Martha is a runner who enjoys ultra Running and trail adventures. She talks to Sundried about racing highs and lows.

Have you always been into sport?

Not especially, as a child I loved swimming and swam for my school. I tried ice hockey and tennis but never particularly stuck with a sport. In my early 20s I discovered running in a big way after watching my older brother run the London Marathon for the first and thought if he can do it, I can do it. Running helped to remedy the stresses of everyday London life and soon became a big part of my lifestyle.

How did you first get into triathlon?

I haven’t completed on yet, but I have my eye on a Ironman 70.3 event.

What has been your favourite race to date and why?

The Exmoor trail marathon in 2019, the route is incredible and follows some of the south west coastal path and takes you through forests, streams and fields of Exmoor.

What is your proudest achievement?

Completing the Manchester marathon without an injury in 2019 after taking 18 months out of running to recover and rebuild my knee strength. I didn’t know whether I would make it and if I might damage my knee again but I was fine!

Have you ever had any racing disasters?

Running in the heat really wipes me out, my first marathon was Paris marathon in 2017 and it was scorching 25 degrees. I don’t think there were enough water stations and I remember hitting the wall around the 36km mark. It was the hardest challenge to move one foot in front of the other and I really questioned why on earth I was running a marathon. In hindsight I don’t think I trained enough!

How do you overcome setbacks?

I like to think about why I’m running and what I want to achieve. Reminding myself of my goals and looking at the big picture puts the setbacks into context.

What advice do you wish you'd been given when you first started out?

Your body gives you a sort of ‘leeway’ period until you have to start nurturing it and training properly otherwise you get injured...

What are your goals?

To run my first Ultra of 57km in Exmoor. I hope to lose some gained lockdown weight in the meantime!

Who inspires you?

Sarah Williams, producer of the Tough Girl Tribe. She’s achieved a huge amount of challenges and creates a lot of content for The Tough Girl Challenges podcast to inspire women. It’s really opened my eyes and taught me how much is achievable – she’s also made a career out of her passion its very admirable.

Why work with Sundried?

The ethical approach the company upholds is really unique and the products are well thought out. I’m moving towards using sustainable brands and moving away from big name brands.