Crested Butte another 14'er and more racing

Well the travelling around hasn't stopped at all and on Thursday we headed down to Crested Butte for a few days to check out the trails there. It's a pretty long drive(5hrs) from Denver but totally worth it.As we left Gunnison and were only 30 minutes from CB I was wondering when the Mountains would start. The Gunnison area is pretty flat but eventually Mount Crested Butte came into site and what a site it is and from then on more and more Mountains just appear like out of nowhere.

Looking down at Copper Lake on
way up to East Maroon Pass

Crested Butte is a pretty small and old cowboy town and I thought it was great. A few miles up the road is the ski area called Mount Crested Butte which sits just below the Mountain of the same name just to confuse matters. We arrived around midday and went straight for a run up to East Maroon Pass. It ended up being a 20km round trip with about 800m of ascent and it was great. Great little trails that just climbed most of the way up to Copper Lake. Like every other Mountain Lake in this state it was an awesome place. From there it was a little hike further up to the pass which had an epic view out towards the Maroon Bell mountains and all the way down to Aspen on the other side. The clouds were building up by this point so it was time to head down and as usual I didn't hang around on the descent and was back at the car pretty quickly.

East Maroon Pass 11'800ft

So on Friday I decided to get up at 5.30am and go for a run up to the summit of Mount Crested Butte via the guides ridge. I was recommended this little route by a friend from Chamonix. The climbing really is not difficult at all but it was very alpine like albeit way too short. The morning started at 2708m in Crested Butte with a 5km up hill run to the bottom of the Mountain and from there it was a long long zig zag up the pistes to the top of the Silver Queen Chairlift at 3600m. I could have taken the chairlift up but that would really have been cheating and way too Chamonix of me and leaving so early meant I had the whole morning to myself. From the top of the chairlift I cut out right through some trees to be brought out on a massive boulder field.

Out on the boulder field with the route pretty
obvious to see running up the the skyline from right to left

It looked like a much longer traverse over to the start than it turned out to be. I was there in no time and started on up the ridge. I am always a bit hesitant on new easy climbs as in Chamonix it is very easy to get caught out with people saying things are easy when they ain't for an average climber like me so here I was still a bit unsure how it was going to be but I did trust Jeff who had recommended it to me as an easy wee solo. I could go on and on about how good it turned out to be. It really was not hard at all with some moves of maybe french 4c/5a dependent on the way I went. It was just super super fun with some great exposure and amazing grippy rock.

So much fun

I was on the summit in no time at all and was greeted with a pretty impressive view of the town below and I had the whole place to myself. I had made it to the top from town in 2hrs 10mins. I soaked in the view and peace and quiet for about 20 minutes then decided it was so good that I would do it again so I ran down the normal summit trail to the top of the chairlift again and traversed over the boulders and climbed the ridge once more having even more fun as I now knew the moves and that I could run a lot of the exposed stuff.

I ran up from the town below

End of the Guide Ridge

The final section of the ridge to the summit

It was then time to head down and I blast down the dirt road then I took a turn off along a little single track which ended up being heaven. It was a super narrow trail weaving it's was through a forest of Aspen trees and it was total bliss for ages.

There is something amazing about running through Aspens
weird I know but it is amazing.

I arrived back at the hostel having done 28km in just under 4 hours. The whole morning is right up there as one of my  favourite runs of the whole trip so far. I could spend a lifetime in Crested Butte. The following day (Saturday) I was feeling a little sluggish but before we left for Denver I managed to get out for a little 7km run on the other side of town through yet more Aspens. I must admit I was pretty slow and didn't feel very fresh after the previous days run but I just had to get out and make the most of the time I had.  I headed off to pick up a rental car when we got back to Denver and on Sunday morning headed off to do another race.

The Arapahoe Basin Summit Challenge is a very very small local race in the A-Basin Ski resort. I had originally wanted to do the Copper Mountain Vertical KM on the same day but they wanted 70 bucks to enter whereas A-Basin was only 20 so kind of a no-brainer. This was the 3rd year of the race and it is pretty small. It is only 7.5km and climbs 600m(roughly) to the top of the resort but it was just amazing. There was a decent turnout of around 50 for my race(Summit Division) and around 30 for the smaller Mountain Division which goes halfway up. I just love little local races and find the atmosphere just so friendly and everyone is out for a laugh and everyone is just so happy and chatty to each other. Anyway the race starts at just under 11'000ft and rises up to just over 12'500ft. I really did not know what to expect of a fast uphill race as i have never ran anything this short on trails and pretty much all climbing. I chose to start from the back of the pack and kind of regret that decision now.

