In for the long run
The Marathon des Sables is described by Discovery Channel as ‘The Toughest Footrace on Earth’. In the 2013 event, Jo Meek was the second female to cross the finish, and is still the highest placed British finisher.
Despite Jo’s talent and considerable achievements, she has remained very modest and self-deprecating, insisting that she isn’t a fast runner, she just has tenacity. I think the facts probably speak for themselves though, as she has just taken part in her third World Trail Championships as one of six women in the GB team - having finished as the leading female Briton at the 2017 and 2016 events; she took first place at the Wings for Life World Run in Bratislava in 2017 and came second in the 2016 Courmayeur Champex Chamonix (CCC) - part of the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB) race week, the pinnacle of ultra-trail running. As we talk about her races, she doesn’t bother mentioning her finishing position – I had to look that up – instead she talks about the challenges, the experience, and pushing herself to do her very best. Jo obviously spends a lot of time training, fitting in a 2-hour run, six days a week, usually before work, as well as cross-training with swimming and cycling, keeping up her fitness levels even when injuries prevent her normal routine. However it is no hardship, in fact to prevent her from training would be far more of a problem - for as she says ‘running is a privilege’.
Jo’s youth wasn’t full of sport though, in fact she describes herself as an overweight teenager, who started running with her parents’ hash house harrier group. She joined Tavistock Athletic Club in her late teens, but it wasn’t until she went to study sports science at university in London and entered the London Marathon that she started taking running and training seriously. After completing her degree, she trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and spent four years in the Royal Logistics Corps. However, she had always aspired to be a physiotherapist and her time in the army enabled her to secure a place at Plymouth University to train in her chosen profession. After an initial period with the MOD, where she helped to establish the Help for Heroes rehabilitation base in Plymouth, and then worked in Portsmouth, Jo is now a self-employed physio, working with Tavistock Physio Clinics, Ocean Physio in Exeter and the English Institute of Sport high performance centre in Bath, where she supports funded athletes, in sports such as British Skeleton Bobsleigh and Modern Pentathlon.
After the London Marathon, Jo continued running marathons for another 10 years, before deciding to have a go at ultra-running - starting with the infamous Marathon des Sables! Her husband Jon, also a keen runner who had been a Royal Marine, decided it would be a fitting ‘swan song’ for his time as a runner, so they entered the ‘The Toughest Footrace on Earth’ together, a race which was to prove a crucial turning point in Jo’s running career. She trained for 2 weeks in the heat chamber at Marjons to acclimatize her body to the punishing heat of the Sahara Desert. She also stripped her kit to the bare minimum, carrying strictly calculated rations for the 5-day event and a small piece of roll mat for sleeping, just large enough for her hips. Her regime paid off and she delivered an incredible result, although she still feels there is ‘unfinished business there’ and would love to compete in it again.
Jo found her forte in ultra-running and her achievement soon attracted sponsorship from Scott Sports, opening doors to compete in many more prestigious races all over the world, including the coastal challenge in Costa Rica, Comrades Marathon in South Africa – the oldest ultra-race in the world - as well as races in Vietnam and more recently Kazakhstan. Although sometimes she finds it difficult to take in the scenery around her while she is actually running, she very much appreciates the chance to explore different countries and their cultures.
Over the summer Jo has events planned in Portugal, Greece, Russia and the Alps. She admits making time for rest and relaxation is probably her greatest challenge, but she is grateful to her husband for keeping her grounded and she does make an exception for a gin on a Friday night! At 42, she knows this lifestyle won’t last for ever and she’s not sure what will come next – there are still some races in the States she has her eye on, or maybe more specialised work treating runners and sports injuries, or a cycling adventure around America with her husband. Whatever it is, it probably won’t involve sitting still for long.
Rosemary Best