Photo: INOV-8.COM/Lee Procter

Ultra runner Nicky Spinks is a legend in fell running. Well known for setting records on some the most challenging running routes in both the UK and Europe, she famously became the fastest person to complete the Double Bob Graham round of 132 miles and 54,000ft of ascent, aged 49, in 2016, in celebration of her 10-year cancer survival.

Nicky, who is an ambassador for inov-8, has completed numerous 100-mile races, including running the UTMB twice and finishing second lady in the L’Echappee Belledonne (144km and 10,900m of climbing!) Yet, despite her successes, Nicky is renowned for being humble and as down to earth as they come. I’m thrilled to have her on the blog and hope you enjoy the interview.

When running shoe experts, Saucony, invited me to test their new Koa off-road running shoe range and learn more about running trails and fells in the Lake District, I jumped at the chance. Here’s what I learned (and rediscovered) as I got reacquainted with off-road running in the Lakes…

Photo Credit: Damiano Levati for Red Bull

A new addition to the 2017 race calendar, the Vertical Kilometer™ World Circuit hopes to capitalise on the growing popularity of uphill, vertical racing with the introduction of a competitive series.

A spin-off of the popular Skyrunner World Series, the VK World Circuit includes 16 vertical kilometre races around Europe (plus one in the US), raced as a series. The idea: gain points for your position in each race and compete for the overall series win. A mix of new courses and classic race routes, the race length actually varies from 1km to a max of 5km.

For us mere mortals, however, it’s not about racing but the simple (!) goal of reaching the summit to enjoy a nauseous mix of elation and total exhaustion.

What a weekend for women’s running! On Saturday, the incredible fell running legend, Nicky Spinks, took on the Joss Naylor challenge, running 48 miles and summiting 17,000 feet of Lake District ascent to smash the previous best women’s time by an hour. Not a bad way to celebrate your 50^th birthday! Congrats Nicky on setting a new all-time record of 11 hours 2 minutes. Woohoo!

Then on Sunday, Kenya’s Mary Keitany broke the women-only marathon record with a time of 2hrs.17.

Amazing.

Photo Credit: Inov8