The legendary Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race® will be taking place for only the third time, starting on Monday 22nd June. With live GPS tracking and regular video updates each day, this year’s event promises to be compelling viewing.

1) You ended 2014 on a high with a win at the UK Skyrunning 3x3 Ultra in the Lake District. Has training and preparation over the winter been successful?

My winter training and prep has been a bit mixed, my running has been ticking over and I've been doing as much as I can (lots of dark and wet 5am runs), but my work has been extremely busy lately with lots of long days and travelling, I've spent 6 weeks working out in Lillehammer over the winter, so my training has had to take a bit of a back seat if I'm honest.

1) For many years you have concentrated on road running - marathons and ultras mainly - with enormous success. First, can you explain your decision take part in such a grueling off road race?

After an inauspicious start to 2014 (being tripped and trampled in the first few metres of a marathon and so breaking a rib and my nose), the latter part of the year involved some amazing experiences, representing Scotland and GB on the roads over various distances (marathon, 50k, and 100k). This meant that I had to pack a lot of time-oriented road running into a short space of time, and so by the end of the year, I felt mentally, physically and emotionally drained from it all......and reluctant to spend 2015 chasing similar goals.

1) Having volunteered at the 2012 Dragon's Back Race™ you have more knowledge than many of the 2015 competitors of the race, some would call it inside knowledge! Has this been useful in your preparations or daunting?

I was able to see how the event works, see what strategies people were using (in terms of finishing routines, eating habits) and chat to most of the runners and learn from their experiences which I think has been very useful in general.

The 2015 Berghaus Dragon's Back Race will be taking place 22nd-26th June 2015. The legendary Dragon’s Back Race™ follows the mountainous spine of Wales from Conwy Castle to Carreg Cennen Castle. This incredible 5-day journey is approximately 300 kilometres long with 16,000 metres of ascent across wild, trackless, remote and mountainous terrain. It is not a trail race.