Why Racing For Fun Might Be Your Secret Weapon with Gary Thwaites

Gary chats Tour De Helvellyn and Lakeland 100

This week, we catch up with Gary Thwaites - trail runner, podcast host, and self-proclaimed middle-aged dude still chasing adventure, one race at a time. He might not be leading the pack, but he’s always in the mix, pushing his limits and embracing the outdoors with his dog, his friends, and an endless love for the trails.

From racing to hosting the popular Tea and Trails podcast, Gary lives and breathes the sport. We chatted with him about why his most recent Tour de Helvellyn was a little different - and got the inside scoop on how he's prepping for this year’s Lakeland 100.

Harrier is a very proud sponsor of Gary’s podcast, Tea and Trails. Check out this episode of Tea and Trails featuring an interview with our very own founder, Kate.

TOUR DE HELVELLYN - TELL US ABOUT IT

"It's a circular route. You start in Ascombe, which is the eastern side of the lake, and you run to Glenridding, Patterdale and you do a big loop of Helvellyn. So although it's called Tour De Helvellyn, you don’t actually summit it.

It's a spicy race covering 38 miles with around 2000m of total ascent and descent. It's typically the shortest day of the year. You start in the dark, finish in the light, and quite often the weather plays its part. Sometimes you can't do the full route, so everyone's got their fingers crossed for the weather forecast that you can physically do the full route"

WHY THIS RACE?

"This must be four or five times now I've done this race individually and then my little community of friends back on the East Coast, we always go over there. It seems like it's the last long run before we all relax and ease into Christmas and that's purely why we do it. It just really is a nice low-key, real community feel for a race. I love it"

HOW DID THE 2024 RACE GO?

"I've tried to race this race in the past and I've had a pretty successful time. But this year was purely a social event. Seven or eight of us travelled off from the East Coast and it was a big social farewell to 2024"

AS SOMEONE WITH PERFORMANCE-RELATED GOALS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WHAT IMPORTANCE DO YOU PLACE ON HAVING THIS KIND OF RUN AT THE END OF THE YEAR?

"There's got to be balance. We go and we race in these wonderful places and quite often don't really look up and appreciate it. I wouldn't take a photograph normally on a race. I'd be so focused on the task ahead. So these relaxed races where you're running with friends, you can have a conversation - they are super important. 

There could be five or six important races a year. I couldn't be focused on every one of them. I just need a good kind of balance between performance and relaxation and yeah, it was super relaxed going into this race.

The plan was to stay with friends and that meant slowing down, staying together at a conversational pace and having a much better day. Yeah, there's a price to pay for that because then you run a little bit slower than what you’d planned. You've always got to go to the slowest runner and you don't want to put stress on the slowest runner. 

That meant we did get cold because we were moving a hell of a lot slower than we’re used to, but then that is why it's super important to have that minimum kit.

It's always recommended to think of a few scenarios that might not normally happen on a race day and this was one of them. I didn't plan to run that slow, but I did carry above and beyond the kit list. The insulated jacket came on, the waterproof jacket came on, the tights were on, the waterproof trousers were on, and double gloves were on. That all made me comfortable and I was super grateful when we came into Patterdale"

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ARE THERE ANY UNEXPECTED PERFORMANCE BENEFITS?

"Well yeah, normally if I was moving at the pace that I would hope to then I wouldn't expect to put my insulated jacket on. But maybe there’s a bad scenario. Maybe I'd fallen and twisted an ankle or something like that. So I was moving off the fell a lot slower than I normally would. There are lessons learned there.

And also, you get to use your kit. You should practice putting the kit on and off but maybe we're all a little bit guilty of stuffing it in the backpack and hoping it never happens. I think the times I've probably put my waterproof trousers on half a dozen times in all of the time I've been running and one of those was on Tour De Helvellyn when I was running really slow. So yeah, there's learning all the time"

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DO YOU HAVE ANY TDH KIT RECOMMENDATIONS?

"Go above and beyond the kit list, I would definitely carry another layer, maybe an insulated jacket that you could pop under your waterproof jacket. Also a change of gloves and carry those gloves in a waterproof bag so they just don't get wet on your backpack. and more food than what you think you will need"

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ANY OTHER TOP TIPS?

"Carry more food than you think you’ll need and pack for the race that you think you're going to have. If you are going to be out there for hours, pack the kit that will keep you comfortable for the duration of that race."

Harrier’s Kinder 10L race vest is perfect for carrying all your essentials up to ultra distances.

Eyeing up an ultra? Go the distance with our Ultra Trail Bundle - the ultimate kit bundle for running an ultra marathon.

Later this year, Gary will take on the Lakeland 100 for the fifth time. We asked him what the biggest learnings from his last four finishes were, and how he’s preparing to go after his goal of a sub-24 hour finish this time.

"In 2023 I got close to my sub-24 hour goal. think it was 24 hours and 9 minutes, which is nail-bitingly close in a trail race, especially over 105 miles. Because I had such a successful 2023, I took my eye off the ball going into 2024. I never really had a plan B, didn’t mix up my food or do the double-dism. Quite often when you're doing a really long run, you might train with two longer runs over the weekend. I neglected that going into 2024 and that probably caught up with me.

So yeah, I’m planning for 2025.

GARY’S ADVICE FOR THE LAKELAND 100

1. Definitely be specific. If you can afford the time to go to the place where you are going to be racing, there will be benefits from training on that course and getting used to moving on that terrain.

2. Get familiar with the navigation. I've done this race four times and every year I seem to take a little wrong turn and then before I know I've run down the road for two minutes when I shouldn't have. Even if you’ve spent countless hours on a course, the sleep demons can set in. Do all the prep in training so it’s almost like autopilot

3. The same with your kit. The Lakeland 100 is a race where you would use poles. Definitely, definitely, definitely train with those poles in your training. Use your kit, get used to taking your kit out of your bag. 

4. Fuel your training runs like you plan to do on race day. Even maybe go a bit calorie high because then, on race day, it’s less stressful for your stomach to have hundreds of grams of carbohydrates per hour.

Yeah, eat, train your guts, get on that course and be consistent"

GARY’S KIT PLANNING

"I’m taking my Harrier Helvellyn PRO carbon poles. My plan with the poles is to probably leave them at the halfway point, so I don't have to carry them for the full race if I don't need to. I'll be taking my Kinder 10L vest, which is big enough for the day. You have to carry a waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers, so those are my key items of Harrier kit this year"

Got your eye on an ultra adventure? We recommend Harrier’s super-lightweight Helvellyn PRO Carbon poles.