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Julia Davis | GB Ultra Runner
379 Plays1 year ago
On 3rd November 2023, Julia will be taking on the 100k race at Kullamannen - a race set along the rocky shores of Sweden's Kullaberg.
Representing Great Britain, she already found success at the UTMB World Series in 2023, after returning to racing in 2022 from having her son.
Julia discusses:
• How she trains on the Cornish coast path for mountain races
• Balancing family life and international competitions
• How she got into running, and her journey to competing in 100 kilometre + races
• What's special about Kullamannen and her predictions for the competition
You can follow Julia on Instagram
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Transcript
Introduction to Julia Davis and Her Ultra Marathon Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the UK Run Check podcast. In today's episode, Michelle speaks with GB ultra marathoner Julia Davis. On the 3rd of November, 2023, Julia will be taking on the 100k race at Kullermanen, a race set along the rocky shores of Sweden's Kullaberg. Representing Great Britain, Julia already found success at the UTMB World Series in 2023 after returning to racing in 2022 after having her son.
00:00:27
Speaker
Julia discusses how she trains on the Cornish coast path for mountain races, balancing family life and international competitions, how she got into running and her journey to competing in 100 km plus races, what's special about Kula Manon and her predictions for the competition. Today we do have sponsoring the podcast our partners Oladance with their True Open Ear earbuds Oladance wearable stereo.
00:00:55
Speaker
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00:01:25
Speaker
Do enjoy this chat between Michelle and Julia, and we will see you on the next episode.
Inspiration and Early Running Days
00:01:31
Speaker
Hi, Julia. Thanks so much for joining us on the UK Run Chat podcast today. Would you just like to give our listeners a little introduction to yourself? Yeah, hello. I'm Julia. I am an ultra distance runner based in Cornwall. I've been running ultra distance for about five years now. I had a baby nearly two years ago, so
00:01:53
Speaker
been a bit of a comeback in the past, especially in the past year. So yeah, yes, that's where I'm at at the moment. Oh, lovely. So just how did you get into it? Have you been running long apart from the ultra marathon distances? When did you first start running? I started running about 10 years ago. So I started running so that I wanted to run a marathon essentially to raise money for a hospice where my granddad had been treated.
00:02:20
Speaker
Um, my dad and my two of my sisters have always been runners. So they run, ran at school and my dad run, has run hundreds of marathons. Um, so it's always been in the family, but I never thought I would join in, but yeah, I guess that was my gateway. Um, so yeah, so I run the London marathon for the Christie hospital. And since then, yeah, I did a few road marathons and then realized that actually trail running and ultra running was more my thing.
00:02:46
Speaker
So yeah, that's where I've been. So tell us a little bit about that first taste of trail running then. Well, at the time, I guess the first trail race I ever did was a half marathon, like a maverick race, half marathon in Snowdon. So I just signed up for it thinking, oh, that'll be fun, having no idea at all, having never run up a mountain already on any other trails apart from the coast path in Cornwall.
00:03:11
Speaker
So yeah, I just did it and I absolutely loved it. I loved that it actually wasn't a half marathon. It was a bit further. I think I even got lost and added on an extra couple of miles, but I just loved it. I love the buzz and I love the vibe and it just feels like a nice niche of the sport that just really resonates with me.
00:03:30
Speaker
Yeah, you always seem to get a bit more value, don't you, from a trail race? Yeah, a bit of mileage. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, but then you get cheated if it's just under the mileage. So I think sometimes you're like, oh, it's really shy. But yeah, no, it's really good. I do love it.
00:03:48
Speaker
So you were hooked and you've obviously discovered that you have a talent for long distance. So you've represented Great Britain in international competitions, haven't you? So how did that come
Achievements and Balancing Life Post-Motherhood
00:04:00
Speaker
about? How did you first get involved racing competitively? Well, this Great Britain vest that I had for the World Champs was my first GB vest. So it had been a dream for a while and I knew that
00:04:17
Speaker
I don't know, if I had like a really good comeback, then I had a chance of potentially being selected. So I targeted doing the Arc of Attrition 50 mile at the start of this year, as a kind of proof that I was like back in fitness after having my son and just seeing how it felt again. And yeah, so I came second on that race, but both me and the girl who won, we beat the previous course record by a really good margin, I think an hour and a half.
