A Little Catch Up...

It's the start of a new week... the sun is shining down over the mystical land of Wales. My morning run along the trails done... Climbing over fallen trees, floating through the fields. Now it's time to gather my thoughts and bring you all up to date with what's been happening recently. 

30th July 2016: British Athletics trial for the World Mountain Running Championships, Skiddaw

Skiddaw, Jenkins Hill. What a hill. What a test. Walking the course the day before the race, I knew the race was going to be a toughie. A real mental battle. 

Ultimately, I knew the race was not going to be against the other runners... it was going to be against yourself and your own head. Against your own desire to do your best, leave it all out there on the course and get up that hill as fast as you could.

The start of the junior women's race was fairly flat, with a gradual climb. I knew if I went off too fast I would be suffering when I got to the brutal climb so the plan was to go off steady and meet the hill at an easy pace when I got to it.

Sticking to the plan, I led the pack along the easier section, trotting along nicely, skipping over the stones. All too soon, we met with Jenkins Hill and the fun began. 

A little bit of running, a little bit of walking when the pain gets too much. Up and up, feeling like my lungs were going to burst. I'd honestly never ran up anything so steep before.

Running up into the misty clouds which were hanging over the hill, around the final steep switchback, I knew I'd done enough and managed to run relaxed along the more gradual last km to the finish. 

By winning the race, I'd automatically qualified to run for GB at the World Mountain Running Championships alongside my Welsh team mate and friend Bronwen Jenkinson who finished in second place. 

Well done to everyone who competed in all the races that day, just completing that brutal course is an achievement in itself. 

Time to put the hard work in for the big one in September. 

The British team for the World Mountain Running Championships on September 11th in Bulgaria can be found here.

Working hard during the trial

British Junior Home International Training Camp, Caldbeck YHA

This past weekend, I travelled up to the Lake District once more, this time for a training camp with some of the other up and coming young mountain runners in the UK. 

Let's be honest, it wouldn't be a training camp if I didn't fall over or damage myself in some way.  I again managed to do just that by slipping on a rock during the first run of the camp shortly after we arrived. This resulted in a very cut knee that wouldn't stop bleeding for about 24 hours. I'm just lucky I don't damage myself more seriously when I fall!

The camp was a lot of fun, learning new things and getting to know some people better. 

We did a hill session on the dreaded Jenkins Hill up Skiddaw into driving wind and rain but this was good fun even though we were all soaked through when we finished. 

There were talks about massage, warm ups, winter training, nutrition, the mental aspects of running, international opportunities and many fun team building activities. 

Thank you to everyone involved in creating such an inspiring weekend.

Sunday long run with the rest of the juniors

Team building activities involving getting the pole to the ground

******

I've got some more exciting news as I am now very thrilled to say I am an inov-8 brand ambassador! I'm so proud to be supported by this brand and can't wait to get running successfully (I'll try not to fall over!) in more of the kit and shoes and also write some blog posts for the brand. 

A big massive THANK YOU to inov-8 for giving me this opportunity. 

I am excited for what the future may hold. Nevertheless, for now as we learnt at the training camp on the weekend... it's time to focus on the three p's. 

positive, present, process

Until next time, 

Heidi x

World Mountain Running Championships 2015

WOW! I think that I need to pinch myself to make sure that last weekend actually happened! What an incredible event this years World Mountain Running Championships was! I’m still on a high a week after the event and I’m sure that I will be for a very long time! After competing for Great Britain last year at the Championships in Italy, it was hard to imagine that a home championships in Wales would live up to the expectations in my head but Betws-y-Coed and Llandudno seriously delivered. The memories that myself and the rest of the athletes made during the weekend are sure to last a life time. I don’t think that I can use enough superlatives to explain how phenomenal the weekend was but I’ll try to give an account of it in the most calm manner that I can manage!

The British Team all set for the competition ahead

All the teams were located in various hotels in Llandudno in North Wales just half an hour bus drive to the race location in Betws-y-Coed.  The British team were located in The Dunoon Hotel which proved to have delicious food and great hospitality so was a great base for us all to prepare for the competition.  On the day before the competition after a steady run along the promenade and some drills we made our way to the Opening Ceremony at the Venue Cymru building to formally open the competition.  After welcoming all the different nations to the competition in Wales, it was Robbie Simpson's turn to carry the British flag into the ceremony to a huge cheer from the rest of the British team and British supporters.  This was a sign that the Championships on home ground were going to be well supported and that there would be an amazing atmosphere.  We all couldn't wait to get out there and compete for our country on British soil.  Wandering through the town after the opening ceremony lots of members of the public were asking what we were doing and we received lots of calls of ~Good Luck~.

