Further. Faster. Podcast

Welcome to Further, Faster, in association with Montane and hosted by Daniel Neilson. In this episode, we speak to Jon Gupta. He is a mountaineer. A very, very good mountaineer, one who specialises in very very big mountains. But he's also an expedition guide, notably working with a previous interviewee Steve Plain for his 7 Summits project. He's a penchant for more remote, lesser-known mountains. But over the last couple of years, he's also run the Bob Graham round, and the the 430-Yukon Arctic Ultra.. on his second attempt.
We chat as Jon was on his way to Chamonix, in his van, to climb, just for himself. At the age of 32, Jon is also going through something that nearly everyone listening to this will recognise - the search for balance. In this podcast, we delve into the choices he makes. The choices of risk and the choices of training, the choices of summits and the choices of life balance. It's a fascinating listen, disarmingly honest, plus he's a lovely fella. Listen in.

Welcome to the Further. Faster. Podcast, in association with Montane, the podcast that asks ultra athletes, mountaineers and adventurers the why and the how. In the first episode, presenter Daniel Neilson talks to ultra runner Marcus Scotney about his training, a recent race in Costa Rica (which didn't fully go to plan) and his other career as an actor. He also offers up some valuable running tips. We also speak to Robert Pollhammer, the Race Director of the Coldest Race on Earth; Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra, about the most recent race edition and what it takes to finish this epic race. Listen in and get inspired.

Debbie is an inspirational ultra-runner, Mum and fulltime marketing professional. Debbie became a part of the Montane athlete team in 2011 and has represented Scotland and Great Britain in 100K and 24-hour races. In 2014 Debbie Won the 2014 Montane Lakeland 100 and in 2015 placed 2nd in the shorter, and perhaps harder, Lakeland 50. Her 10-year journey with over 40 ultra-races includes classics such as the West Highland Way Race, GUCR, Transgrancanaria and Spartathlon. Following these successes, she finished the Montane Tour Des Géants in 2017, saying; “I doubt I will do many things in life that could possibly compare to TDG. I unearthed layers of myself I didn't know I had. There were moments I felt I was just torturing myself, but I never wanted to stop. The drive to finish overpowered everything” A massive leap into the unknown, she finished in 127 hours; an outstanding achievement considering the TDG is classed as one of the 5 “hardest runs” in the world. Containing 24,000m / 78,700ft of ascent (the equivalent of climbing Everest nearly three times) within its 205 miles / 330km, competitors need to be at the peak of their physical ability and mentally agile enough to cope with up to seven days of unpredictable and changeable mountain weather across an entire region of the Italian Alps. Add to this sleep deprivation, altitude acclimatisation and a cut-off time of only 150 hours. Little wonder only 50% of competitors complete the race. Debbie’s previous performance – and goals – are indicative of an athlete with the highest levels of physical and mental strength and will inspire you to get out in the mountains.

In this episode, host Daniel Neilson talks to ultra-runner Kevin Leahy and filmmaker Adrian McCarthy.
While backpacking in Canada’s Yukon Territory, Kevin discovered the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra. Feeling inspired, he went back a year later to tackle the 100 Mile race and won! On February 3rd 2022, he’s heading back to take on the 300-mile race. Then a few weeks later, he’s flying to Sweden for the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra.
Filmmaker Adrian McCarthy has been following Kevin over the last two years, documenting his journey through training around Killarney, lockdowns, and cancellations as part of their documentary “1000km of Chaos.” Kevin and Adrian give us an amazing insight into preparing, training, and developing the mindset to take on hundreds of miles in extremely cold conditions.
To follow Kevin’s progress in the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra from February 3rd visit montane.com/yukonarcticultra. You can also track Kevin from March 6th during Lapland Arctic Ultra via the Montane website. If you would like to know more about their film project visit 1000kmofchaos.com.

Joanne Backshall and Steve Tonkin are the programme manager and digital lead for Fix the Fells. For 20 years, this organisation has made an astonishing impact helping to offset visitors’ impact on the Lake District fells. Just have a glance at the before and after photos on fixthefells.co.uk for the frankly jaw-dropping changes that have been made by this inspiring team.

Over the years, more than £10 million worth of donations have been made to help support this cause. This year, Montane are also donating money to Fix The Fells on Black Friday – instead embracing Green Friday. In addition to this, we also are matching funding people who raise funds for Fix The Fells when running the George Fisher Tea Round. If you’ve not heard of the tea round, google it - you'll want to give it a try!

In this podcast they share the history of Fix the Fells, where it all began and what it’s all about. But most importantly they discuss what we can all do to help stop erosion, so we can maintain the biodiversity of the Lake District’s landscapes for future generations. Listen in.