TRAIL RUNNING – WE ARE DAYBREAK

What if… A return to racing and a deep…

27th June 202227th June 2022
by ClaudiS

What if… A return to racing and a deep dive into being patient with yourself and life.

~ Words on life by Claudi.

NOW (2022) AND THEN (2019).

Two Maverick Race Peaks Ultra races. Two wins. Two course records.

The only thing that is actually the same: I’m still wearing those sunnies, still smashing my way through all food groups and I wanted a beer at the finish 😅

The Long Read – (author’s note: it touches on grief)

2019: THE CLIMB.

71km / 2500m. A lot hillier, remote and technical. A training run on tired legs. Just back from the mountains and back to back racing. Gearing up for UMTB® TDS (145km / 9100m around Mont Blanc, Alps) in a few weeks.

Life:
Well… as always going hard and fast, on top of the back and forth to Germany; with bad and worse news (three years on the bounce, a long depleting lead up). Trying to take it all in my stride and keep some normality. I already knew that I was preparing for something much tougher and bigger. I tried to retain some naivety around it, it’s just so unimaginable. You don’t really want to go there. Imagine not just the life without, but the moment you live through their last breath. Nothing will prepare you for it, that much I can tell you now. I DNF’ed (did not finish) TDS. My body sent me signals loud and clear (not injured thankfully). My whole being was elsewhere but not in it. I rushed home. We had some more time to spend together. It all feels very hazy, now looking back. I was tired. Exhausted by life.

Thoughts on running long distances (then)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz7fki2Hn7G/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The finish line (then).
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz3lC68n-Ns/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y==

2020 – 2022: THE PAUSE.

Worlds colliding.

The end. The shock. The grief. Straight into the pandemic. The earth underneath me breaking away. That free fall felt endless. Best was not to try hold on to something but to let it all unfold. Fighting it versus accepting it – it truly was the hardest to do. It took me a while to understand this and then to actually practise and do it (or do nothing for a matter of fact). You’re floating in a space of deep uncertainty and questioning, it knocks your confidence for six. Running long distances gave me glimpse of it: the surprise challenges, the feelings attached to it, the powerlessness to go on, standing in your own way, finding a way around it and so on. Yet it wasn’t enough to prepare me for it, let alone see me through.

I eventually landed somewhere rock bottom. Hey. But on my feet. Papa always said; you have the talents and the right work-attitude. Do something with it. Make them work together. So I started to put one foot in front of the other (you know it!). Moving forwards, keeping our run community going virtually, then back IRL offline, outside, together. Holding space. Getting so much back in return. After all, WE ARE DAYBREAK is all about life… with some running alongside. Rooted and brought to life by the people in it.

The world and races opened up (briefly then some more). I wasn’t ready. I let go of years of continuous strings of GFAs, BQs, all the points (now stones) and my ITRA score. I promised myself to only race on curiosity and with the aim to have fun (for most of it). Not on anger, worry, sadness, grief or trying to fill a void. There is of course curiosity linked to those emotions, but it’s coming in too hot and from an angle that can overshadow the good work that can be done. I also refrained from burying (distracting) myself in work and commitments. I learned to say no better in that time, yet gone beyond a few thresholds here and there, of course. Taming some of that work-hard ethos is hard sometimes 😬 Pulling back. Letting go.

I had to stretch between London and home. I had to learn so many new skills fast. We all had to step up. Trying to fill my father’s shoes. Life went on at full throttle, even if it was nothing like the life as we knew it. You all have lived through the pandemic, too. And have your own version of it. I took strength in many things. I kept learning, turning page after page. I wrote. I kept my heart open, even when it was still shattered in so many pieces. I’ve reached out to old and looked for some new mentors. Mind, heart, soul, business. Found inspiration in my friends discovering their depth and strength on their respective running journeys far and wide. Gold dust. I spent a lot of time outside. I loved the miles and I also loved rest days. Going slowly. Steady. Never too fast. Sat down when I wanted to. Contemplated a lot. Of course I cried some: it’s really near impossible to cry, breathe and run at the same time. Mind. A lot of time I spent alone in solitude and sorrow. Kept my independence. I had to figure this out in my own head. And I needed to learn to appreciate time in a different way.

I stayed present. Connected back to myself. To my core values. I did open up and had many conversations. I didn’t seek professional help (I was close enough though). Instead explored the options with those close to me. After all everyone is proficient in life, right?! And everyone could potentially have different insights to share. I’ve listened. I’ve leaned. They stood and held. Every rock has a rock in their life ❤️ No one wants to be a burden. Include family dynamics into the mix, all of us grieving differently on different timelines. I got to know myself, my family and my support network on such a deep and different level.