Steady run selfie

It was nice to not have to wake up too early on the day of the competition.  Usually the junior women's race is early to try and avoid the hot weather abroad but being as the Championships were in Wales and the weather isn't that hot in September the Championship races started at 11:15am after the British and Irish Junior Home International earlier on the same course in Betws-y-Coed.  We arrived in Betws-y-Coed a good two hours before the first championships race was due to start leaving us plenty of time to relax and prepare mentally for the race.

Soon it was time to race and I was eager to get going. On the start line I felt calm and well prepared to do the very best that I could. I was confident that my training and race preparation had gone well and I was determined to prove that all the time that I had spent training on the course had been worth it.

On the start line eager to get going

I was surprised to find myself leading the race in the first stages along the road but remained calm and told myself not to panic and soon settled in within the leading group of girls. I could tell that the group of girls had begun to string out as we started to rise up the first steep track. The American girl Allie Ostrander (the pre-race favourite) led us all up the hill and powered ahead. I set myself in a good position before the course narrowed so that I would be able to work at my own pace through the more technical section. All the way up the climb the support from the home crowd was absolutely amazing and definitely spurred me on. At the top of the climb by the monument I was in fifth place and could see the third and fourth placed athletes. I knew that the downhill was going to be quick and that I perhaps had a chance to catch the athletes in front but I knew that it would be difficult. I ran the downhill faster than I had ever ran it before and before I knew it I was back in the village of Betws-y-Coed and running through the finishing funnel into the finish. I didn’t quite catch the athlete in front but finished absolutely delighted in 5^th place. After collapsing onto the ground I managed to muster up the energy to look behind me towards the finishing straight and it was so good to see my team mate and friend Georgia Malir coming through strongly in eighth place. Scarlet Dale then came through in 21st place meaning that our strong team performance had earned us a team silver medal! After finally recovering from the race, posing for many photographs, doing some TV and Newspaper interviews and cooling down around the golf course with my team mates and two American girls, it was time to get back out on the course to support the rest of the British athletes on their bid for glory.

Post race feelings

The Junior Womens team

The junior men all ran extremely strongly to secure a team bronze medal on their two lap course and it was inspiring to see them all coming into the finish line having obviously given everything out there on the course. Soon it was the Senior Womens race so Georgia, Scarlet and I made our way up to near the top of the climb to cheer on the GB girls....and oh my when we saw the girls coming up the climb running so close to the front of the field, we all screamed so loud with encouragement willing them on! It was an anxious wait to see them come back down the hill to find that a Ugandan athlete had taken over the lead but Emma, Emmie and Sarah were all packing so well in second, third and fourth respectively with Vic following closely behind. It was sure to be a tough battle on the last lap between all the strong British ladies for the medals. Coming up the hill for the second time the Ugandan looked like she was tiring slightly and the GB girls were once again stacking behind. I had to keep checking my Twitter updates to get the information about who was first to the top and we raced back down the hill to cheer on the girls coming down the hill for the final time. The Ugandan was obviously going to win the race as she had built up a lead at the top of the climb and we then discovered that Emmie had broken away from Emma and had a marginal lead with Sarah just behind and Vic running strongly a bit further back. The girls all came flying down the hill so fast proving how fast the descent could be. I was amazed to find that the Ugandan athletes were just wearing racing flats! The British senior women team claimed the team gold medal to reinforce that they are the best mountain running team in the World at the moment! It was so inspiring to watch them in action and it’s going to prove difficult when I move from the junior to senior age groups to make this extremely strong team!

A great picture of Emma Clayton on the fast
descent (photo courtesy of Phil Gale)

And finally it was the last Championships race of the day. The senior men. The men had some pressure on their shoulders as every athlete in the GB team had earnt at least one medal so far and they would have been hoping to do the same. The British men all ran sensibly on the first lap as they had a long way to go (3 laps!) and on the second lap the Italian ahead was caught by a Ugandan athlete. Robbie Simpson was sitting in fourth place and working well with the rest of the British team packing tightly behind in the top 30 or 40 positions. Anxiously waiting as the Ugandan and the Italian athlete flew down the hill on the last lap and suddenly Robbie Simpson emerged through the trees in the bronze medal position. Every time a GB athlete emerged from around the bend the group of spectators near where I was stood erupted into cheers and shouts and it really was spine tingling to see all the men packing so well. Robbie Simpson became the first British athlete to win a senior men's individual medal at a World Mountain Running Championships. I rushed back down the hill to the finish to the news that every athlete on the British team had won a medal as the Senior men had achieved a well deserved team bronze. It felt so great to be part of such a successful British team on home soil. I cannot put into words how inspiring and uplifting the whole day was in Betws-y-Coed.

