[Editor’s Note: This article was written by guest contributor — and cross-country running fan — Lydia Thomson of the U.K.]

“Who’s the man within the white headband?”

The 2024 British Athletics Cross Problem London senior males’s cross-country race at Parliament Hill in London, England, begins as many would predict. High British cross-country runners Mahamed Mahamed, Hugo Milner, Jamie Crowe, and Jack Millar are all within the lead pack. Additionally, there’s a face maybe unknown to most of the staunch followers of British cross nation, that of British ultrarunner Tom Evans.

From the gun, Evans tucks in neatly amongst the entrance runners and really leads for a time. That assured stride is all too acquainted to the followers of the extremely scene, however to the typical spectator at Parliament Hill on Saturday, January 20, he’s a wild card in a white headband bearing the emblem of certainly one of his sponsors, Crimson Bull.

Spectators at the present time might not know of Evans’ win on the 2023 Western States 100 or third place on the 2022 UTMB, to not point out his wins on the 202o Tarawera 100k and the 2018 CCC.

Tom Evans cannot solely win the Western States 100, which he did in 2023, however he can even combine it up on the entrance of a British cross-country race. Picture: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks

And equally, followers of ultrarunning might have but to be taught of his involvement in cross nation. However Evans will not be new to the cross-country circuit. An idle browse of his Energy of 10 profile, a outcomes and rating web site run by British Athletics, reveals that he’s been in podium positions in cross-country races since his pre-ultra days.

In his newest cross-country season, he began with a win on the 2024 Leicestershire and Rutland County Championships males’s race in early January. His spouse, triathlete Sophie Caldwell, received the ladies’s race. His Energy of 10 profile reveals 5 cross-country races for the season, together with two wins and two second locations. His cross-country season culminated on the 2024 World Athletics Cross Nation Championships in Serbia, the place he represented Nice Britain and bought inside the highest 50.

However again to the British Athletics Cross Problem London race. Certainly, commentators on the race’s livestream speculate about how lengthy he would stay within the lead pack, referring to him as an ultrarunner who’s “very accustomed to the extremely distance.” Within the race’s last levels, they concede that he’s a silent murderer “biding his time” on the heels of triathlete Milner.

Finally, Evans finishes in second place, simply three seconds behind Milner, with Mahamed in third. Revealingly, Mahemed went on to put fourth on the TCS London Marathon on April 21, 2024.

In a post-race interview by Andy Hobdell, who coincidentally was Evans’ earlier coach, Evans shares that he was doing cross nation to get actually match and powerful forward of UTMB later this yr. He says he’ll be going for the win at UTMB and needs to develop into the primary British male to take the title.

Ultrarunning and Cross Nation: Two Totally different Disciplines

However why cross nation? Ultrarunning and cross-country operating will not be widespread or pure bedfellows, notably on the elite stage.

We all know many elite middle- and long-distance athletes use cross nation to construct energy for highway and monitor races — however ultras? Certainly cross nation is simply too brief and spicy for an ultrarunner to excel at.

Not so, say Evans and several other different elite runners who combine ultrarunning and cross nation fairly nicely. For Evans, the advantages embrace enhancing “velocity and talent to run quick over altering terrain (mud, hills, and extra), in addition to training the race craft and techniques. You possibly can’t afford to make one mistake in a 30-minute race.”

If you happen to can extrapolate that mentality to a 100-mile race, all of the sudden, these extremely techniques are exponentially fine-tuned. Evans additionally used this season to remain contemporary whereas he ready for the summer time on the paths. “Cross nation was the principle aim,” he says, “however with the larger aim of getting quick and shifting thresholds to higher prep for the mountains with out doing loopy quantity and vertical over the winter.”

American multi-sport athlete Max King, who’s dizzying in his athletic variety and competes in all the things from steeplechase to snowboarding to ultramarathons, can be no stranger to a cross-country season. He’s completed all the things from putting second on the 2021 Canyons 100k to profitable the 2018 Damaged Arrow Skyrace 26k. He’s additionally tried pack burro racing.

