Andy's Epic Eiger Ultra and another GB masters vest for Kate
- brian17harris
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
With just one road race this week - the Glos county 10k championships at Blaisdon on Tuesday - it was two different but both outstanding performances overseas that share this week's newsletter headline.
{Ed. although we all know the biggest athletics story of the week - Josh Kerr's new mile WR!}
European Middle Distance Triathlon Championships
After spectating at the Blaisdon 10k, watching husband Andy and cheering on her 3 Ciren AC colleagues, Kate Kilby flew off the next morning to Banyoles in Spain to represent GB again in the European triathlon championships.
Kate was spectating rather than running at Blaisdon not just to conserve energy, but because she had another pesky foot injury. As of Tuesday evening she was only expecting to be able to complete the swim and bike legs on Sunday.
Having got to Spain, the weather on the day of the event also presented a challenge – as this notice explains -
🚨🚨 Middle Distance Championships Important Update 🚨🚨Due to the forecasted high temperatures on Sunday, the decision has been made to shorten the Middle Distance Triathlon in the interests of athlete safety and wellbeing. After carefully reviewing the weather forecast and considering the expected conditions during the race, the run leg will be reduced from 21 km to 14 km (2 laps).
Despite the extreme weather and her injury problems Kate didn’t give up, and she managed to hobble around the reduced run leg at around 11:30 min/mile pace to not only finish the triathlon but also not come last in her age group.
She managed to send this feedback before heading off for a well-deserved recovery.
“I had a slow non wetsuit swim (water 29C) but I'm always slow.
Then I hobbled to transition. Bike course had 900m of elevation and was hard in the heat 37C.
Hadn't run for three weeks and only managed a walk/jog but delighted to finish. 4th of 5 in my age category.
Looking forward to an ice cream 🍦🤣. “
Congratulations Kate on avoiding a DNF, particularly in that heat.
{OFFICIAL RESULTS PROVING DIFFICULT TO TRACK DOWN}
Epic UMTB Eiger Trail Ultra E101
Over 4 days this week Grindelwald in Switzerland hosted a 7-race UMTB festival of trail running in a stunning mountain setting. You can read more about it here
Andy Hindson chose the 2nd longest event - the "E101" course which has a massive 6,319m of elevation.
"The Eiger Ultra E101 is considered a brutal and highly technical ultra-marathon. Spanning 101 km with 6,700 meters of elevation gain, it forces runners to navigate treacherous, uneven, and high-altitude alpine terrain. With exposed cliffs, steep descents, and a 26-hour time limit, it demands exceptional stamina and sure-footedness."
Andy particularly likes the quote from the late Ueli Steck - that the E101 is "harder than the North Face Solo". {Ed. anyone else thinking of a film with Clint Eastwood in it?}
Here is his strava post so that in particular you can see the summits he bagged on the way
⛰️ Grosse Scheidegg (1,962 m) • ⛰️ Chiemattenhubla (2,029 m) • ⛰️ Faulhorn (2,680 m) • ⛰️ Güwtürli (2,028 m) • ⛰️ Gumihorn (2,100 m) • ⛰️ Kleine Scheidegg (2,061 m) • ⛰️ Haaregg (1,990 m) | 🌐 summitbag.com
Well, that was hard. It was the race that kept giving - even at the very end there’s a climb up to the race finish. Grindelwald is stunning, not sure I’ll be back for the race! “
Here are some photos with Andy's permission
Andy added
“It was deffo a toughie with brutal steep unrelenting ups and downs. Proper quad testing territory. On reflection my training should have consisted of more time on feet and more ascent for taking on a challenge like the Eiger. Final third was very much driven by will power! Additionally, the weather was challenging. Cold weather kit was specified for the event. We endured frequent rainstorms some very heavy and marble size hail stones at one point. The race was stopped for 45 mins due to storm. I was out on the course but held at Wengen for 15 mins.”
Andy didn't mention that there were 143 DNF's, so just finishing despite being one of the oldest competitors was a great achievement.
Many congratulations Andy – we can see why once is enough!.
18/19 July 2026, Eiger Ultra Trail, Grindelwald, Switzerland, 101km / 6700m trail
1 Stian Dahl Sommerseth (Norway) 11.44.03
326 Andy Hindson (Cirencester AC) 23.13.48
424 finished eiger.utmb.world
BLAISDON 10K
As well as being one of the 12 races in the county road race series, this 10k also served as the county championships event meaning medals were up for grabs for the first 3 in each age group. With Kate Kilby injured that left just three regular “roadies” representing the club.
The out and back course has some hills, and with the temperature at almost 30C it was not the time for a PB attempt! Everyone made it round, but all were quite a bit slower than usual.
Pam Wheeler and Ruth Fulford both picked up Silver medals in their age groups.
Brian Harris was surprised to get a bronze, having struggled to maintain a decent pace after 2/3km and deliberately easing off at 8km to conserve energy for the flatter Frampton 10k next week. He suspected that 1/2 runners ahead of him forgot to tick the eligibility box when entering…
All three runners are in medal positions in their respective age categories after 7 races.
14 July 2026, Dave Lucas Memorial 10km, Blaisdon, nr Gloucester, 10km road
1 Jacob Pickering (Cheltenham & County Harriers) 33.13 (chip 33.11)37 Brian Harris (Cirencester AC) 46.02 (45.59)44 Pam Wheeler 1.12.50 (1.12.40)46 Ruth Fulford 1.18.00 (1.17.50)117 finished fodacac.org.uk
PARKRUNS
Congratulations are in order to Bill Leggate for his win at the Cirencester event in 18.07 and to Rich Allen for the fastest time of the week at 18.05 in Swindon where he was 2nd (Rich was under 18min on his Strava activity, so heading back towards his best form).
Also to Dave Wright (pictured below) for an impressive PB of 21.04, knocking almost 30 seconds off his previous best, confirming he is the club’s fastest MV60 at the moment. Maybe it's the racing sunglasses ;-)
Bodes very well if Dave can fit in another 5km at Heddington.
Cirencester: 1 Bill Leggate 18.07, 12 Toby Conway (J) 20.29, 14 Dave Wright 21.04 PB,
38 Rachel Ranger 23.37, 39 Paul Timms 23.45, 83 Jonathan Higgs 26.42, 117 Brendan McCarthy 27.44, 205 Kirsty Leggate 32.23, 206 Samantha Timms 32.26,
218 Rachel Jones 33.25, 220 Richard Edwards 33.52, 285 finished.
Tetbury: 60 Stephen Hale 24.07, 70 Alan McAdam 24.53, 94 Rachel McAdam 26.39,
137 Peter Rowland 29.29, 237 finished.
Swindon, Lydiard Park: 2 Rich Allen 18.05, 459 finished.
Swindon, Seven Fields: 34 Casey Vatcher 23.29, 229 finished.
Cheltenham, Pittville Park: 363 Sophie Mason (J) 29.41, 680 finished.
Quakers Walk, Devizes: 32 Colin Tapley 23.20, 170 Clare Tapley 37.59, 200 finished.
Uckfield, Sussex: 10 Martin Croucher 22.37, 174 finished.
Greenwich Peninsula: 260 David Moss 26.49, 569 finished.
Lanhydrock, nr. Bodmin: 11 Luke Campbell 21.18, 278 finished.