How far could you run in 24 hours? Elite Runner Joe Baker ran 150 miles and is the current record holder at Endure24 which returns to Bramham Park this month.
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00:00 "Like a lot of runners, when you start you gain that fitness quite quickly, you see your
00:05 times coming down, it's really rewarding. I only ever intended to run maybe one or two
00:10 marathons and a couple of weeks ago I ran my 91st."
00:16 Following a major rugby injury ten years ago, Joe Baker got the running bug during the first
00:21 steps of his recovery. It soon became a lifestyle rather than a hobby and Joe is the current
00:26 record holder at Endure 24, which returns to Bramham Park on the 29th of June. The event
00:32 sees participants race against the clock, completing as many laps of an 8k route as
00:37 possible. Here in Middleton Park, Joe reflects on the event where he set the 150 mile record.
00:43 "Obviously 24 hours is a long time, you've got a lot of time with your own thoughts,
00:48 so you need to be mentally strong because there's always going to be that time where
00:53 it gets a bit tough and you're questioning, should I stop, should I keep going? And for
00:58 me the tip is just try and keep moving. It's safe where you're running at night, the paths
01:03 are nice and wide, you've got your torch on, there's lots of other people around. You're
01:07 never really on your own out there because there's that many runners going. There's some
01:12 people that do it solo like I've been doing, but you can also do it as teams."
01:16 Joe is hoping to inspire more people to get into running and perhaps become ultra runners
01:21 too. Getting your pace right is key, and here are some more of Joe's top tips for Endure
01:26 24.
01:27 "It's not a race until about 20 hours in. I'd recommend you eat every lap, little and
01:32 often, keep yourself fuelled. There's something magical about changing your socks. You've
01:36 got to watch because you put them on and you feel like you can run faster, so then you
01:39 go out running a bit quicker than you need to and you just have to remember. My kids
01:43 come down, they tend to be my crew, so they're drilled at being able to each hour pass me
01:49 a bit of food or a drink and stuff like that. So when you say, 'Do you want to go camping
01:53 with Dad?' then they know it might involve staying up for 24 hours and me running around."