Taking on Ultra X Sri Lanka

On March 20th, running coach and founder of Runna Ben Parker along with partner and paediatric nurse Jesseca Furness stepped up to the start line of Ultra X Sri Lanka. As part of Runna, Ben and his team provide structured training plans for a range of distances and running goals and have just created a new 250KM training plan, what better way to test it than taking on a 250KM multi-day event across the hot and humid rainforests and countryside trails of the South Asian island.

Ben’s journey into endurance events began as a way to discover and push himself to his athletic limits. Before this event, he had completed 4 Ironman’s, countless half marathons, a 128km long run as a replacement for a cancelled Ironman event during the pandemic, and had also been involved in several other endurance challenges including world record breakers, as part of his coaching career. 

“I wanted to see what I was capable of, as I’m beginning to find Ironman’s more manageable. I wanted to be pushed to my limits again.”

As for Jess, she first used running as a tool for managing her mental health and coping with stress. After the untimely death of her dad as a teenager, followed by the passing of her mother during university, running became an outlet and something to focus her energy on that allowed her to work through these stressful times in her life. She began taking part in half and full marathons to raise money for charity, and over time there was a natural progression into ultra-distance events.

When it came to training for this 5 day’s event, Runna had put together a team of runners to utilise one of their latest training plans.