Meet Graham!
“Endurance and adventure have always fascinated me. Both have been a major part of my life for well, most of it. A railway signalling engineer to trade but qualified Mountain Leader, spare times are based in the Scottish Mountains – a habit that has led to a full round Munro & Corbett summits, a passion for fell/hill running, scrambling and the occasional graded technical route. Given a winter, I can be seen on alpine or cross country skis and on a good day, sometimes skinning up a hillside on old touring kit. Firmly in the “never won anything and never will” category, I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in ultra and mountain races in obscure corners around this wee planet Based in Glasgow or wherever the van is parked up for the night.”
Age?
49 years auld
I was always a mountaineer but when I hit the age of 30 started to find it harder to get up the steeps as the natural fitness of youth left me. Started road running to keep a level of fitness which led to various 10km, half marathon and road marathon events. As a parallel activity, started taking part in two-day mountain marathon events such as the KIMM(now the OMM) and LAMM which mixed mountain skills such as route choice, navigation and camp craft with moving quickly between controls. This then led to the current mix of both ultra-events (easier to justify going slower on longer distances) and mountain / fell running (my preferred genre of running)
Whats yer favourite distance?
A good question and the honest answer is any distance if the course, environment or company is inspiring. As happy doing a local 5km with my daughter as I am on an ultra-distance event in some obscure corner of the world or indeed on a narrow ridge as part of an iconic sky race. For me, it has little to do with statistics and everything about how it feels.
Running has taken me on a series of adventures both here in the UK and also Morocco (Marathon des Sables), Australia (North Face 100km as it was at the time high in the Blue Mountains above Sydney), Mexico (Ultramarathon Caballo Blanco – the race described in the book Born to Run) plus various events around Europe and North America. Whilst the actual running experience has been truly amazing each journey has been equally defined by the people I have met. The simplicity of sharing the trails or mountain tends to bring out the very best in humanity with compassion and support being at the fore. At times when life feels harder than it should or the world spins too quickly – sticking on running kit and heading out has brought a sense of balance back. A couple of years back I bust up my ankle which led to around 8 months of recovery since then, I’ve not taken being able to run for granted and have a sense of moral obligation to appreciate my health by using it often.
Favourite surface to run on?
Easy – mountain environment every time if possible.
Favourite running route?
If I was asked to showcase Scottish running then my go-to route is always the “Tour de Bookil” which heads through the valley between the peaks of the Buachaille Etive Mor and Buachaille Etive Beag in Glen Coe before journeying north again on the western side of Beag
Best race/event to date?
Do I need to pick one ?!?! It would have to be the Marathon des Sables since that was the gateway event that for me redefined what was possible – ironically, the hardest bit was actually posting the entry (which took me two years to build up the courage for). Highlight was going into a number of primary schools to talk about the event before and after – the questions were epic (kids tend not to filter) and in the case of my local school Carolside (attended at the time by my daughter) the kids sent emails which were delivered to the tent each evening. Those messages kept me going more than any energy gel or drink!
What are your go-to running shoes?
Inov8 x-talons 212 easily the shoe which works best across a varied off-road terrain. They stick to pretty much everything and dry out fairly quickly (important in Scotland).
Best piece of kit?
A buff – I’ve got far too many but love them. Each one has a story and memories attached to it.
post run scran?
Pizza and a dark beer – the recovery meal of kings and queens.
Where now?
Short term – the Scafell Skyrace down in the Lake District then an increase in mountain routes with technical terrain leading up to a return to the Glencoe Skyline in September. Also in the early planning stages of a running / hiking / exploring trip over to Colorado next year …it’s been an itch for too long now.
Love – Live – Run and get out and hit the trails!
Thank you for reading!
Follow my progress on Instagram – @loveliverunuk
Check out our Facebook events – facebook.com/loveliverun
#loveliverun #improveyourrun #trailrunning
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