Post race with all the British boys

When we had all calmed down it was time for food and to head back to Llandudno to get ready for the medal and closing ceremonies followed by a party. The medal ceremonies were a great end to a successful day and I felt so happy to be standing on the podium with my British team mates for the first time at a major championships after not winning any medals in the previous two championships that I had been to. Third time lucky! All the hard work had paid off! And I felt especially happy for Georgia as this was her last race as a junior before she moves into the senior age groups and it was great for her to finish her junior career on a high.

Feeling very proud standing on the podium

Finally it was time for the after party and there was a really friendly atmosphere as all the athletes from all the different nations mixed and danced together. It was definitely the best after party that I have been to!

I can only say WOW! What an amazing time I have had building up to and participating at this years World Championships. Early last year when I saw the Worlds course for the first time on a Junior Development Camp I never dreamed that I would make the GB team to compete at a World Championships on home soil....but then last year when I was selected for the same Championships in Italy my dream started to come to life as I began to have hopes of making the team here in Wales!

I would just like to thank every one that has helped me along my journey from a young teenager competing for my school at the local cross country races to finishing this Summer season running for Great Britain at a home World Mountain Running Championships and finishing 5^th in the World and a team silver medalist! It has been one amazing journey and I know that I am not at the end of the road yet as I have many more goals that I wish to achieve in the future and many more dreams that I haven’t even dreamt yet!

A big thank you to the inspiring British Athletics team that I have had the privilege of being part of. We always bring the best out of each other in these competitions and I’m sure I would have trouble finding such a friendly group of people to be part of else where. Also a massive thank you to the British Athletics team managers and staff that always support us in the best way possible.

A big thank you to Welsh Athletics for all the opportunities that they have given me so far to compete at an international level and gain experience to help me become a successful athlete in the future.

 A massive thank you to my sponsors Norman Walsh Footwear for the never ending supply that I am presented with and for allowing me to wear the best UK made fell shoe out there around the world at the different races that I have competed in. To The Metropole Hotel and the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund, thank you for the financial support. It feels great that I have a local business and a British charity helping me along my athletic career!

Thank you so much to ever single person that took the time to come and support us GB athletes out there on the course in beautiful Betws-y-Coed. The atmosphere out there was electric and helped spur us all on to achieve our very best!

Thank you to all the coaches that have helped me to achieve my goals as an athlete so far...from the coaches at Brecon Athletic Club and a few teachers at school, to the coaches at Welsh Athletics and British Athletics.

And finally last but definitely not least a massive thank you to my family and friends that are around me in every day life helping to bring the best out of me. To my Dad who has many roles as a training partner, coach and taxi driver and my Mum who cooks the best athletes food out there as well as winning the prize for the biggest screechy shout during a race! And thank you to my brother Luke, who may be faster than me now but I always know that I can keep him on his toes during a training session! 

Lots of people have played their part in helping to make me the person and athlete that I am today...you know who you are, it would be too many to name you all. So thank you to everyone!

Finally I would just like to say diolch yn fawr to the organisers of the World Mountain Running Championships this year....

What an event...What an atmosphere...What an experience!

I think I’ll just finish this blog post by just saying simply.....WOW!

The team silver medal

Until the next adventure,

Heidi x

Summer Round Up and Gallery

Hello again, 

I think that the phrase ~Blink and you'll miss it~ is suitable for this Summer holiday. I cannot believe how fast it has flown by! Now as the Summer activities are nearly over and I have time to blink I thought that I would write a blog post to bring you all up to date with what I have been up to.

Competitions that I have competed in over the Summer:

29th July~Welsh 3000m Track Championships/Cardiff  (1st) 
I was the only athlete in my age group in this race so I was guaranteed the Gold medal but I had a good race with the senior women and finished in 2nd place overall and was just outside my personal best which I set a week earlier.

