Angela Mudge (born 8 July 1970) is a Scottish champion hill runner and skyrunner. Despite being born with birth defects in both legs, and finding track athletics not to her liking, she discovered her sport while a postgraduate student in Scotland in the mid-1990s, and developed rapidly. She has won the Scottish Hill Running Championships three times (1997, 1998, 2006),SHR championships page
, SHR.UK.com the

British Fell Running Championships The first British Fell Running Championships, then known as Fell Runner of the Year, were held in 1972 and the scoring was based on results in all fell running, fell races. In 1976 this was changed to the runner's best ten category A races and furt ...

five times (1997–2000, 2008),List of British Champions
British Fellrunning Association website and holds the women's record on more than thirteen courses in Scotland alone.Profile at scottishhillracing.co.uk
/ref> On the international stage she won the Women's World Mountain Running Trophy in 2000,"16th World Mountain Running Trophy 2000"
, WMRA website the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in 2005,"Munich Olympian finds Masters touch"
Mike Addison, ''Westmoreland Gazette'', 16 September 2005 and the Buff Skyrunner World Series in 2006 and 2007., Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 1 October 2006, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 24 September 2007 She was named on a list of "100 things we still love about sport" by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' newspaper in June 2008."100 things we still love about sport"
''

'', 1 June 2008

Early years

Mudge's start in life did not augur well for a future in endurance running, after she was born with pedal defects; both of Angela's feet and one of her twin sister Janice's were pointing backwards. She has commented that " got a bit squashed in the

womb The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more fertilized eggs until bi ...

", and for the first few years of their lives both girls were required to have their legs in braces and

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

to rectify this."Left to climb her own very lonely mountain"
Fiona Russell, ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', 1 October 2006 When she was a teenager she raced on the track, but gave it up out of dissatisfaction with "running in circles"."A mountain to climb? Mudge now at her peak"
Doug Gillon, '' The Herald'', 23 September 2005 Even cross-country courses were insufficiently challenging, and it was only following her graduation from the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

with a BSc in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, when she moved north to the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

to obtain her master's degree, that she discovered hill running and began to fulfil her potential."Mudge makes Albert Hall date"
''

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

'', 15 January 2001 When she subsequently moved to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to study for her PhD, she joined the Carnethy Hill Running Club, where she remains an active member and competitor. She obtained her doctorate in 2000. Although born and raised in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, Mudge has only ever represented Scotland at international level, commenting that " would've been tough to have gone back down south and tried to gain selection there. Once I started running for Scotland there seemed no point in changing because they gave me my opportunity.""Champion Mudge remains down to earth"
, Simon Buckland, ''The Sunday Times'', 7 January 2001

National and international career

Mudge came late to hill running by comparison with more mainstream athletics competitors, not recording results until her mid-twenties, but developed quickly thereafter. Placed only 49th in the British Fell Running Championship in 1995, she won the event four times in succession from 1997 to 2000. In between times, she scored a fourth-place finish in the 1997 European Mountain Running Trophy, and also won the Scottish Hill Running Championships in 1997 and 1998, and the Scottish Cross Country Championship in 1999.Profile at scottishathletics.org.uk
/ref> She showed equally rapid development on the international stage, placing 46th in the 11th World Mountain Running Trophy when it was held in Scotland in 1995, five years prior to winning the event outright in 2000.Statistics for Angela Mudge
, World Mountain Running Association website She continued her international success in 1999, the year she broke the course record for the prestigious Mount Kinabalu Climbathon in

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, as she won the race and the

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

2,500 prize.1999 Mount Kinabalu climbathon report
Douglas Barry Mudge also triumphed in similar record-breaking style in the 2001 ''Cinq 4,000s'' in Sierre-Zinal, Switzerland, becoming the first woman to achieve a sub-three-hour time on the course.Sierre-Zinal 2001 results
(French) In the European Mountain Running Trophy, her best results have been as runner up in Bad Kleinkirchheim,

