Lizzy Hawker Interview

Lizzy Hawker is one of this country’s greatest endurance athletes as she puts her body and her mind to the ultimate test.

She is set to compete once more in The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) - a race that she won twelve months ago. I caught up with her to talk about how her preparations for the race are going.

- How are you feeling in the run up to the race?

It is still over a month to go - but always with a big race you have excitement, anticipation, trepidation, doubts, hopes - that incredible and wonderful mixture of emotions.

- Where are you training at the moment?　

The Swiss Alps

- Where's your favourite place to train in the world?

in the mountains - they are my inspiration

- How will your training schedule change as August approaches (if at all)?

The first weeks of August will be a mixture of racing, training and work. And then the week before the race itself for me it is important to find some quiet - to allow myself the time and space to prepare physically and mentally, to absorb some of that beautiful energy of the mountains, and to realise how lucky we are just to 'be'.

- How confident are you with the race now just a handful of weeks away?

With a race like this anything can happen. So my goal is to run the best that I can, to give as much as I can, and to run with joy inside.

For me the most important thing is to focus on just running the best that I can at each moment of the race, to give 'all' that I can, and to feel joy in my run. For me that is more important than thinking about my competitors.

- Do you have a target in mind of where you would like to finish?

In Chamonix at the finish line! Of course I have expectations, but with a race like this anything can happen.

I am truly looking forward to again being part of this experience, and to making what is such a beautiful mountain journey. So my goal is to run the best that I can, to give as much as I can, and to run with joy inside.

- Do you have a strict diet? How will this change in the lead up to the race and just beforehand?

I have been vegetarian since the age of 5 - so I always eat a natural diet with wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, and avoiding processed foods as much as possible.

- How do you keep yourself replenished and hydrated during the race?

The volunteers do a wonderful job of keeping the refreshment tables full of food and drink to try to help you keep hydrated and replenished

- The race takes place in several countries as well as varying terrain so is there specific terrain that you like running on? Struggle with?　

I just enjoy the variety that comes with making a long journey in the mountains

- How do you stay motivated?

My motivation to run UTMB is to again be part of something that is so much more than just the incredible challenge of the race itself. Every runner, every volunteer and every supporter becomes part of something truly special - the shared passion and dedication make this so much more than just a race - more a shared journey of exploration and endurance within the greater journey of our own life.

This together with the challenge of looking for your 'edge' keeps me motivated during the race itself. The motivation does not come only from the victory or the competition.

In the end it isn't just about the race. For me the motivation is very much within myself - to try to do the best I can in each moment. It is about the journey - physical, mental and spiritual - the preparation - the in between - the looking for the 'edge'.

- What's your ultimate training tip?

Run with your heart and soul as well as your head and legs

 

- The race starts with many participants so do you like running alongside other people - or do you like running solo?

In a race like UTMB you have moments of camaradarie with the other runners, the volunteers, people out on the trails, and then moments of being entirely alone - both are to be treasured - and you enjoy what you have in each moment.

- This is a brutal sport so how did you find your way into endurance racing?

It's a long story - but it still doesn't feel real. As Confucius said, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Sometimes you don't quite know where you took that first step, but somehow you find yourself on a journey on an unknown path.

You don't know where it is going or even if there is a destination. But inside you know you have to follow where it leads you, to have the courage not to look back.

There are moments when it feels almost easy, and there are moments when you have to fight deep within yourself just to stand still. You learn there is no destination - the journey is its own reward.

That first step - I didn't know what opportunities would lie before me, I didn't realise the potential that I had. It is hard to remember a time when I wasn't running, but in the beginning it was just my way to be outside - an antidote to not living in the mountains, a (relatively cheap) way to keep physically fit, a release for my mind.

But it was something I did for myself - never joining a club or racing. Looking back although I seemed to 'fall' into the unknown world of competitive sport, I was always 'training' in the raw - endurance for me is a way of life rather than a sport.

I had rather a 'modest' start with a couple of marathons (which were nothing very special) and a Welsh hill race (in the 'mountaineers' category rather than as a 'fell runner').

Then in 2005 an article about The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc intrigued me and I decided to enter - as my first mountain race - more an excuse to have some time in the Alps after submitting my PhD. Winning surprised me as much as anybody else!

Earlier that year I also entered a 40 mile track race, for no better reason than the friends I was visiting were running. Not having run on a track since school sports days it was strange to also win that, and then even more so to be selected to represent England in the UK 100km Championships (I didn't even know such races existed). I guess things snowballed from there quite quickly!

But for me the lesson was that sometimes opportunities arise - we don't always know what they might lead - but if we have the courage to take them a new world might open up.

-After the UTMB will you be competing in any other endurance races this year?

The Commonwealth Championships in Wales in September (depending on selection, either the trail event or the 24 hour event)

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

www.thenorthface.com/eu

www.lizzyhawker.com

www.laufschule-scuol.ch

Lizzy Hawker is one of this country’s greatest endurance athletes as she puts her body and her mind to the ultimate test.

She is set to compete once more in The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) - a race that she won twelve months ago. I caught up with her to talk about how her preparations for the race are going.

- How are you feeling in the run up to the race?

It is still over a month to go - but always with a big race you have excitement, anticipation, trepidation, doubts, hopes - that incredible and wonderful mixture of emotions.

- Where are you training at the moment?　

The Swiss Alps

- Where's your favourite place to train in the world?

in the mountains - they are my inspiration

- How will your training schedule change as August approaches (if at all)?

The first weeks of August will be a mixture of racing, training and work. And then the week before the race itself for me it is important to find some quiet - to allow myself the time and space to prepare physically and mentally, to absorb some of that beautiful energy of the mountains, and to realise how lucky we are just to 'be'.

- How confident are you with the race now just a handful of weeks away?

With a race like this anything can happen. So my goal is to run the best that I can, to give as much as I can, and to run with joy inside.

For me the most important thing is to focus on just running the best that I can at each moment of the race, to give 'all' that I can, and to feel joy in my run. For me that is more important than thinking about my competitors.

- Do you have a target in mind of where you would like to finish?

In Chamonix at the finish line! Of course I have expectations, but with a race like this anything can happen.

I am truly looking forward to again being part of this experience, and to making what is such a beautiful mountain journey. So my goal is to run the best that I can, to give as much as I can, and to run with joy inside.

- Do you have a strict diet? How will this change in the lead up to the race and just beforehand?

I have been vegetarian since the age of 5 - so I always eat a natural diet with wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, and avoiding processed foods as much as possible.

- How do you keep yourself replenished and hydrated during the race?

The volunteers do a wonderful job of keeping the refreshment tables full of food and drink to try to help you keep hydrated and replenished

- The race takes place in several countries as well as varying terrain so is there specific terrain that you like running on? Struggle with?　

I just enjoy the variety that comes with making a long journey in the mountains

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