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Hello and welcome to another 
episode of Run Till You're Done.

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This week's guest we have a 
runner who has achieved enormous

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feats from an epic FKT to win in
one of the Spain races on a 

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comeback from an injury. 
I can't wait for this 

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conversation. 
Welcome to the show, Sophie 

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Littlefair. 
Thanks for having me. 

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Welcome Sophie and how we start 
the podcast every time. 

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A question we always ask is how 
did you get into running? 

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So I ran in my teenage years, so
long distance for a teenager, so

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like 3000 meters on the track 
and cross country. 

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I did that till I was about 17 
or 18 I think. 

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I really loved it, but I feel 
like as a teenager I got a lot 

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of pressure, especially from my 
school, and it kind of put me 

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off. 
So as soon as I could, I sort of

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just drifted out of it. 
And then I don't know, nearly 20

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years passed before I picked up 
my running shoes again. 

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I met my now husband in 2013 and
he was a cyclist and a indoor 

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climber. 
We, we lived in London at the 

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time, so it's not quite as 
exciting. 

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But I just started commuting to 
work and climbing with him. 

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And eventually I was like, oh, I
think, I think I'm going to 

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start running again. 
And yeah, just started running 

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around my local park and it 
escalated fast. 

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That was in about what, 281718? 
So as we mentioned in the 

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introduction there, you've got 
an FKT, you've done many multi 

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day events. 
But I would imagine the, unless 

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I could be wrong here, did you, 
how did that progress from 

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picking up those running shoes 
again to going up to full scale 

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ultras? 
Did you do shorter events or 

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just build? 
Not really. 

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It's like couch to ultra really.
I mean I did a few like local 10

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KS around like the Olympic 
Village when I was still in 

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London and I did I think maybe 
two half marathons. 

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So one in Southampton weirdly 
and then one in Hackney, which I

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believe is the most expensive 
half marathon in the UK. 

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But my sister and her partner 
had done some ultras, so they've

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made it look fun. 
So I just sort of, yeah, I'd 

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done 1/2 marathon and then I did
a 50K. 

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Now at 1st, 50K is still the 
most painful ultra I've ever 

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done. 
It was called the Waterway 30 

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and it's, it's not a very 
inspiring course. 

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It's basically in this place 
near this place called Retford. 

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It's quite flat and it's just 
around some canals. 

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And the sort of overriding 
feature is this sort of power 

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station in the middle of it. 
You're just running around that 

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for, you know, 5 or 6 hours. 
Actually, it was probably longer

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than that back then, but I, you 
know, I didn't have any hills 

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where I lived and it seemed like
a good entry level beginner's 

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ultra. 
And it definitely was that the 

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chap that runs it, I, I think 
his race company is called 

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Forever on the Roam and he's a 
lovely guy and he does a lot of 

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ultras around there. 
I think he's actually done the 

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spine and a bunch of bigger 
races too. 

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So it was a really good entry 
into ultra distance running. 

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And did you have no, sorry mate,
did you have no interest in the 

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marathon distance then at all? 
So I had a London Marathon place

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for 20/19 and obviously that 
didn't happen. 

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It was cancelled that year. 
I did do my London Marathon just

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by myself because I've done all 
the training basically. 

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But yeah, I just, I don't know, 
the big races are that many 

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people I do find quite 
overwhelming. 

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So I much prefer the kind of 
smaller events where I can just 

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kind of be a little bit more on 
my own. 

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Yeah, maybe one day. 
They're hard, they're hot. 

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No Rd. marathons. 
Yeah, I'm like beyond that, see 

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the crowds. 
I'm not a crowd fan and I hear 

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exactly where you're coming 
from. 

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The last Rd. event that I'd done
was 30,000 people or something 

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like that. 
And I was just like, no, this is

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not for me. 
And like yourself on the trails.

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So where you go? 
And you mentioned earlier about 

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climbing. 
Do you still do climbing? 

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Not really my my poor husband's 
lost his B low partner a little 

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bit here and there but to be 
honest I've really lost my head 

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like I used to. 
I wouldn't say I was ever 

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fearless but I didn't really 
have an issue with heights and 

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happily lead lead sport routes 
but I just can't do it anymore. 

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Sometimes even seconding gives 
me the heebie jeebie, so I tend 

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to avoid it unless we can get 
some nice low edges, which is 

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good round here because there 
are quite a lot of low edges. 

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I was just wondering if it's 
good like cross training. 

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It's obviously upper body, but 
yeah, it would be the equivalent

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of strength work I'm guessing. 
Yeah, I think it probably would 

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be. 
And especially because you move,

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the movements are so different, 
aren't they? 

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You're not just doing the same 
thing over and over again. 

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But yeah, I, I, I don't dedicate
as much time to it as I should. 

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There's too many fun things to 
do, isn't there? 

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Well, I, I find a lot of the 
sort of fun things are going out

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in the trails where you might 
need a head for heights, which 

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you're saying climbing. 
Have you lost that fear running 

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downhill? 
Is that the same sort of fear 

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that you're like, I'm sailing 
down a Cliff? 

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No, I definitely don't feel the 
same level of anxiety doing 

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that. 
Absolutely not. 

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The anxiety that I get running 
downhill really fast is that I'm

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going to break something again. 
I'm working on that. 

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But yeah, doing things like crib
gock or sort of low level 

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scrambles I still find quite 
difficult. 

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But you know, you make yourself 
do it. 

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And Nikki mentioned FKTS. 
Yeah, you've got or had, I don't

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know. 
I'm sure you're about to tell us

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the FKT for the Scottish Trail. 
Yeah, I still think I still have

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it. 
No one told me otherwise. 

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I don't know. 
So I'm let's say you do have it.

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Let's go with that. 
What is the Scottish Trail and 

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what was the FKT or is the FKT? 
So the Scottish National Trail 

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is basically a link up of a lot 
of the National trails trails in

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Scotland. 
And it was devised by a outdoor 

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broadcaster called Cameron 
Mcneish. 

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I don't know a great deal about 
him, but you know, he, he did 

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ATV programme I think on it and 
he's written a book and it 

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basically goes from Kurt Yetham 
to the Kate Wrath. 

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And it takes in, I'm probably 
going to miss some here, but the

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Southern Uplands way, the Grand,
the sort of Union Canal, a bit 

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of the West Island, right, The 
West Island way, the Rob Roy 

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Way, Cape Wrath. 
I think there are a few other 

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little ones in there. 
And yeah, I mean, it's what I 

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think it says. 
It's about 800 kilometres, but 

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it's definitely, no, not 800 
kilometres, no, 800 kilometres, 

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No, I've got that wrong, sorry. 
580 kilometres, Yeah, No, I'm 

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not sure. 
Hang on. 

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No. 
It is. 

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It is 900. 
It is nearly 900 kilometres. 

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I'm getting my miles and 
kilometres mixed up. 

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Sorry. 
You were right, it's 864 

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kilometres. 864 kilometres, but 
it is definitely closer to 900 

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when you're actually doing it. 
As I thought I was overselling 

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it, then it's but no, it's a, 
it's nearly 900 kilometres, very

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mixed terrain. 
So you've got the kind of 

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rolling hills of the Southern 
Uplands Way, about 60 or 70 

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kilometres of Canal Pass in one 
go. 

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It was quite the testing day. 
And then, yeah, you you end up 

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in the the boggy joy of Cape 
Wrath. 

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I'm stunned to silence. 
I thought. 

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I still can't believe I did it 
to be honest. 

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Well, there's so many questions 
in. 

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The first one that comes to my 
mind is why out? 

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Of all. 
The NK TS in this country, you 

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could have packed. 
That sounds like one of the 

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hardest ones, but genuinely 
that. 

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I mean, what an achievement. 
So what brought your attention 

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to that one? 
It's a bit silly really. 

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So I did the Dragons back and 
that's that was the length of 

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Wales and I did the Northern 
Traverse which crossed England 

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and I don't remember who it was,
but somebody made a joke that I 

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had to do Scotland next. 
And this was when I was on in 

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the car on the way home from the
Northern Traverse. 

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So there was obviously race 
across Scotland, but that felt a

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little bit too similar. 
So I just googled what there was

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and it came up and I pretended 
for about 6 months that I was 

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just thinking about it. 
But I definitely made the 

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decision in the car that I was 
definitely going to have a go at

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it before I'd even washed my 
clothes. 

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Yes. 
So really, yeah, it's just a 

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joke. 
So was it supported? 

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Yes, it was supported. 
So the previous, I mean, he's 

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still the record holder because 
he did it self supported. 

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A guy called Matt Gervin. 
He he had done it self 

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supported. 
And I, I'm Denard for a long 

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time about whether I would do it
in that way. 

