Runner's World (UK)

By The Numbers

Jenny Tough ran 1,000km in Kyrgyzstan (turn left at western China)

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‘ I LOST COUNT OF THE NUMBER of times people told me it was impossible,’ says adventurer and endurance runner Jenny Tough. ‘Eventually, I just stopped telling people what I was doing.’ She’s talking about her near-1,000km run across Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan mountain, which, in fairness, does sound impossible. The Kyrgyzstan landscape is as remote as it comes, with temperatur­es rising as high as 35C and falling to -5C. Out there, a runner can go days without seeing anyone. And, should an accident happen, there’ll be no mountain rescue coming to your aid. But that’s how Jenny likes it. Though now based in Edinburgh, she grew up in the Canadian Rockies and says the mountain landscape feels like home. ‘Crossing the Tien Shan mountains taught me to believe in myself,’ she says. ‘There’s been a lot of positive change over the past couple of years, with more women going out there and doing gnarly stuff – hopefully, that continues.’

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