A-Basin - The race starts from below the chairlift on the right
and heads way over left then back right to the high point on the
right hand side then follows a ridge to the top between the snow patches then descends
for a KM to the top of the chair where the finish line was.

So off we went and I started off pretty slowly with the front guys especially one of them sprinting off up (the previous 2yrs winner) at a frightening pace. I just put my head down and kept my heart rate low and plodded on up feeling good. Before I knew it I had passed a fair few people and could only see 6 more in front of me. We hit the top of the chairlift after coming up some truly great single track and then had a very steep climb up onto the ridge which was pathless. I passed another 2 people here and just kept plodding on up by this point breathing very very heavily. Now I had decided that I would not let anyone pass me and I had my eye on the guy in 3rd but by the time I had decided this it was too late. 1st place was way too far ahead but if I had thought earlier and actually went full gas from the start I am sure I would have snatched 2nd. Anyway once at the very top it was a km of descent and I knew nobody would catch up with me on that and I flew down here always gaining on 3rd and 2nd but I had just left it too late and finished in 47mins with 3rd 30 seconds in front and 2nd another 40 seconds ahead of that and 1st was a total of 3 mins ahead. I had such a fun time on this short race. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did but it was all on brilliant trails and sometimes no trails and the view running along the summit ridge was amazing. A totally brilliant morning but I should have just went out full steam ahead. Next time.

I spent the night up in that area and had big plans for the next day. I wanted to another 14er but didn't want to do a normal crowded route so I choose to do Torrey Peak from Loveland Pass. Torreys Peak sits at 14'327ft. The route from Loveland Pass is an out and back of 10 miles on some trails , scree and pathless terrain. It never drops below 12'000ft and has about 1600m of total ascent so a good workout. Sorry for the mix of Ft , Mtrs etc...... can't decide what to use.

Torreys is the peak in the distance on the left

I left the car just before 6am and even as I started running I could feel the altitude. I ran a short way of the first climb and then resorted to power walking all the up hills. The flats and downs I ran. There was so many little climbs and descents and then eventually got to the bottom of the first climb up Grizzly Peak. This peak lies at 13'000ft and I felt pretty good going up here.The next ridge section was a dream to run and then it was a pathless descent to an amazing high meadow which I ran across to the bottom of the final climb up Torreys.

The pathless terrain before the climb up Torreys

Now the climb up Torreys is not actually that long in terms of metres but my god it was tough. It is around 700m up but it is all on scree or very very loose trails with rotten loose rocks everywhere. I never actually stopped on the way up but it was slow going all the way to the summit.

Struggling to breath on the way up Scree hell

Leaving so early meant I had the summit to myself and I sat here a while enjoying the views. I had made it out in 2hrs and my plan was to try bet back in 2hrs or less but it was still a long tough way back. I descended the scree field in no time and the climb back up Grizzly went pretty sweet as well. The top ridge being a highlight.

Heading back over Grizzly Peak

It was then a steep descent off Grizzly and loads of rolling terrain all the way back. I was pretty tired at the end but had managed to do the return in 1hr 30mins which I was pretty damn surprised at. All in all a brilliant morning out running at a constantly high altitude but it wasn't easy.

Torreys 14'327ft

There was no time to rest and the next morning(Tuesday) I went with Kim to run the local Bergen Peak. It's a great little loop close to Denver and I smashed out the 15km with 500m of ascent in 1hr 35mins and was super happy with that given what I had done the past few days. Today was a rest day and actually the only day in my 4 weeks of being here that it has rained all day so I have been quite content with doing nothing. I am now all set to head off to Steamboat Springs in the morning for 3 days to go and check out as much of the Run Rabbit Run course as I can.

No time to stop

It has been 10 days since the Leadville 50 and I have somehow managed to cram in an absolute ton of amazing days. I have been to Boulder twice , Independence Pass , Aspen , Bergen Peak and also managed to get in another 14er. Today I am resting before another busy week ahead.

I rested the day after the Silver Rush 50 so the following day(Tuesday) myself and Kim went to boulder for a little 12km run to Green Mountain. This was my first time in Boulder and I was pretty surprised how technical some of the trails were. The trail up was good fun but pretty smooth so we took a different descent which was way more fun with roots and rocks everywhere for the whole descent back to the town. There are a ton of trails all over the place in the Flatirons area and they do all have names but I am afraid I was just following signs and cannot remember for the life of me what ones we were on. My legs were feeling good all day although my hamstring was a little tight so 12km was enough for a little cool down run after the 50.

