Filed under: Dig Deep Races, Eight Point Two News | Tags: 2014 peak district races, Dig Deep Race Weekend, Dig Deep Races, Intro Ultra, Peak District trail running, peak district ultra marathon, races in peak district, suffolk trail races, suffolk ultra running, ultra marathons 2014, ultra marathons uk, ultra marathons uk 2014, ultra running peak district, UTPD
Helen Bonsor, Mammut sponsored endurance running and ultra marathon running athlete, will be joining us on the Dig Deep Peak District weekend to give a talk on her experiences. She will be also taking part in the 12.12 mile on Sunday 22nd before she heads to the British Championships the weekend after the Dig Deep Races.
Mammut Athlete Helen Bonsor, photo: Robert Boesch
Helen has run in ultra marathons all over the world and below she talks about why she runs and I am sure that many of you will run for the same reasons. I think that no matter what stage you are at in your running career – whether elite or beginner – the feeling of freedom that running in the mountains and fells can give, can be appreciated by all. We are really looking forward to having Helen with us for the weekend and can’t wait to hear more!
Mammut Athlete Helen Bonsor, photo: Robert Boesch
“Having grown up in the Lake District UK, and now living in Scotland, I have always been passionate about the outdoors and spending time in the hills. For me, hill running is a way of life, and is what continually pushes me forward – and it enriches my life in adventure and rich friendships. Some of my favourite races are technical 1 day races in the Alps, and Alpine stage races, where I enjoy racing day after day in big mountain scenery. I still work full time, and it sometimes a challenge to fit both work and running in!
Running for me is the ultimate freedom in the mountains. Few things beat the feeling of being totally focused on the movement of running in the mountains and feeling of moving quickly through the terrain and scenery as you run.
Mammut enables me to push the boundaries of my running, providing the best equipment, and invaluable support.”
As a Mammut athlete, Helen has picked out her favourite items of Mammut trail running gear:
- Micro Jacket – extremely light, well fitted outershell, adapted to running
- Backpack – excellent fitted lightweight backpack, accessible pockets, perfect for long runs
- T-shirt – excellent fit and extremely breathable running top, good in all conditions.
Mammut Athlete Helen Bonsor, photo: Robert Boesch
Helen’s Successes:
- 1st place Mixed Team, Gore-Tex Transalpine Race (2013), 24th overall
- 1st place and new female record, Tri Refugio Race, Val Pellice, Italy (2013)
- 1st place Mammut Swiss Irontrail (2013) (50km) 3rd overall,
- 7th place World Long Distance Moutain Championships, Poland (2013)
- 2nd place, Salomon 4 Trails (2012)
- 1st Mixed Pair, 4th overall Elite Class, Original Mountain Marathon (2012)
- 1st place overall A Class, Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (2012)
The Dig Deep Races 2014 are sponsored by Mammut and the official Race Shop is Outside in Hathersage (who stock lots of Mammut!)
To enter Head to the Dig Deep Homepage Here
Check out our latest addition to the Dig Deep Race Series: Dig Deep Suffolk, 6th&7th September 2014.
Featuring 4 fantastic trail races through Suffolk:
5.5 mile Rendlesham Dash Suffolk Trail Race starts at 10:30am on Sunday 7th September £13.00
20KM Rendlesham Suffolk Trail race starts at 10:15am on Sunday 7th September £17.00
28 mile Suffolk Trail ‘Intro Ultra’ starts at 10am on Saturday 6th September £40.00
50 mile: ULTRA Tour of Suffolk (Suffolk trail ultra marathon) starts at 8am on Saturday 6th September £55.00
Filed under: Dig Deep Races, Eight Point Two News | Tags: dig deep races peak district, dig deep races peak district recce day, Intro Ultra, Peak district ultra marathons, trail running peak district, ultra marathons uk 2014, ultra running peak district, Ultra Tour of the Peak District, UTPD
Thanks to Matty Brennan for his first ultra marathon training diary installment. We hope you enjoy reading what he is getting up to, whilst preparing for the Dig Deep Races UTPD!
Matty Brennan, training diary for UTPD
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Don’t forget that if you haven’t been on any parts of the courses for the Intro Ultra or UTPD then book yourself onto a Dig Deep Peak District RECCE day – coming up on March 16th – tickets £5 – Book Here!
Filed under: Dig Deep Races | Tags: Dig Deep Races, Peak District trail running, ultra marathons, ultra marathons 2014, UTPD
This is the next blog from Amy Freeman, one of our Dig Deep Peak District competition winners. Amy is fairly new to ultra running and the UTPD will be her furthest ultra marathon distance. Her first ultra marathon was the Dig Deep Peak District Intro ultra last year. So for anybody new to ultra marathon running keep an eye on Amy’s progress for tips and motivation! Amy includes climbing in her weekly training and it’s interesting to see how the two sports compliment each other…
Amy Freeman, training for UTPD, in Mammut
It’s mid-February and I’m six weeks into my 25 week training plan for the UTPD. This is the first time I’m attempting a race of anything like this distance – my first ever Ultra Marathon was the Dig Deep Intro last July, and my longest race to date is the 34 mile Ribble Way Ultra. It’s safe to say running 60 miles is new territory for me but, as long as I put in the training, there’s nothing to stop me running the distance. The only way to find out is to go for it!
