It's time to talk about the Montane Summer Spine Race 2024! Those who attended this year's race will know it looked a lot like a winter one. Conditions were extremely difficult and the athletes who did well this June can quite rightly say they completed a race as tough in its own way as any January edition. Among those brave runners were Chris Cope and Mel Sykes. Chris and Mel arrived at the start line of this year's Summer Spine Race and Summer Spine Challenger South respectively, with a slight...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 94
The Jungle Ultra is Beyond the Ultimate's 5 day, 230km journey deep into the rainforests of Peru. Runners arrive in the historic city of Cusco, are escorted over the rugged Andes Mountains, and begin their journey in the Manu National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. The area is beautiful but the terrain and the climate alone give this event a reputation for arguably being the toughest race on the BTU roster. Stage 4 in particular is notorious as possibly the hardest stage o...
Aug 10, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 93
The Knoydart Peninsula is a serious contender for the most beautiful spot in the UK. Remote and tranquil, it's nestled in the West Highlands of Scotland, surrounded on one side by sea-lochs and stunning views across to the Isle of Skye, and on the other by a series of rugged Scottish mountains. The scenery is as beautiful as it is difficult to move through. It's just as well there's a beautiful view to reward the runners at the top of every one of those monster climbs. In this episode, Will talk...
May 15, 2024•2 hr 56 min•Season 1Ep. 92
We're back in Arctic Sweden for the 2nd episode in a row, but this time we're exploring the Ice Ultra, a 5-day race across the ice and snow of Swedish Lapland. There are no skis or sledges here, but snowshoes and backpacks. Competitors carry everything but their sleeping bags and camp clothes on their backs throughout, so your ability to select and manage the right kit is a big factor in whether you end up a finisher or a shivery DNF. In this episode, Will speaks to the 2 winners of the race, an...
Mar 27, 2024•3 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 91
The Montane Arctic Spine is a non-stop, 293 mile (472 km) foot race along the Kungsleden Trail in Arctic Sweden. This race captures the full self-sufficient, expedition-style feel of the Spine Race as we know it, but transported into the bitter cold of the Arctic. This year's event was the first ever edition of this race which is the first of it's kind. Athletes pull all of their kit behind them on pulks as they carve their way along the trail on backcountry skis, or snowshoes. Conditions were e...
Mar 12, 2024•2 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 90
In this special 'extra' episode Will chats with Jenny Hall who has just returned from completing Desert Ultra 2023, her first ever ultra-distance event. Jenny is the Marketing Manager at BTU/Spine Race and she signed up to the Desert Ultra less than a year ago having never taken part in an event like it. In that short time, Jenny turned herself into a succesfrul ultra-runner and grabbed a finisher's medal under incredibly tough conditions in Namibia this November. This interview represents a uni...
Dec 18, 2023•2 hr 36 min•Season 1Ep. 89
250kms over 5 days in the oldest desert on earth in temperatures of 50°c and higher. That's the challenge that faced the athletes who travelled with BTU out to Namibia just a few weeks ago for Desert Ultra 2023. The Desert Ultra is the longest race in the Global Race Series and this year's edition was the hottest race BTU has ever hosted. In this episode, you'll hear from race director Adam Kimble about why he's so happy to consider the Namib his second home, from our race winners Steve Williams...
Dec 18, 2023•3 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Will and the team at BTU have recently returned from Kenya where the For Rangers Ultra was taking place. This is an absolutely unique event that offers runners the opportunity to run in East Africa’s beautiful scenery in open wildlife conservancies teaming with iconic wildlife. If the race itself weren’t awesome enough, all profits go to projects that support the welfare of wildlife rangers and so far almost £600k has been raised. The 5-day, 220km race puts runners face-to-face with Kenya’s beau...
Oct 07, 2023•2 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 87
In this brand new episode, Will Roberts chats to Jon Shield and Kristina Madsen . Hear all about how they went about winning the recent Mountain Ultra, Beyond the Ultimate's inaugural race through the remote and beautiful Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan. You'll also hear from Race Director Kris King about his experience of creating and directing one of the toughest races in the BTU Global Race Series . This race saw a first batch of pioneering runners take on 200km of technical trail with more...
Aug 11, 2023•2 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 86
Knoydart is a perfect backdrop for the Highland Ultra in so many ways. As well as being the ideal place to build a course for a 3-day, 125km race, full of technical climbs, breath-taking views and tranquillity, it is home to a positive and inspiring group of people working together to improve their community and the environment around them. We are proud to support that work through the Highland Ultra and also to be able to give these fantastic people a chance to talk to you via this podcast. In ...
