S5 Eps 14 Young Hearts, Run Free - Carried Along on a Cloud with Neil MacRitchie - 27 May 2022

Have ye met the fella who’s completed 141 Ultra marathons and doesn’t class himself as much of a runner?  We bet a few of you have, and those of you that have not are about to. You are all in for a treat.

Neil MacRitchie is a ‘one in a million’ guy, as humble as they come yet with an extraordinary story to tell. It’s not all about racing at the sharp end, it’s not all about medals and awards, for Neil it’s about doing something he loves and finding a community that welcomed him in right from the off.

Comfier out of the limelight we reckon it’s high time more of you found out just how astounding Neil’s running achievements are, that wealth of experience along with a heartfelt appreciation for the people he’s met along the way, it makes for some amazingly grounding listening.

On the cusp of taking part in his 16th(Sixteenth) West Highland Way Race our chat inevitably drifts towards tales from the way, after all with nearly 1500 racing miles spent on the iconic trail Neil has an intimate knowledge of what it takes to complete Scotland’s world renowned premier ultra-marathon.

Neil’s running bug started way back in the 90’s, yes he started young, and caught fire from there. He moved quickly into marathon distance before hearing about these races called ultras, from then a seed was planted and lets just say it grew with vigour and shows no signs of abating.

It’s one of our favourite chats ever. We were treated to a unique insight into how to persevere, endure and succeed. To never stop exploring and discovering new adventures whilst going back time and time (and time) again to the ones that leave an indelible impression.

Think of running as an adventure, anything else is a bonus.

You’ll enjoy this one. A lot.