Red Bulletin 0521_UK

Tom Evans
Escaping the
comfort zone
The ultrarunner started his sporting career for a bet,
and discovered a love of pushing his limits that has
kept him moving ever since
Words TOM WARD
Photography BEN LUMLEY
“My thought process can best be
described as ‘minimal’,” laughs Tom
Evans, describing his 2017 entry into
the six-day, 251km Marathon des
Sables, held annually in the Sahara
Desert. As well as being possibly the
toughest race on the planet, it also
happened to be Evans’ first. “I knew
it was the hardest race out there,
and I thought there was no point in
doing the easy ones,” he says. “I’d
jump straight in at the deep end.”
Though he lacked any formal
training, Evans’ self-belief carried
him to an unbelievable third place
– the fastest time run by any
European in the race’s history – and,
naturally, skyrocketed him into the
world of professional ultrarunning.
“I was always sporty,” explains the
29-year-old. “I represented England
at rugby, hockey and athletics
events while at school. Looking
back, I wasn’t necessarily the best,
but I always tried the hardest. After
school, I realised I didn’t want to
go to university, so at 18 I joined
the army. I’d always felt I had
something to prove, and in the
army an easy way to do that was
by keeping fit. The army is an
endurance-based organisation,
which suited me really well.”
After the Marathon des Sables,
Evans capped off a successful streak
by winning the 101km CCC race at
the 2018 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.
The following year, he left the army
to pursue running full-time, and he
hasn’t looked back. Next on his
schedule is Red Bull’s official charity
partner event the Wings for Life
World Run on May 9 – a unique
race with no finish line, in which
runners compete against a ‘catcher
car’ until it overtakes them. This
year’s participants will still compete
at the same time, but – due to
COVID-19 restrictions – they’ll run
against a virtual car, via an app.
It’ll be different from Evans’ past
experiences at the annual event,
but he’s a master of adaptability.
Currently holed up in Loughborough
with his fiancée, professional
triathlete Sophie Coldwell, he’s
keeping busy by switching snowy
trails for road running and has even
smashed the Three Peaks challenge
on a treadmill. Here’s how Evans
keeps pushing forward…
the red bulletin: You came
third in the Marathon des Sables
after entering for a bet. How?
tom evans: My friends did [the race]
in 2016 and finished in the top 300.
I thought I could do better, and over
a few beers they bet me I couldn’t. I
signed up the next morning. There’s
a lot of crossover with the military,
because you’re sleeping outside
under the stars and pushing yourself
to your limits every day. Through
running the race, I discovered this
ability to suffer for a very long time
in the heat. Two years later, I left
the army to become a full-time
professional athlete.
Ultrarunning is one of the most
punishing sports. Is it all down
to this natural ability?
No, I train very hard and I get used
to suffering. I know in any race
there will come a point when I’ll
want to stop. When I get there it’s
like, ‘Right, I knew it was going
to happen, so now’s the time to
embrace it, but also know that the
minute after you stop, it’s going
to stop hurting.’ I think I can
withstand a lot, but I want to know
how long I can actually keep feeling
uncomfortable for.
Many people struggled to find
focus during lockdown. What kept
you motivated?
It’s very easy to keep a habit once
you have it, but it’s very difficult
to start the habit in the first place.
I think people go from never
running at all to loving it. Then
there’s the other side of that: as
soon as you do stop something like
running, it’s very difficult to start
again. So, for me, it’s about keeping
as much consistency as possible.
I always set mid-term and long-term
goals – I’m very goals-based. Having
gone from boarding school to the
military, I like knowing what I’m
doing. Typically I drive to the Peak
District or Snowdon or the Lake
District, where there are phenomenal
trails, but I wasn’t able to do that
in lockdown. So I started running
from my door instead. Road running
suits me well, because it’s easier to
collect data on your run. You don’t
have to pigeonhole yourself into
a certain distance or event. I run
because I love running, and it’s a
brilliant thing to be able to do.
What’s your plan for the Wings
for Life World Run?
Because it’s a charity event, my goal
is to raise as much awareness for
spinal cord research as I possibly
can by putting in a performance that
people talk about. It’s going to be a
long, uncomfortable run, which is
my sweet spot. I think the best way
people can physically prepare is to
go on the website and play around
with speeds; look at how far you
can get [while] running at a certain
pace. Because it’s on the app, you
can challenge your friends virtually,
which keeps the competition alive.
Join this year’s Wings For Life World
Run at wingsforlifeworldrun.com/en
24 THE RED BULLETIN