Thoughts on optimism and support during tough times (the pandemic edit)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-W0fbSn_id/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Since TDS (34 months ago) I covered close to 10.000km on foot 😅 Most of it set to private or only written down on paper. I didn’t want to be seen, liked or commented on. Shout out to my followers: you all keep a positive and encouraging tone over the years; I know this is rare and I’m grateful we meet exactly there 🙏 I didn’t want to curate or share. Let alone explain, to provide the necessary context. Digitally placed and consumed means we’re taking away many essential nuances of communication. Everyone is fast to make assumptions based on their own experience… I also ran a good chunk without even recording anything. They say ‘miles make you’ – I say: make sure you truly move yourself with them. Nothing else really matters.

So those miles had to go somewhere eventually.

2022: THE RETURN.

54k / 1400m. Peaks Ultra take two, on a new course. So much more runnable. Yikes. I had to change my fuel strategy. Cheese wasn’t cutting it (IMAGINE). There weren’t enough (slow) climbs to do the hike up and eat. Still processing it all of course. We signed up less than a week before. A moment of courage… or insanity, that’s your call 😂 Training was far from specific. I knew the strength and miles were there. I can head out and play – and discover. Going in with no expectations whatsoever. Of course you don’t just turn up to ultras aimlessly. I’ve gone between ‘you probably DNF that one or you actually might win it’. I think that spectrum of extremes genuinely keeps me humble. Definitely dream big (without being too cocky), still also be ok with knowing when to say no and walk away with that decision. I can be ok and happy with either. ‘Failure builds success.’ And success is also only just another stepping stone.

The finish (now).
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfPH04Fte2L/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I wasn’t thinking too much about the race, didn’t rehearse stuff (forgotten all basically). Learned anew how to pack my mandatory kit. Remembered it’s a lot to carry 😅
Found calm and confidence in these during my time out there running:

Really it’s just one foot in front of the other. Nothing has changed.
Stay present, take everything in your stride. Bring the curiosity and vulnerability.
Pace it somewhat sensibly (by all means, I don’t even know myself what that means anymore. Where’s my ‘race effort’ at?! No clue. Chatting to other runners en course is a good start, non?!)
Eat. You’re good at that. Keep pushing the calories.
Run the race in-front of you. Run your own race. Always. If you get overtaken (by another woman), that’s still just the race in-front of you.
Keep it simple. Stop the faff. Move through the aid stations swiftly. (Nothing has changed).
Have some fun.
What if…
Soak it all up. Wow. The cheers, smiles, encouragement at aid stations and marshal points (‘You’re first lady!’ 😳😭), hugs and high fives, jokes. The shared miles. The solitude. Being happy being in your own head. I admit, I’m so happy I came back to this.
The kicking and punching of your body to urge you to stop (20k in). The fire and passion in your heart to go on. Until that gets you into more trouble (25k in). The mind towering above all. The trick is to make all three sing in unison. Eventually they did (35k in). It’s the best feeling when you stop self-sabotaging and start excelling. Those feels may not be reflected in pace. Knowing you’ve experienced the shift, is what’s integral.
Follow your mantras: I’ve written on my arm: The next 5 minutes (‘Excellence is the next five minutes or nothing at all.’ ~ Tom Peters). And on my hand: KDS ❤️
If you want to do well, get into the front row. Then hold on. For dear life. (Nothing has changed here either).
During the toughest miles I found this in my heart: what weighs you down, makes you stronger. What makes you fly, makes you faster. It’s a win win, really. (Stunned by my own thoughts sometimes ha).
Grit & grace. Make sure you celebrate when you come home. (And let those emotions roll freely 😬)

That’s it.

On to living a new day in this life… (hobbling about on sore legs is still moving forwards, right?! 😆)

Take good care of that life of yours. Sincerely, Claudi x

*Race pictures by Maverick Race (then and now) Jake Baggaley / myself and the family.

GOALS

Spotlight – Fiona

10th September 20193rd January 2021
by ClaudiS

WORDS by Fiona.

I have no desire to win races. For many, times and medals and instagramable pictures and being competitive is a huge driver to participating in sport. But it just isn’t for me.

I was once told by an incredible ultramarathon runner I know, that if you don’t stand on the startline of a race not knowing if you can finish it or not, it isn’t a challenge. Not because you haven’t trained hard enough, or put in the work, or aren’t healthy but because exploring your own boundaries of possibility and limits is where we discover who we really are.

When I first took up running I remember finding the idea of running for a kilometre without stopping mind blowing. Now I feel confident running for about 8 hours without needing to walk. As I’ve tested my own boundaries and limits I’ve been consistently shocked by just how much further and faster and higher I can go. Months of training, hard work and a huge amount of dogged determination has seen me complete marathons, ultras, mountain races and even Ironman.

