Redemption For Former Soldier In The 109-mile 'super Bowl' Of Trail Running

Tom Evans had been present before. He was a glutton for punishment.

His past 2 attempts astatine nan Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), 1 of nan toughest endurance races connected nan planet, had ended successful failure. One almost ended successful tragedy.

But present he was backmost again to tackle his nemesis for nan 4th time.

Starting successful Chamonix, successful nan French Alps, nan 175.4km (109 mile) people astir Mont Blanc runs done Italy and Switzerland pinch an elevation summation of 10,000m earlier ending backmost wherever it started.

Battling blizzard-like conditions, nan Briton took triumph an an unthinkable 19 hours, 18 minutes and 58 seconds, finishing 32 minutes up of 2nd spot American Ben Dhiman, pinch chap Briton Josh Wade successful third.

"The past 2 years, I person not finished, truthful to beryllium capable to travel from that pinch a triumph and put my worries astatine easiness and beryllium if you really want to execute something, you find a measurement to do it..." nan erstwhile service officer, 33, told BBC Sport, his words trailing off.

"It's a title that starts astatine 6pm and you tally done nan night.

"This twelvemonth we had rain, snowfall and gale unit winds and nan region itself is nary joke. It would beryllium a agelong measurement successful a car.

"It is nan balanced of nan Super Bowl for way moving and complete nan past fewer years it has grown and grown."

Evans vanished 3rd successful nan UTMB successful 2022 and returned to compete nan pursuing year.

But what started arsenic a changeable astatine beating his erstwhile decorativeness almost ended tragically.

"I was wholly unprepared for it and I started excessively fast," he said.

"My assemblage conscionable went successful to complete shutdown and I didn't cognize what I was doing aliases wherever I was and nan search strategy had failed."

Following nan incident, Evans' profession arsenic a way runner hung successful nan equilibrium arsenic doctors were unsure what had happened to him.

"One of nan hormones your assemblage will merchandise aft having a bosom onslaught is nan aforesaid arsenic what it would merchandise aft pushing yourself to nan absolute limit," he said.

"So nan interest was that I had either pushed myself to exhaustion aliases I had conscionable had a bosom attack."

After receiving nan each clear pursuing tests backmost successful nan UK, Evans competed successful 2024 but again grounded to finish.

Evans' first ultra-distance title was nan 2017 Marathon des Sables, which he entered for a bet.

He has now go nan first Briton to triumph astatine nan UTMB since Lizzy Hawker enjoyed 5 victories successful nan women's title from 2005-2012, and nan first British man to triumph since Jez Bragg successful 2010.

And he joins a group of runners to person won nan UTMB and nan Western States, a 100-mile endurance run.

His wife, Sophie Coldwell, a way runner and Commonwealth golden medal-winning triathlete, joined him astatine nan decorativeness statement pinch their three-month-old girl Phoebe.

"It felt for illustration a afloat circle infinitesimal wherever I had gone done truthful overmuch adversity successful nan title that I was conscionable incredibly proud," Evans said.

"I was truthful proud that I had put myself up to neglect and was consenting to neglect again but was past capable get nan consequence I knew I was tin of getting.

"It was conscionable incredibly typical to stock that infinitesimal pinch them [Sophie and Phoebe]. They person sacrificed truthful overmuch for maine to beryllium here."

Phoebe whitethorn not person been wholly alert of what her dada had achieved, but arsenic he lifted her supra his caput astatine nan finish, Evans said societal media had made "Lion King comparisons" to nan moment.

"I genuinely judge maine trying to beryllium nan champion begetter I tin beryllium makes maine a amended athlete," he said.

As he crossed nan decorativeness line, Evans saluted successful celebration, a motion to his clip successful nan equipped forces.

His profession earlier athletics is thing he feels has helped make him a amended endurance athlete.

"When I was successful nan military, location were times connected courses wherever giving up conscionable wasn't an option," he said.

"I was an serviceman and truthful for my soldiers I had to group an illustration - and I conjecture I get it is simply a akin mindset erstwhile I get retired connected nan way and push myself to nan absolute limits.

During his training, Evans worked pinch Dr David Spindler, nan sports scientist who helped Mark Cavendish earlier he won his final-ever shape astatine nan Tour de France.

"The intelligence spot it takes to push yourself erstwhile you are really tired tin beryllium difficult astatine points," Evans said, "and for maine it's astir going backmost to nan why and asking myself: Why americium I doing nan things I americium doing?"