Robbie heads for Europe
Robbie Simpson at the Melmerby International
21- year old Robbie Simpson has blazed a trail on the hills, fells and mountain over the last few years and this summer the young Scot is planning to take to the mountains of Europe
The Deeside runner will spend the summer racing and training at altitude in the Alps, and is targeting a big performance at next month’s European Mountain Running Championships in Bulgaria.
Robbie, the youngest ever winner of the International Snowdon Race when aged 18, said:
“I want to test myself racing against the top guys in Europe, and hopefully become one of them. I’m going to be in the Alps until September, learning from some of the best and pushing my own boundaries.”
On the back of an outstanding winter which saw Robbie win the Scottish 10-mile road title and finish second in the national cross-country championships north of the border, he returned to the mountains last month.
His first major assignment was the European Mountain Running Championship trial race held at Keswick, where, despite sickness, he finished third, thus guaranteeing a place in the Great Britain team for the high-profile uphill-only event in Bulgaria.
Robbie then began his European summer adventure with a fifth-place finish in the World Mountain Running Association Grand Prix’s traditional season opener at La Montee du Grand Ballon in France.
Robbie at the Grand Ballon race
Not only was Robbie the first Briton, he also took the scalps of notable previous European and World Championship medalists.
And just last weekend he finished a superb second-place among a classy field at the Neirivue – Le Moleson mountain race in Switzerland.
“The trail at Keswick didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I ate something that made me feel really sick and that troubled me during the race. The Grand Ballon went much better. Again it was uphill only, for about 14km, but it was a world-class field, so to come fifth and run strongly was really good. I then had another strong run at Neirivue – Le Moleson.
“The European Championships is what I have been training hard for. Last year I was 19th, but this year I want to get in the top-10, and then who knows what can happen. Some of the guys I was racing, and not far behind, at Grand Ballon are among the favourites to win in Bulgaria, so I’m feeling good about how things are going.”
Robbie, who has high hopes for August’s prestigious 31km Sierre-Zinal race in Switzerland, also spent much of his 2012 summer in the Alps, recording several outstanding results, including a ninth-place finish at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships.
New on his agenda this summer is inov-8’s first-ever athlete’s retreat, to be held in Chamonix, France, between June 27 and July 5.
Robbie will join a number of fellow inov-8 athletes, many of who will race the Mount-Blanc Marathon on June 30, in testing innovative new product. He is also excited about the updated versions of the classic X-talon shoe range, which inov-8 will deliver later this year.
“The X-talon 212 is my favorite of all running shoes. Lightweight and supportive, the X-talon 212 has awesome grip and speed. It has the lot. If I’m not in the X-talon 212, I’m usually wearing the X-talon 190 or the Road-x 233, both of which are super fast.”
The X-Talon 212
More details about the updated versions of the X-talon 212 and 190, both new for autumn/winter, will be released via the inov8 website soon.
