In 2021, British pediatrician Beth Pascall gained the Western States 100 in what was on the time one of many quickest girls’s occasions ever. Having already set the ladies’s file on the Bob Graham Round in England’s Lake District the yr prior, Pascall was undoubtedly one of many world’s main ultra-trail girls.
Since then, a persistent pelvis harm has stored her away from working, however the now-mom-of-one has continued to search out methods to discover and be lively. We caught up together with her to recap her working profession and listen to what else she’s been as much as over the previous few years.
Early Years
Beth Pascall grew up in Somerset, within the Southwest of England, and had an lively childhood. She stated, “It was very rural, and my dad and mom had a small holding [farm], so I spent my time exterior working round, chasing animals. It was a really outdoorsy childhood. I did all of the sports activities; I did a little bit of working rising up, however not any greater than I did each sport accessible.”
When Pascall went to college to check drugs, rowing was her major sport. She shortly rose via the ranks to develop into an elite-level light-weight rower however discovered the calls for of coaching alongside full-time athletes in a gaggle atmosphere weren’t appropriate with the calls for of medical faculty.
She stated, “When you row, you’re usually coaching with a gaggle — my coaching group, they had been all full-time athletes. I used to be attempting to suit it across the medical years of medical faculty, and I simply didn’t have the time to do it.”
In search of a sport that Pascall might higher slot in round her schedule, she turned to working: “I used to be like, What can I do at 5 a.m., or 9 p.m., that I can do by myself?’ And working was that. Rather than beginning with conventional distances, Pascall was instantly drawn to ultrarunning. She stated, “I’d learn some books on ultrarunning, and I used to be like, That sounds wild. Maybe I might run 100 miles.”
Finding Ultrarunning
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than she did simply that. Pascall’s first run on the distance was the favored Lakeland 100 Mile within the Lake District, and with out having any actual aggressive ambitions, she positioned second. A seed was sown.
She stated, “When I made a decision to run it, I believed this was one thing I used to be simply going to do as soon as, simply to see if working 100 miles was attainable. It was positively not about attempting to do nicely. But I did it and thought, That was actually enjoyable, and I did higher than I believed I might. I caught the bug after that.”
Throughout the following few years, Pascall continued to run nicely and racked up locations and wins with none explicit coaching construction or plan. Then, in 2016, she discovered of a possibility to symbolize Great Britain on the Trail World Championships.
She stated, “We had a trial race, the Highland Fling 53 Mile. I wasn’t conscious of the method till, I believe, it was Damian Hall who talked about this trial race to me a few weeks earlier than, and I made a decision to do it, and I used to be very stunned to make the group.”
A few months out from Trail World Champs, Pascall ran the Lakeland 100 Mile for the second time, two years after her debut, successful and taking 4 hours off her earlier time. She had simply began working with a coach, and it was clear she had a shiny future in working forward of her.
Soon, Pascall was lining up on the best worldwide ultra-trail races, making her presence felt. In 2017, she positioned second behind Switzerland’s Andrea Huser within the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail and stated, “I used to be nonetheless fairly new to racing internationally, and it was a giant shock to return second. Around that point, Andrea was somebody that I actually regarded as much as. I used to be excited to even be on the identical begin line as her. She was a giant function mannequin.”
A proper of passage for a lot of, Pascall headed to Chamonix, France, later that yr for her UTMB debut, which sadly led to a DNF (didn’t end). Pascall would return time and again to UTMB, inserting fourth in 2018, fifth in 2019, with one other DNF in 2021, however maintained a love-hate relationship with the race, saying, “To be sincere, I don’t really feel I’ve ever had a very good race at UTMB. I both don’t end, or I end, and my place would possibly look okay, however I’ve had a horrible time! So, it’s not a race I really feel like I’ve ever performed justice.”
Beth Pascall within the Alps earlier than the 2021 UTMB together with her canine, Dingo. Photo courtesy of Beth Pascall.
