TV presenter, extreme runner and adventurer Lowri Morgan speaks with Luke Owain Boult about running 350 miles in the Arctic circle, losing her toenails in the Amazon, and the meaning of adventure.
When Lowri answered the phone she had just got back from doing what she loves most in the world: running. For many, a marathon, consisting of a little over 26 miles, is seen as an almost impossible feat of endurance. However, Lowri goes one step further and is a keen ultra-runner. While the phrase comes straight out of a sci-fi B movie, she offers an explanation: “Ultra running is anything over a marathon distance basically and up to a thousand-mile race. I did the 6633 Arctic Ultra, which is a 350-mile race that’s classed as an ultra-marathon. It was a non-stop, self-sufficient foot race in the Arctic Circle. After 24 hours I was in fifth place and I came upon the four competitors in front of me who had stopped to sleep, but I decided I wasn’t going to sleep much in this weather with winds of 70mph, so I decided to carry on walking up the mountains in darkness. I did that for 46 hours.”
A 46-hour journey on foot sounds hard enough, but the conditions in the Arctic Circle surely add another dimension of difficulty. “It was -72°C with wind, it was always below -40°C,” Lowri continues. “Every time I stopped, my body temperature would just drop instantly and cold air would go through my lungs, which was really painful. With these self-sufficient races, a third is down to your physical strength, a third is down to your mental strength, and the last third is down to your personal administration.”
With such physical and mental strains, some may be left baffled as to why someone would undertake a challenge like this. “I can tell you there were fantastic moments,” Lowri explains, “these races are very humbling even though you go through dark places and dark times in your head, it also rebuilds the soul and you learn a lot about yourself. I’m constantly amazed at us as humans and how we can adapt with our mental and physical abilities. For example, I fractured my metatarsal and I had tears run down my face, but I thought there’s no point crying and I’d better carry on. The same thing happened in the Ultra Marathon in the Amazon Forest, where I’d lost most of the toenails on my feet, so I thought I have to slow down and put one foot in front of the other and that’s what I did. Then the pain in my feet just disappeared and this surge of energy came from the soul somewhere and I finished the race with a smile on my face. Some call it a runner’s high, to some people it’s religion, but a lot of ultra-runners go through the same motions and experience the same journey.”
The way Lowri spoke about running sounded almost like meditation. She laughs: “Yes that’s it, some people do see it as mediation. There was a 50-mile race and something upset me earlier in the day a while back, but by the end of the race I’d completely forgot about it. I felt so good that I ran back from the Brecon Beacons to Swansea after a 50-mile race, which was 110 miles altogether. That took around 22 hours.” To some, this may sound like an addiction, but she justifies it saying: “I don’t think I can call it an addiction, it’s something that is integral to my life and is good for me physically and mentally. But it’s not an addiction, although there is a fine line.”
In recognition of her incredible achievements, Lowri has been designated an adventure ambassador for the Wales Year of Adventure. Adventure is such a vague word, with different meanings to different people, and Lowri explains her view: “Adventure is a state of mind basically; a certain kind of happiness comes with standing on top of a mountain, challenging yourself, and the life changing benefits. Adventure to me is more than a Sunday out, it’s about overcoming obstacles, commitment, goal setting, accomplishments, and feeling alive.”
Year of Adventure. Info: www.visitwales.com