#154 - From 5K Runs to 650KM FKT | Lydia Oldham’s Ultra Running Journey

In this episode of the RunThrough Podcast, we’re joined by ultra runner and adventurer Lydia Oldham, who discovered running during lockdown, going from running 5Ks as hard as she could every time, to marathons and eventually into the world of ultras.

She chats about that progression, her experience at the Speed Project, and how travel has shaped her creativity and approach to running. Lydia also highlights the importance of having a solid crew around you and what goes into pulling off ambitious endurance projects.

A big part of the conversation focuses on her 650km FKT on the Camino, where she shares the highs, the tough moments, and how breaking it down day by day helped her get through. She also opens up about the emotional comedown after big efforts, the need for proper rest and recovery, and the pressure to always chase the next challenge.

Hosted by Ben Sheppard, this is a relaxed and honest chat about resilience, trying new things, and doing it all for the right reasons. Perfect if you're looking for a bit of inspiration to start your own adventure.

Ben Sheppard - https://www.instagram.com/bensheppard93/

Lydia Oldham - https://www.instagram.com/comerunwith.me/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Run Through Podcast. And for any of you that don't know, if you're new around here, I am Ben Shepherd. Thank you for joining us. In this episode, we're joined by Ultrarunner and adventurer Lydia Altam, who discovered running in lockdown, going from running 5Ks as hard as she physically could every time. We've all done it to marathons and eventually into the world of ultras. We talk through that journey, her experience at the Speed Project, and how travelers influenced both her creativity and her approach to running. Lydia also shares the importance of having a strong crew around you and what it really takes to support ambitious endurance challenges. A big part of the conversation, of course, focuses on her 650km FKT on the Camino, where she reflects on the highs and the lows, the sense of community along the way, and how breaking the challenge down day by day helped her manage the physical and mental demands. She also opens up about the emotional come down after big efforts and the importance of rest and recovery, as well as navigating the pressure to always be on the move and looking forward to the next goal. It's a wicked conversation, this. I loved my time with Lydia. And by the way, all of these podcasts you can check out on YouTube too. If you want a little feature from Lydia's dog, I would recommend that. Just search Run Through on YouTube. And make sure, if you're not subscribed, hit that subscribe button wherever you're listening or watching this podcast. Lydia Oldham is on the Run Through podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

The Camino was something really special and you see so much beauty and so many different places while you're out there. You really have to think, yes, I want good runners to help me out, but who is gonna work well together? So making sure you have a crew that gets along well is is so, so important. I'm totally okay with trying something and failing, you know, if I'm not feeling very creative and I want to just paint something. I'm totally okay with just trying and maybe not going as well as I thought I would in my head. But I think that that's a good thing to be okay at not being okay at something. I am Lydia. I am an ultrarunner, slash content creator, slash designer, slash a bit of everything. And yeah, I love running really crazy far distances, going on adventures and sort of documenting it all.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

I think a really nice place to start this is I I read a couple of interviews before we hopped on the call when I knew this was happening. And there was a quote in one of them that said, I feel most at home when I'm on the move. And I really liked that, and I thought that's like quite a cool way to start this. Um, because you you weren't always like that, right? This wasn't always the case. So when did you first kind of realize that, hey, actually, like this is me, this is what I love to do.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Yeah, I mean, I guess in a way, I've always been it like that, but just not in the running sense. So I guess I've always tried to seek out adventure, and I grew up abroad. So I grew up, I was born in a different country, and then I moved around loads. So in that sense, I'm very used to being on the move and always trying to seek out the next adventure, the next sort of like where are we going next? I don't like being in one place for very long, and that's sort of transitioned into running, and I've just found for probably just a better way an easier excuse to go on adventures because now I'm running, so I've got to go, I've got to go travel. Whereas before it'd be like holiday. So yeah, sort of I yeah, I guess sort of started running around parks and realized that that wasn't really where my I I enjoyed it, but I don't think I had like a really fiery passion to be like, I want to hit that next PB. And I know a lot of people I was running with that was the fire that kept them running and kept them going. And I was like, I don't quite have that same passion. And I think it was when most people find trails and then they find ultras. I found ultras and then I found trails. So obviously, if you're running ultras, I think you're pretty much going to be on the trails. And and that's sort of how I found them. And I was like, ah, this is sort of where my passion is, and that sort of wanted to make me run more and go on these different races, see how far I could go because I love pushing myself, but in the sense of how far can I go? How far can I push my body instead of how fast can I go?

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Where did you going back a little bit then to that point about adventure and kind of always loving picking up and going somewhere else and never really wanted to settle for too long? Why was that something that you, I'm not going to say had, have? Like, why is that part of your personality? Has that come from somewhere?