“Do you must race cross nation to assist your ultrarunning? Most likely not,” King says. “Do you must work on that velocity and quicker endurance to achieve ultrarunning occasions? Completely. It’s possible you’ll not have to race cross-country occasions, however you do have to work on the identical physiology programs sooner or later within the coaching cycle. Ultrarunning is getting quick, and you must run quick to maintain up with the pack.”

British ultrarunner and coach Robbie Britton will usually compete in each so long as they match collectively nicely. He says it “feels prefer it makes me sturdy and quick for the yr forward.”

Likewise, British ultrarunner Richard McDowell says, “I just about at all times race a full season of cross nation for my membership through the winter.” Nevertheless, in a extra recognisably ultrarunner trend, he would “steadily run to and from races if viable to get some respectable miles in on prime of the race.”

Richard McDowell (sporting bib 334) is certainly one of a number of ultrarunners who’ve additionally discovered success in a lot shorter cross-country races. Picture courtesy of Richard McDowell.

Adaptation, flexibility, incorporation. The method of integrating a cross-country race right into a coaching plan could also be acquainted to the broader path operating and ultrarunning neighborhood. The marginally crowbar dedication may additionally be fairly particular to the British membership cross-country scene, the place the alternatives to race are frequent, and taking part as a approach of representing and giving again to your membership is a big half.

So when Evans places on his Lewes Athletic Membership vest to compete in Britain’s prime cross-country races, it’s sort of an enormous deal.

Historical past of Cross Nation

Cross nation originated in Britain within the early 1800s as what was referred to as “hare and hounds” racing. The hare runners would set off a couple of minutes earlier than the hounds, typically leaving a literal path of papers for the hound runners to observe.

The game developed over the approaching years into the iteration we now recognise — operating a marked route throughout nation fields — and the primary English Nationwide Cross Nation Championships had been held in 1876. USA Monitor and Subject hosted their first USATF Cross Nation Championships in 1883. By 1973, the Worldwide Beginner Athletics Federation (IAAF) established the World Athletics Cross Nation Championships.

The game has come a great distance, however in Britain and elsewhere, the scruffy, scrappy roots of the game nonetheless ring true. Whereas advances in expertise and science have led ultrarunning towards one thing extra exact and engineered, the largest gear resolution you make that may influence your efficiency on cross-country race day is the size of your spikes. Nuance can truly be utilized even right here: former girls’s marathon world report holder and avid cross-country runner Paula Radcliffe reportedly typically runs with longer spikes within the entrance and shorter spikes within the again.

“Cross nation is the principle stepping stone for endurance within the U.Okay.,” says Evans. “County, regional, and nationwide championships at all times draw a very sturdy discipline. Having the European cross-country champs is a big driver, because it’s the right winter race for monitor, highway, and path athletes.” This has traditionally been the case and reveals no indicators of slowing down.

2024 U.Okay Inter-Counties Cross Nation Championships

Quick ahead to mid-March, and right here we’re on the 2024 UK CAU Inter Counties Cross Nation Championships. The primary-place finisher is assured a spot on the 2024 World Athletics Cross Nation Championships. The following two finishers are eligible to be thought of for choice. Runners are aiming for the win and settling for the rostrum.

Circumstances at Wollaston Park in Nottingham, England, are beneficial. After a humid winter, there has lastly been some drier climate. There’s even a little bit of sunshine. It’s going to be zesty.

The lead pack goes out scorching and the race shortly strings out. Evans places himself within the entrance proper from the beginning. The wall of runners surges uphill and tapers right into a pure order. Jack Millar and Jamie Crowe are within the combine once more, together with Scott Stirling, one other prime British cross-country runner.

It’s a 10-kilometer course with two brief laps and two lengthy laps. By the final lap, Crowe has fallen off the entrance and Millar appears to have run out of steam. From the again of this lead pack, Calum Johnson, who’s been efficiently in British cross nation since he was a youth, creeps to the fore.

