Photo: James MacKeddie/Inov-8.com

Who better to share her tips for conquering that hill climb and technical descent than inov-8 ambassador and champion fell runner Jasmin Paris? Along with holding the record for the fastest completion of some of the UK’s hardest mountain rounds, such as the Bob Graham and Charlie Ramsay round, the 34-year-old fell runner was also crowned Extreme Skyrunning World Champion in 2016. In other words, she’s tackled some of the steepest ascents and downhills going.

From cadence and pace to trusting your feet on the descent, here are Jasmin’s quick tips for negotiating the ups and downs on your next run.

Photo: Olly Harrison

What does a typical day look like for Team GB long jumper, Jazmin Sawyers? The Commonwealth Games silver medallist and former Youth Olympics bobsleigh silver medallist (yes, she also competed in the youth bobsleigh team) shares an insight into her busy schedule on the blog today.

Think double training sessions, freezing cold showers and, when she gets the chance, songwriting (the 24-year-old appeared on The Voice in 2017 under will.i.am’s mentorship.)

Thanks, Jazmin!

Photo: Dave Mackison

Downhill mountain bike racer Tahnée Seagrave grew up in Morzine watching the pro riders hang out at her parents’ chalet. Little did she know she’d end up joining the MTB scene professionally one day too. Fast-forward to last year, and the Red Bull rider took three World Cup wins, signing off 2017 as second in the overall rankings.

With the 2018 season underway, including a World Cup win at Fort William and a disappointing DQ last weekend, the almost-23-year-old (it’s her birthday on Friday) is fired up. Here, Tahnée answers my questions on everything from fear and training to her goals for this year.

Photo: Charlotte Barnes

With a raft of impressive endurance cycling titles to her name (including World 24-Hr Time Trial champion), you might assume Jasmijn Muller has decades of bike racing under her belt. In fact, she only got into cycling aged 31. Seven years later, in 2017, the 38-year-old ‘Dutchie’ took on the immense challenge of breaking the speed record for cycling from Land’s End to John o’ Groats (850 miles), and was on schedule for success until illness forced her to withdraw. This year she’s back to settle the score.

In the first instalment of this two-part Q&A, Jasmijn chats through her cycling background, LEJOG attempt and learnings from last year. Plus, don’t miss her clothing recommendations for comfort on the bike – if anyone knows what works over long distance cycling, it’s Jasmijn!

Dutch-born endurance athlete Bonnie Van Wilgenburg has dabbled in pretty much every endurance sport you can imagine, from extreme distance triathlons and mega swimrun events to ultra-trail and skyrunning races. A regular on the podium, the 30-year-old’s wins include the XMan XXX Triathlon and Breca Wanaka swimrun, plus a podium on the crazy Ultra Tour des 4 Massifs run – 160km and 10,000m of ascent!

I put twenty questions to Bonnie about swimrun, triathlon and ultra-running – and shortly after answering she broke her shoulder! Wishing you speedy recovery, Bonnie.

Ultra-runner Debbie Martin-Consani has completed some of Europe’s most notorious ultra-distance events, including the unrelenting 330km Tor des Geants, and has numerous ultra-running podiums to her name. She’s also represented Great Britain several times at the World 24-hour Championship (yes, such a thing exists!)

Based in Scotland where she lives with her husband and son, Debbie fits running around a full-time job and is currently in training for the Bob Graham round next month (66 miles and 26,000ft of elevation). Despite a packed schedule, the Montane athlete kindly let me quiz her to find out about her training, bucket list running events and her sleep-deprived Tor des Geants experience.

As Co-owner of the OCR community’s favourite hangout, The Camp at Mike’s Gym in Marbella, training and racing with Europe’s leading OCR athletes is all in a day’s work for Sorrel Lewis. When she’s not putting athletes through their paces or racing them through the notoriously tough course, she’s flipping tyres and raising atlas stones in the dedicated combat area. Phew!

For an insider peek behind the scenes, I persuaded the OCR athlete and trainer (who has competed in everything from Europe’s Toughest Mudder to the OCR World Championship) to share a typical day in her life.

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the Commonwealth Games? Soigneur, massage therapist, and founder of Roadside Therapy, Tierney Maude, was part of the team treating and supporting the Team England mountain bike athletes during their medal-winning performances at the Gold Coast this year.

Here, Tierney shares an insight into what a typical day at the Games involved.

Despite working a jam-packed 80-hour week, ultra-runner Jen Scotney managed to squeeze in enough training to comfortably scoop 3^rd lady at the 108-mile Spine Challenger race earlier this year. Now, the 36-year-old Peak District resident and Montane athlete is gearing up for an even bigger ultra-running challenge: to complete the Northern Traverse, a 190 mile coast-to-coast race from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay, next month.

Ahead of her race, Jen chats about how she’s training and preparing for this epic challenge, and reveals how double-run days are the secret to fitting in ultra-running training with the demands of a full-on job.

Three years ago, Alex Paske launched Mintridge Events with the aim to increase sports participation in school age children, support young athletes and use sport as a tool to inspire and empower. Fast-forward to today and Alex has a team of talented athlete ambassadors on board (including Commonwealth Games netball gold medallist, Ebony Beckford-Chambers), is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and has won the Women of the Future Award in the sports category. Phew!

Here, the sport-loving 27-year-old shares a little insight into her working day.