09/09/2026
“OCC certainly didn’t go exactly to ‘the big plan’! After smashing my knee five weeks out on Pen-y-ghent, it was literally only two days before the race that I finally decided I was definitely going to start. I probably went a little too hard early on (even though it wasn’t exactly fast!) and by 15–20km I was pretty whacked — I’d forgotten just how brutal some of those climbs are. Having done virtually no downhill running for five weeks, my quads weren’t remotely primed for what was coming either, and combined with the heat, that became the challenge for the rest of the day. That said, there were some amazing athletes around me throughout, so all things considered I think I actually ran pretty well.
From there it became a case of managing myself physically and mentally, while keeping on top of fuelling and hydration — I must have drunk 5+ litres of fluid. Strangely, the race seemed to pass incredibly quickly. Rather than thinking about 60km, I was just working towards the next checkpoint or couple of hours, assessing how I felt and going again. Looking back, the biggest challenge was probably just getting there. For five weeks it felt like a daily jigsaw puzzle — working out what I could do, trying to maintain some fitness, managing the knee and staying positive enough to believe I might still make the start line. Huge credit to Brennan for helping me navigate a pretty unconventional final few weeks and putting together a plan that gave me the best chance of getting there.
I got it done and I’m glad I did. Seeing family and friends at the finish was pretty special, as was running through Chamonix to the finish line. During some of the darker moments I’d cancelled every other race this year in my head. Two weeks later, I’m feeling good, looking forward to training injury-free and racing again, starting with HBMR in four weeks. Funny how quickly you forget!“
