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Six years ago, Katy Parrott graced our screens alongside 21 other ‘recruits’ in series two of the BBC’s Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week. Based on the Special Forces’ ‘Hell Week’, the experience involved relentless ‘beastings’, mind games and severe sleep deprivation. The life-changing two-week experience (in which she was a finalist) inspired Katy to join the Army Reservists as a medic and led her to take on more endurance-based challenges.
Now 30, those challenges include running multiple ultramarathons (including a 3rd place finish at the 100km Cotswold Way), coming 2nd woman at the World Burpee Games, and summitting Mount Kazbek in Georgia. Most recently, Katy came fourth overall in the inaugural Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra 185km, a non-stop winter race in deepest Swedish Lapland. This was Katy’s first event after major knee reconstruction surgery in 2020, and the Montane athlete kindly took time out to give me the lowdown on her experience in this Q&A.
You were one of the finalists in 2016 Ultimate Hell Week. Did this experience give you a taste of how far you could push yourself mentally and physically?
Hell Week was a once in a lifetime experience. I never expected to get on the show, let alone get as far as I did. I was 24, enjoyed fitness, but I don’t even think I’d ever run a half-marathon distance at the time. I genuinely had no expectations of myself going into it; I just knew that I wouldn’t give up. After nearly 2 weeks of sleep deprivation, intense training and mind games, I was amazed that my body was still going by the final episode. The show definitely revealed a physical and mental resilience that I didn’t know I had, which had led to so many other things. For that, I am grateful for the experience. I would go back again in a heartbeat.
In 2019, you did a 7-month tour in Afghanistan as a combat medic. What was this experience like?
Straight after Hell Week, I decided to join the Army Reserves – something that was never part of any plan. I’ve since experienced so much. I like to call it a ‘happy accident’. I’ve deployed out to Armenia to deliver medical training, Georgia to train with the Mountain Warfare School, Norway for the Arctic Survival course, and a 7-month tour in Afghanistan in 2019. It was a bit of a rollercoaster experience, to be honest. But overall, I am glad that I had the opportunity to do the job that I had trained to do and learned a huge amount – not many reservists get to do that.
Congratulations on finishing fourth in the inaugural MLAU! How did your first arctic ultra compare to your expectations?
Thank you! Although I’ve done ultras before and had a bit of experience in the Arctic/cold conditions, I’d never combined the two before. I knew it was going to be a huge learning experience for me, and I felt like a total novice on the start line. For the first five hours, my body was saying, “what is going on?!” as the movement with a pulk on snow was unfamiliar. However, as I got further into the event and got used to my kit, my confidence grew. All I had to do was keep moving and survive, and I was certain I could do that.
I didn’t go out to race, more to test myself and my knee, with the view that simply finishing would be a miracle. So to come 4th overall (2nd female) in the 185km race only one year and three months after a knee reconstruction far exceeded my expectations! Although it was tough, I genuinely loved my experience and can’t wait to push myself even further…
Tell us about the conditions and what they meant for your race experience?
The conditions were slightly warmer than expected. I think the coldest it got down to was around -13°C. This meant that the trail was fairly soft, which at times felt like the energy was being sucked right out of me from my feet. There was also quite a lot of snowfall on day two, which was hard going. My Montane kit kept me dry and warm throughout, and I think I worked my layers really well to prevent any overheating. I was worried about cold hands and feet, but my thick wool socks did the trick, and I had a variety of gloves/mitts to cope with different conditions.
What was your fuelling strategy?
My fuelling strategy was to have porridge/muesli pouches in the morning, snacks and/or a pasta meal for lunch, a 1000 kcal hot rehydrated meal in the evening and then lots of additional snacks throughout the days. I’ve learned that my body wants real food rather than high-calorie sugary sports snacks when doing endurance events. I packed my daily snacks into separate bags and would carry that for the day in my pack for easy access rather than keep it in my pulk.
Mid-morning, my snack was a chocolate croissant. Lunchtime would be ham and cheese slices, nuts, Pringles and Jaffa Cakes, then the same again mid-afternoon. Checkpoint meals were a bonus on top. I actually managed to time a few mealtimes with the checkpoints, which worked well! A particular highlight was moose pasta at Polar Circle cabin at around 0100 – it was just what I needed! Looking back, I did struggle to get enough calories in as I sometimes felt a bit nauseous when stopping to eat. I definitely haven’t quite perfected my fuelling strategy yet, so that’s something for me to work on in the future.