May 23, 2023•3 hr 47 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Each year since 1986, in Frozen Head State Park Tenessee, a race has taken place that teeters on the brink of being impossible to finish. An enigma of an event that eschews marketing, GPS tracking, and largely even race fees, and has a reputation as a serious contender for the title of toughest race on Earth. In this episode, we talk to 3 runners who recently put in outstanding performances at the event. John Kelly was already one of the tiny group of people to ever finish the race and this year...
Apr 12, 2023•2 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Kristina Madsen of Denmark was a highly decorated ultra-runner and a holder of multiple FKTs already when in February she became the first woman to be the overall winner of a BTU Global Race Series event. Kristina won the Ice Ultra, BTU's 230km, 5-day race across the ice and snow of Swedish Lapland, where temperatures regularly drop as low as -40°c. In this episode, we chat with Kristina about her historic win and about what it takes to be successful when running in the Arctic. If that wasn't en...
Apr 04, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 83
The Montane Winter Spine Races 2023 begin on Saturday 15th Jan, and in honour of this EPIC event, we thought we better make an EPIC podcast. Welcome to our Spine Race Special. Over the festive period, whilst many people were packing in mince pies and wrapping presents, the runners about to take part in #BritainsMostBrutal race were busy thinking about the 268-miles of non-stop racing waiting for them in the new year. And that's just those on the full-length edition. Across all 5 race classes, th...
Jan 10, 2023•2 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys is an ultra-runner, a mother and grandmother, a founding member of Black Trail Runners , and now the published author of ' Black Sheep: A story of Rural racism, Identity and Hope '. Sabrina will shortly be toeing the line at the Summer Spine Race 2022. In an episode, Will and Sabrina chat through her whole journey from starting out as a runner in 2009, to her first contact with ultra-running, the creation, and reason behind the creation, of Black Trail Runners, and her pre...
Jun 16, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Helen Murray is the producer and host of the wonderful InsideTri Show and, along with husband Richard Brown, recently completed the Highland Ultra, our brutal 125km, 3-day race around the West Highlands of Scotland. In this episode, we talk through their experiences in the Highlands, their transition from Tri to Ultras, the lessons they've taken from ultra-running, and the triathlon wisdom that helped them along the way. Listen to Helen's own episode on the Highland Ultra and you'll learn how yo...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Everything Endurance is back after a busy few months of putting on epic events. Will returns with a guest who has made a habit out of appearing on podiums of high profile Ultra races over the last year or so, the indomitable Simon Roberts. Simon Roberts spent the race-free period of the pandemic honing his skills, doing his homework, and generally transforming himself into a race-winning-machine. In this episode he talks Will through his first footsteps into ultra running and how about his exper...
Apr 29, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you listeners! In this shorter episode, Will and Kris end the year with a long-overdue Christmas catch-up. A chance to talk about the harder parts of running a global race series during a pandemic, but also to talk through the positive things that have happened in that time including the Highland Ultra, the Summer Spine Race, and Will finally finding the time to rewatch every episode of Lost. As a special little Christmas gift, Kris has set up a discount...
Dec 23, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 78
4 years and 76 episodes have gone by since we last spoke to today's guest, ultra-runner and coach Robbie Britton. Robbie has wracked up a successful running career in which he has run across countries, run 24hr events for Team GB, win the BTU Ice Ultra, and support some seriously talented runners through his elite coaching. Now he's taken that knowledge and refined it into 1001 Running Tips, a running guide with something for everyone. In this episode, Will and Robbie talk through some of the ti...
Dec 03, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 77
On 14th October, Tom Garrod started the 253mile Lon Las Cymru Ultramarathon, a grueling race from the north to the south of Wales. When he reached the finish line, he turned around and raced back to the start alone - all to raise money for Kings College Hospital in memory of Mark Thornberry, a well-known fellow ultra-runner who sadly passed from liver cancer last year. 17 years earlier, Tom was diagnosed with stage IV testicular cancer and given a 5% chance of survival. In this episode, we hear ...
Nov 19, 2021•2 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Pedal4Parks was an 'eco-adventure' in which Isaac and 4 fellow adventurers cycled from Orkney to the Scilly Isles, visiting as many of mainland Britain's National Parks as possible on the way, and interviewing people involved in projects which will help to regenerate these precious green spaces and find ways for all of us to live more sustainably in the future. The result was a unique feat of endurance and a documentary which is being shown this weekend at COP26 , the UN Conference on Climate Ch...