SPEAKER_01 4:50

I guess it's been passed on through my parents. My parents absolutely loved traveling. And as a child, we were the family that would go backpacking and stay at like home stays and you know, go off into the fields and camp and things. And it was never just that standard holiday. And I think that has definitely been instilled in me through my parents. Um, I remember all my friends, you know, going for a beach holiday, and I was like, Oh, why can't I be doing that? And now I look back on like those experiences were so amazing, and I'm so thankful that I had them. But yeah, at the time you're just like, I want to be on a beach like all my friends. And so I think now I'm just constantly trying to find that adventure, just like I did as a kid.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

In your work as a designer, because you've got that part of your personality as well, and I think anybody that kind of follows you on social will will have seen a lot of that and a lot of the work you do as a designer. Does does the amount you've traveled and the different places that you've seen, like does that give you more inspiration than if you had stayed in one place? Like, do you find yourself getting inspired more by these different places you go in your life as a designer?

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Yeah, definitely. 100%. I think you know, the more people you meet, even if you are staying in one place, you know, going to different run clubs, meeting different people, just going and trying a new thing, a new sport, or something that you'd never think you wanted to do, it inspires you. And I think whenever I am sort of in that creative, like, oh, I don't know what, like nothing's inspiring me at the moment. Going and doing something out of your comfort zone automatically gets gets things going in the brain. And I think, yeah, it's great having adventures, but you can just find it in your day-to-day life by just trying something completely new.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

How weird is that as well? Like, I know we're all busy, and people are people are listening to this right now being like, I don't have time to do this thing for myself. And yeah, it might feel like that, but how many times have you felt like that? And you're like, right, I need to just take a break, make some time, do that thing that brings me joy, and then actually coming back to the busyness of everyday life feels a lot easier. It feels like you can be creative again or you can do that task. And I think sometimes we get bogged down in that, don't we? The fact that it's like, oh, we're on this um kind of ferris wheel of never-ending churn. But actually, making that time for yourself is the most important thing because without that headspace, you can't actually, in your instance, be creative in everyday life.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

Yeah, a hundred percent. Like, I at the moment have really got into making things out of clay and painting. So a lot of the um artwork around our house is just my really random paintings, but it's just a way for me to sort of do something different, and like clay, I'm I've figured out that I'm not very good at making anything out of clay, but just doing something different and putting your brain sort of like to work to be creative in a way that you know you're not you're probably not gonna be that happy with the output. Like, I finished the piece of clay and I'm like, I'm looking at Pinterest, and I'm like, that is not what I was intending to make. Being on Pinterest is beautiful. I have got some weird misshape and blob, but by doing that, you're sort of like opening up your brain to just being okay with not doing very well and just being creative in a completely different sense. And yeah, I think I think that's really, really good to do.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

It's also quite powerful being bad at something. Like when when you're when you're doing things over and over again and it's part of your life and like your career as a as a designer, right? You're an incredibly talented designer, but you've been doing it for so long, like it makes sense why you are. Like to pull yourself back and to put yourself in something like something like that, or picking up a new project, or starting something new, and then realizing, oh, this is a humbling experience. Like that's actually quite I think that's actually quite powerful sometimes because you forget how hard starting something new is sometimes I think.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Yeah, definitely. It's um I always try and get people to try it. Try just try something new.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

It's just such a good thing to try something new.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

With running, like that's a that's a big thing, isn't it? Because people that have been on their journey for so long and people that have maybe run for years and years and years, or have done all these massive races, or you know, experienced running in many different forms. I think it's always really good to remind yourself that you kind of started somewhere and you came from somewhere and you were at the beginning of a running journey once too. And and let's touch on that because um for you, where did where did run in first enter your life, like time period-wise? I know you said about starting running around parks and that not quite feeling right, but when was that?

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Um, I'd probably say like middle, middle of lockdown.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Yeah, middle to end of lockdown. Um, I sort of started lockdown. I was living in London, and I was partying a lot, lived with two DJs and designers, and we had a great time. We had a great time. You know, London Fields was, I feel like it was a party in the sunshine. Um, and I was like, this is great, but I felt so unhealthy. And I come from a swimming background, so I do love sports, but I feel like I got a bit lost in one, just that over-training, you know, when you're a kid and you're training for something and a goal so specifically, and then you kind of let that go, you find a whole different world. And I went off on this other path, and I think moving to London and having my first like proper human job and you know, going into the world, I was like, Yeah, just let's just have fun. And I think lockdown was sort of that point of you do a lot more self-reflection when you can't just go out and distract yourself all the time. Um, so I was like, I think this is the time to yeah, try something, go for a run, and I was just running 5K's by myself. I mean, actually, when I started, it was probably about one or two kilometers, and I'd just call a friend and chat, and then it worked up to 5Ks, and I was basically going out and trying to PB a 5K every single time I went out for a run. I did not understand the concept of running, and so I'd look at my Strava and I'd be like, Oh, am I getting slower? Or oh yeah, you know, I'm finally getting past it. And it was literally, I would open the door and start Strava and go. There was no sort of like warm-up pace, little jog. It was like I now look back at it and I'm like, oh my god, I can't believe I didn't get injured before that. Um, but yeah, so found 5K's and I found um a really good running community in London around East London and met a lot of my friends in East London through running. Um and where was that, Lydia? Padam.

