In episode 51 I’m speaking to the legend that is Nicky Spinks. Nicky was a cover star for Women’s Running on the issue before I started, so for me she has always been the one that got away. Not any more! Here she is chatting about her incredible running career so far. Nicky is one of the greatest fell runners of all time, if not the greatest. She set women’s records for the Ramsay Round (that’s 58 miles in Scotland including Ben Nevis), The Paddy Buckley Round (that’s 65 miles in Snowdonia with 47 summits) and the Bob Graham Round (this is the Lake District one, and is 66 miles). She is the holder of the overall record for the double Bob Graham round and is the only person ever to complete doubles of the other two Rounds.

She talks to me about how she got into running in the first place, how she trains for those crazy distances, and her experiences running those unheard-of challenges (pre-Nicky). She also talks about her experiences running the terrifying Barkley Marathons, and it sounds like she has some unfinished business there, so watch this space. And because along with being a farmer and running incredible distances, she’s also a coach, I ask her opinion on how we can all run well on the trails, and – crucially – I ask her what the best food to eat on an ultra is – spoiler: there’s a lot of pork pies. And I get her opinion on why she thinks women make such incredible ultra runners, and there’s a lot more running chat besides

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Ep 51. Nicky Spinks, Queen of the Fells