Great Britton – Ultra Committed Robbie Fired-Up For Skyrunning Debut

News Release (Inov8) / 26.02.2014

Newly crowned 2013 UK Ultra Runner of the Year Robbie Britton thrives on pushing his body to the limit.

The new team inov-8 recruit has revelled in a phenomenal past 12 months and is now looking ahead to a 2014 calendar stacked with some of the world’s toughest ultra distance races.

Having smashed the course record at the recent 66-mile Pilgrims Challenge, Robbie is now preparing for his skyrunning debut at Transvulcania.

In his first inov blog, 27-year-old Robbie writes: “So what’s next? Tattoo UK Ultra runner of the Year 2013 across my forehead and relax with my award? Nah, that's not my style, plus the tatoo would look awful!

“My 2014 season is underway and I’ve already snared two victories, including the two-day Pilgrims Challenge 66-miler on the North Downs Way.

“Four years ago the Pilgrims Challenge took me a total of 15 hours to complete, and the on the second day alone I was running for nine hours. This year I broke the course record, clocking a total time of 8 hrs 8 mins for the two days combined.

“Next up is Transvulcania, on the island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. This is the first race in the 2014 Skyrunning calendar and all the world’s best ultra-distance mountain runners will be there.

“I have been to La Palma once before, taking in a few epic days in the mountains before setting off to sail the Atlantic in a boat built by a crazy old man advertising for crew on Gumtree!

“At 51 miles, Transvulcania is a little bit short for me but it has more ascent – there’s 2,000m in the first 11 miles – than the 24-hour stuff. I will go there, chuck myself in the mix and see what happens. I am always up for challenging myself.

“After that I have the World 24hr Running Championships. The target this year is a top-10 finish. I'm already feeling good about my chances as I feel fitter and stronger than I was last year.

“And what year would be complete without a trip to the Alps? The 103-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) was shortened due to awful weather conditions the last time I ventured to Chamonix in 2012, but the atmosphere of the race got into my blood and this year I will return. I can’t wait.”

In 2013, Robbie won the high-profile 2013 South Downs Way 100 miler in a new course record, ran at the World 24hr Running Championships and completed the gruelling 152-mile Spartathlon race in Greece.

Next month Robbie will attend inov-8’s 2014 UK and European athlete retreat, to be held in the Lake District.

Read Robbie’s full blog post at: http://team.inov-8.com/2014/02/25/great-britton-an-ultra-committed-athlete/

* The 2013 UK Ultra Runner of the Year awards is run by http://www.ukultraawards.com/

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