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But actually I decided that I 
prefer to do it with full 

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support. 
And my husband came with me and 

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a friend joined me for four of 
the days. 

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Because, you know, it's more 
fun, isn't it, if there's more 

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people? 
I've just looked up Matt Gervin 

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has the self supported record 
for 13 days and 19 hours and 

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you'll be delighted to know you 
have still got the supported. 

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Record. 
Of 11 days, 20 hours and 22 

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minutes there. 
We go, Yeah. 

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Well, well done. 
Thank you. 

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Yeah, I mean, Matt was amazing. 
Like, I messaged him early on 

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and he just gave me all his 
planning documents and, and 

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actually he just coincidentally 
had been doing was driving the 

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North Coast 500 with his parents
the week I was doing it. 

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So he left me a note at Kate 
Wrath and a bottle of whiskey 

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for when I finished. 
He's a He's a gent. 

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And when you got to the finish, 
did you drink it? 

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I did not. 
It's rare for me to reach my 

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limits, but I tell you what, 5 
kilometres from the end I was, I

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really was like at at my limits 
and my, my husband had come out 

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onto Kate Wrath to meet me. 
And I, I can't remember when it 

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was, but months before we've 
been out running around on in 

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the Lake District. 
And I said to him, don't you 

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just wish this would never end? 
And he's not dedicated a runner 

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as me. 
And he was like, absolutely not 

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completely miserable. 
And then at this moment, at 2:00

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AM on Kate Wrath, he was like, 
Sophie, don't you just wish it 

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would never end? 
He had a little bit of Prosecco 

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in his race fest as well. 
But I didn't drink that either. 

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But no, I got there at 2:00 AM. 
There's no, I don't know if 

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we've been up there. 
There's no running water or 

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electricity. 
So there were some candles set 

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up in the in the cafe so I could
get out of my boggy clothes. 

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And then I just sort of crawled 
into the bunkhouse bed, a little

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bit shell shocked to be honest. 
And when you finished at that 

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point, was it, how did that? 
Was it quite anticlimactic? 

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Because there's no way you know 
finishing archies and you know 

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it should FKT and when you reach
that point you're done. 

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Yeah, it was a little bit, but 
it as well because you can't 

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even get to the lighthouse. 
It it there's just a fence. 

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So I I was just trying to get in
the fence and my husband was 

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like Sophie, that's it you're 
you're done now. 

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Just not. 
But I think because I'd had that

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whole day, that whole final day 
by myself, because he had to 

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drive round to get to Cape Wrath
and there's only like one or two

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ferries across. 
So I'd had 90 kilometres all on 

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my own in some quite remote 
terrain. 

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And I was really just a little 
bit frightened to be honest. 

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So I was so sort of anxious and,
and nervous about this final day

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that when I finally got there, I
just kind of was like, oh, I 

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don't, I don't really feel 
anything. 

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Definitely took a few days for 
it to sink in. 

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And you must have had to have 
had like really good navigation 

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skills for that as well, because
Cape Wrath is like sort of all 

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isn't the what how did And that 
sounds daft. 

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I feel stupid actually asking 
this, but did you have the old 

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school map and compass or did 
you have a GPX? 

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I had a GPXI mean I had a map 
and compass with me as well. 

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I had a a handheld device, 
Garmin, Garmin watch, my phone 

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and a map of compass. 
I won't take any risks out 

222
00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:37,320
there. 
So but mostly I now have done my

223
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:42,120
on my phone, on my watch. 
And then it does get a little 

224
00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,760
bit weird over Kate Rath and it 
was completely dark. 

225
00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,320
So you're sort of just there's 
nothing. 

226
00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,840
You just sort of walk in a 
direction and hope for the best.

227
00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,640
But I could see once I was out, 
can't have been more than about 

228
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,720
5K from the end. 
And I really was like, batteries

229
00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,640
were running out of things. 
I'd just like fallen almost head

230
00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,320
first in a bog, like my whole 
arm and pole are getting in up 

231
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:07,640
to here. 
And thankfully I stopped myself.

232
00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,040
So I was a little bit like, oh 
God, I really just need to get 

233
00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:14,080
this done. 
And I could see his head torch 

234
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,840
blinking, which definitely kind 
of, you know, put me a bit more 

235
00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,400
at ease. 
I had one fleeting moment that 

236
00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,360
it might not be him because I 
did have an open tracking 

237
00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:27,920
tracker. 
But I just kind of thought, 

238
00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:32,280
well, if somebody's come all 
this way, there we go. 

239
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:39,480
I, I, I did a walk many, many 
years ago with a friend. 

240
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:45,920
We started in Sky and we're 
going down to Fort Augusta I 

241
00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,720
think it was and then over to 
Aberdeen and somewhere in 

242
00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:54,320
between Sky and Fort Augustus 
obviously nears a Cape Rath Ish 

243
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,160
territory. 
There was a, an RAF jet came 

244
00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,720
flying over the top of us and we
lost the GPS. 

245
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:07,680
So it's like just as well we had
the map and compass. 

246
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,040
It just shows things like that. 
Can't go wrong. 

247
00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:14,720
When we uploaded the GPS to 
Garmin Sava, whatever it was 

248
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:19,600
afterwards, it showed us that we
were suddenly down at Prestwick 

249
00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,880
Airport and then a couple of 
seconds later we were back 

250
00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:24,080
again. 
So there's obviously something 

251
00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,440
in the jet that jammed the GPS. 
So it just shows you that. 

252
00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:30,400
Don't rely on that sort of 
thing, yeah. 

253
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,080
No, I mean, absolutely not. 
And that's, that's madness, 

254
00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,800
isn't it? 
But no, look, I'm not brilliant 

255
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:42,520
with a map and compass, but I, 
if I know, I know where I am on 

256
00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,240
the trail and on the map so I 
can get myself out of it. 

257
00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,360
You know, I'm, I'm not 
brilliant. 

258
00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,280
I should do more practice with a
map and compass. 

259
00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,800
But you know, I did make sure 
that I was covered just in case.

260
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:59,400
And I also had the right network
for northern Scotland. 

261
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,000
So my phone actually worked the 
whole time, which is always 

262
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,880
good. 
I think I'm probably not that 

263
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,359
great with map and compass 
either, but I know I know how to

264
00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:11,720
make the map go the right way up
because the compass don't let 

265
00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,680
you do that. 
And as long as you know where 

266
00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:15,920
you are on Israel, then you can 
find where you're going. 

267
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,280
So. 
Yeah, exactly. 

268
00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,200
Exactly. 
I have no map and compass 

269
00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,800
knowledge. 
I really need to go and do some 

270
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,839
NAV classes or something because
like because a lot of Cape Wrath

271
00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:29,680
it's pathless is it not? 
Yeah. 

272
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,360
You know, I think it's, it is, 
but you sort of there's a 

273
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:39,680
natural direction. 
So it does feel, I'm not ever 

274
00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:41,840
going to say it straightforward 
because it really isn't. 

275
00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:46,880
But it it there is a a natural 
direction that you will move in.

276
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,320
Yeah, because it follows the 
valleys through. 

277
00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:54,840
So I don't think there's any 
summits or maybe 1 like 300m 

278
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,440
summit or something on the whole
route. 

279
00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,360
So you really are following, you
know, the the line of least 

280
00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:03,800
resistance. 
Yeah. 

281
00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,080
I assume it's old drovers roads 
or something like that or it's. 

282
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,200
Just there's a lot of that. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

283
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:17,680
So moving on from FKTS, you do 
have an incredible history of 

284
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:19,680
completing the full winter 
Spain. 

285
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,000
You mentioned Dragons back and 
northern traverse as well. 

286
00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,680
Do you have a favorite event 
like a multi day event? 

287
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,800
The why? 
Yeah, I mean, they're all 

288
00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:32,400
brilliant events in their own 
right. 

289
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,480
And, you know, sadly Aria's not 
there anymore, but you know, 

290
00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,840
incredibly well organised events
there. 

291
00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,720
And really they they are kind of
life changing to be honest. 

292
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,840
So, so many of the people I run 
with on a day-to-day basis I've 

293
00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:51,080
met through those events. 
My favorite is the spine though.

294
00:18:52,040 --> 00:19:01,040
I think I like the sort of 
boggy, Heather beaten paths of 

295
00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,680
the Pennine Way, and it's 
definitely not to everybody's 

296
00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,600
taste, but I really like that 
kind of barren beauty of it. 

297
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,920
A lot of our previous guests 
have said a similar thing. 

298
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:16,600
It's like they they seem to go 
for that when when I've been 

299
00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:20,640
sort of growing up in ultras, 
it's been W Allen ways that's 

300
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:24,320
the thing. 
And I've kind of grown into 

301
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,440
other events. 
They're all fantastic, they've 

302
00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:29,880
all got their each individual 
thing. 