Along the way though I’ve realised that I have no desire to stick at one thing and ‘be the best’. My passion and enthusiasm is in my desire to pursue adventure. Relentlessly. With abandon. Passionately. Adventure is calling.

Don’t get me wrong: PBs are amazing. For me personally as a coach, there are two that are particularly joyous to watch: new runners shocked at achieving things they never thought possible and runners who’d counted themselves out for a long time and suddenly surprise themselves. As we all probably have, I’ve been through both of those. I’ve cried my eyes out at finish lines for achieving times that seemed ‘too fast’ for the runner I assumed I was. And yet, when I look back at my favourite memories in running: numbers don’t feature.

There is the moment in my Ironman where my husband, an hour up the race from me, crossed paths with me and we shared a kiss before heading off to finish our respective marathons. There was the time I paced my Mum, who’d promised me she’d never do any sport in her life, to complete her first 10k at the age of 70. There are the miles and miles I’ve spent traipsing up and down some remote mountain in Scotland with my Dad talking about anything and everything.

Fear of missing out and defining yourself by others achievements is a dangerous and unsatisfying pathway. There is a fantastic old tale of King Solomon, the richest man the world had ever seen who no matter how much wealth he had still felt unsatisfied. Will that medal or time or race really give you the fulfilment you are looking for? Or are you stuck on a relentless cycle of the next challenge, and time, and distance? When you achieve the time you’ve been putting so many hours in are you satisfied? Or do you then change the goalposts and look to shave off ever more minutes?

What if we all put aside the relentless marathon cycles and 5k PB hunts and just pursued adventure? Maybe we’d miss our time goals and what our peers might consider ‘good’ times but instead we might find something our hearts had been yearning for.

John Muir, one of the great advocates for the power of the outdoors in the late nineteenth century, famously said ‘The mountains are calling and I must go.’ I feel that call. Trapped in our city lives surrounded by constant noise and busyness and progress it’s easy to feel the overwhelming rise of fear and anxiety that grips so many of us. When I am in nature, I truly feel I am in a space where I remember what matters: not my job title, PBs, finishing position in some random half marathon but connection, love, passion, joy.

Maverick Race (Trail) in Bath, September 2019

So this Autumn what if you put aside traditional goals and instead reconnected with why you run. What if we pursued being outdoors as passionately as some people pursue qualifying for big city marathons? Give yourself fully still: commit, be passionate, work hard, dig deep. But pursue something less black and white. Measure your achievements in emotions and how well you slept rather than times and medals. Run with perseverance wherever your legs will carry you. Just run. And be. And exist.

Adventure in out there and it is most definitely calling. Let’s go.

Follow Fiona

Fiona is working towards her CiRF (Coach in Running & Fitness) qualification with England Athletics and has lead some of our Tuesday DB / FIRST LIGHT sessions, helped guide our trail runs and is an integral part of our community. When she’s not busy running a theatre company in Islington full time, she’s most likely out in the fells hunting trig points #hillbragging with Graeme or her dad. You may see her as RD at Hampstead Heath Parkrun or swimming in the ponds training for her upcoming Ironman 70.3. 2020 is going to be a big year for Fiona, make sure you follow her inspiring journey!

INSPIRATION

Spotlight – Matt

8th April 20193rd January 2021
by ClaudiS

WORDS by Matt.

It might be a strange and rare conundrum to have to ever deal with. Fewer people have sailed around the world than summited Everest.

But the concept of how to follow an all consuming challenge which has driven your life – both daily and into the near distant future for so long- is not, akin to marathon blues squared, cubed, or more perhaps.

I circumnavigated the world by yacht over the course of 2015-16 as part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, over 50,000 nautical miles, through 11 months away and circa 9 months at sea. Twelve matched yachts racing around the blue.

Taking in Brazil, Australia, Vietnam, China… the Southern Ocean, the North Pacific.

Waves bigger than multi-storey buildings. Hurricanes in places where they are so frequent it’s just ‘weather’. Engineering feats such as the Panama Canal, natural wonders such as Table Mountain, symbols like the Statue of Liberty all coming into, and out of, view as we plied our way around the world.

So it was I came to find myself looking for another relatively extreme – albeit land-based – human powered challenge.

A one time runner. Still perhaps in the mind. But a runner who hadn’t run in over a year of being cooped up in a space measuring no longer than 21 metres in length for extended periods of time. So not in body. Maybe it was the overwhelming desire to stretch y legs and when presented with the Goretex Transalpine Run 2017 by a fellow crew member from the yacht race.

Four countries, two runners, one week – one dream. So goes the tagline for the eastern Alpine crossing.

You had me at adventure.

One comprising over 275 kilometres and 16,000m vertical gain across spectacular mountainscapes, ski stations all but transformed into a lush green summer playground. Snowcapped peaks. Verdant valleys. Populated by spirited people all pulled together by one goal; to cross the Alps on foot in one of the best footraces on earth.

