In this episode I meet Dr Mia Burleigh at the University of the West of Scotland in Blantyre, Glasgow, to undertake some physiology testing. I had Lactate Threshold and VO2max testing done and we discuss the results.

Dr Burleigh is a Senior Lecturer and Laboratory Director at the university’s Sport and Physical Activity Research Institute, which is the only BASES accredited lab in Scotland (British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences).

First I undertook Lactate Threshold testing, which involved running for 4 minute blocks at increasing speed increments, with a fingerprick lactate blood test every 4 minutes. This allowed calculation of Lactate Threshold and Lactate Turnpoint.

Next I donned a breathing mask and ran to failure at a set speed with gradient increasing by 1% every minute, to test maximum oxygen delivery, and calculate VO2max. This was a much tougher test!

Lab details: https://shop.uws.ac.uk/product-catalogue/schools/school-of-health-and-life-science-hls/maximal-exercise-test

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild

This is a live recording of a conversation at The Barrel House, Kendal as part of Kendal Mountain Festival on Saturday 23rd November 2024.

Finlay Wild talks to The Selkies (Suzy Connor, Lizzie Goodfellow, Heloise Le Clanche and Cat Riaz) about their journey to the finish line of the 2024 Scottish Islands Peaks Race (SIPR), as the first all-female team to compete in 19 years. The SIPR is a gruelling sailing and running race involving sailing between - and running up peaks - on Mull, Jura and Arran in a non stop race from Oban to Troon, held in May each year. The fifth member of the team was sailor Kirsteen Woods.

The team first had to find each other and a boat to even get to the start line. Muir Anderson lent his boat Dipper, and after a significant amount of work to make her race ready, the team were ready to compete. Navigating what is traditionally a male dominated race, they finished in a little under 68 hours in a close run race with the chasing boat.

It was a pleasure to meet the team and hear their recollections of the journey - complete with anecdotes about purgatorial rowing, 7am champagne, and terrible singing!

And if anyone has a spare yacht for 2025...

See the team in action: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVsgGC0mtBU⁠

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild

If you delve into the history of almost any endurance mountain running challenge in the UK you will likely see the name John Fleetwood. Usually flying under the radar solo and unsupported, his website ⁠www.longdistancechallenges.blogspot.com⁠ reveals a plethora of epic mountain adventures in the wild trackless bounds of Scotland, England and Wales.

John first became 'hooked' on endurance runs in the late 90s following his 'first proper run' - the 100km Bob Graham Round. Long before the current boom in ultra running and 'FKTs' he was having intense experiences as he sought to bring dream lines on a map into reality by following them on the ground. More interested in 'first known completions' than speed itself, he has made huge aesthetic loops in wild places. A winter Broxap Round in Glen Shiel over 120km and 61hrs; the Glen Lyon Watershed, a 121km 47hr loop of rough grass, bog and heather; or the Strathfarrar Watershed, 99km over 50hrs in deep snow.

We talk in more detail about John's Scottish Haute Route walk, his Lakes 40 Peaks at 40yrs challenge, and his mind bending Winter Rigby Round - a 54hr odyssey around the dark December Cairngorms in 2010.

John is also an author of two Cicerone guides to Scrambles in the Lake District. His book Beyond the View is his 'pilgrimage through nature', a hardback photography book interlaced with his personal story and deep connections to these wild places. Seeing 'beyond the view' is about connecting with our surroundings in a deeper way. He has also worked with Big Issue vendors in a project which gave them new access to outdoor experiences. He hopes to set up a charity further expanding this work which aims to heal the disconnect many people (and arguably society as a whole) feels for nature.

John is speaking at Kendal Mountain Festival next week (Sunday 24th November 2024)

Beyond The View book: ⁠https://beyondtheview.org.uk/product/beyond-the-view-the-book/⁠

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠

M Elite course in Glen Artney over the weekend of 26&27th October 2024.

I was paired with Phil Rutter of Kendal who has won the Elite race in 2022 and 2023.

The OMM is a 2 day mountain marathon in which teams of two navigate between checkpoints to a midway camp, carrying all the food and kit they require to survive in the October weather. A very popular event, it has different courses to fit different abilities, and is held in a different area each year.

Phil talks us through the OMM and we have some chat as we progress through day 1. Arriving at the midway camp in second place, we talk to Martin Stone of SPORTident timing. Martin features in my Bob Graham Round episode (Episode 16), and has his own episode about his Midwinter Solo Unsupported Bob Graham Round in 1987 (Episode 10).

We then debrief with the race leaders, Felix Wilson and Dan Ashwood before settling down for an early night in our tiny tent.

Setting out on day 2 we had a seeded start 3 mins behind the leaders, but with only 70 seconds of time to make up on them. Catching them, we then had a long fight on our hands as each team would try and outpace and outsmart the other. This included taking very different lines between checkpoints 4&5, only to come together again at checkpoint 5 with seconds between us.