SPEAKER_00 12:17

Who was that? What community was that?

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Um, so it was um, well, we were just a bunch of friends. Okay, it wasn't like a specific run club. Um, we just all sort of yeah, got along. Um, and it was actually two guys in Victoria Park that kept seeing me go round. And because I was always trying to peep me a 5k, they thought I was a really, really fast runner. They're like, wow, this girl must be like some elite runner. And I was like, so they actually stopped me and did a run with me. And they're like, what are you training for? Like, I was like, um 5k? And they were like, Have you ever done anything longer than a 5k? And I was like, no, I don't think I've ever done anything longer than a 5k. And so we just got chatting and they sort of became um yeah, my like my go-to people in the run scene because they took me on my first, I think maybe 10 kilometers, or maybe they did a half marathon with me. Um I I did my first ultra with them. Um so yeah, they they were amazing. And um yeah, sort of how it how it escalated or how it started.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

It must be weird like going back and thinking about that because now it's kind of a massive part of what your life kind of revolves around. Going back to that point, it's it must be a bit like huh, like this huge thing that I didn't even know was really a thing, kind of just got you know, I just kind of randomly discovered it because of this lockdown situation. And I would imagine for you, lockdown was quite weird because of somebody that like likes bouncing around, likes being in different places, to be kind of like, nah, this is what you're doing now for a little bit. That must have been weird in the first instance as well.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Yeah, it was it was very strange. I think obviously lockdown was such a like horrible period of time for everyone, and it was just I was still I I was very lucky to still be working through that. And I was working a corporate design job in London, and yeah, I was I was one of the lucky ones to still have some normality there of like that nine to five going on. So I think that kept kept me kind of sane. Um, and it is it is such a weird thing to think about now that that thing I think has obviously lockdown has changed a lot of people's lives, but I feel like my life literally went on a whole different tangent, it just went off on a different tangent. I think back and I'm like, I probably wouldn't be living here in Portugal and doing what I'm doing if that hadn't have happened, if I hadn't just gone, oh, I'll try running.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

Yeah. It's so weird, isn't it? I can't remember who was on the podcast recently, but we were talking about those those little moments that at the time feel so insignificant that then end up being so big. Like I bet when you went out for that first 5k or went out for that first run, it was just like I'm going for a run, like I'm just gonna see what this feels like again. I want to get fit or I've been partying too much with the with with my housemates. Like, but then that that that tiny little decision that yeah, you wouldn't have really thought about in the in the time it was happening, it's now become such a massive thing. And I think that's kind of strange sometimes when you look back and reflect because it's like like what what what are the decisions that I'm gonna make now in the next couple of years that are gonna end up being massive ones in the future? It's kind of a bit scary when you think about it like that, but you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Yeah, exactly. And it's always like you try and think back, and it's like, when was that moment? I actually went, yeah, I'm gonna carry on doing this, or when was the actual pivotal moment? And you never know when the exact moment was. It just I guess it's a buildup of all those decisions that have been made. So yeah, I wonder what the next, the next big decision will be.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Talking about like ultras, then, because you said you found that before you found Trail, and I guess there's probably a little bit in the middle here that we're missing out slightly. Like, when did when did it become look? I'm not running 5K straight out the door trying to get PBs every time to being like, hey, this is actually what I like, like this is where it's clicked, and this is who I am. What's that kind of connecting piece between those two things?

