Name: Terry Tillotson

Occupation: Heating Engineer

Home Town: Wakefield

Questions

What is your running background?

I’ve been running for over 30 years but had an 8 year break when my daughters were little. I started running again in my late 30s to combat my increasing waistline.

When did you first start running Ultra marathons and why?

I’d completed a few marathons and wanted a new challenge so a friend at my running club suggested I do an ultra. I completed my 1 st ultramarathon in 2017 and complained the whole way round. I must have enjoyed it though as I continued to enter more races and increased my distances.

When or where (at which events) are we most likely to see you?

Punk Panther events got me into ultras but I now mostly run Hardmoors events in the North York Moors.

What are your personal key running achievements to date?

I’ve had a couple of decent results at the Hardmoors 160 and at Endure 24 in Leeds.

What was your hardest experience?

In 2018 I competed in the Hardmoors 55 when the Beast from the East hit and we all nearly died from exposure. The same year I completed the Hardmoors 110. I’d never run that kind of distance before, I was underprepared and my kit was shocking. I pretty much hobbled the final 30 miles with badly blistered feet. It was really tough but I learnt quite a few lessons!

What is your typical race strategy for an ultra?

Try to run at a pace that I can sustain for a long time rather than banking time. Unfortunately, I don’t always remember to do this.

What does a typical training week look like?

I normally don’t follow a training plan and just run about 3 times per week and vary the miles depending on what I fancy doing. Since getting my Spartathlon place I have increased my training volume and tried to be a bit more structured, doing a mixture of long runs, speed runs and back to back runs.

What one tip would you pass onto people running an Ultra marathon for the first time?

Ignore what everyone else is doing – they’re either really good or have gone off too fast so just run your own race.

Tell us one interesting fact about you?

As a kid I did BMX racing and was 2 nd in the country in my age group.

Have you taken part in the Spartathlon before?

No

How did you get on at Spartathlon?

N/A

What tip would you pass on to those taking part for the first time?
N/A

What are you looking forward to at the Spartathlon race?

Just finishing.

What are you not looking forward to during the Spartathlon race?

Being completely out of my depth and being swept up by the broom wagon early on.

How will you prepare specifically for the Spartathlon race?

It’s the 1 st time I have been really serious about my training and followed a training plan. I’ve also been doing some heat training,

Will you be bringing any support crew to the race? (If so, please introduce them briefly)

My wife, Rachel, is my crew at most races and is coming over to Greece to support me. She will be joined by one of our daughters, Darcey, who is flying over from Australia. She has told me that I need to finish to make it worth her while.