Lizzy Hawker is Britain’s top female endurance and ultra runner. She chats to Sportsister about how she went from recreational running to becoming 100km world champion in less than a year.

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Since Lizzy Hawker fell into the world of ultra running (that’s anything beyond a marathon) three years ago her ascent to the top of the field has been nothing less than staggering. Her achievements are too long to list, but include winning the The North Face Ultra Trail Tour du Mont Blanc twice - the first time as a complete unknown which shocked the Ultra Running community.

She is the joint holder of the record for running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu and won gold at the 100km World Championships in Korea, representing Great Britain, to become 2006 World Champion.

How long have you been running ultra-distance and endurance races?

Since 2005; I have always run but before that I hadn’t raced. Both the road and the mountain running started that year.

How did you first get into the sport?

I had done a couple of marathons and a long mountain race in Wales. I decided to go and visit friends that I had met through a race, to escape my PhD, and they were entered in to a 40 mile track race. I had not run on the track since I was at school but decided to run the race because I was going to see them that weekend anyway.

The England selectors for the 100km team were at the race and from my time, and because I had won the race, they invited me to go and run a couple of weeks later and that is where it all started.

In the same year I had seen an article in a magazine on the Ultra Trail Tour du Mont Blanc and because I was due to be finished my PhD that summer, I thought if I entered the race it was a good excuse to be in the Alps for a couple of weeks and be able to do some climbing.

So I did, and that was my first mountain race. When I entered it I didn’t even know if I would finish in the allocated time, but I did and I won the race. That’s where the mountain side of things really started off. Things kind of snowballed after that!

How was it to win the Tour du Mont Blanc for the first time as a relatively unknown runner?

I think it was quite surprising as nobody knew who I was; well there was nothing to know. I had no support at the race or anything like that.

2,500 people are at the race and as you run out of Chamonix you are straight on to trails and paths so you can imagine the volume of people.

So it was a long time before I was even running as I started way back in the masses. And then to work my way forward and to win it, it was quite unusual!

How long did that race take you?

That time it took me 26 hours, 50 minutes I think, and I went back this year and I won it again. But the course has got longer now and they have added another 5,000m of ascent and descent. Overall now it’s 9,500m climbing up and coming down, and this time I did it in 25 hours and 19 minutes.

Do you have a favourite race or event?

It’s hard to say because there are a lot of races that have been special to me in different ways.

The first time I did the Tour du Mont Blanc it opened up my eyes to a new world, because I didn’t even realise that kind of running existed really. So in that way it was very special.

Likewise the Zermatt marathon was my first marathon in the mountains, it is a classic marathon distance but climbs 2,000m during the race, and I hold the record for that one now. And for me Zermatt is a very special place because it is where I first went to the mountains when I was six, and in a way where things started for me, so it is always going to be quite special.

Do you do any other sports aside from running?

Yes I do a lot of ski mountaineering and mountaineering. And I also do yoga. I don’t drive so I am on my bike loads and just generally walk a lot.

Lots of your races take part in the mountains, yet your work life as an environmental researcher is often at sea. Which is your favourite environment?

They are both very special but in a different way. For me now it is harder to be at sea, because being away for two months at a time makes it difficult to continue with my running. And I actually get more sea sick these days too. I think the mountains are my first love but there is something very special about being at sea too.

What happens to your training when you are living out on a boat in the ocean for your work?

Well at the moment I am not doing any research cruises, the last one I did was Christmas 2006. Last time I went down to the Antarctic a work colleague and I bought the cheapest treadmill we could find from Argos which was about £60. And we used to have to tie it down to the outside deck and then take it back in again when we weren’t using it. But it never really worked that well, it was like running in treacle! They did have a small gym on the ship so I used to go down there but being in the bow of the ship when you are feeling a bit sea sick isn’t so good.

How often and how do you train?

It has just become normal to run everyday. But actual training will vary so much depending on whether I am trying to increase my speed for a flat road marathon, or if I am training for a 100km on the road or whether I am competing in the mountains. In the summer I train a lot in the mountains but then am also on my feet a lot during the day either mountaineering or hiking even when I am not training.

What is the furthest distance you train?

I can’t really say there is a maximum distance it really just depends on the races I am doing. Sometimes I might not do so much distance during training if I am racing every weekend.

During this summer I was racing almost every weekend, a marathon or longer, but then during the week I wasn’t putting so many miles in.

How many pairs of trainers do you get through a year?

Not enough! I tend to wear my road shoes on the trail, although I have just been given some trail shoes so I am going to try them out. But for road shoes I still just buy a cheap pair. I should be changing them every 6-8 weeks but I probably don’t change them as often as I should.

Do you do anything special to look after your feet? Do you get a lot of blisters?

I don’t actually tend to get many blisters at all, I’m quite lucky. I think my feet have just got hardened, they are not the prettiest of feet anymore, but I am lucky not to really get blisters.

In 2007 you set a new record running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu just days after reaching the summit of Ama Dablam. What kind of training do you have to do to prepare yourself for this kind of event?

The month before this race I wasn’t really running a lot because I was climbing Ama Dablam. So the key for something like this is to being used to long days, long hours on your feet, and having the perseverance to keep going. With a run like that, because there was so much ascent and descent, something like 10,000m of ascent and 15,000m of descent, then your pace is changing as you are going up and coming down.

There are sections when it is actually too rocky to run so you are just moving as fast as you can over that ground. So I think the key is to just be used to very long hours on your feet.

I think the thing for me is that I have such a high general level of fitness and that is just topped up from the running and races that I am doing. Then I just have to tailor my specific training to whatever I am working towards at that specific point.

Would you say the running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu was the toughest event you have ever done?

No, probably not. I don’t know what would be the toughest actually.

I have not yet learnt to get everything out during a race yet. I still finish quite comfortable. This is something I need to learn to do, to push my body further.

How long does it take your body to recover after an endurance event?

With the mountain races you recover a lot quicker than you do when the race is on the road. I think this is because it is a different type of running; you are changing your pace a lot during the race. I am lucky in that I tend to recover very quickly.

What do you eat during an event?

It varies so much on the kind of event it is. Up to a marathon distance I tend not to take too much on, but beyond that obviously it is necessary too. I prefer real food; I have not tried gels or anything like that. On a long race I would have chocolate, dried fruits, even bread and cheese if it is a long mountain race. It is much easier to eat on a mountain race than a road race where you are running at a much faster pace.

What sporting ambitions are you yet to fulfill?

Hundreds! I would like to see what time I can do for a fast marathon. But that would depend on a period of focused training. And I would like to go back and do 100km world championship again too. And there are lots of ambitions in the mountains too. I would like to do another long distance challenge in the Himalayas too. For me it is hard knowing what to focus on and when.

Have you considered the Marathon Des Sables in the Sahara?

Yes I would like to do it. It is just finding a year that it fits in for me. I often wish that I could have about five years all at the same time to fit it all in!

Do you have any plans to try and compete in the marathon at London 2012?

I don’t think that I would be fast enough; I would love to see if I can get the times, but I think that one is out of my reach.

Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

Ultra trail runner Lizzie Hawker is a member of The North Face UK athlete team, see www.thenorthface.com/eu for more details or call 01539 738882

Read our report from the Marathon des Sables 2008 here.