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Um, there's probably like two moments. Um I was running like it. I obviously built up running. So I was doing marathons and you know, I didn't just jump into I did have a very escalated time going into ultras, but I didn't just sorry, my dog I didn't just jump, you just want strokes. Um I didn't just jump into ultras. I was, you know, I had run a couple marathons, and I think I got to a point where I think I saw someone on Instagram post about running a hundred kilometres, and I was like, I wonder if I could do that. I'd done a 50k with my friends, um, but we'd done it really super chilled. It was around London, and you know, we'd stopped all the time, really enjoyed it. It was basically like a day out. And I saw this post of this girl trying to do 100k, and I was like, I really want to try that. I feel like that's something that would be really fun to see if I could do. So I signed up to that, and I think that was one pivotal moment of trying ultras. And the first one that I ever did, I DNF'd. Um, I didn't understand that you could walk in ultras and like walk up hills, and I was like, it's a marathon, but 100k, so I've just got to run. So obviously I got to 65 and I was like, I can't do this, and I also hadn't understood pretty impressive you got to 65, Lydia, to be honest. Yeah, yeah, I got to 60. I mean, I had my um whole family there showing me on, so I think that's probably why I was like, the pressure is on. Um, but yeah, I just that would that was that was a moment it kind of maybe it was the first step in it switching, but I didn't come away from that loving ultras, that is for sure. And I went back a month later and I finished 100k, and I was like, okay, I can do it, but the love definitely wasn't there. I was like, I'm so glad that I could do that. And in my head, I think at the time I thought I was gonna go back to marathons, and I was like, you know, I've done the 100k, I've proven to myself I can do it, and I think from there the next key point was a brand reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to run the speed project, which is obviously 500 kilometers through the desert and from LA to Las Vegas. And I was thinking in my head, oh yeah, the relay would be amazing, that would be such a cool experience. Like it's still a you know, it's still an ultra, but you're doing it with people, that'd be a great way to do it. And this brand was like, I think for storytelling, I think it would be way better if you did it solo. And I think that moment where I was like, I will never get this, I don't know if I'll ever get this opportunity again to do this, and I just said yes, and I think I only had like three or four months to train for it, considering I'd only ever done 100 kilometers before and this was gonna be 500. I've never done multi-day races, like just I've never done anything in that realm. Like it was so new. And by me saying yes to that because I didn't know if it would ever happen again, I thought it was just this like, let's just do it, let's just see what happens. That was the pivotal moment where after I finished that race, I was like, okay, I'm hooked now. I this is so cool. I think because also you're planning your own route, you've got uh a crew with you, like it really is like you're going on an adventure, and for five days, you the the real world doesn't exist. Like you don't have a job, you don't have to think about real life. All you have to think about is running, eating, sleeping, seeing beautiful scenery, and that is absolutely it. And I think, yeah, I came back from that broken, but after a week I was like, right, this is it. This is this is what I love.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

And and that's I think that specific race, I'm gonna call it a race, is kind of like that amalgamation, right, between a race and a project, and that thing that like kind of blurs the lines a little bit, doesn't it? The speed project, but it it's something you've seen with the I've seen with a few different people that that is almost the gateway to everything else that they're that they're doing now. Um, and and it's very interesting that you speak about that as well in that kind of way. Um let's talk about that that specific piece, the speed project. For people that don't know what it is, just break it down um in terms of where it starts, where it finishes, kind of the concept behind the whole thing, and then and then yeah, let's talk about the actual journey itself and what that was like for you.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Yeah, so the Speed Project is an unsanctioned race. So that means that um I don't know the actual definition of unsanctioned racing, but basically there's no um there's a start line and there's a finish line, and you know, you're not the race director and the people organizing it aren't giving you water or food throughout. Um it is there's no there's no direct route. So you've obviously got a start line and a finish line and How you get there is up to you. Um, you all start together like a normal start, and then um obviously it finishes once you cross the finish line. The start line is Santa Monica Pier in LA, and I think the the solo people start like four days before the relay. So there's two options. There's the solo where you basically do it completely by yourself, or there is the relay where you have a team of five or eight and you relay it there. Obviously, they go a hell of a lot faster than our solo people, and the finish line is in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas sign, the famous sign. Um, and there is actually two ways of doing the solo journey. You can do it completely unsupported. I've had some friends that have done it unsupported, and that means you're finding your own water, you're carrying all your own food, like they're mental. I find that absolutely crazy that you do it completely unsupported, or you do it like me, which is supported, and that means that I had an RV that was next to me. Um, so they'd meet me every 10 kilometers when I was on road, and then when I went off-road, sometimes it was up to like 60 kilometers. Um, I wouldn't see them for. But it means that they have, you know, water, everything I need. There was a bed at the back for if I need sleep. Um, so a lot a lot nicer way of doing it than the unsupported.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

What was what was that experience like? Like you you almost described it as like an eye-opening moment to to everything else that you've done to this point. And I'd imagine there's so many stories we could probably do another like two, three hours on the speed project just as a just as a just as a journey in itself. But was there any moments where you like looked up and thought, this is amazing? I can't believe that I'm getting to experience this thing, like this experience. And yeah, what maybe what were those and and what were the were the biggest ups, but also the biggest downs as well?

