Sophie Littlefair
As a teenager I’d been a reasonably good runner, representing Cambridgeshire and even becoming County champ on a few occasions. But the temptation of a night out and a few drinks was equally enticing. Unsurprisingly, my teenage self followed the path of fun and I hung up my running shoes.
A 15 year hiatus from all things physical followed, but with the encouragement of my now husband, I started commuting to work by bike and climbing at my local gym. To my utter shock and amazement, I enjoyed the feeling of being tired from something other than work or being hungover.
When my sister started running and smashed a 100 mile race, sibling rivalry spurred me on to trounce all over her achievement by becoming the world's best ultra-runner! What I mean to say is that she was and continues to be a massive inspiration to me and made these races look really fun and accessible. So, I started running more seriously again and in 2019 went from having only ever run a ½ marathon to completing 6 ultras by the end of the year. The aforementioned husband has done an excellent job of becoming my much needed race crew, much to his horror!
From the moment I watched Conquering the Dragon, I was captivated. I was completely taken by the possibility of doing the race but didn’t think I was good enough. I couldn’t stop thinking about it; I kept revisiting the website and race videos and over time somehow convinced myself that with the right training and my own specific brand of stubbornness, I could get one of those coveted baby dragons. So, on September 1st, I sat poised over my laptop with my trigger finger at the ready to enter the 2021 event!
With the support and coaching skills of Jen Scotney, I’m hoping to be in good shape by September 2021. I’m not one of those people that thinks they can get through challenges of this magnitude without careful planning and training, so I’m looking at the journey from Conwy to Cardiff not as 6 days, but as 9 months. Being based in London makes finding adequate training terrain pretty difficult, but if it means I have to run up and down the same hill 1000 times to be prepared, then so be it! When I can, I’ll be getting out to Wales, the Peaks and the North Downs Way (my nearest hills) so I can get some long days out on the right type of terrain and test out my kit.
Roll on September. Gulp!