303
00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,480
Why do you think people get 
drawn to the Penang way? 

304
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,000
Well, it's a good question. 
I mean, I'm not sure I mean it. 

305
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,880
I think it the sort of, again, 
the natural direction of it. 

306
00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,120
It feels those kind of point to 
points. 

307
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,960
I, I find that really enjoyable.
It feels like a real journey and

308
00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,280
an adventure when you're doing 
it, especially in the winter. 

309
00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,240
And I don't know, there's a lot 
of history with the Pennine 

310
00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,600
Ways, isn't there? 
Of, of which I do not claim to 

311
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,280
be in any kind of expert. 
You've had guests that are. 

312
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,040
So I'm not, I'm not going to go 
down that far. 

313
00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:11,080
But yeah, just it's, no, it's, 
it's, it's, it's going to be a 

314
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,440
real challenge for anybody. 
And you can almost do it in 

315
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,720
however which way you want. 
It's quite flexible. 

316
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,960
You do it in one go, you can do 
it over years, whatever suits 

317
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,560
you. 
So you know, I think it's got 

318
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:30,200
something for everyone. 
If you like bogs, you really 

319
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:34,640
need to like bogs and flagstones
and flagstones. 

320
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,720
I see flagstones. 
See I like bogs, but I'm 

321
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:42,960
starting to just get over them 
not quite terrifying me anymore.

322
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,680
Like I'm a bit more comfortable 
about going through them because

323
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:50,040
when I started going through 
them I was terrified it would 

324
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,200
suck me into the abyss and I 
would never be seen again. 

325
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:58,760
Yeah, you never know. 
The description of the the 

326
00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,520
flagstones on the pen and wave 
makes me think of the It's one 

327
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,360
of the Lord of the Rings films 
where they're they're going over

328
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,320
a bog and all the ghosts are 
coming up from the bog. 

329
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,040
It's the. 
Dead Marshes. 

330
00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,000
Yeah. 
You're speaking my language with

331
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:17,200
The Lord of the Rings. 
The second film is my favorite 

332
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,680
because all they do is run. 
You mentioned going off on a 

333
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,120
tangent as we have done so far. 
Have you had any wild 

334
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:28,720
hallucinations on any of your 
multi days or your FKT even? 

335
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,280
I didn't know my FKT because I 
did it as a stage, stages, so I 

336
00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:38,560
had set distances and the only 
hallucinations I've had are on 

337
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,960
the spine. 
So it really did take days to 

338
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,240
get there. 
And that was in Kielder Forest, 

339
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,160
and it was like, they're all 
kind of like logging roads, so 

340
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,240
there's lots of logs on the side
of the road. 

341
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:56,360
So I had sort of like people, 
sort of dead people, but not 

342
00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:00,000
really dead people. 
And then there were these sort 

343
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,680
of animatronic birds dancing 
around. 

344
00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:07,640
But the weirdest 1 is during 
that time I had auditory 

345
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:12,040
hallucinations, so it felt like 
I was being followed around by 

346
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:17,320
the band Queen, and they weren't
really doing Queen songs. 

347
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:22,120
It just sounded like Queen but 
for ages, but no one else could 

348
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:24,680
hear it. 
I was with them, this girl 

349
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,200
called Kendra and a guy called 
Matt, and they assured me that 

350
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,360
none of these things were there.
So yeah. 

351
00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:37,120
So really important question, 
what is the best cover song that

352
00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:43,680
Queen has done in your head? 
Oh God, I wish I could answer 

353
00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,840
that. 
It was just sort of nonsense 

354
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:51,160
Queen songs. 
But yeah, really strange. 

355
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:53,480
But that's the only time I've 
ever had them. 

356
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,560
I think it takes I'm quite good 
with sleep deprivation and I did

357
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,200
sleep on the spine. 
So yeah, it I think that was 

358
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:06,480
probably night, night 4. 
So yeah, took a while. 

359
00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:13,320
And do you use caffeine to stay 
awake for that length of time 

360
00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,040
or? 
Anything, yeah, I, I, I do, I, I

361
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:18,720
don't drink caffeine day-to-day,
actually. 

362
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:24,480
So it's only ever in events I 
and not like religiously, but 

363
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,600
it, it definitely helps if I'm 
sort of getting flagging a 

364
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:30,800
little bit. 
But then I find just eating 

365
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,720
anything helps. 
It seems to be the answer to 

366
00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:36,920
everything is to just eat more. 
You know you're tired, something

367
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,560
hurts, you know you're drifting.
Just keep eating. 

368
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,520
I think exactly the same have 
said it to many people so. 

369
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:45,960
Yeah. 
Totally agree. 

370
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,000
Right? 
Obviously advice that a coach 

371
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,960
would give you. 
Do you have a coach? 

372
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:58,320
Have you been coached? 
Yeah, I have been coached and I 

373
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:04,800
sort, I'm sort of coached now. 
So before I did Dragons back, I 

374
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,800
signed up with Jen Scotney 
originally. 

375
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,880
I actually contacted Marcus 
because I didn't know that Jen 

376
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:15,440
was a coach because of his 
pedigree basically at the 

377
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,960
Dragon's back and I really had 
no business signing up for it. 

378
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,320
I did not have the skill set to 
do that race when I signed up 

379
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,120
for it. 
But he put me, he said actually 

380
00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,480
my wife's just started coaching.
I think you would suit her 

381
00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:34,920
really well. 
So I was coached by Jen for 

382
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:36,720
three years. 
So she got me through the 

383
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:39,600
Scottish National Trail and then
after that. 

384
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:47,280
So I guess that was early, no, 
mid 2023, yeah, I, I then was 

385
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,840
uncoached. 
This is when all my injuries 

386
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,080
began. 
Not because of a coach or not 

387
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:54,640
because of a coach. 
It was just like a, a 

388
00:24:55,120 --> 00:25:02,200
combination of factors really. 
And right now I am when I second

389
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,800
the second bone injury in, I 
contacted a a woman that lives 

390
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:12,400
locally who has a special, 
special interest in women of 

391
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:17,480
perimenopausal, menopausal age 
to look at strength work, a bit 

392
00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,400
more targeted strength work. 
She in the past has been a run 

393
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,240
coach, so she has now been 
writing me plans. 

394
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,960
So it's sort of, I see her once 
a week for weightlifting and we 

395
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:30,720
talk about how my running's 
going. 

396
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:36,040
So yeah, she's been setting, 
setting my program mostly. 

397
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:40,280
It started because I wanted some
support back from another bone 

398
00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,800
injury. 
So she made sure she kept me on 

399
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,320
straight and narrow. 
Narrow, because otherwise my 

400
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,840
tendency is to do too much too 
soon. 

401
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,440
Was that a slip there? 
The marrow bone. 

402
00:25:52,640 --> 00:26:00,120
Yeah, I know, not purposely. 
What were the bone injuries if 

403
00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:04,560
you don't mind just asking? 
Yeah, so I had so after the 

404
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:10,720
Scottish National Trail, I had a
femoral edema in my right thigh.

405
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:19,960
So, but it was quite severe. 
And then I, I did offload it and

406
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,600
do the strength work, but I just
didn't take the right amount of 

407
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:27,760
time, did the spine. 
And then after that, in the sort

408
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,720
of excitement of finishing that 
did not recover properly. 

409
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,440
Same injury again. 
Yeah. 

410
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:38,680
And then after that stress, a 
fracture, a proper fracture in 

411
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:44,760
my fibula, in my left fibula. 
So yeah, it's been an ongoing 

412
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:50,280
ordeal. 
Is overuse injury or do you 

413
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,760
think it could be something 
else? 

414
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:56,120
Dietary or anything? 
I think it's a combination of 

415
00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:59,200
all of it actually and and also 
history. 

416
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:05,480
So I ran a lot as a kid. 
And what's that, 90s? 

417
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:11,920
I don't think we may be, and 
this is no shame, you know, my 

418
00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,840
parents, but they didn't know 
what to feed me to make sure I 

419
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,600
was, you know, fully filled, I 
guess. 

420
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,400
And neither did I. 
It's not something that we even 

421
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,200
talked about at that age. 
It's like you're 15 and you go 

422
00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,960
to the track like you, you just 
do that and you might have a few

423
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:31,600
sweets afterwards or something. 
So I think there is probably, 

424
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,920
I've, I've seen a few 
specialists and the they think 

425
00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:40,600
that I probably had a sort of 
compromise bone architecture 

426
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,320
from that. 
There's a few other health signs

427
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:49,760
that point to that. 
And then I think overuse in 

428
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:54,720
terms of not necessarily the 
volume, but the intensity. 

