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 slightly higher mountain to climb than most people around them. Chris has type 1 diabetes which he has managed, to great success, since his teens. Mel was returning to the Pennine Way for the second year in a row having experienced a very serious incident between races, an incident described by Mel herself as finding out 'her brain was falling out'.

In this episode both Chris and Mel chat with Will about their experiences out on the Pennine Way and about the conditions they overcame in order to achieve Spine Race success.

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 of any BTU race.

In this episode, Will catches up with the winner Ben Harrison plus two more Jungle legends in the form of Jemma Harding and Mark Reilly. The trio recount the highlights, the challenges and their tips for success in such extreme environments.

Mark was running for Reverse Rett, a charity looking to cure Rett Syndrome, a severe neurological disorder which effects his daughter. Learn more here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mark-reilly

Jemma was running for Rock2Recovery, a charity that supports the armed forces, veteran, those working in the emergency services, and all their families who are affected by stress. Learn more here: https://sportsgiving.co.uk/sponsor/activity/a-5-day-230km-ultra-marathon-through-the-amazon-jungle/jemma-harding

Congratulations to Noora Hintsa, the winning Female athlete at Jungle Ultra 2024. Noora was unfortunately ill at the time of recording but we will feature her in a future episode!

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 talks to three runners who recently completed the Highland Ultra, Beyond the Ultimate's three-day, 125-km race around that beautiful corner of Scotland. Among the trio of guests are our two winners, both of whom came into this event with very little experience of races of this kind.

There is plenty of useful advice and inspiring positivity from all of these guests so settle back and let them tell you how they came to conquer the Highland Ultra against the odds. If you've signed up for a similar challenge, if you have a mountain in your sights or a massive race to prepare for, and you are starting to worry that you may have bitten off more than you can chew, then listen to this episode and you'll feel like you can do anything.

Aum was running in support of Richstone Family Centre - an organisation dedicated to treating and preventing child abuse and trauma.

Entries for Highland Ultra 2025 are now open. Learn more and enter HERE.