3 Peaks: Gates and Forsberg add international flavour
Rickey Gates
Looking at the 3 Peaks entry list shows a host of top domestic talent waiting to line-up in Horton this Saturday. But two names that are not on the list, and certainly not domestic, are top US and Swedish runners Rickey Gates and Emelie Forsberg...
Gates will be familiar to many Stateside and also in Europe, with a host of big wins such as the Mt. Washington race, appearances at WMRA Grand Prix races and multiple US mountain running vests at the World Championships.
Rickey Gates the winner of the 2008 Grintovec
In the last couple of years Rickey has also ventured onto the longer race circuit, with a victories at the Canadian Death Race in 2011 – knocking 32 minutes off the course record held by Hal Koerner – the South Pole Marathon, plus an appearance at the TNF 50 miler in California last December.
But just don’t call him an ultra-runner, as this insightful article shows, and it will be with interest that the 3 Peaks awaits his UK-debut at this race.
Emelie Forsberg
Also running the race for the first time will be Sweden’s Emelie Forsberg. Relatively new to trail running, the 25-year old started off her sporting career as many do in Sweden, on the snow. However, student Emelie has already demonstrated pedigree winning the Fjällmaraton in 2011 and comes to the UK on good form after a convincing win at the Taygetos Challenge 20km race in Greece earlier this month.
We’re sure that both Gates and Forsberg won’t be in the UK for the ride, so expect to see them figuring in the results come Saturday afternoon.
