When it comes to the long stuff, one of
the key things to get right is nutrition. “Ultra runners need to be good at eating on the hoof,” says Chris. “On 100k I can get away with drinks and maybe a banana, but in 24-hour events I am ravenous and eat everything from cake to mashed potatoes.” Clearly, a prolific racer and runner like
Chris must tap into his mental reserves to keep going and develop mental tactics. “I run for 55 minutes and walk for five, then sometimes I buy extra by running for 62 minutes, so I save up time for when I’m tired later on.” He compartmentalises races and uses goals to help him through the next stretch. “Otherwise, 24 hours is like running in a desert, you need landmarks to give the whole thing meaning and context.”
Chris (centre) ran a
record-breaking 151 miles in 24 hours
“Running 24 hours is like running in a desert, you need landmarks to give the thing meaning”
challenging events. He has since represented Great Britain many times in European, Commonwealth and world championships.
TA great ultra runner hough many in the sport consider him a
great ultra runner, Chris doesn’t see himself as one. He remembers being lapped at 89k by the winner of one of his 100k races, and he says that he admires how “complete” the great ultra runners are both mentally and physically.
So, I wonder, what’s the key ingredient
for this type of running success? “To have the ability to train very, very hard,” he says. “Above all else, you need the mental toughness to go the distance, and the courage and confidence to go off slowly in the race. You can always make up time in the second half.” I’m curious as to how he paces himself:
“Like most people I go off too fast,” he laughs. “Going off at 80 to 90 percent of the speed you can do feels ridiculously slow, but that same pace feels like a sprint at the end.” Chris believes that the secret to his
good form and longevity is that he doesn’t train too fast or too much. He runs just 1600 miles a year, and he races regularly and runs regularly, but it’s not extreme running.
Race right
He says he has an “obsessive need for challenge”
He also likes to keep races short. “For me, keeping speed at shorter distances helps keep comfortably good cruising speed at ultras – there are different ways for training for everyone,” he says. “We need to find what is right for us.”
FThe finale ollowing a chat with fellow 24-hour
runner and friend Steve Pope, a new challenge has been set. Steve gave Chris a book about running across America, and the book and banter led to them deciding to try it themselves. Running from San Francisco to New
York, they will be raising money for Help For Heroes. Chris is keen to emphasise the “try” as he knows what a huge challenge this is, all 3,200 miles of it! They plan to average 40 miles a day.
“We also hope that people will join us, we don’t own the open road.” Chris is taking a three-month sabbatical from his job as Bursar at the Duke of Kent school to take on the challenge. Chris and Steve will be running
together every day and sharing a room each night for three months. “We are very good friends and we will give one another a lot of slack, because we’ll be living in each other’s pockets and sometimes we’ll be ratty and tired.” It is hard to imagine Chris ratty and
tired – he has such high energy and enthusiasm, and spending an evening with him running and talking could have almost seen me on the plane to America to join in him on the open road. Find out more about Chris’s challenge at
http://verylongrun.blogspot.com/ n Listen to Julia’s podcast with Chris at
www.runningfreemag.co.uk Read Julia’s blog,
www.runningtolearn.com
RUNNING FREE n 43
RUNNERS
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