1st August~Welsh 5km Road Championships/Bryn Bach Parc (1st)
I was looking forward to running this race as I thought that I would be able to run a fast time.  However the wet and windy weather meant that this was not possible but I ran a strong sensibly paced race to overtake the leader in the last 2km and come way with the overall women's win. (Race report here)

15th August~Welsh 800m Championships/Newport (3rd)
This was my first and last 800m race of the 2015 track season and I perhaps expected a bit too much of myself. It was definitely a shock to the system after mainly training for mountain running this Summer. However now that I look back on this race I'm glad that I was quite close to my PB and picked up a bronze medal in a race that I wasn't really training for. The important race was a week later......

22nd August~British Athletics Trial for the World Mountain Running Championships/Betws y Coed (1st)
After winning this race I have now been selected to run as part of a really strong British team at the World Mountain Running Championships held in Betws y Coed on September 19th.  I'm very excited to compete at this event especially as it is a home World Championships and can't wait to see what September brings! (British Athletics report here)

My Summer in pictures:

Selfie with my brother Luke before the Welsh
3000m champs in Cardiff

Homemade yummy bagels 

A fresh pair of Norman Walsh PB Elites after being brought to life
on a hilly run around the hills of Mid Wales

My first and only 1500m of the track season before the Summer
Holidays began

Piano Practice

Sunset @ 9pm on 30/07/15

Toby had that Friday feeling!

A  false start at the start of a 5km
road race at the Welsh Athletics Championships!

Winning the Welsh 5km Road Championships in very wet
and windy Bryn Bach Parc

Amazing views from the summit of Pen y Fan

A bit windy at the summit of Pen y Fan with Dad

Two pairs of Norman Walsh Trainers
at the summit of Pen y Fan...

....and my favourite pair of Norman Walsh
at Swansea Bay

Speed session on that well know
athletics track in Llanyre village

Post run cool off at the Welsh Coast with Luke

Fish and Chips at the seaside

The best sunset of the Summer 

I discovered Heidi Chocolate 

Toby's sunbathing spot was taken over by my Norman
Walsh Fells shoes

800m pain faces

Forest Reflections 

At the GB trial for the World Mountain
Running Championships

And finally...

That's the round up of my 2015 Summer. Looking forward to the next adventure ahead!

~There is no certainty; there is only adventure~ Robert Assagioli

Until next time,

Heidi 

British Athletics Mountain Running Camp

On the weekend I attended the British Athletics Mountain Running Camp in Betws-y-Coed in North Wales. British Athletics organised the camp to focus on those athletes who have the capability of making the British team for either the European and/or World Mountain running championships this year. During the camp we stayed in The Royal Oak Hotel in Betws-y-Coed situated at the foot of the World Mountain Running course. We were very lucky that the Welsh weather played its part and remained dry and mostly sunny for the duration of the weekend.  

I had never been invited to attend the British Athletics Mountain Running Camp before, but it has been running for five years. Attending the camp was very beneficial to me as it has helped me to focus on my preparations for the 2015 mountain running season.

17th April

The athletes and coaches that attended the
 British Athletics Mountain Running Camp

The camp was kick started with a talk by Sarah Rowell who gave a review of the 2014 mountain running season for the Great Britain team.  Last year the team was the second strongest in the World behind Italy and the team behind mountain running at British Athletics are hoping to build on that this year with it being a home world championships.  David Walsh covered the importance of anti-doping for any athlete pointing out that all sports people have a responsibility to monitor and check what they are putting into their body and are 100% responsible if when tested the results are positive.  There is no guarantee that any nutritional supplements are not contaminated with performance enhancing drugs so David made it clear that athletes should only take nutritional supplements if they have undertaken thorough internet research, and the product is batch tested and contains no banned substances.

18th April

After a light breakfast we were all anxious to get out of the hotel to do some hard training on the World Championship Course. I really enjoyed this hill session in the sunshine, as although it was tiring I felt strong and it was inspiring to be running alongside some of my running idols such as Emma Clayton and Mary Wilkinson. For me being able to run on the course before the camp during the Christmas Holidays when I stayed with my family in Betws-y-Coed was a real benefit as I felt sure of my footing and was aware of what was to come around the next bend and so was able to push myself.

After lunch we had a number of talks from keynote speakers.  Firstly Kate Spilsbury discussed the physiology of endurance training highlighting the fact that for all endurance runners, recovery is important so that the body can adapt. Kate also talked to us about tapering before major races in order to achieve the best results possible.