Evans has a brand new sparring buddy, however within the last stretches, the elastic between them extends uncomfortably. I can’t watch. There’s a hill, and I count on ultrarunner Evans to make his transfer right here, however Johnson flies forward, leaving Evans grimacing.

“It’s not over but,” declare the commentators. It’s a protracted downhill to the end, there’s time but for issues to alter. Certainly, there may be — from behind, the place Stirling is gaining on Evans.

It’s now not only a battle for first however for the entire males’s podium. Finally, it’s Johnson’s grin that breaks the tape. Evans appears to be shedding second place as Stirling strides up alongside him, however mere metres from the end, Evans digs once more and holds his second-place place by milliseconds.

It’s all simply so shut. It’s exhilarating.

Success in a Number of Distances and Forms of Races

For some, it’s this neck-to-neck racing of cross nation that appeals.

Max King has been competing in cross nation since highschool and says, “I’ve at all times gravitated towards it and its simplicity. I’m additionally a aggressive individual, so I’ve at all times preferred the facet of cross nation the place you’re immediately racing different folks.”

He factors out that that is the place ultrarunning and cross nation can actually differ. In an extremely, hours can go by out on the course the place you don’t see anyone. Certainly, your nearest rivals are imaginary demons, entities solely in time splits should you’re lucky sufficient to get them. Sure, many quicker ultras may give us nail-bitingly shut competitors for miles at a time, nevertheless it’s not the mass huddle of spikes and elbows that cross nation conjures up.

Max King has been racing cross nation for a very long time, together with on the 2011 World Cross Nation Championships. Picture: Mike Scott

In the course of the next week, it’s introduced that Evans has been chosen to signify Staff Nice Britain a number of weeks later on the 2024 World Athletics Cross Nation Championships in Serbia. That is the place all of it begins to really feel a bit bonkers, having a extremely profitable ultrarunner make a cross-country nationwide group.

Little question, this implies extra to Evans than the skilled achievement alone. Shortly earlier than the cross-country season started, Evans was because of compete on the 2023 Extremely-Path Cape City 100k, however whereas on a coaching run in South Africa, he was attacked and mugged at knife level. He returned dwelling and didn’t compete within the race. He says, “I needed one thing to deal with after what occurred in Cape City, and qualifying for world cross felt like an amazing aim. My spouse is a professional triathlete coaching for Olympic choice, so it was good to remain at dwelling together with her and assist together with her coaching over winter, too.” Nothing could make up for experiencing a trauma like that which occurred in South Africa, however what a comeback.

Trying to compile an inventory of ultrarunners who’ve competed on the World Athletics Cross Nation Championships will not be a very straightforward activity. It seems that every year’s roster consists of maybe one or a few ultrarunners, nonetheless.

For a few latest examples, in 2023, Chinese language athlete Miao Yao was among the many choice and completed 66th. She went on to have phenomenal success the remainder of the yr, profitable the Extremely Path Ninghai 100k and putting third on the OCC. So there’s a technique within the insanity. The pursuit bears fruit.

A couple of different path runners had been on the World Athletics Cross Nation Championships this yr. Christian Allen, winner of the 2023 Speedgoat 50k, got here thirty seventh. Allie Ostrander, who received the 2023 Three Nook Rock PCT 50k, was thirtieth and second American. Evans completed forty ninth, third British runner.

Max King after taking seventh on the 2019 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Picture: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks

With the cross-country season over, the main target has moved on to heat, dry trails as an alternative of chilly quagmires of mud. However all that work, slipping and clipping alongside rivals whereas heaving frosty breaths into lungs to push just a bit nearer to the road, is all within the system now.

As Tom Evans rolls into the primary mile of his 2024 UTMB lap round Mont Blanc, I ponder if his mud-splattered membership vest will cross his thoughts.

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