This weekend marks the 10th Anniversary of the 4th IAU World Trail Championships at Llanwrst, North Wales. 10 years on, Andy Murray isn’t the only Briton celebrating a 10 year victory anniversary.
Britains, Ricky Lightfoot was crowned World Champion on a very warm July day 10 years ago.We look back at the event and chat to Ricky about his memories of that weekend.
Ricky Lightfoot, World Ultra Trail Champion in 2013
Key facts from the weekend of 6th July 2013.
Popular Lake District runner Ricky Lightfoot was a clear winner, almost 10 minutes ahead of Florian Neuschwander from Germany. Julian Rancon of France took the bronze medal.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, led by Lightfoot, took the team gold medals. Local athlete Iain Ridgeway was 4th, Andrew James 11th, Matt Williamson 22nd and Craig Colgate.26th
Lee Kemp was also selected but sustained an injury just before the event, making him unable to compete.
The Womens race
Nathalie Mauclair of France was a similar clear winner in the Ladies’ race, 17 minutes ahead of compatriot Aurelia Truel. Italy’s Maria Chiara Parigi in 3rd.
The French were the clear winner of the women’s team prize. Parigi led the Italians to silver with Jo Zakrzewski, who finished in 4th, leading Great Britain to the bronze medals.
Great Britain’s other team members were Fionna Cameron (now Paulus) in 10th, Tracey Dean in 14th, Sandra Bowers 32nd and Izzy Wykes 36th.
Top three runners in Great Britains Bronze medal winning team L-R Jo Zakrzewski. Tracey Dean, Fiona Cameron. Pic Alastair Lye.
A full report of the event appeared on the World Athletics website
The event in North Wales was the 4th edition of the evolving world trail championship.
It was organised by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) biannually from 2007 to 2015. From 2016 until 2019, it was organised jointly with the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and alternated annually between an approximate 80km and 50 km distance.
With the growth of trail and Mountain Running, ongoing discussions between the IAU, ITRA and the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), encouraged by World Athletics, led to the inaugural World Mountain and Trail Running Association in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022. The second edition of which, was recently staged at Innsbruck-Stubai in Austrian June 2023.
The races in North Wales were staged in the Gwydyr Forest above the village of LLanwrst. The teams were based at the coastal resort of Llandudno, approximately 15 miles away.
A preview on the IAU website stated
“Runners will navigate their way through the trails, taking them amidst several scenic sections. The five laps on the 15km looped course will allow the athletes to test themselves on a technical and exciting course.”
Mauclair, would go on to be very successful over the next few years, placing third at both UTMB and Western States 100 in 2014. She then retained her IAU World Ultra Trail title at the next event in Anency in June 2015, over a much more technical course. In August of that same year, she took the victory at UTMB.
Lightfoot, would continue to be one of Great Britains top mountain and trail runners, winning races and national vests at different distances, while still holding down a full time job as a Member of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service.
We spoke to him on his memories.
AS. So here we are. Ten years on from that magical weekend in North Wales. First of all. Can you remember much about the course?
RL. I remember it being fast. I was thinking to myself, you know, we’ve got a few miles into it and I can remember thinking, “We surely can’t continue with this speed, you know, as everybody seemed to be, you know, hammering at it for quite a long time until eventually it was just me left at the end.
AS. Classic last-man-standing race, yeah.
RL Yeah.
AS. According to reports, it was five loops of 15k. You’re right about it being fast, as I think there was quite a bit of it on fire roads, wasn’t there? For a championship, it wasn’t that technical a course was it?
RL.No, I would say, to me, it was like a proper trail run. There was nothing too technical, but the worst it got was some rocky bits and roots alongside a bit of a pond or a lake. That was about as rough as it got. Even the downhill sections were all pretty fast and covered in pine needles.
AS. I think Julian and Florian, ( Frenchman Julian Rancon and German Florian Neuschwander, were with you early on, but then Julian, I remember, took a heavy fall, didn’t he?
RL Yeah. Julian did, yeah. He was up there for quite a long time, but I think that by the time he took his fall, I’d pulled away a little, and I think his falling, helped me extend my lead. He took a pretty big fall and landed face-first on the floor. But he still managed to finish I think. He came in third, didn’t he?
AS. He did and hung in very well because he was pretty beat up after his fall.
I remember it was extremely hot. Did you find you were struggling a bit with the heat?
