Sharon Gayter's Acheivements
Currently ranked number 12 in the world
Ranked as Great Britain's No 1 24 hour runner for 12 consecutive years
British Indoor 24 Hour Record, 2008, Bislett Stadium, Oslo
Libyan Challenge ladies winner 2008 & 2007
Finisher of the Verdon Canyon Challenge, 2006
Lands End to John O'Groats World Record, 2006
Finisher of the Transalpine Run, 2005
Bronze Medalist in Nathional 100km Championships, 2005
Winner of the Moravian Ultramarathon, 2004 (7 Marathons in 7 Days)
Finished the Flora 1000 Mile Challenge, 2003
British 100km Champion 1994, 2002
AAA of England 24 Hour Champion 1994, 1997, 1998
British 24 Hour Champion 1997, 1998
Team silver medalist at European 100km Championships 1995
Team silver medalist at European 24 Hour Championships 1996, 1998
Team bronze medalist at European 100km Championships 1997
Sharon Gayter Describes What it is Like to Run for Spira™
I have been an ultra runner for many years; I started my International Ultra Distance career in 1994, the same year as I started my Sport Science degree and very soon learned that the two most important things in my sport were the shoes on your feet and the food you eat.
I have now been Great Britain's best 24 hour runner for the last 12 years, in that time I have clocked up over 800 races, 18000 miles of racing and am course record holder on the Libya Challenge 190km, run the Trans-alpine race from Germany to Austria, Switzerland and finishing in Italy, won the Moravian Ultra Marathon (7 marathons in 7 days), gone up and down the London Marathon route 38 times while competing in the Flora 1000 Mile Challenge and the reduced the World Record by 17 hours when running the epic Lands End to John O'Groats in 2006 (837 miles).
I may have been around some time but I am certainly not getting any slower, in December 2008 I extended the British Indoor 24 Hour Record up to 219km, setting a new personal best in the process, a distance that was ranked as the best indoor 24 hour performance in the world for 2008 (by a female).
I have tried most shoes on the market over this running career but nothing has seen the response that I have got from running in Spira. It's rare that you get an opportunity to wear such revolutionary shoes so am privileged to join the band of runners wearing them. For my first race in these shoes, just a short sprint over 5km that I race regularly on Saturday mornings at the local Parkrun, I reduced my PB by a whopping 19 seconds, over a minute faster than I had run the previous week, the next day I was running a Half Marathon, my time was better than all my 2008 times and the Stinger Elite that I was wearing just didn't feel like a racing flat. I had never run over the 10km distance in racing flats as my calves know the distance when I do, but these shoes just felt like light weight flats that had the cushioning of shoes twice their weight.
January 2009 saw me break all my club records, not just in my age category but the one below it too. My performances so far in Spira shoes have been better than all my 2008 results. Although I had to drop out of the 6 Day World Record attempt due to an old injury flaring up, I managed to complete 166 miles in just under 2 days. Believe me, when you run long distances your feet ache but I could certainly feel the benefit from the extra cushioning this time around. Up next, World championships. Bring it on!
Before Flying to Bergamo in Italy for the World 24 Hour Championships I competed quite a lot. A small selection of races and results from towards the end of April are as follows:
16th April - Preston Park Trail 5km - 1st lady around 20 mins 14 sec (Stinger Elite)
18th April - Wensleydale Wander 22 miles off road - 1st lady in 3 hrs 25 mins (Del Sol)
19th April - Redcar Half Marathon - 3rd vet 45 - 1 hr 39 mins (Striker)
21st April - New Ellerby 5 - 1st lady in 33 mins 27 secs, also club record (Stinger Elite)
22nd April - Coast Road 5km - 1st Vet 45 in 20 mins 12 sec, improved my own club record (Stinger Elite)
Bergamo World 24 Hour Championships.
Report to follow soon!!