Overlooking Boulder from Green Mountain

I rested my hamstring the following day and then on Thursday morning before it got too hot I went for a bit of speed work to the local Washington Park for 12kms. This is all new to my running. It's pretty common knowledge that I hate flat road running but last year I realised it is really something I need to improve if I want to stay strong in ultras when I get onto the flat sections. Washington park is ideal for this and it is not too far from where I am staying here so once a week I will be getting out to do this 12km loop.

The amazing Independence Pass

Friday we headed off to Aspen as we were racing the Aspen Half marathon(21km) on the Saturday. We stopped off to see the Maroon Bells mountain range on the way and squeezed in a very easy 8km just enjoying the awesome area around Aspen. Saturday was race day and yup a road race! Again this was more flat surface training and it went a hell of a lot better than I expected. The course is all on tarmac but it is a cycle route that is actually pretty scenic so it wasn't too much of a bore for me. I was going into this to just plod along and make sure my hamstring was okay but for some stupid reason when the race started I picked up a fast pace and just wanted to see how I got on. At the 10km mark I looked at my watch and I actually hit a PB for my 10km time of 37mins. I was pretty shocked by this although my legs were telling me that I was going a bit too fast and then my hamstring decided it was better if I slowed a little so I did. I wouldn't say I slowed down too much but a few people passed me from about 15km's in but I stayed content with my pace and just kept going. Now there is no way I was finding it easy. This pace was miles from my usual ultra pace but I was managing to keep going. I manged to finish spot on 1hr 30mins in 11th place overall and 2nd in my age category which I was pretty happy about considering I had ran the 50 a week before and my hamstring was giving me a little bit of bother. I did enjoy being out racing like that but can't say I will be rushing back to do a road half anytime soon but it does go down an an excellent training day. On the drive home over Indepenance Pass(3687m) I was feeling good so asked Kim to stop the car so I could go out and run again! I could not drive over past these views without going up something so I went for a 7km out and back. The weather was turning and the thunder was not too far away but if the skies had been clear then I could have kept going. The area is amazing and my legs felt great running up to nearly 4000m.

Under the Maroon Bells

On Sunday I joined a local running group to go and do a little peak just outside of Evergreen called Bergen Peak. The summit lies just short of 3000m and it was a cracking little morning out. It was a 17km loop car to car. My legs started to get tired on the long uphill section but on the down they loosened up and I was pretty happy with how I was feeling considering how fast I had run the day previous. I am sure I will be joining the group again whenever I am free to do so.

So feeling strong on Monday it was off to Boulder again. I met up with Angie. A girl who I had met at Leadville last year who is back again to attempt the 100 miler in August as she missed the cut off at Fish Hatch last year. We didn't really have a plan in mind other than just go and run somewhere. We first headed up the side of the 1st Flatiron for some awesome views out over Boulder. We descended and resupplied with more water and went for a run along the famous Mesa Trail. To be honest I wasn't that impressed with the Mesa. Yeah it's in a lovely setting but it made me realise just how good the Balcon Sud trail is in Chamonix. The Balcon Sud is way way better than the Mesa in my opinion. I have just taken it for granted the past few years and forgot just how good it is. We were both feeling good so left Mesa and headed up Bear Canyon Trail to Green Mountain and it all started going wrong. We were both low on water as we made our way up the trail but instead of turning around we both had summit fever and just wanted to get to the top. It was skortchin' hot by this point and my water was nearly out so it really was a tough tough climb to the summit. We finally arrived to the top and had to get down. It was 98f and we needed liquids. We made a rapid descent back down to Boulder and ran directly into a local store to purchase a ridiculous amount of Coke and Water. Yeah it was a bit silly to not have turned around and it was not a a particularly fun hike up to be honest but it was excellent training in that heat and running your body out of gas. I don't like to do it too often but a couple of training runs like that I think help a lot in the run up to an Ultra.