RL. It’s a weird one because I can remember feeling the heat, but it didn’t affect me too much as it was just one of those days where, you know, sometimes you get a day like that. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand how many days I’ve had like that in 10 years. It was just a day where in the back of your head, I thought, “I’m gonna win this year. Of course, that’s a great feeling, but it doesn’t come along very often.
AS. Was there a point in the race when you realised you had put distance between the others and were thinking, “Hey, I could win this?”
RL. Yeah. The loop started with a bit of a climb, and was like, through some trees on pine needles. I remember I got to that section, with one lap to go, and Matt Ward was there. ( Matt is a well-known figure on the UK trail and mountain scene who, amongst other things, coordinates the Salomon-supported athletes in the UK). He said to us, “You’re in the lead by about seven or eight minutes. “And I was like, you’re joking. That gives us a boost because I felt good anyways. I just continued what I’d been doing. By the end, I pulled out a 10-minute lead, which was like, it surprised me.
Ricky Lightfoot starting the climb after the main aid station ,well in the lead.
I don’t know if you can remember it, Adrian, but I remember going to check the course on Friday. I ended up cutting things short with a migraine. I was feeling ill, and I had to go back.
AS. You did! I remember that. That was my next question.
I have a memory of you having that migraine, and as a result, you
didn’t get a proper look at the course beforehand, and you didn’t even get to the opening ceremony on the Friday night.
RL. No, I didn’t. I had to go and lie down, it was so bad, and I missed the opening ceremony.
AS. You had a miraculous recovery overnight. The extra rest did you no harm.
The other story I remember is after the race. They had the little flower ceremony in the little park at the finish immediately after the race. Then you came over to me and said, “Oh, that was a fun day, I’ll see you. I’m going back up the road now.” ( Driving back home to Cumbria.)
I had to remind you that there was a proper ceremony in the evening in LLadundo, where all the teams were staying. I remember telling you that if you went home then, there would be a ceremony in the evening where flags would be waved, and anthems would be sung, and it would be rather nice if the top of the mens podium wasn’t empty!
RL. That’s me, Adrian. I’m always in a rush. I’ve always got things to do.
AS. This will amaze some younger readers and any professional athletes reading this later, that you have just been crowned World Champion and have to dash off because you still held down a full-time job. I think you had a shift early the next morning, which you wanted to get back and rest up for.
RL> Yeah, I had to get to work for an early shift. (NOTE: Ricky is a full-time fireman, as well as a great athlete.)
It’s always been the case right throughout my running career. You know, if I can’t get the time off, I can’t get it off. I had three big wins in between that. I went to South Africa for two days, and I went over to Singapore for two days. I didn’t have the time to go out early or stay on and enjoy a few days because of work, but that’s just the way it is.
If you were to look at things, and I’m comparing it to the current world championships now. If you look at the depth in the field now, compared to back then, it probably wasn’t as deep, but I still had an amazing sense of pride to be standing up there representing Great Britain and taking the top spot.
Having said that, even though the field probably wasn’t as deep as it is now, the top three, four or five were all substantially good runners. Florian had run a 2.20 marathon not too long before( and also a sub 30 minute 10km). Julian has been at the top of his game for quite a long time now, and he’s just extended out into the longer stuff.
Iain Ridgwaywho was 4th, and although not an international star, was running close to seven hours for 100K at the time, as well as running well on the fells and trails. So it was a good field.
AS.So, you do end up at the medal ceremony. Can you remember being on the podium and that anthem being played? What sort of feeling was that?
RL. I can remember, but I think more of my memory of the day is obviously of the race. But yeah. It was a great feeling to win and be on that podium.
AS. Over the years, you’ve run for Britain at what was the WMRA World Mountain long course two or three times.
In 2013,the World Ultra trail, was copordinated by the IAU.(International Association of Ultrarunners) By 2019, the IAU had joined with ITRA (International Trail Running Association) to co-ordinate the event and raise its profile. It immediately became a larger event. You made the team for the 2019 event in Portugal. That year, it was only about 45K. As you alluded to, six years apart, the standard had risen quite a bit in that time ?
RL.Yeah, without a doubt. That’s the way things always go. If you had looked maybe six years before 2013 there was a small global championship getting off the ground. I can remember Angela (Angela Mudge) doing well at one of the early ones.
AS.Thats right. 2009, Angela was second and Lizzie Hawker was third in the women’s championship, in Chevalier,France.
RL. That was the early makings of the race. It’s a lot stronger and deeper fields now than it used to be, but I think it’s a good thing for the sport.
