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Cathrene

@cathrenelifts

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📍Lake District
• PT & Online Coach @coachedby_cathrene // HYBRID coach at @lg.wellbeing ✨
Ultramarathoner, & crossfitter 🏋🏻‍♀️

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Tonight is the night, at midnight I’ll be taking on my 100km ultra. It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to hurt.

There will be moments during this race where my legs hurt, my feet hurt, I’m tired, hungry and wondering why on earth I signed up for this.

But those moments are temporary.

For almost 1 million people in the UK living with dementia, and the families who love them, there is no finish line. 💙

My grandpa is living with dementia and now lives in a care home. Watching someone you love slowly lose memories, independence and pieces of themselves is incredibly hard.

And sadly our family is far from alone.

🧠 Every 3 minutes someone in the UK develops dementia.
🧠 1 in 3 people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.
🧠 Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer.
🧠 Nearly 1 million people are currently living with dementia in the UK, a number expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.

The money raised for Alzheimer’s Society helps fund vital research, support families living with dementia, provide Dementia Advisers and campaign for better care and earlier diagnosis.

So when the race gets hard, I’ll remind myself why I’m out there.

I’m running 100km for my grandpa.

I’m running for every family affected by dementia.

If you’re able to spare even a few pounds, I’d be incredibly grateful for your support 💙 by @cathrenelifts

The week that changed everything 🫶🏻

@lakeland_trails 100km Ultra!

One last easy run. Days of rest. Carb loading. Packing and repacking every bag. Race check-in. Standing on that start line at 00:01 wondering if I was really about to run 106km…

Then, one step at a time, I did.

There were incredible highs, tough lows, stomach cramps, sore feet, heat, endless climbs, and moments where all I could do was focus on taking the next step. But I never gave up.

This challenge was so much bigger than running. It was for my Grandpa, for everyone affected by Alzheimer’s, and to prove to myself that I was capable of doing something that truly scared me.

Watching this reel back still doesn’t feel real. The finish line, breakfast the next morning in Matthew’s Crocs because my feet wouldn’t fit in my own 😂, and trying to take it all in!

You can do hard things. Put in the work. Trust the process. Keep putting one foot in front of the other… and you’ll be amazed where it takes you. 💙 by @cathrenelifts

Another PB 🤩

Two weeks after my A race at @keswickhalfmarathon — where I surprised myself with a huge PB (1:49 ➡️ 1:41 on a seriously hilly course!) — I decided to spontaneously sign up for the Great Cumbrian Run @sportinaction2016 🏔️ A race I’d never done before, right here on home turf 😍

I thought, why not see what happens on a slightly flatter course… and honestly, I completely surpassed all expectations of myself. Crossing the line in 1:35, 2nd in my age category, 14th female, and another massive PB! 🥳

I’m absolutely over the moon — and it’s a real reminder that you can’t put a ceiling on what you’re capable of. Sometimes, you just need a little more faith, belief, and the courage to find out what’s truly possible. 💫

I definitely wouldn’t always recommend racing again so soon, but my body was primed — months of consistent running, strength training, and mindset work made this possible. On race day, it’s not just about fitness, it’s about how you show up for yourself.

So here’s your reminder: don’t limit yourself. You’re always capable of more than you think 💪🏻🚀 by @cathrenelifts

A little off-season training update 🏃🏻‍♀️🏋🏼‍♀️

Currently averaging 4 runs and 3 gym sessions a week, keeping the miles ticking over, lifting heavy and building a solid foundation for what’s to come.

But the biggest focus right now? BALANCE. ✨

After a year of constantly training for races and events, I’m enjoying having a little less structure and pressure.

Still training hard, still working towards my goals, but also prioritising LIFE. If I miss a session because I’ve got other plans? No stress. The gym and the miles will still be there tomorrow.

Consistency over perfection, always. 🤝🏼

Training to enhance my life, not take over it. 🫶🏼 by @cathrenelifts

Less shrinking, more strengthening 💪🏼

Fuel your body. Lift heavy. Take up space.

Strong looks better on you anyway 🩷

Keep showing up for yourself 🦋 by @cathrenelifts

A little reminder that your worth is SO much more than a number on a scale. 🫶🏼

When I look back at everything I’ve achieved this year , the distances I’ve run, the weights I’ve lifted, the challenges I’ve overcome and the memories I’ve made… not one of those things has been defined by how much I weigh.

Your body is capable of SO much more than just looking a certain way.

Train to be strong. Train to be capable. Train to do the things you never thought were possible.

Because one day you’ll look back and remember everything your body allowed you to DO, not what it weighed 💪🏻🩷

Focus on what your body can do, not just how it looks 🫶🏻 by @cathrenelifts

OFF-SEASON IS OFFICIALLY HERE 🤩🍂

After my final ultra of the year, it was a few weeks of easy miles and ticking over with strength training before the Great Cumbrian Run, where I finished just 2 minutes off last year’s PB!