The Flatirons of Boulder

There wasn't anytime for a rest and the following day myself and Kim went to do another 14er to keep the high altitude fitness up. Mt Quandary lies near Breckenridge and sits at 14,270ft(4350m). Due to the previous days antics I was just treating this as a hike. The car park was jammed packed and we found out there was some group from Texas doing the peak also and to be honest once we reached halfway and looked ahead it seemed as though half of Texas had come along. It was ridiculous the amount of people plodding up. Now I won't be one of these people who moan about wanting Mountains to themselves as I have had plenty of amazing days to myself in the hills but this was unreal. We kept hiking up passing people left right and centre hunched over or sitting down breathing like crazy and moaning they would not make it to the top. I actually felt great. both my legs and lungs had not a problem at all and I was on the summit in a little under an hour and a half. From what I have seen doing a 14er is just like doing a Munro back home. The altitude for sure slows you down a little but the total elevation gain is about the same as doing a Munro. You start off here at anything from 3000m-3400m and go up to 4000-4400m so really most are climbs of 1000m give or take. The altitude must destroy a lot of people who come here from sea level for a weekend to do a peak as they will not be acclimatised at all but I have been lucky and up high a lot in the past three weeks I have been here so I have been doing okay. Since I have been here I can't really say if the Alps or Rockies are harder peaks to run. For sure the Alps is way steeper climbs and sometimes way more elevation but what the Rockies miss out on in elevation and steepness they make up for with the thin air so I think it all kind of balances out. The view from the crowded summit of Quandary was worth the hike but it was time to descend. The descent was pretty rocky and techy and I scared the hell out many hikers flying past them but loved the descent and I was down at the car 35 mins later and needing a rest.

View from top of Quandary

Wednesday(today) and I am finally having a rest day.The past week has been a brilliant mix of flat fast running and hiking at altitude so I am recharging the batteries and tomorrow we head to Crested Butte for the weekend to explore from Thurs-Sat and then I run a little local 7km summit race at Arapahoe Basin Ski area on Sunday and it looks like more 14ers Mon and Tuesday then possibly a rest day and I head to Steamboat for the first time to have a little look at what it has in store for me in September.

Rapid descent time from 4350m

Leadville Silver Rush 50

So after a very hectic yet ridiculously amazing first ten days here in Colorado it was time for my first race here of the summer. The Leadville Silver Rush 50 miler(80km) is an out and back course consisting of mainly dirt and very rough 4x4 roads. It doesn't actually have a huge amount of climbing in it. In fact it is pretty small at around 2500m however the lowest altitude you run at is 3000m and you rise to over 3600m on four separate occasions. I was pretty nervous going into this after (in my opinion) my poor effort at the 50 mile Highland Fling back in April plus I was not fully aware until 2 days before the race that this course would have hardly any single track on it which is clearly my strongest kind of course but luckily for me and for once I was panicking over nothing.

Let's Go!

I had camped the previous few days of the race at Silverton following the Hardrock 100 and then got a great nights sleep on Saturday at a motel in Leadville. I woke up on race day feeling great. I ate my usual porridge and headed to the start line with Kim and Anna who were slightly more nervous than me as this would be their first 50 miler.

Start hill

The course starts with a stupidly steep hill that only last for about 100m max and there is actually a prize for first man and women to the top. I opted out of gunning it up this as trust me at this altitude blasting the first couple of minutes would mean ten minutes of sitting at the side trying to get your breath back and that is no exaggeration. So 6am and the gun went off and around 20 people set off up the hill at an unreal rate to try get the prize. I just got my head down and plodded up pretty slowly but could feel I was breathing hard already. It was only a minute or two until it flattened out and we were on the dirt road. The first 10 kms was rather pleasant rolling dirt track and with the odd little bit of trail thrown in to my delight. The first 10kms is actually a constant uphill and it did take a few km to just find a nice pace to cruise along but my breathing was still a lot harder than normal. I just kept checking my watch to make sure I was hitting my 10km/h pace and I was spot on even slowing down when I would see that I had hit 11.5km/h sometimes. I was just trying to be sensible. This for me was a training run and whereas I never had a time in mind I was saying to myself I would quite like to get close to back to back splits. I would have preferred to go out in 5.5hrs and back in 5.5 or 6hrs than beast it in 4hrs out and do 6 or 7 back. I just wanted some kind of consistency looking towards Steamboat in September.

Loving it

So I plodded on unexpectedly enjoying the terrain. Except one section of around 7kms on very long undulating road the rest was really good tracks and trails taking us up to some amazing viewpoints and passing a load of old gold mines. I was really really enjoying myself. The climbs were never steep and in fact they make the alps seem like monster climbs which to be honest they are sometimes. The ones on this course were never more than 600m at a time but when your going from 3200m up to nearly 3800m it is pretty slow going. I was speed hiking the ups as much as I could and making up time on the descents and also putting in decent times on the flats which was unlike me.