429
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,840
So I moved up from London where 
I did loads of flat road running

430
00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:01,680
to the Peak District and then I 
was just up in the hills all the

431
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:06,320
time and I didn't really 
recognise the kind of change in 

432
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,080
intensity that that would have 
an impact that would have on my 

433
00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,080
body. 
So I do think that has been a 

434
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,400
factor to diet. 
I'm a vegetarian. 

435
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,120
I don't think there's a problem 
with vegetarian diets, but I 

436
00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:20,080
needed more protein and I wasn't
getting it. 

437
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:24,200
So I think those three things 
altogether. 

438
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,960
I'm also a early 40s woman 
that's you're at a higher risk 

439
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,440
anyway. 
But yeah, I think it's taken me 

440
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,280
a really long time to figure out
all the little threads for it 

441
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:39,320
to, to kind of correct it all. 
I feel like I've corrected it 

442
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,480
all but I'm too afraid to say 
yes. 

443
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,720
I've got the answers now and 
it's all side because you never 

444
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,760
know. 
Yeah, well, obviously 

445
00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,960
everybody's different and in no 
way am I asking you to give 

446
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,760
medical advice, But what? 
Yeah. 

447
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,520
What did you do to get on top of
it? 

448
00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:00,600
I wouldn't say get rid of it, 
but get on top of it. 

449
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:05,800
Yeah, yeah. 
So when I ended up in, I guess 

450
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,960
it was just over a year ago with
the fracture in my fibula. 

451
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,800
I actually, I'm very, I'm lucky 
enough that I have private 

452
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,920
healthcare through my work. 
I think I'm in a very privileged

453
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:18,560
position that I had access to 
that. 

454
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,760
So I get it looked at by a 
sports consultant immediately. 

455
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:30,560
He I actually switched sports 
consultants this time, so I'd 

456
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:34,360
seen somebody else from the 
previous two and he was a great 

457
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:39,360
doctor, but this one was much 
more hands on with the recovery.

458
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,440
I actually only switched because
I was just embarrassed to go 

459
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,600
back to the other one initially 
was like, I can't go back with 

460
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,480
1000 phone injury. 
I was in his office all the 

461
00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:55,000
time, get AMRI scans. 
It was ridiculous, but he, he, I

462
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,160
was in his care until I finished
the walk to run program. 

463
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:04,800
So literally every step of the 
way he couldn't, not controlled,

464
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:08,800
but laid out what it was I could
and couldn't do. 

465
00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:11,920
So initially I couldn't even 
swim with my legs. 

466
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,400
It was like float between your 
legs, swim with your arms. 

467
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,320
I mean, I hate swimming at the 
best of times. 

468
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,360
That was a new level of 
purgatory. 

469
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,040
And then it was like a very 
steady, you know, I could cycle 

470
00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:26,680
for 20 minutes three times a 
week. 

471
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,480
And then it was walking around 
the village for 20 minutes. 

472
00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:33,200
And then when I got to walk, 
run, about three months later, 

473
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:37,320
it was one minute running, 4 
minutes walking, repeat four 

474
00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,840
times building up to 20 minutes 
running. 

475
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,800
And alongside this, I did a lot 
of strength and conditioning and

476
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:48,480
plyometric work with a really 
good physio and also Karen 

477
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:56,360
Wynne, my weightlifting PT, 
which I think has really, really

478
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,160
helped. 
So just targeting the areas that

479
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,280
I've been weaker. 
So there's clearly something 

480
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:06,920
going on with my glutes because 
I keep getting the femoral 

481
00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:11,400
edema, but also then I think 
that transferred because of my 

482
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:13,920
gait. 
So working then strengthening 

483
00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:15,920
the ankles. 
I was lucky that I didn't have 

484
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,600
any ligament damage. 
It really it was just bone 

485
00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,760
stress, which I think it sounds 
more dramatic, but it's actually

486
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:24,600
much more straightforward 
recovery. 

487
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,280
So then, you know, there's 
always a silver lining to it. 

488
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:34,000
And then I, I'm on HRT, which I 
think has helped over the last 

489
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:39,160
couple of years with, you know, 
maintaining my bone health, take

490
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,800
loads of set fluent supplements 
that support my bone health. 

491
00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,560
And I just increased the protein
that I eat. 

492
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:51,560
And I guess the impact of that 
is that I feel like my recovery 

493
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,400
from my runs is just so much 
better than it's ever been. 

494
00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:00,520
So I think that's been a huge 
part of it, as well as not not 

495
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,120
recovering well enough between 
runs because of all this other 

496
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:06,320
stuff and, and you just, you 
just don't heal properly. 

497
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,440
So yeah, lots of things. 
And I, I just, I do recognise 

498
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,480
that I'm very fortunate that 
I've been able to pay for all of

499
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:18,240
this. 
Like it's, it's not something 

500
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,840
that everybody has access to. 
And I, I feel, you know, despite

501
00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,200
all the injuries, very 
privileged to have been able to 

502
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:28,680
do that. 
Yeah, although the NHS is there,

503
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:34,000
it's so underfunded, overrun 
that it just can't get to people

504
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:37,480
and that's the the problem. 
So yes, I'm in the same boat. 

505
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:42,080
I've privileged to be able to do
private healthcare through work.

506
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,720
Otherwise you know what would 
happen. 

507
00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,640
I'm I was going to say I'm 
disappointed that your husband 

508
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:53,480
didn't suggest rather than 
swimming with arms only, no 

509
00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,200
legs, why didn't he suggest do 
climbing window legs? 

510
00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:02,680
Campus boarding because I fall 
off too much on snap and cold. 

511
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,400
Definitely. 
He has built a little campus 

512
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,040
board in the shed actually, so I
could have used that a bit more,

513
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:12,640
but I'm too afraid of jumping 
off and breaking something else.

514
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,960
Thank you for sharing all of 
that, Sophie, about your injury 

515
00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,480
and your recovery. 
The next question that we have 

516
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,760
is more geared towards your most
recent event, which is the 

517
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:33,160
winter spray Winter Spain Sprint
S Try saying that fast this 

518
00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:37,840
year. 
So geared towards that event 

519
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,880
specifically, there's a couple 
of questions rounded into this 

520
00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,880
one big one. 
So when did you decide that you 

521
00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,560
were doing that? 
And amongst all your injury and 

522
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,720
recovery, how did you 
specifically recover with, you 

523
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,480
know, training towards that 
pretty much? 

524
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,920
And can you talk us through the 
event itself? 

525
00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,400
Yeah, yeah. 
It was such a great day out. 

526
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,280
But yeah, I decided really last 
minute that I was going to do 

527
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:08,760
it. 
So I had a had a place, but I I 

528
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:10,520
wasn't sure I was going to 
start. 

529
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,159
The sports consultant had said 
he wanted me to have a year 

530
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,440
before doing anything ultra 
distance and it was probably 10 

531
00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:23,719
months. 
But when I explained the event 

532
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,360
and the kind of pace of the 
event, he was like OK, I think 

533
00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:32,440
that will be OK. 
But I was really nervous about 

534
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,960
it. 
Like every up and still have it 

535
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,320
now every niggle I have I assume
the worst. 

536
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:43,159
So it really did that sort of 
four months build up to that 

537
00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:47,080
event. 
I panic emailed the physio about

538
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:50,040
14 times. 
This hurts now this hurts. 

539
00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:57,720
What should I do? 
So, but my prep was building off

540
00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:01,120
the, I think, I guess the solid 
foundation that I had built 

541
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,440
during recovery. 
And I think the strength work 

542
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:11,360
played a huge part in why I 
managed to kind of keep moving. 

543
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:17,520
I guess at the pace I was 
moving, I didn't run that much 

544
00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:21,600
compared to most people. 
I mean, OK, and let me caveat 

545
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,400
that I didn't run much compared 
to other ultra runners, let's 

546
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:28,520
say that, but probably more than
your average Joe. 

547
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:34,840
My average week when I worked 
out was 57 kilometres a week 

548
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,160
running. 
That's it. 

549
00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:43,880
I did 2 recchis, so they were my
longest runs, one of 38, K-1 of 

550
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,880
about 34. 
Everything else was probably 

551
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:55,880
under 25I switched to probably 
70% flat road running with some 

552
00:35:55,880 --> 00:36:00,280
targeted hill stuff and I think 
that's made a huge difference. 

553
00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:04,600
Like it's really improved my 
base speed and I'm not a fast 

554
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,600
runner. 
That's definitely not the thing 

555
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:09,120
I want to do. 
But just getting that base speed

556
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,240
up has really helped that's it's
been fun doing some park runs 

557
00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:19,320
and things thrown in. 
So yeah, I mean, I think people 

558
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:21,640
think you have to just run miles
and miles and miles. 

