Lecture
Olly Stephenson: Ultra-distance hill running
Afternoon: 5:30pm in the music room
For those interested in ultra-distance hill running in Britain the ultimate challenge has long been the completion of the big three 24 hour Rounds, namely the Bob Graham Round in the Lakes, the Charlie Ramsay Round in Scotland and the Paddy Buckley Round in Snowdonia.
The challenge of each of these Rounds is simple: you start and finish at one place and in-between you run a mountainous circuit of 60-66 miles and 27-28,000’ ascent, to be completed within one continuous non-stop 24 hour period. Together these runs form one of the biggest and most elegant mountain challenges in the country, with successful completions of all three Rounds limited to 34 people, spread over the last 24 years.
Olly Stephenson explains in simple steps how you can prepare yourself for succeeding on the Rounds or other similar ultra-distance challenges, and shares the highs and lows of the experience while at the same time giving an appreciation of three of Britain’s finest mountain areas. This is a must for fell runners and all lovers of Britain’s wild mountain areas.
Olly came into hill running relatively late in life after many years pursuing other outdoor interests, but with work and family life taking up more time (as it does for many of us) found that running gave all the fun and adventure of the hills but with less time away from home. Catch his contagious enthusiasm at this great talk and let some of his motivation rub off on you, and who knows, you might follow his example and complete all 3 of the rounds yourself!
