Race organiser Marc Laithwaite's words at the race briefing on Saturday morning really resonated with me.  He spoke about how it’s all too easy to get your head down and plod on, especially during the inevitable low points during a 50 mile race, and not appreciate where you are and what you’re doing.  Whinges and moans during the race quickly get forgotten afterwards and replaced with conversations about how great it was, yet when you’re actually there on the course and in the thick of it, it’s all too easy to ignore your surroundings.  Let’s not forget that the Lakeland 50 w

Picture the scene, it’s a beautiful day in May and I’m 21 miles into my first ever ultra race. My calves are cramping a little but life is good and I’m “enjoying the journey”. I climb up a stile only a mile or so from my home, a stile that I’ve been over dozens of times, and I lose concentration as I jump down the other side. My right ankle buckles and I hear a gut-wrenching tear as I collapse in a heap.