Sarah Rowell then challenged us to identify what we were going to do differently after what we had learnt. Sarah also gave us an insight into her early career as an athlete which was very interesting.

For the next part of the afternoon we all split up into respective groups in order to fit in with what we wanted to do. Some people went to practice their downhill running technique whilst others did a quick run, I along with a group of athletes went to a workshop run by Graeme Everard, a physiotherapist, about developing a prehab routine designed to develop overall body strength and proprioception. I found this part of the camp very helpful as I was able to identify weak spots that I need to work on in order to become a more efficient athlete.

After a busy afternoon, a few of the girls and I went to a cosy cafe and had a slice of cake and a coffee which was well deserved after a long day. Sitting outside the cafe in the sunshine with a delicious slice of chocolate cake was lovely!

The last talk of the day came from Malcolm Brown; Alistair and Jonny Brownlee's coach, covering their preparation for the London 2012 Olympics and the importance of not letting the pressure of a home Olympics unnerve them in any way. This was applied to the World Mountain Running Championships being in Wales this year and really inspired me to try to achieve my best and aim to make the team.

19th April

On Sunday we all got up fairly early for our long Sunday run. Our run took in the British Inter-Counties Fell course and the Worlds' course. There was such a great feeling of friendliness on this run and I think that that is one of the best things about mountain running. 

Long run Selfie! (Photo courtesy of Emma Clayton)

Finally, to finish the camp Duncan Richards gave an insightful talk into taking responsibility for your success. Having a positive attitude about your sport, yourself and others around you makes for a more positive and successful athlete.

I really enjoyed the camp as it has inspired me for the up and coming summer of mountain running and I am very grateful to have been invited by British Athletics to attend. It was great to be talking and training with my idols in mountain running. The camp re-emphasised to me that mountain running is a social as well as a competitive sport as everybody is so friendly. I will now continue to put the hard work in so that I have the best chance of qualifying to run for Great Britain at the European and World Mountain Running Championships later in the year!

Summer of Love by Heidi

In the summer of 2014 I fell in love with Mountain running!

At the GB mountain running development camp in Betws-y-Coed in cold and damp North Wales at Easter, I never dreamed I would make the Great Britain team for the World Mountain Running Championships in Italy during the summer.

After just missing out on a qualifying spot for the European Championships I knew there was a fantastic opportunity before me. I put everything into my training for the World Trial in Sedburgh: total dedication, total focus on my goal. It paid off I finished 2nd. Now I was on the plane with the GB Team ready to compete for my country at the World Mountain Running Championships in the marble quarry of Casette Di Massa.

Seeing the setting of the course for the first time was amazing. I knew that the race would be in a working quarry but I didn't expect the marble to be so vast and I knew that this would be the toughest race of my life.

On the day before the race we walked the course looking for technical aspects. There were a series of sharp rises at the beginning with short flat sections before it entered a marble cave. After the cave the remainder of the course was a prolonged and very steep drag uphill. Pacing on race day would be critical to success.

The night before the race; my first GB team meeting. Team captain, Robbie Simpson, gave an inspiring talk leaving me feeling excited about the race to come.

Race day, we were called onto the very narrow start line. There was lots of jostling and pushing to try and get to the front.  Waiting for the gun I was eager to get going. Bang! I was in the zone, focused and prepared to do my best.

The GB Junior Women Team

The first ascents seemed easy as we were fresh and going into the cave I was near the front group of girls. As we reached the long ascent one by one the runners in front began to walk as it was more efficient on the steepest sections.  It was steeper than anything I had ever raced on before but I think I judged my effort well. Turning the last switchback into the finishing straight I over took three or four girls in my last final effort to get to the finishing line, crossing in 14th place. Catriona Graves paced her race perfectly coming through the field on the steep ascent to finish in 5th place and Georgia Malir finished in 18th. We gave it our all but we just missed out on a team medal finishing 4th behind Germany, America and the Czech Republic.

The World Mountain Running Championships come to North Wales in 2015. I will be doing everything I can to make the team as this is on my home ground and in my preferred up and down format. It will give everyone a motivational boost to do their best, to come away with both team and individual medals.

The World Championships of 2014 will always be special to me with my first GB vest.  I consider myself very privileged to have run at the World Mountain Running Championships and I hope in the future I will get the chance to run for GB again with such a friendly and inspirational group of athletes.

Mountain running has made a better runner; I am a physically and mentally stronger athlete as a result. Most of all though it has allowed me to fall in love with my running and truly enjoy it!