What was the most challenging element of your MLAU experience?
During the day, the beautiful landscapes made it fairly easy to just keep plodding, even when tired and hurting. But I found the nighttimes really challenging without the views to help keep me stimulated. It’s nice to see features and have a reference of where you have been and where you are going. At night I would often feel like I wasn’t making progress because of the stark darkness, and my mind would play tricks on me. One night I saw faces in footprints ahead of me. It was odd but kept me entertained. The huge flat frozen lakes were the worst for this.
Mentally, what gets you through tough moments in events. Do you have any strategies?
Every day I set out with a target distance or location, and also a backup plan. Setting those goals made it easier to mentally prepare for what I needed to achieve. Once I’ve made my mind up about something, I’m generally pretty stubborn and determined to meet that goal, so this strategy really works for me. When the going got really tough, such as at night, the thought of a hot meal and a lie down at my target checkpoint or shelter for the night really helped keep me going. Also, imagining the sense of achievement when crossing that finish line is something I always use when every part of my body wants me to stop. There is no replica for that finish line moment!
This was your first event after knee surgery. How did your knee hold up?
I knew I wanted my first event back to be a cracker – and the MLAU seemed like a suitably cheeky comeback! I had dedicated a solid year of rehab after my surgery, and my doctor and physios were over the moon with my recovery. But I’ll be honest, I was slightly nervous about my knee. My place was only confirmed about two months before the event, so I didn’t have as long as I would have liked to prepare!
I dragged ‘Tyrone the tyre’ around my local park a few times a week and managed to get some long hilly trail run days in, and I felt really confident on it. However, I really hadn’t been able to test it to the extent of doing 50km+ a day over four days, so I was taking a bit of a risk. But that risk paid off. I didn’t feel any niggles in the knee at all, which has been a huge relief. It’s given me that confirmation I needed – I’m back in the game!
What kit did you find invaluable for your Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra experience?
My top three items of clothing were:
1. Synthetic insulated jacket. My Montane Fireball jacket has a chest pocket where I kept batteries or my phone to keep warm. I barely took this jacket off for the whole event.
2. Montane Primino (merino) baselayers – amazing for heat regulation. Plus, they don’t smell – which is lucky when you’ve worn the same top for 185km!
3. Montane Prism gloves– when on the move, these had the perfect level of insulation and dexterity.
Then my top three bits of kit were:
1. Small race pack/vest (Montane Trailblazer 8) – I kept my tracker, snacks, head torch, 2 small, insulated bottles and spare gloves in this for easy access throughout the day.
2. Gaiters – essential for keeping snow out of my shoes to help keep my feet dry!
3. Leki Micro Vario Carbon poles – they made such a difference in energy exertion and were particularly invaluable for up and downhill!
What tips would you give to someone who is considering an Arctic race?
Firstly – absolutely do it, as it’s an incredible experience and achievement! If you haven’t already, definitely complete at least one multi-day event before heading out to the Arctic – stopping, then having to start again, can often be the hardest part, so make sure you know what that feels like. This will help you get more comfortable with being uncomfortable. Also, add in training that will replicate the feeling of pulling a pulk – E.g. pull a tyre around. You’ll get strange looks, but it’s worth it!
I always say there’s no such thing as bad weather, just poor kit choice – having the right kit is essential for an event like this. I know it’s basically impossible to test your kit out under similar [Arctic ultra] conditions, but get to know your kit really well and adapt it to extreme cold conditions. For example, add a toggle to your laces rather than having to tie them – you’ll understand why if you try to tie your laces with mitts on.
Most importantly, when you get out there, enjoy it! In endurance events, it’s too easy to keep your head down, stare at your feet and focus on how tough it is. Instead, keep your head up and take in the surroundings! The landscape is incredible, and it will boost your morale – I was even lucky enough to see a lynx!
Lastly – don’t get put off by the overall distance. If you train properly and break it down day by day, you can 100% do it!
You can follow Katy via her social media channels: www.instagram.com/katy.parrott.