The rise of Ultragirl
Rhalou is mysteriously lured into the insane world of ultra running...
Friday, 21 October, 2011
After training my booty off for the past six months and attempting to transform myself from a curvy journalist into a lean, mean running disco panther machine, I am absolutely gutted to announce that I won’t in fact be able to run the ING New York City Marathon this November. It’s a long story, but I blame the recession. We just didn’t get enough girls together and couldn’t justify the costs of sending me all the way to New York. I tried to go off my own back, but jetting off to the Big Apple is bloody expensive, especially when you’ve got bills to pay, so I surrendered and gave up my NYC marathon dream.But never one to shirk my running responsibilities, rather than wallow in unfulfilled race fantasy pity, it seemed like the ideal time to raise the bar and put my newly honed turbo legs to good use. So I signed up to another race. An ultra race no less. 
Rhalou experiments with Ultragirl outfits...I blame the boyfriend, it’s impossible to date an ultra runner and not get lured into thinking that running hundreds of miles is a good idea. Ultra boys just make it look easy. Yes a marathon may be a bloody long way, but when your man knocks out 26 miles on a daily basis, it rather puts things in perspective (he’s in The Himalayas as I write, finishing off a mere 100-mile race across the mountains), so when the man in question suggested I stop grumbling, I acquiesced and signed up for my first ever ultra marathon. We chose www.yamaatrust.com on a section of the West Highland Way between Kinlochleven and Tyndrum in Scotland, largely because it's only 28 miles (only!?) which is just two miles longer than I’ve ever run before, so seems doable. It’s the small fact it happens to be located in terrifying terrain in one of the hilliest parts of the UK, and it’s in December, and I’m a city bitch who cries when I chip a nail, that I’m scared. But hey, I’m also a girl who likes a challenge, and I don’t want to seem like a total wuss in front of Ultraboy, so bring it on baby. He’s a badass Scotsman, so if all else fails, he can carry me home. Oh and did I mention we get to stay in a teepee?I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to train for a hilly ultra when I live in pancake flat London town, but I'm working on it. Watch this space...
Rhalou experiments with Ultragirl outfits...I blame the boyfriend, it’s impossible to date an ultra runner and not get lured into thinking that running hundreds of miles is a good idea. Ultra boys just make it look easy. Yes a marathon may be a bloody long way, but when your man knocks out 26 miles on a daily basis, it rather puts things in perspective (he’s in The Himalayas as I write, finishing off a mere 100-mile race across the mountains), so when the man in question suggested I stop grumbling, I acquiesced and signed up for my first ever ultra marathon. We chose www.yamaatrust.com on a section of the West Highland Way between Kinlochleven and Tyndrum in Scotland, largely because it's only 28 miles (only!?) which is just two miles longer than I’ve ever run before, so seems doable. It’s the small fact it happens to be located in terrifying terrain in one of the hilliest parts of the UK, and it’s in December, and I’m a city bitch who cries when I chip a nail, that I’m scared. But hey, I’m also a girl who likes a challenge, and I don’t want to seem like a total wuss in front of Ultraboy, so bring it on baby. He’s a badass Scotsman, so if all else fails, he can carry me home. Oh and did I mention we get to stay in a teepee?I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to train for a hilly ultra when I live in pancake flat London town, but I'm working on it. Watch this space... 