Mark Hagger

A quick chat with coach Charlotte from Ultra Performance and the European Running Championships 10K was popped into my 2025 race calendar. Held in Leuven, Belgium, the first-ever official European Championships is where you get to run the race with elite runners. This was the furthest I have travelled for a race, which took extra preparation to ensure that I was relaxed and ready to race. In a hectic race period, my training block was, as usual, tough, engaging and meticulously planned, by coach Charlotte, to achieve peak race performance. My current PB meant that I was staring in Startbox1, which was marked as ‘sub elite’, what a start, setting off at the same time, just behind elite runners such as Ellis Cross, Rory Leonard, Beth Potter and Sarah Astin, which was a fantastic feeling. A really challenging 10K course ensued, finishing 10^th in Europe for age group and 22^nd GB male finisher, contributing to 3^rd place for GBR in the Nations league, where the top 25 times are taken from each competing Nation. With the support of Ultra Performance, it’s truly given me the confidence to take on races like this, a totally amazing experience.