It’s human nature to be curious about the world. Find and push our limits. Asking questions of ourselves that build character, resilience and train us for life. Survival, perhaps, but nowadays so much more. To escape the modern world, its ever increasing pace, pervasive digital connectivity disconnecting humanity.

There is something in being stripped right back, the raw power of nature and human performance. Something about mountains and oceans that connects us through history, and draws us in. Places laced with danger that we seek not to tame but co-exist within, even just for a time, share in the raw power of a world that reminds us we are just a small element of something so much bigger.

Freedom that invigorates the soul.

Calculated risk for unparalleled reward. The reason why sailors have always gone to sea, why mountaineers looked at far off peaks and sought to conquer their summits – and why they always will.

This year’s Transalpine run tackles the western route: three countries and a few less kilometres clocking in on paper at 255km, but I’m warned it is more technical and no less a challenge.

I return to complete the set of east and west crossings, to add to a circumnavigation, which collectively have shaped me as a person.

Inevitably, the question that follows will be both obvious and simple. What next?

Follow Matt

Let us know what you think and want to see more of. We’re keen to bring good content and great experiences to life. Interested?

COLLABORATIONS

Spotlight – Claudi

12th March 20183rd January 2021
by ClaudiS

In 2017 Strava launched ‘The New Home of Your Athletic Life
Introducing Athlete Posts’ – 36 athletes from amateur to pro were able to share their expertise beyond training stats.

Claudi, our Co-Founder, was amongst those first few chosen ones and has been bringing in her expertise as ultra runner, triathlon and mental performance coach.

Curating. Creating. Sharing. How training fits into life. How training changes when life takes priority. How both can be balanced and brought together. Her learnings are closely linked to conquering Europe’s stunning mountains. She has travelled most of 2017 taking in Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Her ‘EuroPeaks Tour’ was part of her preparations for UTMB – Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, a 170km circumnavigation of Europe’s highest peak Mont Blanc, with 10,000m of elevation gain, entirely racing, semi supported, on foot from France into Italy, Switzerland and back into France, starting and finishing in trail running mecca Chamonix. Leaving her flat London home base, discovering new challenges, physical and mental highs, setbacks and strength on this tour.

Her time spent exploring on foot and pushing her limits was also the beginning of We Are Daybreak – you can read about our grassroots in one of her Strava posts

Join The Euro Peaks Tour – Grassroots to life

Dip your toes in ↠
‘Passion doesn’t thrive on compromise. Your dreams deserve attention.
#JoinTheEuroPeaksTour is a vehicle for your dreams. Growth and development – physically, mentally and emotionally. A project aimed at longevity and facilitation. It’s dynamic with room for growth. It’s flexible and it’s shareable. It won’t just be about me, it will also be about you. It will be about us. A joint (ad)venture. Defining passion. Thriving from ideas and dreams.’

Which then led to our launch in January 2018:

We are Daybreak. New beginnings.

Dip your toes in ↠
‘No shortcuts in running. No shortcuts in life. This is why running (sports even) is such a brilliant space, for us to explore and learn. Move yourself and you’ll move your mind. In a familiar manner – Do as you say, do more than you say. Be real. Be honest. Stay true to your heart. Be good. And surround yourself with good people. And bloody have fun. It’s a wild world out there. And we’re here to help you get ready to explore and conquer.’

Find more of Claudi’s posts around her athletic life on her Strava post page.

Claudi has recently been ask to share her thoughts on Strava athlete posts and influencer Marketing on Freestak – The Endurance Sports Network. Home of hundreds of influencers in various fields of expertise and sports in the UK. Claudi herself having made a career in advertising, marketing and design over the past 20 years; shifting into entrepreneurial ship and coaching seven year ago. Having founded and helped shape some of the biggest run communities in London (AdventRunning, adidasRunners) and launching We are Daybreak in 2018 to inject a breath of fresh air into the saturated run community market; her expertise runs deep to create bespoke and engaging events and experiences for B2B and B2C.

How brands who are working with content creators will benefit

Dip your toes in ↠
‘I believe by being able to display insights into the athletic life of real people, brands can get a good feel about the athlete behind the profile. Marketing has shifted towards building brand values and brand loyalty through community, actual people walking the talk. Athletes on Strava become role models for the every day athlete (who are incidentally the majority of sports consumers).’

Read the full article on her tips for influencers and brands.

These are just some examples in how brands, networks and communities can do co-creation. How online platforms can create tangible offline experiences. And how our team at We are Daybreak can help bridge those two worlds.

Follow Claudi

Let us know what you think and want to see more of. We’re keen to bring good content and great experiences to life. Interested?