The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Simpson takes a trip in to the unknown.
● Banchory runner steps up at Grand Trail des Templiers
Robbie Simpson will be stepping into uncharted territory this weekend when he competes in the 77km Grand Trail des Templiers ultra distance race at Millau in southern France.
It will be the longest run Banchory’s GB mountain running international has ever tackled but he feels ready for the challenge.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games marathon bronze medallist enjoyed a successful summer season on the European mountain running circuit winning a number of top races including a third victory in four years at the Jungfrau mountain marathon.
“I just wanted to try something different, he said. “Since 2012 I’ve run a lot up to the marathon distance and I felt I needed a new test. I’ve felt strong on my longer runs recently so it seems a good time to give the ultra a go,” he said.
“It comes at the end of the summer mountain racing season and there will still be enough time after it to recover then build-up for a spring marathon. I don’t think it will affect my plans for that.
“For the first quarter of 2020 my main aim is to get a good marathon under my belt.”
Simpson, who has researched this weekend’s course and opposition, admits it’s difficult to predict the outcome.
He said: “It will be interesting. The race starts at 5.45am when it’s still dark. It follows one big loop starting and finishing in the same place and there’s 3,600m of climbing and descent over the 77km route.
“There’s quite a lot of fast running early on, with only one climb in the opening 20km. In fact the first half is quite fast. There’s another climb around 23-24km but from 40km onwards the climbs begin to come thick and fast.
“The final 32m has more than 2,000m elevation of up and down. Also, the trails become narrower and more technical from here to the end.”
“The winning time is usually just under seven hours. The longest individual run I’ve done in training is four hours but I’ve had some long runs on back-to-back days some weekends.
“Getting the nutrition right will be very important. I’ve been testing this in training and my energy levels have been fine. I’ve had no problems with digestion, although that might be different in a race when I’m running harder.
“It’s difficult to know how competitive I’ll be in this race. I’ve trained as well as I could have in the time I’ve had available, so I’m ready. But there’s a good quality field including some guys who have won it before, so if I get into the top 10 that would be great, but who knows?”