559
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,840
You hear a lot. 
You've got to get time on feet, 

560
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:25,760
you've got to get time on feet. 
It's like actually, I don't 

561
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:29,960
think you do. 
There's a lot of research that 

562
00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:32,880
says over 3 hours, you're just 
actually fatiguing yourself. 

563
00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:37,800
So unless it's like AI do think 
longer days out do help you, 

564
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,200
help you plan and understand 
what you need to do. 

565
00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:44,680
But you know, I see people going
out for six hours one day and 

566
00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:47,640
four hours the next day and you 
know, they're probably not 

567
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,720
getting as much benefit from 
that as they think. 

568
00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:51,960
And then everybody's slightly 
different. 

569
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:56,320
Can I just ask Sophie just, 
well, we're on that, how many 

570
00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:00,160
times roughly in your training 
plan would you run then a week 

571
00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:03,960
and then like how did that did 
you do more strength than 

572
00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,080
running and your like average 
week? 

573
00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:12,960
No, I didn't. 
So I maybe ran, started off, I 

574
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:16,840
built, was building back up. 
So probably the first month was 

575
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:22,160
four times and then up to five 
times a week. 

576
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:29,000
I did a reason about cycling 
that I took up cycling when I 

577
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,320
was injured and I really enjoyed
it. 

578
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:35,760
So I do try and stick with the 
bike and then maybe I was doing 

579
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,360
2 and two hours worth of 
strength work a week. 

580
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:45,880
One sort of more like lower 
weight, high Rep and 1 high, low

581
00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:48,680
Rep, high weight. 
So it's targeting different 

582
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,000
areas. 
But yeah. 

583
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,760
And I, I probably run a little 
bit, I run more distance than 

584
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:57,920
that now I've got built more 
confidence in my robustness. 

585
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,680
But yeah, during that, five 
times a week was the most. 

586
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:06,280
And would I be right in assuming
then the with that back story 

587
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:09,680
and the last minute in this of 
you deciding to enter it, you 

588
00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:15,280
weren't in it to win it, no. 
No, that's fair to say. 

589
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:22,240
Like I had pulled the 
competitors list and gone 

590
00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:27,120
through the female participants 
UGNB indexes because I just 

591
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:29,240
want, I always like to see 
what's happening. 

592
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:32,880
And I'd I always thought like on
a good day I could probably do 

593
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:37,400
well like, but I didn't think I 
was in good day territory. 

594
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:42,360
But yeah, it just all came 
together on the day. 

595
00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:44,680
And yeah, I LED from the 
beginning. 

596
00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:49,240
So at what point did you think 
I've got this? 

597
00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:56,080
At no point I don't win things 
so it was a very unusual place 

598
00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:59,440
for me to be. 
But I don't know if you know the

599
00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,160
spine Sprint route. 
So you come off Stoodley Pike 

600
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:06,360
into Hebden Bridge and then they
send you up this Cottrell Hill 

601
00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:10,640
to the Birch Cliff Centre. 
And on that hill I was looking 

602
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:15,680
behind me expecting the 2nd 
place woman to be there and she 

603
00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:18,160
wasn't. 
And I was like OK, OK, this 

604
00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:22,480
probably is happening now. 
And yeah, it turned out she was 

605
00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,480
45 minutes behind. 
But I hadn't looked at my phone 

606
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:30,720
the whole time because I didn't.
I could see people messaging me 

607
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:35,320
but I didn't want the pressure 
of them saying she's really 

608
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:37,840
close, she's catching you up. 
Come on Sophie, move. 

609
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:42,720
Because I really was just trying
to have a nice day out and I 

610
00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:44,880
caught up with a lot of the 
Challenger runners. 

611
00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:49,120
So they start maybe 3 or 4 hours
before 3 hours I think it was. 

612
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:54,440
And they kept telling me where I
was, which is really quite 

613
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:56,680
stressful. 
And I think it's a nice thing, 

614
00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:58,640
you know, they're trying to 
encourage you. 

615
00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:01,880
But given my sort of mental 
headspace, I was a bit like, I'm

616
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,040
just having a nice day out. 
I'm just having a nice day out. 

617
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:09,280
But to them, they were going 
really fast. 

618
00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,120
And you know what, I did feel 
like I was moving quite well. 

619
00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:17,960
And I think a part of that is so
it's my home turf. 

620
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:21,320
You know, the next village along
is Edale, where it starts. 

621
00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:24,960
You know, I know that part of 
the Pennine Way really well, but

622
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:28,920
I think it snowed a lot. 
And I think that frightens 

623
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:31,640
people. 
Whereas that's my favorite day 

624
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:34,440
out. 
So I think where people go into 

625
00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:35,880
the spine, they're really 
apprehensive. 

626
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:38,080
They've got all that gear and 
they're really worried. 

627
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:40,840
I was like, oh, this is the best
day. 

628
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:42,680
And I wasn't worried about 
anything. 

629
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:46,160
You know, I felt safe and 
comfortable and, you know, the 

630
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:48,920
worst that was going to happen 
was that I, well, you know, 

631
00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:52,160
most, there's obviously always a
caveat to that, that something 

632
00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:55,320
bad can happen, but you know, 
just fine and watching you, 

633
00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:57,400
somebody's going to come and 
scoop you up if something 

634
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,800
happens. 
So I didn't have that weighing 

635
00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,720
on my shoulders. 
So but yeah, it was a, it really

636
00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:07,120
was a really good day out. 
I had such a lovely time. 

637
00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:10,960
And on that last hill, were you 
running up it in case you was 

638
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:15,040
behind you? 
No, I was hiking up as quick as 

639
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:18,120
I could and then I had a little 
jog up the steps to the the 

640
00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:22,600
finishers arch. 
If you look in the video on this

641
00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:26,480
sort of day 2 video, they just 
show the Sprint finish and they 

642
00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:29,880
cut mine just to that step. 
So it looks like I'm running up,

643
00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:31,560
which I thought was very kind of
them. 

644
00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:41,760
So moving on from that, if you 
had a preference, do you prefer 

645
00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:47,720
doing FKTS or an event? 
Oh, that's a good question. 

646
00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:49,480
They're both really different, 
aren't they? 

647
00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:55,920
There are definitely some events
I want to do, but I yeah, 

648
00:41:55,920 --> 00:41:57,720
there's some things I want to 
tick off I think. 

649
00:41:57,720 --> 00:42:01,720
But I probably will try and do 
some more FKTS in the future. 

650
00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:07,000
It's there's something really 
enjoyable about doing all the 

651
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,600
planning yourself. 
I really like that and I'm never

652
00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:12,760
going to be the fastest runner, 
but I am really organised and I 

653
00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:15,320
really enjoy all that planning 
part of it. 

654
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,120
I think some people find that 
stressful, but I really like it.

655
00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:22,840
And also the FKT I did in 
Scotland, it felt like a real 

656
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:25,800
team effort, like I couldn't 
have done it without Phil. 

657
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:30,880
And that was really nice to kind
of bring him in. 

658
00:42:31,240 --> 00:42:34,480
You know, he he very much was a 
part of it with me. 

659
00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:37,920
Whereas I think in races, I 
mean, he's still a part of it, 

660
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:39,240
right? 
I mean, he supports me through 

661
00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:41,720
all my training and he'll always
meet me at the end. 

662
00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:45,200
But it felt different. 
He was so fundamentally involved

663
00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:47,960
in it. 
I would definitely like to do 

664
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:50,120
that again. 
I just need to persuade him to 

665
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:55,760
follow me for 12 or 13 days 
across some bogs again. 

666
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:00,680
And you, you mentioned earlier 
that you're vegetating. 

667
00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:04,160
Yeah. 
What about during races? 

668
00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:09,000
You're nobody eats meat during 
races unless you're continental.

669
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:13,880
Well, no go there. 
What kind of fuel do you have 

670
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:14,920
during races? 
Yeah. 

671
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:21,000
So I for years I was a real food
girl, but actually I've switched

672
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:26,040
now and I have a lot of gels. 
So, and I've found it, you had 

673
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:28,640
to do a lot of trial and error 
with the ones that work. 

674
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:31,400
But I've particularly found over
last summer when I was on my 

675
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:34,440
bike more, that's really helped 
me kind of get on top of my 

676
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:39,160
fuelling a bit more. 
It's a bit easier to do it and 

677
00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:42,040
it's, it doesn't feel quite as 
rough on your stomach. 

