Kings of the Trail #188
Go Further & Explore More...
"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try."
Dolly Parton
Yiannis Kouros is possibly the greatest endurance athlete you’ve never heard of. He was a mediocre marathon runner, but when finishing races, he found that he was ready and keen to go further. While his competitors were struggling at the finish line, he still felt fresh. So in 1983 he entered his first ultramarathon, the 153 mile ‘Spartathlon’. He easily broke the course record by many hours. On his second attempt, he broke his own record, which stood unbroken for almost 30 years. Kouros went on to run, win and set records at some incredible endurance races in unbelievable times and held many world records for distances between 100 and 1,000 miles. Scientists put his incredible ability down to genetics, but Kouros had a different perspective, insisting it was all mental. “When other people get tired, they stop. I don’t. I take over my body with my mind. I tell it that it’s not tired, and it listens.” The amazing thing is if Kouros was never brave enough to try and see what he was capable of and didn’t continue to push himself to achieve great things, testing his limits, both physical and mental, then his talents could have gone completely undiscovered…
Until next week, be safe and enjoy the trails...
Carlos Garcia Prieto has one of the most unusual jobs in sport. He is the man who has to recce ultramarathon trail courses and ensure they are safe and suitable for the runners. From snarling dogs to guns in his face, this is his wild and adventurous story…
There is a satisfaction in overcoming hard challenges and hiking is no different…these trails will test you and reward you, but maybe not in equal measure…
It seems to be a paradox in running: despite the performance gap closing between women and men over longer race distances, the percentage of women participating is greatly reduced…
Fancy taking to the trails? This is a useful mini guide on how to get started in trail running, from shifting your road running mindset to training advice and gear recommendations…
📸 Guincho, Lisbon, Portugal
It had to be a Dolly Parton song this week, with her quoting leading the way. After her death streams of her music in the US rose an incredible 2,222 per cent…why is it that we seem to need to lose people before we fully realise their talent and appreciate them?! I chose this tune as it’s all about chasing down big dreams and longing to be free…
Each week, I update the Kings of the Trail playlist with a new selection of music. Like trail runs or hikes, the playlist will be varied and eclectic, but hopefully, there will be something for everyone to enjoy…
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