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Yeah, I mean, I think it's so hard because it's going back quite a while now for me. Yeah, and I think the main thing that I took away from it is that I just loved that format. I loved the ability to just be running for days and to have that's a mad phrase, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 24:28

By the way, yeah. I love you, just run it for days, just love it. Running for days.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

That's it's just so nice. That's the only thing you're thinking about. And I think also the crew that we had was absolutely amazing because it is it is 100% not a even though it is the solo project, and it is you that almost you know gets that glory of crossing the finish line and saying that you've completed it, you can't do it without your team, and your team is so crucial for you to be able to get there. And I think I've only realized this last year, how much a crew and who the crew is affects your run because last year I did my own sort of speed project project where I went from Lisbon up into Santiago to Compostela, which is the like pilgrimage route, and that one's a similar sort of distance, 650 kilometres, and I did that with a very similar crew, and that was again absolutely amazing. Um, I had one of the same guys that was um on TSP crewing me, who has now become one of like a really close friend. He came to our wedding. I met him on Instagram, I reached out on Instagram and said, like, is anyone in California could help me with a speed project? And we started messaging, and I was like, I just have a vibe that you're gonna be good, and yeah, we've become I in two weeks I fled out to California to see him, and we raced in California, so we've yeah, that's how close we've become from running a project like this. I think you know, everything that time of five days becomes like you know, months, you just get to know someone so well, and from that I then did another run at the end of last year in October, and I did it pretty much without any crew. So I had a photographer and I had Ollie, who's been on all of these as the driver, and team captain as he likes to um call himself, and um I then realized from doing those, which are so polar opposite, that the people that you have and having that crew, my mental state in the run without the crew was so different, and I really struggled so much more without having people running alongside me. So I think, yeah. Sorry, I've gone completely off tangent of what whatever that question was. But it's just um, yeah, people people throughout that run, I I don't think I could do it at that paces again.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Yeah, I think the people make it, don't they? And then they also like it's easier to pull back on experiences because experiences you have with people are often more powerful and just make where you are even more powerful, which is quite cool. Um I think spinning off the back of the the speed project and and getting into your own project in Portugal, obviously those two things are totally different because even though one is like unsanctioned, it's still a thing, isn't it? It's still like you're going from this point to this point. And I guess in in a respect, the the run in Portugal was the same, but it's it's not it's not it wasn't something that you know was organized in any way. This is your thing, right? This is the thing that you're you're doing, you're you're deciding that you want to do. And you've got the FKT on that run as well, right? Correct, yeah. So um, yeah, again, for anybody that's listening, I'm sure you know what an FKT is, but it's the fastest known time. And yeah, Lydia, give us some background to that FKT and why you decided that that was the thing that you wanted to do. Like, where did that idea first come to fruition?

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Yeah, I think actually Ollie, my husband, sort of brought it up.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

I think because I fancy being captain again.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Yeah. Which is actually funny because he was the person that um pointed out the speed project to me on Instagram. I was like, this is so cool. Um so technically it's like Ollie just wants experiences himself, to be honest, doesn't it? Yeah, exactly. Um but yeah, basically we were moving to Portugal, and we were like, I think at the time I wanted to do the speed project again, and I was trying to plan how I could do the speed project again because it was such a big thing in my life, and it was just it was just so amazing, and we wanted to go back and do it, but because we were moving to Portugal and visa situations, you have to stay in Portugal for quite a while while that happens, and so we realized that we wouldn't be able to make it out to um to the states, so it's sort of like okay, well, let's try and explore Portugal, and it wasn't in the sense of let's you know go on this run in Portugal, it was more how do we just explore it? And Ollie brought up that there's this Camino route, and the Camino goes from all over Europe, I think the longest one is from in France, it's like a thousand kilometres, and then yeah, you can come from all these different points, and it's a pilgrimage to this one town and Santiago, and you can go and see the church there. And I don't know how it was brought up, but it must somehow it was brought up that there is this one in Portugal, and I was like, Oh, it'd be cool if you could, you know, we could do that, or maybe you could maybe you could run some of it, and then it was sort of like we could run some of it, and I think that just like got the clogs turning, and obviously it's great because it starts in Lisbon, really close to where we live, and it's like right, okay, got that going, and I was like, 650 kilometers, that's kind of like the speed project, but a little bit longer, so it is sort of like the next step in the challenge, and I didn't really think about the fastest known time for quite a while. It was more this would be a really cool way to see a new country that we've just moved to, and we'd see it together, it would be amazing. So I reached out to some friends and they were like, Yeah, I'm in, let's do it. It sounds like a great, a great thing to do. Um, so then it just becomes almost like a holiday with friends, but with a little bit of a goal in mind. And I think that's also what's really key when I choose the paces and the crew that I have is you, you, you, yes, you want to think about amazing runners, and I always have you know these amazing people that want to run, but it's also thinking about they're not gonna spend that much time with me, the runner. They do little stints, they help me out. The most of the time that they spend is in the van or hanging out as a crew. So you really have to think yes, I want good runners to help me out, but who is gonna work well together? And it's basically always been like a little lad's holiday for them because they get I've they've always got along so well, which then in turn helps you out because the the mood is really high, everyone's having a great time. So when you come in ready for the next run, everyone just is in this like massive hype, and it's like this great time. So making sure you have a crew that gets along well is is so so important. Um I feel like I've trailed off my thought there.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Not at all. I think as well, like that's like it it's listening to you speak like that as well. It's like you're so positive about these journeys, which obviously you've taken so much from, but it's it's like quite selfless as well in some ways, because you're almost like, you know, I'm almost just a vehicle for this experience for other people in some ways, which is which is a a really nice way to think about it, because I think sometimes running can be, particularly when you're doing these big projects, it can almost be framed when you're talking to people about them as quite a selfish endeavor. Whereas I don't think like it it isn't or it doesn't have to be. Um and I think the way that you're talking about there is quite cool because it's almost like this is very much a team thing rather than a me thing.