678
00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,240
So it's kind of built up the 
resilience, I think, doing it 

679
00:43:45,240 --> 00:43:48,280
that way. 
But yeah, for the spine Sprint, 

680
00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:53,120
for example, I had mountain 
fuel, which I topped up at the 

681
00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:59,600
mountain rescue water points and
precision fuels, those 90g gels,

682
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:02,080
and that was it. 
I tried to eat a packet of 

683
00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:05,400
crisps at one point, but it was 
just like, no, this isn't going 

684
00:44:05,400 --> 00:44:07,600
down. 
So I gave that to a Challenger 

685
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:11,520
runner, kindly took those off my
hands. 

686
00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:17,160
And what is your favorite post 
race or big day oatmeal? 

687
00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:21,680
Yeah, I mean, I don't think I'm 
that different to most brothers.

688
00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:25,360
I just like potatoes and in any 
form I can have some kind of 

689
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:29,280
chips or potatoes or cake. 
I'll I'll have that. 

690
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:33,560
Yeah, Carbs. 
Loads of carbs. 

691
00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:42,280
And the answer to this question 
could be any of the challenges 

692
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:45,280
you've mentioned or something 
completely different, but what 

693
00:44:45,280 --> 00:44:47,320
would your biggest running 
achievement be? 

694
00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:51,320
My biggest running achievement 
is actually nothing to do with 

695
00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:57,400
me running, so I also volunteer 
at the Spine and last year at 

696
00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:00,120
the volunteers summit that they 
do once a year to gather all the

697
00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:02,920
volunteers feedback. 
I suggested that they change the

698
00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:06,200
Tekli tea bags to Yorkshire Tea 
because they were really 

699
00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:09,360
problematic and they have since 
changed it to Yorkshire Tea bags

700
00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:14,800
and I think that is my biggest 
achievement and I think 

701
00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:19,120
everybody's grateful for it. 
Made the biggest impact I'm 

702
00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:20,880
guessing. 
Absolutely. 

703
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:22,600
Yeah. 
Those Tetley, they just didn't 

704
00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:23,840
take. 
They just didn't work. 

705
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:28,920
Two, it was a 2 bag situation. 
Now, you said that you don't 

706
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,960
drink caffeine on a daily basis.
Do you drink tea? 

707
00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:35,160
I do, yeah. 
Obsessively. 

708
00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:40,040
I drink decaffeinated Earl Grey 
tea so I keep going out of 

709
00:45:40,040 --> 00:45:42,200
fashion. 
The tea bags that you got them 

710
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:44,040
to switch, you don't even have 
them yourself. 

711
00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:47,640
But I do when I'm running. 
I do when I'm running. 

712
00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:51,880
I like a good, I'd never have 
sugar in my tea at home, but you

713
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:55,920
know, a good strong caffeine, 
sugary tea mid race, there's 

714
00:45:55,920 --> 00:45:59,080
nothing like it. 
Milk or no milk? 

715
00:45:59,320 --> 00:46:01,400
No milk. 
No milk. 

716
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:06,080
Oh no, I need milk in my tea. 
I'm a black coffee girl. 

717
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:12,840
But no, I need my tea. 
And this may have changed over 

718
00:46:12,840 --> 00:46:16,400
the years or even on a 
day-to-day basis, but why do you

719
00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:20,520
run? 
Oh, yeah, that is a good 

720
00:46:20,520 --> 00:46:24,040
question. 
Yeah. 

721
00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:30,080
I mean, I definitely, I like it 
for the adventure and to get out

722
00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:32,160
and see places. 
I think there's nothing quite 

723
00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:36,280
like seeing something on foot, 
you know? 

724
00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:38,840
I even like walking, like 
walking seems like the greatest 

725
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:41,400
luxury in the world to me 
because it takes so much time. 

726
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:47,920
So definitely a part of it is 
just getting out and having the 

727
00:46:47,920 --> 00:46:51,440
space to just be by yourself. 
Although I run a lot more with 

728
00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:53,480
people now. 
I used to run a lot by myself. 

729
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:57,520
I have a sort of wider running 
network these days. 

730
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:03,040
So, yeah, I think it mostly is 
to, you know, get into nature 

731
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:06,320
and, you know, see as much as I 
can, yeah. 

732
00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:11,680
I think that's a really great 
answer and I resonate with that.

733
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,760
Just as you were answered in 
there with even going walking. 

734
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:19,200
I was thinking about a whole man
in laws are fortunate enough to 

735
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:22,800
have a holiday home in Spain and
we've been going out there for 

736
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:25,080
years and years and years. 
And only until I took up 

737
00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:28,400
running. 
I went out on and on out on the 

738
00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:32,160
holiday home in Spain and seen 
so much more that I didn't know 

739
00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:35,920
was on the doorstep. 
You know, the just by going even

740
00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:38,200
just following like a Strava map
or something. 

741
00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:40,080
Yeah, seen so much more. 
Yeah. 

742
00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:43,400
And I'm like, I've been missing 
this for about 13 years. 

743
00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:45,000
How did I not know this was 
here? 

744
00:47:45,120 --> 00:47:48,320
And it's, it's as you say, you 
just get to see so much more, 

745
00:47:48,320 --> 00:47:51,000
don't you? 
Yeah, I mean, I would not have 

746
00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:56,560
found myself up Kate Rath and 
that part of Scotland had I not 

747
00:47:56,560 --> 00:47:59,480
been on foot. 
I mean, most of it isn't 

748
00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:03,440
accessible by vehicle. 
So, you know, I find I think I'm

749
00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:07,120
really lucky to be able to have 
the mostly have the health and 

750
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:09,480
fitness to do it. 
Yeah. 

751
00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:15,320
But I do think there is, you 
know, having been injured so 

752
00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:19,280
much, there is a part of me and 
it's like I probably put too 

753
00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:21,560
much on that. 
It's probably too much of my 

754
00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:25,160
identity and I should probably, 
you know, do other things as 

755
00:48:25,160 --> 00:48:30,080
well. 
But I'm guessing that being 

756
00:48:30,080 --> 00:48:34,160
injured and not being able to do
it, when you are able to do it, 

757
00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:36,520
it makes you appreciate it more.
Absolutely. 

758
00:48:36,520 --> 00:48:37,520
Yeah. 
Yeah. 

759
00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:39,520
I mean, I don't take it for 
granted when people tell me 

760
00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:41,760
they've lost their mojo. 
I'm just like, I can't 

761
00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:44,560
understand. 
I don't understand how it 

762
00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:46,600
happened. 
I'm just so jealous. 

763
00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:49,160
I was just so jealous for so 
long of all these people having 

764
00:48:49,160 --> 00:48:51,200
fun adventures out. 
And I was doing 20 minutes 

765
00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:56,480
walking around my local village.
And the the answer to the next 

766
00:48:56,480 --> 00:49:01,200
question might be related to the
previous one, but what do you 

767
00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:02,400
think about when you're out 
running? 

768
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:07,800
Yeah, it, well, it depends on 
the circumstance actually. 

769
00:49:08,080 --> 00:49:13,440
So if I'm in a race and, or like
when I did my FKTI, spend a lot 

770
00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:17,640
of time thinking about what's 
ahead and doing mental maths 

771
00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:20,640
about the pace I'm moving and 
how I'm how long I'm going to be

772
00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:22,480
there. 
Most of the time it's absolute 

773
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:26,000
nonsense that I'm working out, 
but it just, it keeps me 

774
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:30,760
occupied while I'm I'm moving. 
But honestly, I just sort of 

775
00:49:30,760 --> 00:49:33,720
like listening to what's around 
and seeing who's out there. 

776
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:37,480
So I try not to think about very
much, to be honest, just taking 

777
00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,200
care of myself. 
I think that's what's so nice 

778
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:42,640
about it. 
It's, you know, we've all got 

779
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,880
busy lives and when you're out 
running, your purpose is to get 

780
00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:51,800
from A to B and that's it. 
So it's, it's quite a glorious 

781
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:55,800
break, I think from, you know, 
sitting in front of your laptop 

782
00:49:55,800 --> 00:50:01,280
at work all day. 
And you mentioned earlier on you

783
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:03,960
still have quite a few events 
that you would still like to 

784
00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:06,320
tick off the list, as well as 
FKTS. 

785
00:50:06,320 --> 00:50:09,960
What's What's the dream race on 
the bucket list? 

786
00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:12,800
You know what the dream race is,
is fine again. 

787
00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:16,360
I'm going back in January. 
I've got place. 

788
00:50:17,640 --> 00:50:20,040
I just, yeah, I've, I've not 
finished, definitely not 

789
00:50:20,040 --> 00:50:22,520
finished with that. 
And I, I can't see a time when I

790
00:50:22,520 --> 00:50:26,880
am to be honest, in various, 
various different races that 

791
00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:29,640
they've got. 
It's just such a fun thing to be

792
00:50:29,640 --> 00:50:34,760
a part of. 
But I, I, I guess I want to do 

793
00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:38,040
the Tour de Glacier, so I need 
to get through the Tour de Geans

794
00:50:38,040 --> 00:50:40,440
first. 
That's no disrespect to the Tour

795
00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:42,200
de Geans. 
It's an incredible race. 

