In some ways, Tony Letts is your average club runner. He trains round his local parks, enjoys parkrun and is a member of his town club, Northampton Road Runners.

Like so many other people, Tony starting running later in life, looking to improve his fitness. Along the way, he found a love of trail running and a desire to run increasingly long distances.

And it's taken him on a journey which is far from average or ordinary. Earlier this year, Tony completed his long-held aim to run the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), one of the world's toughest races.

UTMB covers 170km (106 miles) around Mont Blanc, starting in Chamonix, France, and traveling through France, Italy, and Switzerland. It has been immortalised by the performances of the likes of Kilian Jornet, Courtney Dauwalter, Jim Walmsley, and Katie Schide.

But UTMB is not the only ultra marathon Tony has conquered, with the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia just one of the other famous races he's completed.

Running Tales spoke to Tony about how he trained and raced UTMB, what made him first start running, and why he loves the sport...

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Further reading:

How Northampton Road Runners is hoping to supercharge its over-50s