00:04:47
Speaker
maybe. So we both got selected for the team, which was amazing. Yeah, and it was an absolutely incredible experience. Yeah, my sister is also a GB mountain runner, but she runs the shorter distances. So she was on the same team, but running short where I was running long. Yeah, that must be really exciting then to get selected to run for your country. It's the best feeling ever. It still feels like it was a dream. But yeah, it was absolutely incredible.
00:05:18
Speaker
So how did, I mean, you say you've had your son two years ago, how, you know, how do you get motivated to kind of get back to it, not only to kind of get out running for yourself, but to be competitive? Like, I'm honestly in awe of you here, Julia. I do question it myself at times. I sometimes think, oh, God, I'm so tired, because I have a job as well. So I work three days a week. And I like I run
00:05:46
Speaker
on the side as well but um I think I just I just I love it I gave myself three months off after I had him and I wondered how it would feel coming back but I just I absolutely loved it I loved feeling strong and building back again and going into bigger competitions I was like oh how will it feel but I actually I just think I felt so proud being able to show him what I can do and he's like an extra motivation I think he's probably the the biggest motivation I've gotten out
00:06:15
Speaker
be like, yeah, it's not easy being a mum who has a lot of stuff to do. But you can still trust your dreams and it doesn't have to put an end to it. Yeah, so I mean, how do you fit that in? How how rigid is your training plan around your family now? I well, I do I don't do a lot of double days anymore. So before I had Woody, I used to do a lot more
00:06:38
Speaker
double like double run days, things like that. But I now I run as soon as I get up usually is my kind of window of opportunity for running. And so my partner will look after Woody while I go and train in the mornings
00:06:53
Speaker
My work actually has a C Tuesday every Tuesday morning. So we don't have to start until 10. So I can usually get a decent run or session in then and then yeah, the weekends, Saturdays and Sundays are pretty key. But my partner is really supportive. And he's really keen for me to do as well as I can. But yeah, it's just it's just fitting in. I guess you just have to be super strict. And whereas I used to procrastinate before I went for a run. And I just can't I've just got to be ready out the door, get on with it.
00:07:20
Speaker
And yeah, it's given me good discipline. And I think it's, yeah, it's always definitely worth it. Yeah, I guess it's helped you figure out what your priorities are, hasn't it? So you've realised that you, you do enjoy it, you do just need to get out and do it. Yeah, and it makes it makes me a better mum. It makes me a better person when I've had my vent of time on my own, and just doing what I love doing. And I come back feeling revitalised and, and ready. So yeah, it's really important.
00:07:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's so important, isn't it? So yeah, talk to us a little bit about the World Championships in May then.
Challenges at World Championships and Training Strategies
00:07:57
Speaker
How was that? Tell us a bit about your experience. It was it was incredible. The whole thing was amazing. Being there with my sister was extra special. My parents came as well and Woody and my partner Dan, they all came. So it was really nice to have so many people there. And it just to be honest, it just all felt like such a dream. The opening ceremony just felt mad with
00:08:18
Speaker
all the different nations there. And because they've combined the short, like the short VKs, as well as like the right up to the long trail, there were loads of athletes across like different disciplines of trail running, which is a reasonably new thing for trail running. But yeah, my I mean, my race was the hardest race, I think, well, definitely the hardest race I've ever done. It took, yeah, it was just over 13 hours.