One of the many mines passed

By around the 35km mark I had already been eating watermelon and crisps and had taken a couple of gels. My stomach was starting to feel a bit strange and by the time the turnaround point came at 40km I ran straight to the toilet and was there for 10 minutes! I reckon it was the gel but after a bit of relief I felt great. I grabbed my drop bag had a drink of Mtn Dew changed my socks attempted to eat some beef jerky an experiment which didn't go so well then I grabbed more watermelon and off I went on the return.

More mines

Descent to turnaround point

Now I was never so sure about out and back courses before last years Leadville 100 but it is actually way better than I expected. I don't know what it is but as soon as I turn around I know I am headed home. It sounds a bit strange and yeah it is all mental but if the course was point to point you never really know what is ahead but when you have an out and back you turn around and know you are going back the the finish. The fact I was actually excited about returning the same way due to the trail and scenery also helped keep me moving well.
Almost straight out of the halfway point I climbed back up over one of the high passes and it was pretty slow going but I kept moving and would not stop. I had made halfway in 4hrs 30mins and was super happy with that time. I lost a bit of time on the climb back out of the aid station but I will get stronger over time here as I get more used to the altitude. From the pass I just somehow kept a reasonable pace down hills and on rolling terrain. I was drinking enough and eating chewy sweets and gels and it was all agreeing with me. It was starting to get hot now but this was not affecting me much at all. So on I went with the odd chat to other runners and when I arrived at the checkpoint at 58km I felt so damn good.

I had been sweating a lot but I had been replacing salts via crisps and eating just pure salt and I was not cramping at all. My face was covered in dried sweat and at this aid station a medic stopped me to say I looked like I had lost a lot of fluid due to sweat but I felt fine. He kept asking if I was eating and drinking and to my replies of yes yes yes I am good he really didn't believe me. Eventually I had to tell him I felt amazing and after a slight hesitation he said I could go on but I was to keep eating and drinking. So off I ran past big crowds going wild and giving high fives everywhere. Yes VERY American but bugger it it made me feel even better.

One of the many cracking views

Now I was back at the horrible 7km road section. This was all uphill and everyone was walking it. I knew that after this climb it was pretty much all rolling downhill trail for the last 15km. I plodded on up this eating away at more sweets and listening to my ipod. Just before I got to the top and the turn off for the trail home a runner next to me asked if I was aiming for a time. My reply of No was not what he expected and he told me we were well on our way to a 10hr finish if we pushed from here. To be honest from then on I did have a time goal. I just thought to how destroyed I was in Scotland in April and I was feeling so good here on a harder course and if I could beat that time of 10hrs 59mins I would be chuffed. Again this sounds really American and cheesy but we teamed up and blasted out the next 5km switching the leader. I never normally run in groups or with people but I noticed that over the past few months running with Guillem really did make me realise how much you can push a bit more running with someone else. I never got the guys name but we just set a great pace and I could not believe my legs were going so strong and I had no pain whatsoever. Of course by this stage I was tired but I was nowhere near feeling in pain.

The only boring bit

We hit the last checkpoint with 10kms to go and I grabbed more coke and watermelon and off I went. My fellow runner waited at the aid station a bit longer. We just turned to each other and said “good push” and I went off. Now I was on a mission. I didn't want just 10hrs 05mins or 10hrs 10mins I wanted 10hrs or just under. The course continued to roll gentle ups and downs and somehow I just kept pushing through it. One section through some trees on single track I remember it being burning hot and thinking this should be affecting me but it wasn't I actually for a minute did wonder if something was wrong with me because I felt nothing was wrong with me if that makes sense! I came out the trees onto a dirt road with no shade and this slowed me a little for about a km but then it was back in the trees and I knew I was not far to the end. My right hamstring slightly started to cramp here but I just walked it for about 2 minutes to ease it off and when I started up again it was gone. It was one final little steep climb and another km and I could see the finish line down the hill. The finish is pretty cool and I came charging down the hill to be greeted by a rather big crowd going pretty wild as they always do here. I didn't actually see my time until just before I crossed the line and I looked ahead to the finish line and the girl holding my medal and the clock was ticking 9hrs something but I didn't see what. I stopped my watch and looked and I had ran it in 9hrs 25mins. I almost yes almost burst out in tears. I genuinely could not believe I had run under 9hrs 30mins never mind sub 10 and felt so strong. My overall finish was 57th out of around 400ish and I was 25th in senior mens category.