AS. It’s moved on even further now because you have Mountain Running involved in a joint championship with the World Mountain Running Association, (WMRA.) The recent champs in Innsbruck attracted over 1300 runners across all the disciplines. Do you think it’s a positive move, having the mountain running and trail running championships together now in one championship?
RL. In some respects it is, because athletes can focus on that race and then once that race is done, it’s done. They’re not focused on that and then trying to aim for another world championship. But in some respects, it’s not.
I saw the results but wasn’t following it too closely. I heard the up-and-down race was run a lot in the city, which is fine for spectators but,for m, doesn’t make it a real mountain.
I can understand why they’ve done it for spectator value,but my only worry is the more it becomes on television and libve streaming, the more popular it gets and the more money becomes involved. When it comes to more money involved, I think it spoils it a little bit. It’s happening with the National and Global Golden Trail Series too ,where they’re filming it, and streaming the full race. I think that’s great for spectators and getting people interested. But I don’t know, I just think it’s, you know, in some ways it’s good, in some ways it’s bad. But when money is involved, things aren’t always for the better.I guess it’s trying to strike a balance.
AS. Looking forward, what’s Ricky doing now? How much are you running? Have you got any adventures or races coming up this summer? Or are you just renovating houses? ( Ricky is in the middle of renovating a house!)
L. Well it’s been a funny year or so. I ended up picking up Covid before I did the three peaks last year. I can’t remember. It all merges into one. But I also picked up a chest infection when I raced Borrowdale last year. I thought I was over it, and then when I did the race, it comes on two-fold again, and it took quite a bit out of me. It took up until probably Christmas to get running properly again
I got married in January, and on the morning of the wedding, I went for a run. There was some black ice, and I slipped. I badly sprained my foot and ended up walking back. It meant I didn’t run for another nine weeks. I got myself running again, and have got to the point where I was fine, and everything was flowing. You know, when you didn’t feel like you were a robot when you were setting off. Then I went up to Arran with the lads, and it wasn’t a bad fall, but I slipped and banged my knee on a rock, so I had another four weeks of not being able to run or bike.
I’m training again now and I’m starting to do a few sessions, but I think this season for me is a bit of a write-off. I’ll probably do all right in a race. but I don’t want to turn up and finish second. I want to turn up and win.
AS. Good attitude.
RL. Yeah. I’m still training twice a day most days, in between renovating and looking after the two-year-old.
AS. Looking forward, do you still think your future is short to medium races? You’re not tempted by any of the big rounds or adventures like that? Having a serious attempt at a Bob or a Ramsay?
RL. Yeah, you know I have been put off attempting a fast Bob Graham. I always said I was going to do a fast Bob Graham after I did a winter one a few years back. I thought if I did it in winter, a summer one would be easy in comparison.
Over the years, I’ve either gotten injured or there’s been something else come up, and it time just slips away. Since Jack, well since Killian broke the record and then Jack beat Killian’s record , I feel there’s no way I can beat Jack’s record now. (Kilian Jornet 12:52 and Jack Keunzle12:23, who have both lowered the legendary Billy Bland, Bob Graham Record of 13:563, that was a target by many runners, for many years.)
For me to be able to do that, I would need to take six months off work, and I would have to buy an altitude tent and have to throw everything possible that I’ve got to attempt to even get close to that.
I think that’s put us off a bit. Why would I want to run a fast Bob Graham and maybe run it in 14 or13 hours? It doesn’t appeal to me anymore since that record’s been pushed far enough away out of my reach. There’s still a lot of stuff I want to do. There are races I want to run. There are different challenges I want to pick out for myself, but you know I enjoy running, I am addicted to running. It’s part of me, and I’ll do it for as long as I can. I haven’t raced for the last 12 months, but it hasn’t bothered us, I enjoy the training and getting oiuit there, so that’s all that matters.
AS. I think that’s a great point to leave it on. Like many of us, you’re a runner for life. It’s just part of your DNA.
RL. Yeah. I just want to keep active. It’s something I need every day, you know, and I know that, and I’m addicted to it. Even when I feel bad, I still go, but that’s just the way it is. You’ll know, Adrian.
AS. Ricky, thanks ever so much. I’ll leave you to get back to renovating your house.
RL. I’m at work today. This is the only time I can get to have this call.
AS. Even more, reason to finish here. Thankyou so much again for your time. We’ll leave it at that.
I’m sure you’ll be pinning a number on again soon.
RL. Well, hopefully.
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