00:08:47
Speaker
And it was, it had six and a half thousand metres of climb over 86 kilometres, which is the furthest I've run and by far the most vertical gain I've had. And having had a Woody, like, I think he was one and a half at the time. I hadn't, I hadn't had loads of time to just go and train in the mountains and be there like some of the other athletes had. So I just, I had to make do with what I could running in Cornwall and
00:09:13
Speaker
trying to do heat training to be able to adapt to altitude just kind of being a bit clever with what I could do so my coach was really supportive in trying to help me work out how best to approach it but I felt ready and I think your first GB vest is super special and it's all a learning curve as well which I was very yeah always reminded of by the GB coaches that
00:09:35
Speaker
you get your first vest and you learn what it is to be a GB runner and you can progress from there. And I've learned so much from it. And yeah, it made me hungry to want to do more. Oh, that's really good. So let's delve into that a little bit more then. So what have you taken away from it then? What have you learned? What will you kind of do differently next time? There's a lot of things around nutrition. So I've changed things like hydration strategies. I've changed things around that.
00:10:05
Speaker
taking on more electrolytes so I've had tests with precision hydration to work out my sweat rates because I had some issues with dizziness I think because I wasn't hydrating properly. But then also I guess on the positive side just realising that I can tough things out so although it was incredibly hard and I think a lot of people didn't realise just how hard the race would be but
00:10:27
Speaker
don't think anyone said it was an easy day out. But I can just I can tough it out and I can get to the end and I can push really hard. And yeah, I think I've just learned that spending time in the mountains is important if you're going to be doing a mountain race. And now that Woody's getting a bit older, it means that we've got a bit more flexibility to be able to do that in the future. And it's yeah, just shows you how if you really want something what maybe you have to do. Yeah.
00:10:55
Speaker
So talk to us a little bit about your training then because you're based in Cornwall. It's obviously very hilly, but it's not mountainous, is it? How do you mimic, you know, the training that you need for a mountainous race? Well, the best I can do is I do a lot of continuous hills. So I'll find my biggest climb. So like about a mile from my doorstep, I can get to Chapelport Beach and then there's a trail that takes me all the way up to the top of a place called the Beacon.
00:11:24
Speaker
that's probably the longest climb I've got and it that takes me just under 15 minutes so if you it's not that long compared to a mountain that will take over an hour and a half to climb but if I just go up and down up and down and just do the best I can strength work as well
00:11:40
Speaker
can help some of the impact that you then get on your on your quads from from mountain running but yeah it doesn't it doesn't make it perfect and then I guess the other aspect is the altitude so that's something that I definitely did struggle with at the world champs but
00:11:58
Speaker
what I did to be able to prepare where I didn't have altitude, tents and things like that was I did heat training. So I've got an indoor bike. So I just wore as many clothes as I possibly could and did heat training three or four times a week. So for half an hour, I would just sweat it out on the bike. And I actually really do think that helped me to adapt to altitude. And also the race ended up being really quite warm. So I felt ready in that way for that. So I think you can be creative.
00:12:28
Speaker
And yeah, having small children can be limiting but there's ways you can try and do your best around it.
00:12:37
Speaker
Yeah, it just shows what you can do there when you think outside the box a little bit though, doesn't it? I guess. And yeah, I think what you said there was interesting about realizing that you could tough it out. I think I don't know. I think motherhood does kind of teach us that as well, doesn't it? That we are tougher than we think sometimes. Definitely. I think you realize there's a whole other realm of like within you that of like plowing through tiredness or
00:13:04
Speaker
Yeah, just working with feelings of frustration with yourself or what's going on and you just know how to ground yourself in a completely different way. But yeah, I'm definitely a different person now than I was before I had Woody. Yes.
Race Experiences and Adjustments
00:13:23
Speaker
So talk to us a little bit about, you did another big race last year, didn't you? After the World Championships, we were chatting about it a little bit before we started recording this.
00:13:33
Speaker
Yes. TDS. Yeah, so TDS was my A race this year. But yeah, so I did so much preparation for it. And it was, yeah, I was really excited for it. Usually TDS is a really hot race. Usually, yeah, people are battling with mid 30 degree heat, but this year was a bit different. I saw that it was going to be a bit snowy.