Racing hard, we all navigated to the wrong stream bend for checkpoint 7. Felix and Dan relocated quicker and were off. It looked like we had lost the fight for first place. But we managed to claw back level with the guys - who then put on a sprint finish in the final field.

Over two days and 11.5hrs of racing we won by only 90 seconds - apparently the closest winning margin in the OMM for years.

For me, the OMM stands for traditional UK hill running values: held on rough terrain, in often difficult weather, with proper navigation, route choice and a requirement for mountain self sufficiency. With around 1300 competitors this year, it’s a much loved event.

The OMM is also the subject of Episode 28 with Victoria Thompson and Janie Oates, who were the female Elite course winners (and only elite course female finishers) in 2022. 2024 saw three female teams complete the Elite course (and many, many more over the other courses).

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠

In this episode I sit down with Alice Tirbooman to talk about her journey from aerial circus and climbing in Bristol, to solo Scottish long distance running.

We share tales of the remote and unsung Mullardoch Round, a 50km circuit of 12 Munros north of Glen Affric, which Alice ran solo and unsupported in 2022 and 2023. She then contrasts this with her racing experiences which range from the London Marathon, to the Glencoe Skyline and Jura Fell Race.

We talk about Alice’s solo traverse of the Cuillin Ridge, which combined her running and climbing skills in a rewarding challenge which was made all the more valuable by an unexpected twist, when her climbing partner had to pull out during the approach walk. Initially nervous about continuing alone, Alice found her flow and with this a deeper confidence in her own abilities and strengths.

Alice’s father is from Mauritius and her mother from the West Country. She talks about the lack of racial diversity in hill running, and the potential lack of role models in the sport for minority ethnic runners. Alice is a member of Westerlands Running Club and has found the running community to be a welcoming and inclusive place. She talks about possible ways to enhance representation within the sport, and the benefits of promoting running to a wider and more diverse audience.

* I state that ‘no-one owns the mountains’. More accurately I mean no one ‘should’ own the mountains; that the right to roam them (responsibly) should be for all.

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠

Trofeo Kima is a unique technical race in the beautiful Val Masino region of Italy, in the rough granite mountains not far from Lake Como.

While I don't usually devote episodes to organised races, I think Kima justifies an exception, especially this year's race - in which I had a fantastic racing experience with none other than Jack Kuenzle. Jack is now a recurring character on the podcast, having shown up in Episode 21 to beat my Tranter's Round record, and again in Episode 38 when I got it back!

Join Jack and I as we delve into a race analysis of our head to head 'duel' at the front of the race. We both managed to come in under the previous Kilian Jornet record time of 6hr9mins, with myself winning in 6hr5mins. Beating Kilian's record was a first for me, although not for Jack who has already achieved this with his Bob Graham Round record in 2022.

The race is dedicated to the memory of Pierangelo Marchetti, nickname "Kima", who was a local mountain guide who died in 1994 during a rescue mission. His sister started the race in 1995 in tribute to him.

For a visual on the terrain we are covering, see the great video by Julen Elorza featuring Hillary Gerardi (also featured in my Episode 18), La Gara: ⁠www.youtube.com/watch?v=CivvJNiHNnw⁠

Also the 2022 race highlights where you see a bit more of me, and my first win at Kima: ⁠www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyzvgiOGHJg&t=584s⁠

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠

In this episode I read my article 'Competition as Catalyst: Beyond Racing on Tranter's Round' which was recently published in Like The Wind magazine #42. Tranter's round is a 60km round in the Lochaber hills, and my favourite round. I held the record for several years until Jack Kuenzle arrived from the USA and shaved around 15 minutes off in summer 2022.

It may come as no surprise that I was keen to try and get the record back, which I did on 1st June this year.

Myself and Jack have had an interesting friendship-rivalry since meeting in 2022, with him going on to gain the Bob Graham round record, and us meeting and skiing together in winter 2024. We also raced at Trofeo Kima in August, but that's for another discussion - next episode! For a detailed discussion about Jack's Tranter's record in 2022, listen to episode 21.

My Tranter's run was one of my all time best days out, particularly in the latter stages, where I experienced a rare and near euphoric mind state. I highly value the way that running hard in the mountains can at times produce these special experiences.

It's December 2019. Ben Bardsley packs up his wet tent in the rain at Lindesnes lighthouse, the most southerly point in Norway. He sets off heading north, a direction he will rarely waver from over the next 3 months as he attempts to traverse the entire length of Norway - Norge På Langs - in a single winter.

Dealing with a particularly stormy winter, he first met difficulties when the usual winter routes across frozen lakes were not safe in the south due to mild conditions. Next he experienced exhausting trail breaking in one of Norway's snowiest Februarys on record, which increased the difficulty of this 2700 km journey significantly. Finally, suffering from illness and the strain of near constant bad weather and incessant wind, he entered an Arctic Circle even more deserted than usual due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

A veteran of multi-day adventure racing competitions, an accomplished fell runner and a champion mountain bike racer, Ben recounts his 106 day solo adventure with passion and honesty. This was a journey that challenged him in ways that few have experienced.

