Last month I ran an interview with former UTMB winner and all-round ultrarunning badass, Francesca Canepa, where she admitted she runs ‘as little as possible’ in training because – shock! –she doesn’t actually like running that much.

This intrigued a lot of people (myself included) so today I’m back with more details about what Francesca’s training involves after she kindly offered to dive a bit deeper into it with me.

Thanks, Francesca!

N.B You can read our interview from last month here: Francesca Canepa: The UTMB winner who doesn’t like running.

© James Poole

After lining up for her first ultra less than two years ago, UK-based Malaysian ultrarunner Alison Walker leapt straight into 100+ mile distances with events such as the Samphire 100 and Tooting 24 – her first 24-hour race, in which she ran 185.9km and broke six Malaysian national records.

Having completed a 108-mile ‘quarantine’ backyard ultra this summer and several Fastest Known Time achievements, Alison eyed up a new challenge and just over a week ago, she became the first person to complete London’s continuous ‘Smog Graham’ round. An urban nod to the Lake District’s legendary Bob Graham Round, the challenge saw Alison bag every ‘peak’ in all 32 London boroughs – no mean feat at 302km and 3211m of elevation. Despite some navigational issues, she finished in 54 hours and 33 minutes.

From McDonald’s meltdowns and non-existent naps to borrowed shoes and blisters, the 32-year-old inov-8 ambassador shares the ups and downs of her ‘Smog’ with me in this Q&A, where we also chat about her 100-mile training weeks and the steps she takes to stay injury-free.

© Scott Robarts

I’m very excited to have British ultrarunner and coach, Ellie Greenwood, as today’s interviewee! Ellie holds course records on some of the world’s toughest ultra-distance races, including the Western States 100 miler, which she’s won twice. The British athlete, who now lives in Vancouver, Canada has also won the Comrades ultramarathon (89km), the CCC by UTMB (101km, 6100m+), and is a two-time 100K world champion.

Whether she’s racing competitively or escaping to the trails in training, forty-year-old Ellie runs for the love of the sport above everything else. Here, she shares with me (amongst other things) an insight to what got her started in running, what’s helped her stay sane throughout injury, and how she digs deep during racing and training.