SPEAKER_01 32:48

Um yeah, and you know that you're gonna you know that they're gonna have to go through, you know, a couple days, hardly any sleep, really like running quite a lot of miles compared to usual. I think I I sort of phrase it as like a good they were both running big races, so I was like, it's like an ultra camp. You know, you guys could just get a train for like five days, um which which seemed to work, it seemed to buy them in. But um, yeah, I think you know that they're gonna go through a lot of pain and suffering themselves, not to the extent that you will, but so understanding that you want them to have the funnest time possible around that. Like you don't want it to be so serious and so you know the goal focused, you have to live in that moment when you're doing it and be like, this is just fun, like we are just on an adventure, and that's how you have to look at it because it's like five days, you can't just be like the end goal is this, like there's so much more in that scope of five days.

SPEAKER_00 33:48

And you mentioned hard moments, like, where do you go in those difficult moments and how do you get through them?

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Yeah, I think I really rely on the paces when it's difficult moments. I think saying that though, the Camino was something really special because although, like you said, it wasn't like the Speed Project, it it does it there, aren't other people doing the same race, and it isn't a race in that sense. You don't have a start line or a finish line. There is so many people doing the Camino though. There's loads of people walking it, doing it in sections, and I think all of us came out of that thinking the same thing. We like spoke about it afterwards, and it was that it felt quite magical, like there was something on that path, because you just know that everyone's going to the same place, and they all want to get there, and it's all their own journey that they need to go on. So there was something really nice about that, and you know, you'd walk past people, and everyone would say, like, you know, have a good Camino, and there was yeah, just something really, really special in that, knowing that everyone's doing it together, sort of doing it together, just at their own speed and pace. And um, so I think I mean, one, that was great having that positivity like constantly around you, and then in the hard moments, yeah, I think it really is depending on those people, and I I'm not afraid to just have a cry and usually have Ollie tell me that I need some food and like have a sit down, you'll be fine. Um, and you have this goal, and you just have to break it up. You know, each day you just need to get to the end of that day, and you can't think about the end goal because that's so overwhelming, thinking about I have to keep doing this for X amount of days. So you just think I've just got to get to the end of today, and then we reassess. And then within that day, you're like, okay, we're gonna get to lunch time, we're gonna have a little break, and then we're gonna carry on. And you see so much beauty and so many different places while you're out there that you just have to keep remembering to like look around and take in that experience because you're never gonna do this again. You might do it in a different way or a different run, but you're probably never gonna do this same route ever again. So it's just really trying to take that all in, and it's so hard because when you get especially near the end, all you want to do is finish, but you know that you don't want to finish because as soon as it's over, it's over and it's really sad, and you just like that's it, it's done, you know. And you know that then almost the pain's gonna hit and your body's gonna like completely break down. But yeah, it's it's this fight that you constantly have of I want this to be done, and I really don't want this to be done.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

And that's a strange thing, isn't it? Because I think for for yourself, I bet you look at the Camino and then yeah, it's five days, 17 hours. Was that what it was in the end for the FKT?

SPEAKER_01 37:01

Uh five days, 12 hours, 12 hours and a bit, I think. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:05

12 and a bit. So there was that, so you look at that and that period of time and 650 kilometers, and that's mad, but that's not the whole experience, is it? Like the whole experience is everything leading up to that point as well. So it's not just that that five days and 12 hours is done, and you've got what you kind of set out to get at that point, but it's that the whole experience is done. So that is difficult because you kind of got to accept that, like, right, we've got to think about the next thing now. Did you find that kind of transition out of the Camino and out of that that that specific project? Was that a difficult thing to handle, or were you kind of done with it and ready to bounce onto the next thing?