796
00:50:42,200 --> 00:50:43,560
I just want to do the bigger 
one. 

797
00:50:46,240 --> 00:50:48,160
I'm in. 
Can I see you for this? 

798
00:50:48,960 --> 00:50:52,160
You know, the last almost hour 
doesn't surprise me. 

799
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:59,560
And I have had AI had to defer a
race, went through one of my 

800
00:50:59,560 --> 00:51:02,120
injuries, but it's called 
crossing Switzerland. 

801
00:51:02,120 --> 00:51:04,080
So I'm doing that in July with a
friend. 

802
00:51:04,080 --> 00:51:07,360
So I think that will be a really
a really fun event. 

803
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:12,800
We're doing it as a duo. 
So and that's just the the via 

804
00:51:12,800 --> 00:51:16,880
Alpena route across Switzerland 
from, you know, like end to end 

805
00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:20,520
basically. 
So yeah, that one's been 

806
00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:22,440
rumbling under for nearly three 
years now. 

807
00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:26,280
I'm getting the impression, 
Sophie, that you like to cross 

808
00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:30,560
countries and I'm now wondering 
how many countries in the world 

809
00:51:30,560 --> 00:51:32,400
are we going to? 
I think that should be. 

810
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:36,000
Any of that class, isn't it? 
It looks really good on the map.

811
00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:46,280
It looks amazing on the map. 
I think I've crossed England the

812
00:51:46,320 --> 00:51:48,360
the shorter wait. 
Well, probably not the shortest 

813
00:51:48,360 --> 00:51:53,440
route, but coast to coast Wales,
north to South, yeah, Scotland 

814
00:51:53,440 --> 00:52:01,400
in three different ways, I think
so yeah, it's a nice it makes a 

815
00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:02,400
nice Strava map. 
It's. 

816
00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:06,080
Really satisfying isn't it? 
Actually the annoying thing 

817
00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:11,320
about the Swiss one is it stops 
at Lake Geneva and there is just

818
00:52:11,320 --> 00:52:15,160
a little bit left. 
So I'm just trying to decide 

819
00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:19,000
whether I have to do it or not 
to finish the actual border to 

820
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:22,520
border route. 
But but that little bit Sophie 

821
00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:27,640
like as much as it looks, no, 
that much definitely measured. 

822
00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:30,640
Well, it's going to feel, it's 
going to feel like, yeah, it's 

823
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:34,360
not, it's not that far. 
It's it's it's maybe I don't 

824
00:52:34,360 --> 00:52:36,160
know, maybe 30 or 40K or 
something. 

825
00:52:36,160 --> 00:52:38,760
But after 400, I'm not sure I'm 
going to be up for it. 

826
00:52:42,080 --> 00:52:46,040
Races like that, I've seen other
races, people saying, oh, why is

827
00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:47,800
the West End away, not 100 
miles? 

828
00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:51,560
It's because that's what the 
race is for a, for a country 

829
00:52:51,560 --> 00:52:57,680
crossing, I can understand it, 
but doing it at the end, it's 

830
00:52:57,680 --> 00:52:59,840
just like you've got to the end 
and that's it. 

831
00:53:00,720 --> 00:53:02,560
You've been planning it for the 
whole time. 

832
00:53:03,120 --> 00:53:06,240
Doing the extra is not just, 
it's not the same doing at the 

833
00:53:06,240 --> 00:53:08,640
end and it is saying that you're
going to do it. 

834
00:53:09,120 --> 00:53:11,880
Yeah, yeah, there's, there's, 
there's going to have to be some

835
00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:15,440
strong mental fortitude to get 
myself going to do that last 

836
00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:16,960
bit. 
But I'm, I'm not planning on 

837
00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:19,320
doing it. 
I'm just, you know, looking at 

838
00:53:19,320 --> 00:53:20,520
that map is a bit annoying 
though. 

839
00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:23,680
And we'll. 
Keep her eyes peeled. 

840
00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:27,680
You said you're going back to 
the spine. 

841
00:53:28,280 --> 00:53:29,760
What would you do differently 
this time? 

842
00:53:30,800 --> 00:53:34,640
Oh, so much less faff. 
Oh God, do you lose hours in 

843
00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:37,840
those checkpoints faffing around
with those lovely volunteers 

844
00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:42,840
bringing you tea and lasagna? 
I think I probably wasted 8 or 9

845
00:53:42,840 --> 00:53:46,840
hours just faffing. 
So I've kind of got a stricter 

846
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:53,040
plan And look, you, your plan 
doesn't always happen, but yeah,

847
00:53:53,040 --> 00:53:57,880
I think I'm going to be a little
bit more aggressive going into 

848
00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:00,120
it. 
And then, you know, I guess the 

849
00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:04,280
understanding has to be that if 
you blow up, you blow up, then 

850
00:54:04,480 --> 00:54:07,720
you deal with that then. 
But yeah, so definitely lots and

851
00:54:07,760 --> 00:54:11,080
lots and lots less bath. 
My kit was really good. 

852
00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:13,320
I was really happy with that. 
I'm going to use almost all the 

853
00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:15,440
same kit. 
Few lighter things. 

854
00:54:15,680 --> 00:54:18,320
I've got you now don't have to 
carry a stove. 

855
00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:23,600
So that's a that's a win. 
But yeah, just less time at 

856
00:54:23,600 --> 00:54:26,840
checkpoints. 
Yeah, it wasn't even that I 

857
00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:28,560
wasn't organised, it was just 
faffing. 

858
00:54:30,080 --> 00:54:31,760
If it would be Sophie, I'd just 
be talking. 

859
00:54:32,440 --> 00:54:35,360
Yeah, that too. 
And I'd also really like it if 

860
00:54:35,360 --> 00:54:38,000
the fire alarm didn't go off 
when I was trying to get some 

861
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:39,760
sleep. 
So if we could change that, that

862
00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:43,800
would be great. 
I just say you're hallucinate 

863
00:54:43,800 --> 00:54:45,520
and it was just somebody's alarm
going off. 

864
00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:49,400
It definitely wasn't because I 
was on the top bunk and the 

865
00:54:49,400 --> 00:54:52,960
alarm was about here. 
It was quite excruciating. 

866
00:54:54,440 --> 00:54:58,120
They got me up and moving. 
So somebody was obviously going 

867
00:54:58,120 --> 00:54:59,560
too fast. 
They were burning up. 

868
00:54:59,600 --> 00:55:06,720
Going in right? 
Next question can be awkward to 

869
00:55:06,720 --> 00:55:11,040
ask or awkward to answer, but 
feel free to answer in any way 

870
00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:15,880
you want. 
Is there anybody, alive or not, 

871
00:55:15,880 --> 00:55:19,440
fictional or real, that you 
would love to go for a run with?

872
00:55:21,080 --> 00:55:23,880
Yeah, I think it would be easy 
for me to say, oh, I'd love to 

873
00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:25,880
go for a run with Jasmine Paris.
And. 

874
00:55:26,080 --> 00:55:29,600
But actually I'd really like to 
go for a run with my sister. 

875
00:55:29,880 --> 00:55:34,160
She lives in the US and she's 
the she really is the reason I'm

876
00:55:34,320 --> 00:55:38,960
I'm doing all of this. 
And we get to run together maybe

877
00:55:38,960 --> 00:55:41,880
once every two or three years. 
So it's her. 

878
00:55:41,920 --> 00:55:45,480
Yeah. 
It's a bit of a soppy answer. 

879
00:55:46,520 --> 00:55:49,880
She's pretty great. 
If my other sister could wait 

880
00:55:49,880 --> 00:55:51,920
with tea at the end, that would 
really make it. 

881
00:55:53,920 --> 00:55:59,400
And Jasmine Paris as well. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

882
00:56:00,120 --> 00:56:03,000
I feel that you have already 
answered this next question by 

883
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:05,640
talking about Switzerland and 
crossing the country. 

884
00:56:06,200 --> 00:56:09,160
Is that your next running event 
or do you have anything? 

