the flag for Canada.
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As the months went by, more and more ladies were doing 24 hour events, and the quality of the competition was improving every time. Before I knew it, I'd gone from second on the list to sixth - it was highly likely I would be bumped off the bottom. When it was announced that the deadline for selection had been extended by one week to allow others to qualify at Survivorfest in 2025, I almost gave up hope - unless I could run 200km at the 2025 event myself, I would likely not even be considered for France.
I never intended to run Survivorfest this year, but I had to give myself the chance. Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on how you look at it - poor weather conditions once again on that day in June meant nobody had the race they were hoping for - I was still sitting in sixth spot on the list, but it would be another week before I would hear anything.
I'll never forget the moment I found out I had made the Canadian team for the World 24 hour. We had headed to Jasper for a weekend camping trip, and having woken up early to go to the loo, I switched on my phone as I wandered across the campground just as the sun was rising over the mountains. Data is pretty spotty out there, but when I entered the cubicle and perched by bum on the toilet seat, my phone pinged to notify me that an email had arrived. I glanced down and the only word I saw was CONGRATULATIONS - it was then that I knew. I shed a tear of happiness and relief - at the age of 52, almost 20 years since I was first selected to represent GB, I was now being told I would get to fly the Canadian flag in Albi, France in October - very surreal but very exciting! And the cherry on the top? Andy would be coming along as a member of the official team crew :)
My best distance for 24 hours is 208km or just under 130 miles, and with being surrounded by world class runners, I'd like to think I can get close to 200km again at the Worlds. Running isn't easy for me these days, and despite what my past results may indicate, I sometimes find it difficult to maintain that level of training and it takes much longer for me to recover. A slower pace, even if only a minute per mile, adds extra time to my daily runs which inevitably impacts on the other things I try to do in life. Sometimes I feel terribly selfish being out of the house running for hours on end, especially when I consider that time precious and I've a husband and three gorgeous pups at home that are patiently waiting for me. I'd much rather spend all of my time with them, but I also consider running to be a huge part of who I am, and so I try to compromise. There's a reason why I'm obsessed with my dogs and share endless pictures of them as it feels like I really don't see them enough sometimes! Then there's my nutrition and making sure I refuel properly, especially when doing higher mileage - I need to eat, sometimes lots, and there's only so much pasta Andy is willing to eat!
There are of course other things to consider when racing at international level outside of day to day life. I've been drug tested twice in competition during my running career - at the Cologne Marathon where it placed 5th, and in Texas when finishing 3rd in the inaugural world trail running championships. Even though I know I've always been a clean athlete, going through anti-doping is nerve racking - what if you've quite innocently taken something, eaten something, drank something, not fully knowing the ingredients, and you end up with a negative test?! Then there's the sample itself - I had an hour to produce the required amount, I was terribly dehydrated, and I remember all the bottles of water at the test centre laid there for runners being tested, and me drinking as much as possible in that hour in the hope I'd fill my bladder and have the urge to pee. Then there's the peeing itself, having to do it with your bits exposed whilst somebody watches you, just in case you're doing something dodgy like switching samples or pouring something other than pee into the bottle - but then I'm just an amateur athlete, and I'm sure the pros are used to all of these kind of things.
It's not just the anti doping to consider these days - even shoes could be considered performance enhancing, and under World Athletics ruling, shoes with a stack height greater than 40mm are not allowed in competition. I love cushioned shoes, especially for ultra running on the roads or track, but my Hoka Bondi 8s are "illegal" as the stack height is 42mm - I would not be able to wear them at the world championships nor any other competition if I was aiming to make the national team or break national or word records - effectively, they should be banned at races like Survivorfest where folks are aiming for team selection or records, and I was sure to do my homework prior to race day, just in case I did have a record breaking run.
Then there's the rules at the actual world championship event itself - no pacing allowed or drafting off other runners, no phones allowed on course, a feeding zone of 10 Metres and no more - you cannot accept anything outside of that, and nobody can run alongside you to hand you things as it could be mistaken for pacing. Then of course not everybody can compete in the event - you have to qualify by meeting your own country's standards (for the British ladies team, you have to run a minimum of 210km in 24 hours, for Canada it's 180km), then you have to be one of the best 6 athletes putting your name forward for the team to even be considered ... It's all very different from the racing scene we're accustomed to each year.
But whilst there are other things to consider that bring added stresses to the race, it's also one of the biggest honours when representing your country.
At my first world championships in Holland, I carried the flag for team GB at the flag parade and opening ceremony, and it was one of the most proudest moments in my life. I'm sure when I don the Canadian kit in October, that same sense of pride will be present, along with a determination to do my absolute best for the team - for whilst there are individual awards up for grabs, I'll be nowhere near that podium, especially with the best 24 hour athletes from 48 countries competing, including national record holders and former world record holders such as Viktoria Brown (who's Canadian :) ) and Camille Heron, not to mention some incredibly talented European athletes. No, I'm heading to France with a Canadian team, and it's the team and Canada that I'll be there for. With a full team for both the ladies and men (3 to score), Canada will be high in numbers, and together we'll do our best, and hopefully finish with high miles and huge smiles on our faces.
Go Canada, Go!
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