SPEAKER_01 37:47

No, is it's always super hard once it finishes because yeah, you've got all the planning that goes into it, all the training that goes into it, like just so much, even to be able to do something like that, you know, you have to ask for brands to help you out and all those things. And so immediately after it finishes, you I still have to post content, I still have to, you know, talk about running on my Instagram and things, but you don't you almost don't want to, you want to rest as well, so you you've got to carry on talking about this run that you've done, but you also want like a moment to just take it all in, so it's quite hard to balance both things, but I've actually found that after the Camino, I I felt like that one was the best afterwards. Um I think post TSP was physically the hardest. I think because I hadn't been doing these sort of runs or training as much beforehand, physically I had the hardest time afterwards, but like I was completely broken. Um whereas mentally, I think the London to Cornwall, um, which I did without paces, was mentally the toughest. I think after I finished that one, I went into a real low mentally. Whereas somehow the Camino was like a sweet spot. I think also it was really sunny. We'd moved to Portugal, so we were in Portugal, we just had to drive home. Um, I think yeah, I had a friend's day, we went to the beach every day for a week. I took a week off doing any sort of work, and that is what worked. I've I've figured out what worked, and I need to do that again next time I do a big project.

SPEAKER_00 39:40

I think as well, like the Camino, just how you spoke about it, just how you almost set it up in terms of the conversation when you're saying, like, we moved to Portugal, we wanted to have this experience together, but also like it'd be cool to do this pretty sick thing. Like everything felt like it married up, and London to Cornwall, how you've mentioned it, maybe everything didn't marry up, but it was a thing that you just felt like you wanted to do, and you did, and it was an amazing thing to do, but now reflecting back on it wasn't quite as perfect, maybe. And I I guess it's I guess it's that balancing act between working out one way or another if a project's the correct project, and you probably don't know that till after anyway, too. Yeah, or till you're doing it.

SPEAKER_01 40:29

I think with the Portugal one, it was a real personal project. I really wanted to do it, like it meant a lot to me, and I think like people around me as well. Whereas the London to Cornwall had sort of like a bigger purpose than me, it was raising money for charity. So I wanted to do it and prove you know that I could do it and raise this money, but that adds another pressure that's not you just going out because this is really fun and I really want to do it. You're like, I want to raise money because it's a really good cause. So adding that extra pressure is is just another layer of like, oh, I want to do well, I want to, you know, show this in a really good way, and yeah, it's just it's challenging.

SPEAKER_00 41:17

Do you ever feel pressure to like bounce on to the next thing? Because this I know you when we were talking about the speed project, like we said that you know that's a while ago now, but it was actually only it was 2024, right? So it's a couple of years ago, and you've done a hell of a lot between then and and where we are now. Is it ever like, oh Lydia, like, I need you need to find the next thing, you need to do the next thing? Like, do you do you struggle with that? Is that something that you think about?

SPEAKER_01 41:45

Um, I think that definitely comes with the realm, probably more of the content creation side of it.

SPEAKER_02 41:51

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 41:52

And showing that. I I definitely find that when I'm at running events or at races, people, and I've I've caught myself doing it before to people where you're at a race, you haven't even run the race yet, and someone says, Oh, so what's next? And you're like, I haven't even run this race yet. But it is it it's just that culture of it, it is what's next, what's next, what's next, and I think sometimes you don't take a moment to go, Wow, look at what I've achieved. And it's so easy to get caught up in what's next. And I do, I I get caught up in it, and especially when you have to map out the full year of your races because you're thinking about training, you're thinking about you know content or working with brands, and then all of a sudden you're looking at the year and you're like, Oh, my whole year's booked up, and I'm doing all these things, and then that can become quite stressful. But I'm always in the mindset of it's better to try something and go on an adventure, say yes, and you might not do very well, you might fail, but at least you've tried. Um, to an extent, obviously, you don't want to be going crazy, and that's how you can get injured as well. And you there's there is a fine line, but um, I'm totally okay with trying something and failing, just like how I am with you know, if I'm not feeling very creative and I want to just paint something, I'm totally okay with just trying and maybe not going as well as I thought it would in my head. Um, but I think that's that's a good thing to be okay at not being okay at something.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

Yeah, 100%. And and as well, like you said about finding it difficult sometimes to kind of reflect back and look at the experiences and like almost take them in. And it must be because so much has happened in quite a short period of time in terms of like projects and racing and everything, like having conversations like this and actually looking back at them must feel a little bit weird, and it must be Like that's that is a bit mad, all the stuff that I've done, even since we're going back to London Fields and we're, you know, partying in that in that house. Like, it's it is a long period of time, but it's not a long period of time. What what what what do you think if we if we took you back to that point now and said, look at look at this is all the stuff we're gonna do in the next few years. Do you think Lydia back then would have would have believed it or would have thought that's something that could happen?