Returning from the trip, Ben suffered from extreme fatigue and was unable to return to work for several months. He talks us through the process of discovery and positive thinking which led to his recovery.

Ben was supported on the trip by Lyon Equipment and Rab Equipment.

He raised money during his trip to support his friend Dave Hollinger who suffered a spinal cord injury in a skiing accident in 2018. For more details and to donate go to ⁠www.gofundme.com/f/quotnorge-pa-langsquot-inspired-by-dave

In one of my favourite episodes so far, I chat to Kevin Woods about his Winter Munro Round in which he completed all 282 Munros over the brutal winter of 2019/20. Delving into logistics and preparation for the Winter Munro Round gives a glimpse of Kev's incredible depth of mountain experience, having previously completed 4 (non continuous) rounds of the Munros. As an example of his meticulous planning, he carefully compiled a database of winter weather patterns over multiple winters, which he used to aid his decision making over the winter Munros project - in a winter season of relentless stormy weather. As if the continuous westerly storm cycles weren't enough, March 2020 brought with it new and unexpected challenges of a very different kind.

Kev's recent Arrochar Round takes in all the Munros (4) and Corbetts (7) of the Arrochar hills, in a rugged 52km loop with around 6000m of ascent. Kev laid down a time of 13h54m for this round in his local hills, which could well become a connoisseur's classic.

Our wide ranging conversation touches on many aspects of mountain culture including connection to place, historic depopulation of the land, changing land use and the intertwined history of the mountains with the people who live on and near them. Kev hails from Glasgow and takes us through his earlier mountain memories, which then led into climbing and longer linkups. From his beginnings its clear that creativity and the artist's aesthetic are large drivers for Kev - be that in his music, his media work or his many hills days themselves.

In the course of working on a film about Sir Hugh Munro for the Munro Society, Kev has delved into stories from a bygone era, and through this has discovered a deeper understanding of the Scottish hills, not just as "cathedrals of our sport" but as places steeped in and changed by human history - from the Clearances to early map making, from Victorian attitudes to adventure and Land Access right through to modern pressures on the land.

He also talks us through some of the climbing guidebooks he has been working on, previous adventures such as the filming of Dave Macleod's "24/8", and other projects, including an upcoming book on Winter 282.

Recently I bumped into Harry Bolton of Keswick AC and we arranged to sit down for a chat when he was up in Fort William. Harry has a real love for fell running and has notched up some impressive results including being the Lakelands Classics winner in 2022 and both the English and British Under 23 Fell Running Champion, also in 2022.

Even back in school he was clear that he wanted to make a career in sportswear design, and this led to a Sports Engineering degree at Loughborough University which he completed in 2021. Harry tells the story of how he then landed an exciting job as Running Footwear Designer for Ronhill, who were putting together a team with which to develop and release a new footwear range. Harry tells us about the process from start right up to actually seeing his finished concepts being worn in races and on big rounds.

Rob Greenwood, UKC Guru (probably not his actual job title!), interviews Finlay Wild about his recent “Dark Bob” - a Bob Graham Round run between sunset and sunrise, solo and unsupported in Jan 2024. Rob is no stranger to long rounds, having racked up an impressive CV including the UK “Big Three”, Rigby Round and Spine Challenger.

Developing the idea of midwinter rounds, Finlay maximised the darkness and committed to attempting whatever the weather on the longest night (Winter Solstice 21-22nd December). This first attempt was aborted at Scafell Pike in very poor conditions - strong winds, heavy rain and visibility reduced to 5m on the higher peaks.

Trying again on 6th January, Finlay had a narrower sunset-sunrise window (16h30 rather than 16h45 at the Solstice) but took advantage of better weather to try again. Setting out once more from Moot Hall at official sunset - this time 4.03pm - he had a very different experience and managed to get ahead of Kim Collison’s overall Winter BGR record of 15h47, taking 12minutes off this to give a new winter record of 15h35m47s.

Conditions were good: -2’c on the high tops, clear skies and light wind. Parts of the ground were frozen and there was icy hoar frost around the high peaks, but not much snow or neve build up. We discuss differing winter conditions, especially with the effects of climate change, and the idea that maximising the darkness - and using map and compass navigation - made for its own unique adventures.

We mention different definitions of Winter - Astronomical Winter is the name for the period between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

See video of Blizzard bag vs race kit by Trail Running Scotland here: ⁠youtu.be/MIFNZdSjSDo?si=Ls_qK90N9WJ3CXuR⁠

More details on the Dark BG: https://strava.app.link/WuFBskn6fHb

Re ski rounds in Cairngorms with GPS - I mean a dedicated GPS unit, not a watch