James Williams attempts Land’s End to John o’Groats world record attempt – Runner’s World (UK)

On 25^th May 2019, Saucony ambassador and ultra-runner James Williams will start an attempt to break a world record, running from the bottom of the UK to the top – Land’s End to John o’Groats. In this test of human endurance, he’ll need to run around 100 miles a day, sleep for around four hours per night and complete the challenge within nine days, two hours and 26 minutes.

We sat down with Williams to talk training, nutrition and kit ahead of his big day.

So firstly, what inspired this challenge?

Just over ten years ago I did my first Ironman triathlon – this is where it all started. I did four of these over the course of a few years and I really enjoyed the process of training. I soon realised I didn’t really enjoy the cycling part and was much better at running. A few years later I did the Marathon Des Sables, then more ultra-racing. I got a couple of race wins at 100km and 100 miles, and have been working towards London to John o’Groats in May.

How has your training been going?

It’s gone really well so far. I’ve been training specifically for London to John o’Groats for around a year with Mimi Anderson as my coach. She is the current female record holder for Land’s End to John o’Groats, as well as multiple other challenges. Training has gone pretty well over the last 12 months – it’s been about big mileage and getting used to running back to back. My biggest weekend was 80 miles on Saturday and 80 miles on Sunday. It went pretty well.

Nutrition wise, how are you going to fuel 100 miles a day?

I’m on a high fat, low carb diet – similar to the keto diet, but not quite as extreme as I’m still eating fruit and carbs, but I’m not eating your typical pasta, bread and cakes. High fat includes lots of meat, cheese, dairy, eggs and avocado. For the event itself, I’m going to have lots of nut butters and high fat smoothies. I found on my 160 mile weekend that you almost can’t eat too much food when you’re running these distances, so it’s all about getting in whatever you can. One of my secret weapons is actually baby food. Variety is also a big thing when you’re out running for 80 miles – having a little bit of a treat waiting for you really does help psychologically. I won’t be carrying my own food. I’ll have seven crew members with me, a cyclist will be with me at all times, then they’ll be two motor homes cooking proper meals.

Are you also training for sleeping four hours a night?

Yeah, one part of the challenge is getting into that routine. At the moment I wake up at 4am every day and run from about half four. I’ve been known to do 51K before work. I go to bed between 10-11pm so I’m getting used to limited sleep, then running long distances.

How hard has this been to fit around your normal life?

It’s about communication – my wife Catherine has been hugely supportive from the moment we decided to do this. It was a joint decision and that’s part of the reason I am able to do it. You hear the term ‘balance’ quite a lot, but actually I heard on a podcast that it’s about presence, not balance. You might have these different priorities in your life at any one point, but as long as you are present, it’s ok. I run at 4am because I wouldn’t see my children before work anyway, so I do my running when they are still in bed. This means when I come home in the evening, I am present with them.

How do you keep your mind occupied running for 18 hours a day?

In training runs, I used podcasts. As you can imagine with four and five hour runs at any one time, I sometimes get a bit bored. I’ve got used to the distance, but the mental part is tough, so I listen to a wide variety of podcasts – from inspirational ones, to business ones.

What do you plan on doing for the actual challenge itself?

I think it will be a mix of things. For my longest training weekend I had a cyclist with me, so it was quite nice to not listen to anything and to chat. I think I’m going to use podcasts and music as a last resort. On Spotify, I have a playlist called my ultra-running motivational, which is filled with the cheesiest pop songs you could imagine. I’ve been known to run along signing S Club 7 at the top of my lungs in the middle of the night on 100 mile runs.

Who is your running inspiration?

Partly Mimi – I read her book two years ago and it was really inspirational. She has overcome a number of setbacks in her life, and used running and exercise as a positive force to push herself forward and inspire others.

Finally, what would be your long distance running tips be?

Have belief in what you’ve done. You’re never going to be able to stop yourself looking at other people who have done more, or different training to you, but you’ve got to have belief that you were doing that specific training for your specific goal.

What kit will you be running in?

The belief applies to your kit too – the shoes are an absolutely huge part of my challenge. I’m running in the Saucony Kinvara’s, which I’ve used for six or seven years now. During the challenge I’ll run between four to six pairs of Kinvara 10’s. I absolutely love them. Typically I’m doing 200 miles a week in training, so although I’m not changing them as often as the regular runner, I’m still getting through about 15 to 20 pairs in a year!

You can track Williams’ progress during the run on Saucony and his own website.