18 April 2015

Some of the UK’s top mountain running talented assembled in Betws-y-Coed this weekend as the sun shone down on the fifth annual mountain running camp, which aimed to give the athletes a positive training environment as well as giving them the chance to check out the course for the World Mountain Running Championships, which are being held in the region this September.

The camp kicked off in earnest with a review of the 2014 mountain running season, which highlighted the fact that GB & NI are the second strongest nation in the world behind only Italy. As well as winning five of the eight team medals on offer at the European and World Championships, there were also individual medals for Georgia Malir (coach: Andrew Henderson) and Robbie Simpson at the European Championships in Gap, France.

Malir took the European junior title with a fine run over an up and down course, and she’ll be hoping she can repeat that feat at a home World Championships on 19th September.

“It’s been great to have the opportunity to check out the course for the World Champs, which will enable me have the best preparation and hopefully help me to replicate my performance at the European’s last year.”

Saturday morning saw the athletes put through their paces with a series of uphill efforts on the World Championship course, which was basked in some welcomed spring sunshine. The afternoon saw a series of keynote speakers passing on valuable tips on the physiology of endurance training, preparing for success and downhill running.

However the highlight of the afternoon for many was a talk by Malcolm Brown, most well known for coaching the Brownlee brothers, titled ‘Winning at a home championship’. During the session Brown said:

“Staying calm and treating it the same as any other event is key. Pay attention to all the details but know that you can’t control them all.”

Of the camp and the team’s potential for success in this iconic year, GB & NI team leader Sarah Rowell commented:

“We’ve been privileged with the quality of speakers we’ve been able to attract this year and that has helped create an environment which is both performance focused and enjoyable at the same time. This was reflected with the amount of ongoing interaction throughout the weekend.

“The goal for the 2015 World Championships in Wales is to win a full set of team medals – a tough ask but one that we believe is achievable.”

For further information on mountain running, head to the British Athletics Mountain Running page.

Alternatively, to find out more information about the World Championships, head to www.wmrcwales.org