Craig Heron started running and adventure sports back in 2013.
IT WAS in 2013 when Craig Heron decided he needed a new goal in life and his choice of running and adventure has seen his daily routine as well as his aspirations completely transformed.
It began with a Tough Mudder and has led most recently to the Rat Race series including marathons in the Lake District and racing over Mount Snowdon.
Craig’s next big challenge will see him run 184 miles in five days to raise money for Who Dares Cares. Read on to find out more about that, his adventure sports running career to date and what his aims and ambitions are for the future.
Get behind Craig’s mammoth fundraising run at https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/184milerun.
How long have you been into adventure sports and can you tell us some of the specific sports you’ve enjoyed and competed in over the years?
I got into running and specifically adventure sports back in 2013 when I was looking for my next challenge. Being an avid gym goer for many years, I was keen to put it to some use.
After discussions with my cousin we chose Tough Mudder as our first introduction into the obstacle course racing scene. From there, I did a couple more single events, branched out into other races before signing up for Tough Mudder’s ‘season pass’, completing all their events for two seasons running, attending all weekends and running both the Saturday and Sunday – often running multiple laps on each day!
More recently I’ve completed most of the Rat Race series including marathons in the Lake District and racing over Mount Snowdon. A key series of events that set the bar for me personally was called Intrepid Series – a sort of Who Dares Wins style series of events designed by ex-SAS and commandos set to break you both mentally and physically.
What kind of levels have you reached and what do you see as your biggest sporting successes to date?
I’m by no means one of the best out there. Not by a long shot. There are some really talented runners who are head and shoulders above the rest. I nestle somewhere in the ‘good but not great’ category, often placing in the top 5 or 10 per cent at events, with several top 10/20 finishes under my belt.
I’m fairly new to running competitively and as much as I love pushing myself, I also enjoy the fun, social aspect of some of the races – I’ve made a lot of good friends from the OCR/adventure running community that I wouldn’t have if I was of the ‘turn up, race hard, go home’ mentality.
As far as notable performances go, there have been a few. Finishing fourth at Intrepid Series out of 600 entrants (you can’t really call it a race as it was something completely different!), a top 10 finish at one of Brutal Run’s events, finishing seventh at The Suffering’s Relentless challenge (officially the hardest race in the UK, sadly closed now) and a top 20 finish at both Man Vs Lakes (a marathon in the Lake District) and Man Vs Mountain (racing over Snowdon) all stand out for me. There will be more. Watch this space.
Tell us about your running challenge coming up which will see you run 184 miles in five days? What was the inspiration behind its specifics?
So on the 16th of May I embark on a bit of a crazy challenge that I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I’ll be travelling down to the source of the River Thames on Wednesday, to run the entire length of the river to where it meets the sea at Greenwich in five days. That’s 184 miles in total, an average of 36.8 miles per day – or seven marathons back to back. I’ve booked accommodation in four places between Wednesday and Sunday so I need to be in certain places at certain times – and of course I have travel arrangements in place too so everything needs to run according to plan – which is difficult when you are pushing yourself harder and further than ever before. For the first time in my life I am genuinely unsure I’ll make it – but then that’s why it’s called a challenge, right?!
Craig Heron is training hard for his trying running challenge which will take place in May.
Which charity are you raising money for you, why did you choose it and how can our readers get behind and support you?
The charity I’ve chosen to represent is Who Dares Cares. They are a non-profit charity helping sufferers of PTSD – caused both from being in the forces or other means. They are one of the charities that Intrepid Series support and through that particular journey I sat and talked with both people who work for the charity and have been helped by it. Needless to say the work they do is absolutely vital and I’m fairly certain some of the people they have helped wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them. They offer a shoulder to lean on – supporting people who are trying to integrate themselves back into the usual way of life after suffering trauma. I’m sure we all know of people, or at least read about people who have been through things that we wouldn’t wish on our worst enemies, so it’s an extremely important cause. Simply put, the easiest way to help is donations! As I’ve said, they are a non-profit charity so solely rely on funds raised by others to continue their work. If you’re unable to donate, then spreading the word is just as helpful as others may well relate directly to the cause and donate that way. My personal donation link for the challenge is https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/184milerun.
How hard are you currently training and how much of a test on you as an athlete will this challenge be?
I have a pretty busy schedule – I work a full time job and am often away at the weekends racing. That said, I am actually training for all sorts of different events so I’m always following some sort of structured plan which involves running 6 or sometimes 7 days a week. On top of that I fit in at least 4 gym sessions a week to keep my strength training in check – it’s quite full on! In terms of this specific challenge, I’m not sure you can fully prepare your body for the shock of such mileage in consecutive days, but I like to think I have the mentally of “if I’m always ready, then there is nothing I can’t do”. After all, a lot of endurance events sometimes fall down to the mental aspect of things – believe you can do something and you’re half way there already. As I’ve said above, I am genuinely unsure what will happen – but that just excites me a little bit more! Call me crazy.
Craig Heron pictured on an adventure run.
Tell us about your involvement with Sub Sports and the guidance and support they are able to provide you as an athlete?
Sub Sports are a brand that I’ve used for many years. They contacted me earlier this year to represent their brand and I couldn’t be happier. The market is saturated with various ‘high end’ brands that boast about various technology that will improve your performance, demanding a premium price for the pleasure. Sub Sports offer the same wide range of high end gear but at a sensible price point that all can afford – and they look great too.
Their sister company Mud and Blood are more targeted towards the Obstacle Course Racing scene and adventure / trail running, so I sit nicely under both categories which made me a good fit to work with them. Their kit allows me to push myself to my limit in all manner of weather – something we are more than used to in the UK. A great example being when the “Beast from the East” hit and drowned the country in snow. I saw this as an opportunity for adventure, grabbed my Sub Sports Cold base layers and went up to the Peak District and ran 18 miles through 4ft snow drifts – all the while keeping toasty warm. At the other end of the spectrum they have kit that keeps you cool when hot, as well as everything in between.
Craig Heron endure all conditions during the event she competes in.
Once you’ve done and completed this effort what are the next sporting events and challenges on your radar?
My race calendar is nowhere near as busy as it was the last couple of years, but I’m targeting specific events rather than just doing everything I possibly can. I’ve currently got plans up until October! So May sees me take on the 184 mile challenge, in June I’m heading to Frankfurt for Strong Viking – a marathon distance Obstacle Course Race, July see’s me tackle Rat Race’s Man Vs Coast – a 20-mile adventure run, in August I’m heading to Iceland for the Reykjavik marathon and September we have a very special event lined up called Ragnar White Cliffs – a 170 mile non-stop team run which sees a team of 5 of us run from Kent to Brighton along the coast. Of course we’re adding a little twist to the event to make it a little bit harder…
Who knows where all this will take me, but I’m just happy to be able to help motivate, influence and inspire people on their journey, whatever it may be!
