Barry was the 12hour overall champ at Dusk till Dawn (after running 31 consecutive half marathons in January 
). It was such a joy to watch him run while I was out on course. A peek at his AURA resume this week tells me this guy really loves to run ultras and run them well.
We are so lucky to have him lining up at races. He’s certainly going to inspire us all to go that little bit further when things get tough.
- How long have you been running and why did you start?
Been running ultras almost 10 years now. Started back running 2 years prior to that, just to lose weight and get fit again.
- What draws you to the backyard ultra format?
Love the idea that there is no finish line and can keep pushing oneself until you call it a day.
- If you could do any race in the world what would it be?
There’s so many these days. Probably the 10day Race in New York. Has a fantastic history and some amazing runners over the years and to see what it would feel like running 10 days.
- What is your greatest running moment to date?
There have been a few highlights, but the one that sticks out for me is 2015 in Turin at the 24 worlds. We came away with a team silver medal.
- What has been your worst running experience?
Stress fracture to the pubic bone. Couldn’t run for over a year, but started ultra walking due to the injury and loved it. So made a negative into a positive.
- What advice would you give to a new runner thinking about doing a backyard ultra?
Take one lap at a time and keep moving forward and most importantly enjoy the journey.
- What inspires you to stay motivated?
Try and let my self not to become civilised and always have the savage mentality. This isn’t the easy path but the right path for me.
- For you, running is like…
running community and a channel to oneself.
Thank you so much for sharing with us Barry. We hope your training goes well and we look forward to seeing you at the start line of every Backyard event.