Now, with my final race of 2026 done, it’s time to BUILD 💪🏼

As much as I love racing and challenging myself, you can’t do it all year round. Constantly tapering, racing and recovering doesn’t leave much room for consistent, uninterrupted training.

So this next block is all about working on weaknesses, strengthening those niggles, building power and improving my running economy.

Plenty of easy miles, consistent strength work, long runs in the fells when the weather allows and absolutely NO race pressure!

Just enjoying training, building solid foundations and getting stronger before the next chapter begins in January 🫶🏻

Progress isn’t always about chasing finish lines! ✨ by @cathrenelifts

The 2026 race reason is done ✅🙌🏻🏃🏻‍♀️

Finishing off with a firm favourite @sportinaction2016 Great Cumbrian Run HM 🚀

I set my all time PB on this course last year and got free entry from my AG placing so this race was always going to be special 🤩

I’ve not been able to do much specific speed work for this due to all of my many ultra marathon adventures so I had absolutely no idea what I could achieve today 🤷🏽‍♀️

The goal was to enjoy it, push if I felt like it, take it all in and just appreciate that I am able to do this and my body lets me do this 💪🏻🏃🏻‍♀️

Still lifting heavy, still running for hours in the fells and still able to put a good shift in (watch out for next year when I’ve spent time working with @daisymb_dahm to improve my running economy 😅)

3rd fastest HM, 1:37, not a PB but not far off 👀

13th female #beattheboys and 5th AG 🥳🙌🏻

Now it’s time for an off season before we lock in for some big goals next year 🫣🤩

Huge well done to everyone who ran today you’re all legends and should be so proud 🫶🏻 by @cathrenelifts

Half marathon for funsies ✌🏼🏃🏼‍♀️

After getting free entry from my AG placing last year, I thought… why not?! Last race of the year 🚀🤩

No expectations. No half marathon-specific training. Barely any speed work over the last few months — just lots and lots of ultra miles 😂 And only 2 weeks ago, my “final ultra” turned into a marathon after the race was cancelled.

So today was purely about going out, enjoying it and seeing what my legs had in them 🏃🏻‍♀️🚀

And somehow… I finished only a few minutes off the PB I set on this course last year 🥹

A nice little reminder that running doesn’t always have to be about chasing PBs, hitting paces or proving something.

Sometimes you can just do it because it’s fun.

And that’s more than enough 🫶🏻✨ by @cathrenelifts

Final taper week of ultra season… for an ultra that never happened 😂🥲

We tapered as if I was running the full 50K — easy miles, two gym sessions, plenty of rest, recovery and CARBS 🍝

Then race morning came… and the 50K was cancelled.

So, we adapted 🤝🏼 Ran the 25K race, then added some solo miles afterwards to round the day up to a marathon.

Not quite the ending I expected, but it felt right to wrap up a pretty incredible ultra season with one final little vlog 🥹

Now onto the next training block 🏃🏼‍♀️✨ by @cathrenelifts

18 months ago, I reached out to a running coach while I was injured.

I don’t think that version of me could ever have imagined what would come next. 🥹

My first ever marathon.
Half marathons I could suddenly just enter for fun.
Half marathon PBs.
10Ks, trail races and countless start lines.
My first 50K ultra.
Then the biggest, scariest goal I’d ever set myself — 100 kilometres.
And finally, another ultra training block, even if race day didn’t quite go to plan.

But the races only tell half the story.

Over those 18 months, @jak_in_the_lakes taught me how to train properly, how to trust the process, how to listen to my body and, most importantly, how much I’m actually capable of.

I went from reaching out injured and unsure of myself to running 3–4 times a week, consistently covering 60–70km most weeks this year, and genuinely believing that I can do hard things.

And I owe so much of that to having the right person in my corner.

Jack understood me. He believed in me before I necessarily believed in myself. He educated me, challenged me, inspired me and was my biggest supporter and cheerleader through every ridiculous goal I decided to throw at him. 😂

As a coach myself, I’ve also learnt SO much from being coached by him — lessons I’ll take into my own coaching and hopefully pass on to my clients for years to come.

For now, I’m going to take everything I’ve learnt and coach myself for a little while. It feels very strange closing this chapter, but what an absolutely incredible chapter it’s been. ❤️

The girl who sent that first message 18 months ago would be absolutely bloody mind-blown by the runner she became.

Thank you for everything, Jack. 🫶🏼

Find a coach who believes in you, put in the work, trust the process… and you might just surprise yourself with what you’re capable of. 🏃🏽‍♀️⛰️✨ by @cathrenelifts

Last Ultra of the year - despite the ultra distance being cancelled at last minute we still had a great time 🤩⛰️

You can’t control the weather but you can control how you respond to adversity 💪🏻 The grin says it all 😃

25km race completed ✅ then 17km solo to complete 42km on the day 🤪

YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS 🙌🏻

3/3 ultras for the year ✅ 200km ultra race distances covered 🫣 6 x marathons completed this year what the helly!!!

Big off season incoming and many more mountain miles incoming over the winter ❄️ by @cathrenelifts