Feeling the heat but near the end

I don't mean to harp on but for me to run that time and feel that strong after being here for 10 days I still don't really understand. Pretty much the entire field were locals to the area that live at this altitude year round. The altitude really is hard work on the legs and lungs and does take that little bit more out of you. I did have good preparation going into this as I had been camping at altitude but I never expected this.

Chuffed

I just sat on the grass by the side of the course waiting on Kim and Anna. This was their first 50 miler and both were super nervous about it so when I seen Kim arrive over the hill in 10hrs 53mins with Anna just behind I was so happy for them. They both ran sub 11hrs. Brilliant run from both of them and neither of them looked bad at all at the finish. It was just the perfect day all around for all of us. I almost got my back to back splits being 4hrs 30mins out and 4hrs 55mins back. I will happily deduct my toilet time off my return and say I missed my aim by just 15 mins.

So a great start to my racing here and I can only hope I get stronger and stronger. Next on the list is Aspen Half Marathon next weekend which will be some fun and interesting speed work. But before then I am away to explore the glorious trails in Boulder.

Finally a big shout out to Stuart Air who completed Hardrock last week. Stu came an amazing 22nd overall on this race which is regarded as the most beautiful and one of the toughest 100's around. Stu injured himself with 40 miles to go but hung in there to come in an amazing position. Great job.

Touchdown Colorado

Apologies for lack of post but it has been hectic since I landed here in the states and I have rarely had web due to being in the mountains. I have kept this post short but hope you enjoy the pics.

Feeling horrible on first run

Way better the next day at 3700m on Hope Pass

 I arrived in Denver and the next day went for a 26 mile run in Leadville and felt awful. The first half went fine but the second I was destroyed and was feeling sick and had a major sore head. I was just too dehydrated and never gave myself any time to acclimatise as the run was never below 3000m!

Mt Bierstadt with Anna. 4036m

Luckily avoided any contact so far

I rested a couple of days after that and then went to follow the Hardrock 100 in Silverton and I cannot describe just how amazing it was. The runs I did around there were simply the best I have ever done anywhere and I had the pleasure of running with Kilian Jornet for a section of the race and then watch him win and smash the old record by 43 minutes.

Best run of my life at Island Lake. A section of Hardrock

More Hardrock

Way too happy

I am now in Leadville looking forward to a good nights sleep in a proper bed after camping this past week. Tomorrow I get up at 5am to start the race and I am super excited to get going even though I have found out that most of the race is on dirt roads but I will do my best to enjoy just being out running at 3000m and above!

Cannot describe how good this was

And this too!

I will stick up a race report and much longer blog next week when I finally get time. Hope you liked the snaps. I have many many more to come.

It's Time!!!

I am currently sat in Heathrow airport with a long wait until my flight to Denver. The last couple of weeks in Chamonix were just amazing and I managed to get out a do all my usual favourite runs and scrambles with friends and let's not forgot a rather blurry yet awesome farewell party.

Great little final scramble with Naila in Chamonix

I won't be posting a long blog right now but I would like to thank every single person I have ever met in Chamonix for making it an awesome few years for me. I won't forget any of you and the truly brilliant times we had over many a summer and winter season. I will be back for sure for the odd trip over as the place is just too good to completely forget about but until then my sights are firmly set on just seeing how strong my running can become over the next 3 months in Colorado and hopefully I will get round my next 100 miler and maybe even feel good for most of it.

Excellent local run on my one day stop over in Scotland

Now I cannot post without mentioning my good friend Lauren who ran her first marathon last week in Chamonix. The Mont Blanc Marathon is by no means your normal marathon. It involves heaps of climbing(2500m) over some quite technical terrain and this year the weather was horrendous. Woody was always a bit nervous about it but I was sure she would do well and oh god how I was right and also amazed. She completely smashed the course running an amazing 4hrs 51mins. Coming 25th overall female and first British Female and around 200th out of 2000 runners overall! Line up the sponsors!!! She ran an amazing race and I had so much fun following her and running a bit of the last section into town alongside her. It really was very inspiring to watch and it has me pumped and ready for Leadville 50 in 10 days time.

Next stop.......Colorado!!