885
00:56:09,160 --> 00:56:11,280
And I laugh. 
Have you got anything smaller 

886
00:56:11,280 --> 00:56:13,120
coming up? 
Any 100 miles, Anything like 

887
00:56:13,120 --> 00:56:17,720
that? 
No, I'm, I'm being very careful 

888
00:56:17,720 --> 00:56:21,880
not to do too much. 
It sounds ridiculous when you've

889
00:56:21,880 --> 00:56:26,560
got a 250 mile race coming up, 
but I'm doing a half marathon in

890
00:56:26,560 --> 00:56:29,920
a few weeks, a road half 
marathon for some reason, I 

891
00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:33,720
don't know why, but it's local 
and I thought I'd do it, but no,

892
00:56:33,840 --> 00:56:38,760
Switzerland is my focus and and 
it's the spine after that, yeah,

893
00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:43,040
cool. 
I'm too breakable to do too much

894
00:56:43,280 --> 00:56:45,880
more. 
Sensible now. 

895
00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:49,120
That's a better way of putting 
it. 

896
00:56:49,120 --> 00:56:54,560
I learned my lesson. 
Our next question comes from our

897
00:56:54,600 --> 00:56:58,200
previous guest. 
He didn't know that who was 

898
00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:04,280
coming on, so he was asking a 
question to a runner and the 

899
00:57:04,280 --> 00:57:10,960
question that he asked was you 
can't compete with me. 

900
00:57:11,920 --> 00:57:16,240
I want to win too. 
That's his favorite running 

901
00:57:16,240 --> 00:57:19,280
quote. 
What's your favorite running 

902
00:57:19,280 --> 00:57:22,920
quote? 
To be honest, I'm not really a 

903
00:57:22,920 --> 00:57:29,320
quotes kind of a girl, so I do 
read running books, but yeah, 

904
00:57:29,320 --> 00:57:31,280
that sort of stuff never really 
sticks with me. 

905
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:39,000
So yeah, I wonder if part of it 
is his mere 21 years, his 

906
00:57:39,000 --> 00:57:42,840
optimism. 
But yeah, I'm a cynical 43 year 

907
00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:47,160
old now, so I don't think I get 
the same inspiration from that 

908
00:57:47,160 --> 00:57:50,360
maybe as I once would. 
So yeah, I'm sorry, I don't 

909
00:57:50,360 --> 00:57:52,120
really have one. 
It's a good question though. 

910
00:57:52,760 --> 00:57:54,480
He's so full of hope. 
Is Kaden. 

911
00:57:56,680 --> 00:58:00,240
Yeah, I, you know, I just can't 
imagine what it must be like 

912
00:58:00,240 --> 00:58:04,480
being interested in this kind of
running when you're that age. 

913
00:58:04,680 --> 00:58:09,640
Like, I think if you've got the 
mental capacity to cope with big

914
00:58:09,640 --> 00:58:12,080
long races. 
I mean, really, he's, he's going

915
00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:13,840
to be a future superstar, isn't 
he? 

916
00:58:14,280 --> 00:58:17,360
Yeah. 
And everything works a bit and 

917
00:58:17,360 --> 00:58:18,600
is swinging. 
He just. 

918
00:58:18,880 --> 00:58:21,080
Goes. 
To bed and nothing creaked. 

919
00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:25,880
Yeah, God, I don't remember the 
last time I felt that. 

920
00:58:29,240 --> 00:58:32,200
So Sophie, we've got two last 
questions for you. 

921
00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:35,560
OK, I'll ask the first one and 
Mike will ask the final question

922
00:58:35,560 --> 00:58:37,440
and let's make you have anything
else to add. 

923
00:58:39,280 --> 00:58:44,640
My last question is you have 
done really hard things that 

924
00:58:44,640 --> 00:58:48,560
most people wouldn't even 
attempt, let alone think about. 

925
00:58:49,360 --> 00:58:54,120
What belief or mindset helped 
you keep on going and moving 

926
00:58:54,120 --> 00:58:58,560
when it did get really hard? 
Yeah, I think it goes back to 

927
00:58:59,120 --> 00:59:01,240
what I mentioned before about 
being really privileged. 

928
00:59:01,240 --> 00:59:07,160
You hear a lot of people talk 
about the suffering, and I don't

929
00:59:07,160 --> 00:59:10,840
really prescribe to that because
I don't really think it is that.

930
00:59:11,360 --> 00:59:15,240
And that doesn't mean it doesn't
hurt or it isn't hard, but I 

931
00:59:15,240 --> 00:59:18,560
don't suffer through that. 
It's just what's expected. 

932
00:59:18,720 --> 00:59:22,360
It's basically, you know, the 
base level expectation of doing 

933
00:59:22,360 --> 00:59:24,320
things like this is that you're 
going to be tired and your legs 

934
00:59:24,320 --> 00:59:27,800
are going to hurt, but it's 
effectively an all inclusive 

935
00:59:27,800 --> 00:59:32,840
running holiday through a week. 
And I mean, what's not to love 

936
00:59:32,840 --> 00:59:37,960
about that? 
We do genuinely mean that. 

937
00:59:38,200 --> 00:59:40,960
Like, I think people sometimes 
think I, I don't mean that, but 

938
00:59:40,960 --> 00:59:45,040
I, I do feel that genuinely that
it is just such a privilege to 

939
00:59:45,040 --> 00:59:48,560
have the time, the money, the 
fitness, the health, the support

940
00:59:48,560 --> 00:59:53,200
at home to be able to, you know,
do this type of thing. 

941
00:59:54,760 --> 00:59:57,960
We have a friend that completed 
the Spine Race the full winter 

942
00:59:57,960 --> 01:00:01,480
Spain this year and I asked him 
not long after that when he was 

943
01:00:01,480 --> 01:00:04,160
still a bit raw. 
And so how was your week's 

944
01:00:04,160 --> 01:00:09,800
holiday on the Pennine holiday? 
I'm like you're. 

945
01:00:10,080 --> 01:00:13,120
Going to go, you're going to go 
into a bubble out of reality. 

946
01:00:13,120 --> 01:00:17,400
It sounds amazing and. 
It is, it is amazing like that. 

947
01:00:17,400 --> 01:00:19,600
Nothing else touches you for a 
week. 

948
01:00:19,600 --> 01:00:21,480
It's, it's an incredible 
experience. 

949
01:00:21,480 --> 01:00:26,440
So yeah, I just, I, I love it. 
And yeah, my feet hurt and I, 

950
01:00:26,680 --> 01:00:29,840
you know, I've DNF D races in 
the past because I didn't enjoy 

951
01:00:29,880 --> 01:00:33,280
them. 
And but you know, it's meant to 

952
01:00:33,280 --> 01:00:34,760
be fun. 
Yeah. 

953
01:00:35,560 --> 01:00:39,720
It's a hobby after all. 
Right. 

954
01:00:39,840 --> 01:00:43,040
Final question. 
And it's one that I thought of 

955
01:00:43,120 --> 01:00:45,640
while I was out in my run 
yesterday and I haven't told 

956
01:00:45,640 --> 01:00:47,440
Nikki about it. 
So you haven't seen it either. 

957
01:00:48,480 --> 01:00:51,280
And you you interpret this 
however you want. 

958
01:00:51,440 --> 01:00:55,760
Answer it however you want, but 
have you ever run till you're 

959
01:00:55,760 --> 01:00:59,600
done? 
I think, I think this is 

960
01:00:59,600 --> 01:01:01,280
Scottish National Trail. 
I was done. 

961
01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:06,000
But I think the difficult thing 
about that is whenever you're at

962
01:01:06,000 --> 01:01:09,040
the end of something, you 
basically are, it doesn't matter

963
01:01:09,040 --> 01:01:14,160
how long it is or short it is. 
I feel like you are always at 

964
01:01:14,200 --> 01:01:17,160
your capacity at that point. 
So I don't know, maybe if 

965
01:01:17,160 --> 01:01:19,880
there'd been a couple of days 
after or after it, I would have 

966
01:01:19,880 --> 01:01:24,280
been mentally prepared for that.
But it it definitely felt like I

967
01:01:24,320 --> 01:01:27,400
was done. 
It really did. 

968
01:01:29,000 --> 01:01:31,640
And actually it turned out I had
the femoral edema, so I really 

969
01:01:31,640 --> 01:01:39,880
was done. 
Well, I'm guessing all we can 

970
01:01:39,880 --> 01:01:45,040
say is that you put it out there
and you are happy with what you 

971
01:01:45,040 --> 01:01:50,080
did because you are you. 
You did all you could do, so 

972
01:01:50,080 --> 01:01:51,160
well done. 
I did. 

973
01:01:51,960 --> 01:01:56,400
There was nothing left. 
And as I said, that's the the 

974
01:01:56,400 --> 01:02:00,840
final question from me and just 
thank you, Sophie for coming on.

975
01:02:01,160 --> 01:02:03,760
Thank you for Nikki, for being 
Nikki, and it's goodbye for me. 

976
01:02:04,200 --> 01:02:07,400
Thank you for coming on, Sophie.
Oh, thanks for having me, it's 

977
01:02:07,400 --> 01:02:08,080
been really fun.