I never really liked just going for a run.
In fact, running was something my PE teacher would make us do if we’d forgotten our kit at school.
I’m Martin Lambourne - ultra runner, UESCA certified coach, and now someone who loves running, chasing big goals, and fitting ultra running around a busy life.
Sport has been in my life from an early age - football, cricket, athletics, golf, tennis, I did the lot. But rugby was my main sport growing up, and it was my life. I trained hard, I loved it, and any running I did was in service of that. Running for something always made sense for me. Running for the sake of it? That never really clicked.
Fast forward to the tail end of the first Covid lockdown. I was working a demanding job in healthcare, running on empty mentally and physically, and I was the heaviest I had ever been. Something had to give.
So I did what any rational person would do.
I entered an ultra marathon.
That decision changed everything. I got out there - and i’ve not stopped since.
Ultra trail running stopped from being something I’d stumbled into and became the thing that grounds me- physically, mentally, and emotionally. In the six or so years, I can count on one hand the number of trail runs i’ve not enjoyed. That’s not luck. That’s what happens when you find the right relationship with the trails and ultra marathons. The next session becomes exciting rather than a chore.
Gradually I just wanted to see what my mind and body were truly capable of . Races like the Cotswold Way Century - 102 miles completed in under 24 hours, finishing 5th overall - showed me what’s possible when training and preparation can come together. And then there’s UltraTrail Snowdonia by UTMB. 102 miles with an unrelenting 33000ft of elevation gain - Everest and then some. The hardest thing I’ve ever done, and one of the greatest achievements of my life.
I can remember every step of the way, fully present for every step of it.
That’s what ultra trail running. gives you when you get the approach and mentality right. An experience that, whilst being hard, makes you want to do it again, and again and again.
And that’s exactly what I want to help you find.
What the race stats don’t show is everything that went on around them. Early morning trail runs before school run. The recovery run during lunch break. The balancing act of being fully committed to a goal whilst committed to a family, a life and a job. Every mile I’ve run has been fitted around real life - and that’s shaped everything about how I coach.
I know what it’s like to hold down a full-time job, balance family life and still want to chase something that feels totally out there.
I became a certified ultra trail running coach because I wanted to use everything I’ve learnt-about training, about life, about what the mind and body are capable of - to help others presented with similar situations.
My approach puts feeling at the centre, with data to inform programme design and execution. The ultimate goal of every sessions-whether it be training or race day itself- is to finish and immediately want to go again (once recovered!).
That’s what OutThereUltra is built around. Not just getting you to the finish line. Getting you there in a way that leaves you wanting to book the next one.