I’ve just run a 48 mile week, and will build up to 70 before the race. The training plan itself is one I’ve taken from the book Relentless Forward Progress, and then doctored to fit around the rest of my life and the few other races I’m doing before the UTPD. I’m a keen climber too so on rest day or a low mileage day I’ve been heading to the climbing wall. Unlike running which will get me out in all weather, I must confess to being a fair-weather outdoor climber! I find the core strength and balance you gain from climbing to be helpful to my running and as I often run alone, the climbing is a great social way to train too. Plus it’s fun!
I live in town and have a long commute to and from work so I don’t have time to run on trails every day. However, at least once per week I get out and run on the trails and fells for a long run – my local favourites being Anglezarke Moor towards Darwen Tower and Winter Hill, and the stunning Parlick and Forest of Bowland.
I ran my first race of the year at Dig Deep’s Resolution Run, which was on a beautiful frosty day and I have a few other races lined up before UTPD. The Haworth Hobble in early March (32 miles), the Manchester Marathon in April (which I’m doing for charity and drawing as I go) and the Great Lakeland 3 day Mountain Marathon in May, which will be great nav practise and my first go at back-to-back-to-back long runs. I’m really excited about all of these and the challenge ahead in the run up to the UTPD. Wish me luck!
Check out our latest addition to the Dig Deep Race Series: Dig Deep Suffolk, 6th&7th September 2014.
Featuring 4 fantastic trail races through Suffolk:
5.5 mile Rendlesham Dash Suffolk Trail Race starts at 10:30am on Sunday 7th September £13.00
20KM Rendlesham Suffolk Trail race starts at 10:15am on Sunday 7th September £17.00
28 mile Suffolk Trail ‘Intro Ultra’ starts at 10am on Saturday 6th September £40.00
50 mile: ULTRA Tour of Suffolk (Suffolk trail ultra marathon) starts at 8am on Saturday 6th September £55.00
Filed under: Dig Deep Races, Eight Point Two News | Tags: peak district ultra marathon, suffolk trail races, suffolk trail running, ultra marathons, ultra marathons uk 2014
Sally Fawcett, who was one of the Filming Competition winners, has written a piece on her recent training. Sally was the first female to finish the UTPD ultra marathon in 2012 and she is now back to compete this year.
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Sally was lucky to win lots of trail running gear from the experts over at Outside (our retail partners) and Mammut (our race sponsors). If you want to get to know the UTPD and Intro ultra trails and gain some expert insider knowledge then head along to our RECCE Day on the 16th March. It will also be a great opportunity to check out the latest trail running gear from Outside in Hathersage – we will meet there at 9:45am.
Check out our latest addition to the Dig Deep Race Series: Dig Deep Suffolk, 6th&7th September 2014.
Featuring 4 fantastic trail races through Suffolk:
5.5 mile Rendlesham Dash Suffolk Trail Race starts at 10:30am on Sunday 7th September £13.00
20KM Rendlesham Suffolk Trail race starts at 10:15am on Sunday 7th September £17.00
28 mile Suffolk Trail ‘Intro Ultra’ starts at 10am on Saturday 6th September £40.00
50 mile: ULTRA Tour of Suffolk (Suffolk trail ultra marathon) starts at 8am on Saturday 6th September £55.00
Filed under: Dig Deep Races, Eight Point Two News | Tags: Dig Deep Races, dig deep races peak district, Intro Ultra, Parkin Clough, Peak District, Peak District trail running, peak district ultra marathon, ultra marathons 2014, ultra marathons uk, Ultra Tour of the Peak District
It’s now February and there are only 5 months to go now until the Dig Deep Races – Peak District are upon us! Not only have we had to contend with the wettest January in recorded weather history there doesn’t seem to be any sign of stopping…However this is good news I promise you! Think of all the extra work your muscles are doing wading through all that mud on Parkin Clough, it doesn’t matter if you now resemble a swamp monster – you’ll soon be racing fit for June. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who is sharing their training experiences with us – it’s great to hear how training is coming along, it’s also a a bit of a motivational push to read about other runner’s experiences.
If you have entered into either the Ultra Tour of the Peak District ultra marathon or the Intro Ultra marathon there is a RECCE DAY coming up – on the 16th March! Put it in the diary! It costs £5 and for your fiver you will be guided around certain sections of the route dependent on which event you have entered. There will be expert athletes on the route taking you round the trails of the Peak District, who will be able to help you with any questions/queries you might have, this is a brilliant opportunity to come and meet some of the Dig Deep Peak District Team, chat to other runners (camaraderie is huge part of Ultra running!), and learn about the course. We will be meeting at Outside Shop in Hathersage at 9:45am.
Book onto the RECCE DAY HERE 😉
We’ve been busy filming the winners of our competition – Matty Brennan, Amy Freeman and Sally Fawcett, three very talented and determined ultra marathon runners. I am excited to see how their training comes along over the next couple of months. The first Dig Deep Peak District training diary film will be out at the end of this month. If you have any questions for these lovely people then why not drop us an email or Facebook message?
To keep you ticking over and to give you a reminder of the course we have just released our updated Dig Deep Peak District Navigation film featuring the super knowledgable Dave Taylor from Fell Running guide. This episode he is taking you over Parkin Clough, Win Hill & Ringing Roger. The climb up Parkin Clough & Win Hill is definitely one of the highlights of the Ultra Tour of the Peak District and the Intro Ultra (it’s one of the steepest climbs in the area but the view from the top is spectacular! – fingers crossed for a clear day!).
If you are taking part in the fun and games on Sunday 22nd June – don’t forget the 10km & 12.12 
course are featured in our film of last year’s event – my personal highlight of this route has to be climbing up Higger Tor, taking in the view over Burbage then scrambling down the otherside.
Eight Point Two 