Chris Dawe

Prior to 2024 I was somebody that dipped in and out of running. I didn't really enjoy it if I am honest. Football was my number one sport. That all changed when I lost a close friend to suicide. I decided to sign up to Rat Race Man vs Coast and raise money for CALM Suicide prevention. I needed something to focus on, a distraction. I was naive at best, thinking this race wouldn't be too bad. I trained, but my training was nowhere near enough. Running the Cornish coast is unforgiving at the best of times. At half way I rolled my ankle, which sent me arm first through a barbed wire fence, which left me with a good war wound and a constant reminder of that day. By the end of the race, 37.56km and 1123m Elevation gain later, I could hardly lift my feet off the ground. I finished in 46th place with a time of 04:58 hrs. Despite the struggle, little did I know, my running journey was only just beginning. After some time off, I kept seeing a local run club pop up on my Instagram. It was just what I needed. I went to my first Social run in September 2024, and never looked back. The reason I joined was to meet like minded, good people. That is exactly what I found and then some. The Social has been a massive part of my life ever since. Fast forward to September 2025 and my first Ultra Marathon loomed. Rat Race Sea to summit: Snowdon. After the biggest training block of my life and many long unsociable hours spent training, myself, Nic, Sammy, Harry and Alex headed to Snowdonia. The race had it's ups and downs. Mile 18 cramp set in after a trip over a tree root. Mile 21, I came to the last aid station with no skin on either of my little toes. After some time patching myself up and being given food by the amazing people I had there supporting me, I was on my way again and ready to climb Snowdon. As we neared the top we were diverted to the bad weather route. High winds at the summit meant we couldn't climb any further. It was disappointing, but there wasn't any time to dwell on that. The distance ended up being slightly shorter than planned, at 46km with 1814m Elevation. My toes were grateful. I finished in 06:09hrs in 29th place. 

I had officially been struck by the Ultra Marathon bug.