Alison Walker is a British-based Malaysian ultra runner, who holds the record solo time for the Smog Graham Round - a 300km route visiting the highest points in all 32 boroughs of London. She has also been involved in the launch of our new TRAILFLY ULTRA G 300 MAX shoe. We caught up with Alison to talk all things ultra running.
How did you get into ultra running?
I first started running when I moved to the UK for university and joined the running club, mainly to make friends and be outside. There's something about running outside in the elements that I love. I find fresh air addictive. I also like indulging in a post-run cake/gin...
After a severe ankle ligament break in 2018, my physio recommended a book called Running up that Hill, by Vassos Alexander. One of the chapters talked about the 246km Spartathlon ultra race in Greece and somehow that grabbed me. I decided I was going to set out to achieve the qualifying time… bearing in mind I couldn't run without pain at this point!
I'm someone who needs a goal to drive towards when feeling low, and that gave me more motivation to do all my rehab and strength & conditioning. Once pain-free, my coach put me on a six-week marathon training plan to see if my body could handle the stress. I then embarked on a three-month plan to prepare for a 100-miler.
I signed up to the Samphire 100 - a looped course so that I could drop out if my ankle began to hurt. Despite the weather (it was March and held along the sea front), I managed to achieve my goal. I was hooked on ultras. I then did my first 24hr race, followed by some shorter 50-mile and 100km races.
The 2020 race calendar was pretty much wiped out by the pandemic so instead
I began researching routes on my doorstep which had Fastest Known Times
(FKTs), or records. That's when I came across the Smog Graham Round, which I
completed in September in 54hrs 33mins.
Since then I have moved out of London and now live in Yorkshire, with hilly
trails and fells all around. I'm learning lots of new skills and building my
confidence on off-trail terrain.
What is it about ultra running that appeals most to you?
I like the challenge of an ultra because you never really know what will happen! There is only so much you can prepare for in advance, both physically and mentally. The fun part is the surprises an ultra race throws at you. I've made pacing and nutrition mistakes to name a couple, but you learn from them and improve for your next ultra. I also secretly like the feeling of being broken at the end... there's nothing quite like post-ultra race swelling and DOMs… and eating ice cream & pizza all day, every day for the next week!
Ultras also tend to have a really nice atmosphere associated with them. Everyone chats at the start line and often during the race too. I find fellow ultra runners to be generally very encouraging and supportive. I guess everyone has that feeling of being in it together.
I've made some wonderful friends through the sport too. When I did my Smog Graham Round, many of them came out to support me. Who else could you ask to hang around at a 'checkpoint' in the middle of the night and wait for you?!
As someone relatively new to ultras, I haven't made the start line of any big international races yet. I look forward to soaking up the atmosphere of those, but there's no rush. When I feel equipped and ready for those races, I will do them.
Is there anything you don't like about ultra running?
The only thing is that you usually have to travel and stay overnight before a race. I never sleep well in a new place for the first night and often wake up really tired. That's probably why I choose many local races that I can drive to, as it allows me to minimise the stress. But obviously this is a very personal thing. When things return to some sense of normality, I will try and build in an extra night at race locations to settle into a pre-event sleep pattern.
Would you recommend ultra running to others?
Yes, definitely. If you like pushing yourself and testing your mental strength, I'd recommend doing ultras. Most ultra races usually have very generous cut-off times, which means that there is no pressure to run hard throughout.
I'd also say no to allow people's negativity to affect your own mindset (also part of the training). I've had someone say to me before that if you can't run a good marathon, you can't run an ultra. I found this very disheartening at first but have since used it to fuel my fire during races. I've also actually got faster over marathon distance since I started doing ultras!
So much of it is about pacing yourself and conserving energy, even if it involves walking. I sometimes see some of my ultra runs as an all-day picnic, with lots of running, chatting and eating... now why wouldn't you recommend that to others?!