Ultra X Trail Race, 14 Sep 2025

This weekend I very spontaneously entered the 11km race at Ultra X England. I was working at registration for the other races they offered, when the boss asked if I wanted to run after my shift on the Sunday. I was planning on a long run anyway so why not race it. The course was on the trails in the Peaks, it had 500m of elevation and some very technical sections.

The race set off and we all quickly singled out to fit along the narrow path I had one of my friends in front who was dip diving between runners so I started to follow him. At the base of the first climb I tried running up but quickly realised it was spending more energy than a quick walk would. So started a fast long strides with my hands on knees. Once at the top it felt like getting off the bike in a triathlon, my legs were so heavy!

Along the ridge was my favourite part, on the descent I wasn’t as confident but wanted to keep my friend in sight so still ran and jumped down the path. Much to my disappointment I very quickly lost him on the descent.

At the bottom I got slightly lost but ran back on path to the finish and was very excited to see the finish tape up ahead. It was downhill through the line and such a great feeling to end the weekend.

This was my first ‘trail race’ and I loved it. I will definitely be entering more as we get into winter!

Thank you for Tim and his training plans constantly having me ready for anything – I think my running and general endurance is at a great place at the moment and I can’t wait to see what else I can challenge myself at.

Zoe Palmer