00:14:03
Speaker
like the few days before and I prepared myself for it. I did know it was going to be bad weather. So I guess I'd mentally prepared that I knew it was going to snow in the nighttime. But as we got to morning, it just it was getting colder and colder. And yeah, I just really struggled. I think my my body wasn't was just wasn't in in the game for and I plowed on and on.
00:14:27
Speaker
managed to get about 80k so close to halfway and I decided that I think that was it. I sat in an aid station and battled it out for quite a long time and luckily some a group of French men who had run TDS a good couple of times helped me come to the conclusion that it was a good idea to stop because the next section was similar to the one I just finished that was probably some of the most horrendous running I've ever done.
00:14:54
Speaker
But yeah, I again, I learned I was it was really frustrating to have to drop out but I learned a lot from it. Yeah, and I was surprised I even wanted to carry on when it was really quite difficult. But yeah, I guess you learn from in ultra running it, you don't always finish. And that's kind of part of the journey. No. Yeah, but you're always kind of testing your limits out aren't you I suppose? Yeah, definitely. How do you
00:15:22
Speaker
How do you strike that balance then between, we were talking about mental strength and realizing that you are tougher than you perhaps think you are. How do you determine that point when you think, right, it's not just a case of I need to push through it, I actually need to stop. That must be really difficult to come to terms with as an ultra marathoner who's trained to just keep going. I'm really interested to figure out what's going through your head at that moment. Yeah, it's hard.
00:15:52
Speaker
is, I guess, you know, you end up knowing your body so well. And you know that you know, I knew that I could physically carry on, I knew that I could mentally carry on, but I knew that I would end up being really unwell. I finished with my I think what was mild hypothermia. And I think if I'd have carried on another 20k to the next checkpoint, I think I'd have been in a really bad situation. And
00:16:18
Speaker
And I guess before I had Woody, I might've been more inclined to take a risk and see what happened, but I dropped back so far during the race that it kind of, I knew that things weren't going very well as well and I knew that I wasn't feeling good and I was just feeling more and more.
00:16:37
Speaker
just not like myself. And I just thought, I have a son, I can't risk this. This is it's not worth it. And there's other races, there's other things you can build for it's not the be all and end all to finish a race. Sometimes the like the glory is and actually knowing yourself and looking after yourself. And I think there used to be a mentality of just toughing it out and being really strong and strong is just like plowing your way to the finish and being cut off in an ambulance. But
00:17:05
Speaker
I think the mentality around a lot of that is changing. People want longevity in their careers now. So yeah, I don't want to be a one race hero.
Preview of 100k Kullermanen Race and Preparation
00:17:15
Speaker
So yeah, hence why I'm now running a race in Sweden. Yeah, well, yeah, so that, that brings us nicely, doesn't it, to the, now, am I pronouncing this correctly? Is it Kullermanen? Yeah, I think that's it. Yeah.
00:17:33
Speaker
So it's 100k race in Sweden. Yes. And yes, it's set along the rocky, the rocky shores of Sweden, I believe. So, yes. So yeah, tell us a little bit about it then. What are you expecting?
00:17:49
Speaker
Well, in my head, I'm anticipating it to be a little bit like where I live in Cornwall, but flatter. The weather looks like it's going to be fairly similar to Cornwall actually, maybe a little bit colder. So yeah, so I guess the flatness is surprising me a little bit and I can't quite get my head around running flat for that long. I think there's a thousand meters of gain. So I think they say you've got three mountains, but they're only
00:18:14
Speaker
300 metre climbs so not really mini mountains I suppose. But yeah the race starts at 10pm so nearly all of it will be in the dark which is an experience but yeah and like there's no crew allowed so it'll just be me out there well yeah just with a drop bag at 50k and yeah see if I can make it to the finish in a good time.
00:18:41
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. So you'll be running all through the night. How long are you expecting it'll take you then? What are your goals for it? I'm not really sure. I'm kind of, well, looking at finish times from before it, the women usually finish in around 11 hours, but I'm hoping to be, yeah, maybe as quick as I can be.