Bob Graham Round
Pascall continued to be a prolific racer each at residence and overseas. In 2018, in addition to fourth at UTMB, she additionally took fourth at Transgrancanaria, and rejoined Team Great Britain for one more Trail World Champs. In 2019, she gained the Highland Fling 53 Mile and the North Downs Way 50 Mile earlier than heading to the U.S. for her Western States 100 debut. She positioned fourth, securing her place on the beginning line for one more yr, and had plans for 2020 to be a giant yr of racing. Of course, 2020 had different concepts.
She stated, “In 2020, I used to be presupposed to take a sabbatical from work and go do the Western States 100, however clearly that didn’t occur [due to the COVID-19 pandemic.] I’d at all times needed to do a Bob Graham Round, however I used to be prioritizing races. It appeared like the plain time to do it.”
At that point, the legendary Jasmin Paris held the ladies’s Bob Graham Round file. Pascall wasn’t overly assured that she might break it and stated she would have been very happy to take the second quickest time, however nonetheless, she deliberate a schedule for the spherical primarily based on a file try. The spherical consists of summiting 42 fells over a route about 66 miles lengthy with round 27,000 ft of climbing. The route is usually divided into 5 legs, with highway crossings in between as resupply factors.
The day went nicely, and when she received three of 5 legs accomplished, Pascall began to really feel just like the file was attainable. She stated, “I’d been forward of my schedule for some time and simply ready to explode, however I received to [that point] nonetheless feeling good and thought possibly it would occur.”
She made it again to Moot Hall, the beginning and end location in downtown Keswick, in 14 hours, 34 minutes, and 26 seconds — taking some 50 minutes off Paris’s mark and making fell working historical past.
Out on the fells throughout her Bob Graham Round record-setting run. Photo: Sam Benard
Western States 100
In 2021, journey resumed, and Pascall might lastly understand the plans she’d made for 2020. She stated, “I had a six-month sabbatical from work. I went out for near 90 days, and I raced the Canyons 100k in April after which the Western States 100. It was a long-term plan to have a bit break from work and exit and practice particularly for the Western States 100.”
As at all times, the Canyons 100k was fiercely aggressive, however Pascall was unstoppable and got here away with a win and a course file, with all omens trying good for her return to the Western States 100. After a coaching block in Flagstaff, Arizona, which helped with warmth adaptation, she had a spectacular day on the race, main from begin to end and successful in 17:10:42 — which was, at the moment, the second quickest girls’s time on file.
She stated of the race, “The races you’ve performed nicely in, looking back, look like the simplest factor on this planet. You undergo extra in a race the place you don’t do nicely. It was simply a type of days when every thing clicked.”
Beth Pascall on the 2021 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
The Onset of Injury
However, within the autumn of 2021, a pelvis harm — an irritation of the pubic bones on the middle of the pelvis — first reared its head. Like many accidents, it began small. Pascall remembers, “It began with only a niggle. It was one thing that I might simply run via, and I used to be seeing physiotherapists, they usually had been identical to, ‘Cut again your working quantity a bit, and it ought to kind itself out.’ But it wasn’t actually getting higher.”
At the identical time, Pascall was working via a foot harm she’d had for a while. She stated, “I had a Morton’s neuroma, that I’d had for years. It’s an issue with the nerve within the foot. It wasn’t actually an issue, however I believed, I’ll simply get this fastened, and have that operation whereas I’ve this different niggle happening.”
Unfortunately, following the surgical procedure on her foot, Pascall’s pelvis harm solely intensified. She stated, “There was a six-month interval once I had ache on a regular basis, even at relaxation or strolling round at work. It was difficult as a result of, in my thoughts, I used to be doing completely every thing: seeing the most effective folks, doing all my workouts, and doing precisely what I used to be presupposed to be doing, and it simply received worse and worse. I actually couldn’t do something. I used to be doing a small quantity of swimming with a pull buoy, and that was about it.”