SPEAKER_01 44:29

I'd probably I mean thinking back, I'd just be like, that's mad. That's incentive. But also at the same time, I know that I'm so like I just say yes to things that I would be like, it probably could happen, yeah. I wouldn't put it past myself to do to do something so so crazy. But no, I think, yeah, looking if I if I could go back and look into the future, I'd be like, that's mental. Because I remember when um me and my obviously husband now, but we weren't then. Um we would I was doing a half marathon, hack me, hack me half. And I always remember this because um we came to the end and I just remember finishing and being like, I think I think Ollie said, Oh, would you do a half marathon? Oh, do you would you do a marathon? And I was like, I'd love to, but I I don't know if I could do that distance maybe one day in you know a very distant future, six months down the line I was running a marathon. But you know, at the time I was like, that's mental. I'd love to be able to do a marathon one day, but that just that at the time just felt like such a crazy distance, and it is such a crazy distance. Um so yeah, it just escalated real fast. But I mean, I think that is me as a person. Like you look at my tattoos, you know. I sort of I had one tattoo and I was like, I like this. All of a sudden I have loads of tattoos. So I mean, yeah, I think that that is who is who I am.

SPEAKER_00 45:58

That's a t-shirt, isn't it? Like I there's there's there's a few times on this podcast over the years where you hear like little sound bites and you're like, that's a t-shirt and a mug, but escalated real fast is great. Like that's great. I love that. Escalated real fast. Um, I think there'll be people listening to this, and it's probably quite a nice way to cap it because I'm not gonna ask you what's next because people can go and follow you on socials, and um, we've just had that conversation, so I don't want to be the person that has that conversation and then's like, hey Lydia, what's next? Yeah, so Lydia's Instagram is uh in the in the bio of this episode, so go and check it out and yeah, follow it, follow up there. Um I think there'll be people listening to this, and we're kind of in this realm now where racing is one thing and like projects are another. And I think um for a lot of people when you speak to people, and I know personally having done a few bits myself, like I look at projects so fondly. I love races as well, but I really love like that project feel sometimes of of like creating something and doing it and then seeing it through. If somebody was thinking listening to this and they were thinking, you know what, I'd like to do something like that, but I don't know where to start. Like, what would be your I guess advice or you know, what would be the what would be the way that they got that ball rolling on doing something themselves in that sort of project landscape?

SPEAKER_01 47:23

Yeah, I mean I guess that's in a way how the Portugal run came about, because TSP is it a lot of money goes into that. You know, you've got to fly to the States, you've got to have a big, you know, RV, there's there's so much that goes into it, and I think the cost element to projects compared to races is the main you know holding back. If you think, oh, I can do it, the next hurdle to your is the cost of being able to do something like that, because there is there is just so much behind it that you don't realise that even you know, as soon as you start planning, you're like, oh wow, actually this this becomes very expensive. So that's sort of where the the Portugal project was also wrapped up in is that you can you know rent a camp van, or if you've got a camp van and you've got a friend, you you can go off and have these adventures. And I think the first thing to try is just going out and seeing if you can do multi-day sort of things, if you can go and camp and run and camp and run, and you know, it doesn't have to be all documented. I think where I come in is I'm trying to document it and show people that journey and show people how to do it, or you know, these crazy places, but it doesn't have to be documented, and you can just go out and have fun, and you know, I'd there's actually a trail on the uh the other way down south in Portugal that I'd love to do and try and do it self-supported to understand that sort of world a bit more. Because I think doing it self-support is obviously a lot easier step into doing something like this because you don't have to have paces or a van, things like that. If you can set up a route where you can stay places in between, then that's amazing. Um, but yeah, the fisherman's trail is sounds like a really fun one to do because it's a bit like a cabino where there is um you there are little hotels along the route because people do this and hike it so many days. Um so yeah, I want to understand that role a bit more. But yeah, that's sort of where I'd go with it. There's so many ways to start doing it. I don't I think that's the nice thing, is there's no correct way or done way to do it. Like you can do it in whatever way you want and just have fun with it.

SPEAKER_00 49:52

I think as well, like it's so important that you're doing it for the right reasons and you're doing it for you. And I think the beauty of what you do, Lydia, in sharing it is it's all about those experiences, it's all about those moments. But it also strikes me that even if you had no social media presence and that was no not a thing anymore, for some reason Instagram gets switched off tomorrow, TikTok doesn't exist, you'd still do it, wouldn't you?

SPEAKER_01 50:22

Yeah, 100%. I mean that is the funny. I think if you're out there doing it not for yourself, then you're not gonna enjoy it. Like if you're forcing yourself to go around an ultra because everyone's running an ultra or a marathon, then there's you you really have to want it yourself, especially if you're going on adventures like this, I think.