00:19:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's a qualifier for next year's UTMB finals as well. So as well as wanting to do really well there, it also means that I'll have a ticket to get into one of the UTMB races where you'll just compete against all the best trail runners in the world. Yeah. Well, yeah, it sounds really good. So tell us about what's in your, what do you carry with you when you're doing a long race like that? What's in your backpack?
00:19:31
Speaker
So there's always I mean the mandatory kit which is usually
00:19:35
Speaker
decent waterproof, so a decent waterproof jacket, gloves, hat, just emergency base layers, emergency head torches, that's the head torch is my biggest worry at the moment, because I'm just dreading my head torch running out, but I will have backups, but yeah, yeah. And then just nutrition. So having my nutrition all planned out. There's a drop bag, so I'll be able to have half of it
00:20:02
Speaker
with me at the start and then just refill, get rid of all the empties and restock at halfway. I try to take on about 75 grams of carbs per hour, so I've had a plan around that, of course both drinks and gels.
00:20:21
Speaker
So yeah, like we don't have, you don't have to carry as much in this race as in some of the other races, but I think that's because you're not actually going up and down big mountains. So it's easier to get people off the course, slightly less risk, but yeah, you're completely responsible for yourself. No crew. Yeah, I think it's kind of good when it's like that though. I quite like it when I'm not having to rely on somebody to come and crew me. And yeah, hopefully I'll see Dan, my partner in Woody at the end. Oh, nice.
00:20:52
Speaker
So I mean, how do you mentally prepare then? So this, this race would be quite different because you'd be running throughout the night time. Is that different to preparing for, say, a daytime event? Yeah, so I've had to make sure that I've had plenty of nighttime miles in my training. So I've, I think some people like to do the thing where they go out at, they'll start at 11pm and go and do a run through the night. But
00:21:19
Speaker
is not really viable with a toddler when I then can't sleep during the day. So I've been leaving the house at half five, six o'clock in the morning. The past couple of weeks, that gives me a couple of hours of dark. Even a few runs in the evenings just to get used to running in a head torch. But I mean, at TDS, most of the race this year until I dropped was at nighttime. So it's given me confidence that I can do really tough terrain in the dark.
00:21:47
Speaker
But yeah, I guess all of it is such an adventure anyway. That's kind of one of the beauties of ultra running because it's not running a flat road marathon where very little really changes from city to city. It's always just, it's kind of one of the fun things is adapting and learning and learning something about yourself and how can you cope with a situation that's different or difficult.
00:22:11
Speaker
And I guess that's why I like to sign up for races that are in different places, different start times, different heat, like temperatures, climates. It's kind of part of the beauty of it. Yeah. Have you been to Sweden before? I've been to Gothenburg, but not properly seen Sweden. So I'm quite excited to do that. It's actually really...
00:22:32
Speaker
The place where we're going in Sweden is actually really, really close to Denmark. So it's actually a two hour drive from Copenhagen. So everyone's saying it's Sweden, and then all my Swedish friends are saying it's not actually Sweden, because it's only just the entry point of Sweden. But I think it's yeah, it'll be good to see it. And yeah, it's a new place. And I'm glad that my partner and Woody get to come along as well.
00:22:57
Speaker
Yeah, that'll be a nice, a nice family outing, really, won't it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think you see the rest of the country while you're there. Yeah, we've got a few days and we're hiring a car. So we're going to see as much as we can. Sweden is enormous. But yeah, we'll see as much as we can around that area, which makes it extra. It's kind of makes it extra nice to be able to travel to a race and then have a bit of a holiday after.
00:23:24
Speaker
Yeah, it is an adventure I guess, isn't it? Yeah, yeah definitely.
00:23:29
Speaker
So during the race itself, do you have to navigate that yourself? Or is the course all marked out for you? Is that an extra mark? I think they've even got reflective markers, so you won't be able to go wrong. Luckily, because I'm not very good at navigating. But yeah, I usually put it on my watch, regardless, just in case something terrible happens. But I think it's a fairly easy to follow route. It's on a national trail. So yeah, theoretically, it should be easy to follow.