After a tough six months, Pascall started working with completely different physios, modified up her therapy, and noticed an enchancment. She stated, “It began to get higher, and I did begin working once more, however then it got here again after possibly three months of working. I used to be again to the place I began with having ache on a regular basis once more.”
Gravel biking post-injury. Photo courtesy of Beth Pascall.
Life on Two Wheels
The curler coaster of harm continued on this vein, however whereas working continued to be stop-start, one other sport introduced itself simply when she wanted it — biking. What began as a rehabilitation train quickly grew to become a brand new ardour in its personal proper, and Pascall started competing in endurance gravel races and mountain biking.
She stated, “I’ve performed a lot of random stuff. From the surface, it might appear to be I’m a confused bicycle owner. Just attempting various things and discovering out what I get pleasure from essentially the most.”
In August of 2022, she accomplished her first bike race, the Raiders Gravel three-day stage race in Scotland, racing 75 kilometers per day, and got here away with second place. She additionally developed a love for mountain biking and stated, “We’ve received actually good mountain biking round the place we stay within the Lake District.”
While exploring her new sport, Pascall set a pace file of a special sort, on the 200-kilometer Lakeland 200k mountain biking route. She added, “I additionally did a bikepacking race in Morocco. So actually a bit little bit of every thing.”
Beth Pascall in the course of the 2023 Atlas Mountain Race in Morocco. Photo: Chris McClean
A New Beginning
Then, within the spring of 2024, Pascall launched into an enormous journey of a special sort — motherhood. Her daughter Fern was born in April. Despite fatigue and new calls for at work, she stayed lively all through the being pregnant and stated, “Physically, I used to be high quality. I nonetheless have the harm, so I couldn’t stroll quite a bit or run, however I did loads of biking.”
She added, “I felt very drained on a regular basis. I had additionally simply began a brand new job, and it was a two-hour drive away, so I had this four-hour roundtrip commute. I might transfer, however I used to be at all times so drained.”
Over the previous few months, whereas having fun with time open air with Fern at residence within the Lake District, the place she and her husband moved two-and-a-half years in the past, Pascall has additionally began to see some gentle on the finish of the tunnel for her pelvis harm.
She stated, “I wouldn’t say this [injury] is something that may ever go away. So, it’s not simply gone. But there was a gradual enchancment — not every day, however month to month — since Fern was born. There’s nonetheless been a lot of ups and downs, however I can adapt my coaching and do small quantities of working, and it’s manageable.”
She went on, “I’ve an open thoughts, however realistically, I believe I’ll solely ever have the ability to do small quantities of working however keep my cardiovascular health via biking. I believe that’s the absolute best situation.”
Out and about with Fern, at residence within the Lake District. Photo courtesy of Beth Pascall.
Pascall feels fairly constructive in regards to the prospect of buying and selling two sneakers for 2 wheels, and added, “I’ve received fairly into biking over the previous couple of years, I’ve been having fun with it increasingly more.”
For now, all her actions revolve round Fern, who’s already experiencing the identical idyllic begin to life within the open air that Pascall had herself. She stated, “It has been actually enjoyable, spending a lot of time at residence within the Lakes. When you’re not working, you get to benefit from dwelling in a tremendous place and spending a lot of time open air. Everything is with [Fern]. So I’ll stroll together with her, exit on the bike together with her within the trailer, and there’s an important mother group round right here, with a lot of mothers doing outdoorsy issues, so it’s been wonderful.”
Throughout my dialog with Beth Pascall, I used to be struck by what number of occasions she has reinvented herself all through her 37-year life up to now. Regardless of whether or not the long run holds a return to aggressive working for her, it’s clear that she’s going to at all times discover an outlet for her power and can by no means shrink back from a brand new problem.
Call for Comments
Have you adopted Beth Pascall’s profession? What are your highlights?
A well-earned pint on the end of her Bob Graham Round pace file. Photo: Sam Benard