Tough Girl Podcast Sharon Gayter - Fastest woman to travel by foot between John O'Groats and Land's End. 822 miles in 12 days, 11 hours, 6 minutes, and 7 seconds.
Sharon is a member of North York Moors AC and became a serious runner in 1994 when she completed her first 100km and 24 hour race, winning gold in the National Championships at both events, she is still the only person to take both titles in the same year.
Sharon has represented Great Britain for 18 years, on 27 occasions, winning several medals as well as further National Championship titles.
Towards the end of her international career Sharon progressed to longer and more extreme races. In 2011 she was ranked World Number 1 for 6 days on the road with her British Record of 750km, a race she won outright as the first person.
In the same year Sharon broke the Guinness World Record for the furthest distance run on a treadmill in 7 days. Her distance of 833km added over 100 miles (160km) to the existing female record and nearly 50 miles (80km) to the men’s record. It is rare that a female world record is better than the male world record in athletics!
In October 2016, Sharon had run 186 ultras, 114 marathons and 119 off-road races of near marathon distance, some 419 events of 24 miles or further.
Sharon has raced across deserts such as the Libyan Challenge, Ocean Floor Race and Badwater Ultra-marathon. She has done multi stage races such as Marathon des Sables, Grand to Grand Ultra, Fire and Ice 250km, Trans-Alpine from Germany to Austria, Switzerland and Italy, Verdon Canyon, Al-Andalus Ultra Trail and Trans-Slovenia (winter edition).
During this podcast, Sharon shares more about her early life, how she got into running, and how running has changed her life. She shares more about the planning and preparation that goes into a World Record challenge like JOGLE. Sharon is super down to earth and full of top tips and advice to motivate and inspire you!
Show notes
- Being a runner for over 30 years
- Representing GB for 18 years
- Not being sporty or outdoorsy when she was growing up
- How running the London Marathon changed her life
- Leaving school at 16 and going straight to work
- Going to University at 30 to get a degree in Sports Science
- Going on to to her Masters
- What she loves about running ultra races
- Her favourite distance? 6 days!!
- Milage per week and being self coached
- Doing strength and conditioning as well
- Race strategy and structure for running 822 miles!
- The power of 3hr blocks and 30 min breaks
- Training for 2 years for the WR
- The importance of the team
- What’s going through her head during each block
- The 30 min routine
- Let’s talk about feet!!
- Managing the mental pain!
- Handling the frustration of getting lost
- How to handle sleep deprivation
- The magical moment on the record run
- Nutrition during ultra challenges
- What keeps Sharon motivated
- How her sports science background has helped her with running
- How running ultra’s races has changed over the past 30 years
- The bucket list races!
- Injuries and injury prevention
- Never being a sponsored athlete
- Paying for everything herself
- How to recover from big challenges
- Publicity for the challenge
- Has it sunk in yet?
- Getting the running blues after doing a big race
- Celebrating the success of the challenge
- Advice and tips for women and girls who want to get into running
- Quick Fire Questions
- New World Record Chat!!!
Social Media
Website - http://www.sharongayter.com/index.htm
Book “The Clock Keeps Ticking” - buy here
Connected Episodes to listen to Mimi Anderson - Endurance Runner & Multiple Guinness World Record Holder! December 22, 2015
Amy Hughes - Running 521 Miles on a treadmill in a week! November 3, 2016