00:23:58
Speaker
Yeah, because the thought of traveling 100k and thinking, how do you stay on track? That must be quite daunting. But if it's all nicely marked out, then that's fine, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I think I put it on my watch as well. But yeah, it should all be nicely marked out. But there's races where you think, oh, it should be easier following a trail and you can still go wrong. On the Cornish Coast path, you can still go wrong as well. You think it should be simple. Keep the sea on your left or right. But it's not always that simple. Yeah.
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I guess I guess living in Cornwall, it must be it must be really good training for the rocky coastline of Sweden anyway. Yeah. Yeah, it gives it gives me confidence that there's there's quite the terrain on the Cornish coast path, although it's not mountainous, it can still be quite technical and
Advice for Aspiring Ultra Runners
00:24:45
Speaker
demanding. And it's also really varied. So you actually can replicate quite a few different terrains just from the Cornish coast path itself. Yeah.
00:24:56
Speaker
Oh, well, that's great. I will. Yeah, I wish you all the very best with that race then. And you'll have to let us know how you get on. Yeah, thank you. Hopefully you get points you need for next year. So what are you planning for next year then? What are your hopes and dreams for 2024? I haven't got anything solidified yet. I'm toying with the idea of going to either Tarawera, which is in New Zealand, or going to Canyons, which is in the States. So both are on the UTMB
00:25:25
Speaker
World Series. Those are kind of some ideas of some of my A races with the I mean, my I guess my my big A race will be either CCC or UTMB at UTMB week. So my whole I'm on the Essex team. So the whole Essex team goes across for UTMB week and it's just really nice to all be together. So cheering each other on across all the different distances. So yeah, I hope to be there again this year.
00:25:53
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, lovely. I will all the best with that. Thank you. So final question for me then really is to anybody listening and thinking, yeah, I quite fancy getting into some longer distance. You know, where would you advise people start if they're thinking about moving to ultra?
00:26:10
Speaker
I'd say if you've done anything from like a half marathon, a marathon, it's no different to running just a little bit longer, a little bit further. I would say choose a place that inspires you for the race.
00:26:26
Speaker
There's plenty of race organizers as well, especially in the UK, where they're really friendly races. I know people like Maverick Race, they have different distances and some of them have ultras that are some of the friendliest and some of the most kind of entry point ultras out there. I would say if you think you can do it, you almost certainly can. Ultra distance, I guess. The one big thing is you need to learn to eat and drink as you go.
00:26:55
Speaker
So don't just get used to the running, get used to the eating as well. That's probably the biggest change. But I honestly think the best vibes are out there in an ultra. So if you're thinking about it, definitely do it. And especially women, like women with children in particular, don't like, don't negotiate your time to think, oh, I can't do it because it's too long, it's going to be too much training. It's no more training than it would be for
00:27:23
Speaker
a marathon. You don't have to give up hours and hours and hours and hours. It doesn't have to be that to complete an ultra and to feel comfortable and strong on the start line. So if you feel like doing it, then you definitely should. Yeah. Oh, no, that's really nice advice. And I agree. The ultra community is it's so nice, isn't it? And yeah, I've always felt really welcome there as well.
00:27:47
Speaker
Yeah, I think everyone, you just get welcomed as bit as the same as somebody who's done 50 ultra marathons, like to be your first one. And if people realize it's your first one, you're more likely to get even more stoked for you. So yeah, don't be shy, just go turn up and have fun. Yeah. Oh, well, thank you, Julia.
00:28:07
Speaker
Thanks so much for coming on. So if our listeners wanted to follow your progress, can they find you on social media anywhere? Yeah, probably the best place is to look on Instagram. So I'm Julia Davis 101 on Instagram. So that's usually where I put most of my updates. So yeah, and if you have any questions, always feel free to drop me a message. So yeah. Yeah, that's really kind. Thank you.
00:28:34
Speaker
Thank you. We wish you all the very best with your upcoming race next weekend. Thank you. Thanks so much. Yeah, take care.