Nov 05, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Just over a month ago, Doug Zinis headed up into the Lake District peaks and took on a double Bob Graham Round. The Bob Graham is a 66 miles (106 km) route with 26,900 feet (8,200 m) of ascent which Doug would need to complete before turning around and returning on the same route to his start/finish point in Keswick. Doug managed this feat in 45hrs and 3 minutes, a new fastest known time for the challenge. In this episode we chat to Doug about taking up running at 28, his recent journey into ult...
Oct 15, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 74
We know Nick Butter already as the Man who Ran the World (ep34). Today he is the Man who Ran Britain having recently completed a record-breaking 5200+mile run around the coast of Britain. After initially setting out to run the equivalent of 200 marathons in 100 days, Nick had to battle through injuries and obstacles to complete his mission in 128 days. We'll hear all about those trials and tribulations as well as the joy of so closely exploring Nick's home country. We'll also hear all about the ...
Oct 01, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Beth Pascall has a glittering running CV full of course records and podium placings and has established herself over the last few years as one of the top ultra-runners on an international scale. In this episode, Will and Beth talk through Beth's early days as a runner, her approach to training, her motivations, and her journey to grabbing herself an epic win at the world-renowned and hugely competitive Western States 100. Grab a free Ultramarathon Nutrition Guide from our friends at Resilient Nu...
Sep 10, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Anna #SuperTrouper Troup appeared on this podcast just 3 episodes ago but in that short time she has grabbed a win at the Lakeland 100, and more recently, a record for being the fastest woman to run the Pennine Way. Anna covered the 268mile national trail in 72 hours and 46 minutes, which is more than 1.5 hours faster than the previous female fastest time set by Sabrina Verjee last September. Grab a free Ultramarathon Nutrition Guide from our friends at Resilient Nutrition here--> resilientnutri...
Aug 27, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Dubbed the 'Ocean Sheroes', this team of 4 set off from San Francisco in May as part of the Great Pacific Race, a 2700 miles rowing race ending in Hawaii. The team, comprising Bella Collins, Mary Sutherland, Lily Lower, and Purusha Gordan, arrived in Hawaii 35 days later as the fastest women to ever complete the trip. In this episode, Lily and Purusha chat to Will about the reality of a month of hard rowing on a boat which Will describes as being 'about the size of 3 or 4 sofas lashed together.'...
Aug 20, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Jay Worthy is an endurance athlete and podcast host on a mission to inspire people into adding a little more adventure to their lives and is a great advocate for the mental and physical benefits of time spent engaging with nature and taking on physical challenges. In this episode, Will talks to Jay about his own journey into a life of adventure before unpacking how you can add a little adventure to your days. We challenge you to listen to this episode and not want to strap on some trail shoes an...
Jul 30, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Eoin Keith has a lengthy and illustrious running CV which includes many podiums, as well as course and even world records. He recently added a Montane Summer Spine Race win and Course Record to that list. In this episode, Will and Eoin talk about his recent run along the Pennine Way, about the differences between winter and summer racing, and about Eoin's journey from golf courses, to mountains, to the world's biggest ultra races.
Jul 16, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Anna Troup had an excellent 2019, clocking up 5 wins in 12 months. Then came an injury and a worldwide pandemic to slow things down. That is until the Montane Summer Spine Race 2021 in which she managed to return to racing with a win and a new course record in one of the toughest races on the planet. In this episode, Will and Anna talk through her journey to the finish line of the Spine Race, starting with her journey into running, her preparation for the race, and the events of her 80hr charge ...
Jul 02, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 67
The Montane Spine Race has earned itself the moniker of Britain's Most Brutal as year after year runners have pitted themselves against 268 miles of non-stop racing along the iconic Pennine Way National Trail. The self-sufficient race offers an expedition-like experience to those brave enough to take it on. Phil Hayday-Brown is one of the co-founders of the event, and with just a week to go before the 2021 Summer Spine Races, we chat about how the race came to be, just why it is so tough, and wh...
Jun 11, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 66
John Kelly is an exceptional ultra-runner with a habit of being very successful at running outrageously long distances in difficult conditions. It's little surprise then that his latest effort to break the record for running the Pennine Way resulted in him setting a new fastest time, having covered the 268 miles in 58:04:53. John originally broke this record in 2020 only to see it smashed again by Damian Hall a week later. We chat about how he beat his first time by more than 6hrs (and Damian's ...
May 28, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 65