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

, Austria in 1999,British Medallists/Placings in World and European Mountain Running Trophies
gbrathletics.com website which she repeated in 2001 in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, finishing behind Russian Svetlana Demidenko,2001 European Mountain Running Trophy results
, WMRA website and again in 2003 in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

, Italy, when Belgium's Catherine Lallemand won.2003 European Mountain Running Trophy results
, WMRA website She won the women's World Mountain Running Trophy in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Germany against expectations in 2000; as with all even-numbered years, the Trophy race followed the international style, which typically only involves an ascent. Mudge is more experienced in British fell-running, which includes running up ''and'' down hills, but found success despite being unable to exploit her greater descending experience. Mudge herself described the WMRT win as "the pinnacle of my career" in a June 2008 interview."Run for the hills"
, Iain Clark, ''In the Winning Zone'', June 2008 Following her World Mountain Running Trophy win, she was one of only five Britons nominated at the 2001

Laureus World Sports Awards The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation foundin ...

, alongside

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

, rower Steve Redgrave,

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

and boxer

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...

. However, she was unable to attend the ceremony at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in London because she had already booked a long-planned holiday to the

Antipodes In geography, the antipode () of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it. A pair of points ''antipodal'' () to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Ea ...

and, she claimed, "...didn't possess a little black dress, and would only have wandered around collecting autographs." She finished second behind New Zealand's Melissa Moon in the 2003 World Mountain Running Trophy, held in Girdwood, Alaska. Compatriots Tracey Brindley finished third and Lyn Wilson eighteenth, and these combined results meant Scotland won the Women's Team championship.World Mountain Running Trophy 2003 results
, WMRT website She also won the 2003

Pikes Peak Marathon The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon is a trail running competition that begins at the base of Pikes Peak, in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and climbs over 7,815 feet (2382 m) to the top of the 14,115 foot (4302 m) peak. Since 1956, the event takes ...

, which she only entered as a warm up for the Alaska race."On the Trail With... Angela Mudge"
, ''Running Times'' article written by Mudge, published December 2003 Her victory in 4h 19m 38s not only set an age-group record for the peak, it marked the only defeat in six years for

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos (, meaning ''The Poplars'') is a census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as one of the development and creation places of the Nuclear weapon, atomic bomb—the primary objective of ...

runner Erica Larson, the most successful woman in the event's history."Race gets ugly after women reach summit"
Odeen Domingo, ''

Colorado Springs Gazette ''The Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor. The company relaunched ...

'', 18 August 2003

2005 injuries

Mudge missed much of the 2005 season, first recuperating from an operation to rehabilitate a damaged knee which left her on crutches, and then succumbing to a bout of

plantar fasciitis Plantar fasciitis or plantar heel pain is a disorder of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue that supports the Arches of the foot, arch of the foot. It results in pain in the heel and Sole (foot), bottom of the foot that is usuall ...

between May and July. Of her surgery, Mudge said: "I'd worn away all my knee

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. Semi-transparent and non-porous, it is usually covered by a tough and fibrous membrane called perichondrium. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints ...

– more to do with my running style than the sport itself. I was running on the bare bone of my

femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...

, so the surgeon drilled a lot of holes, which stimulates scar tissue, and eventually, I could run again. My knee was more painful afterwards than before. I was prepared for that, but was allowed to run for only ten minutes even months after the operation. I deliberately did not ask about the success or failure rate in order to keep a positive frame of mind. It was only six months later that a

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

told me there were lots of people for whom the operation did not work." On her return from injury, she won three races in Switzerland and placed second in their National Championship. Her prizes included a large

raclette Raclette (, ) is a dish of Swiss cuisine, Swiss origin, also popular in the other Alpine countries (France, Italy, Germany, Austria), based on heating cheese and scraping off the melted part, then typically served with boiled potatoes. Raclette i ...

cheese and a CHF50 voucher for a local florist. She had to decline the latter, as she had no place for a vase of flowers—she lives in a

tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

when touring the circuit, cooking over a

gas stove A gas stove is a Kitchen stove, stove that is fuelled by flammable gas such as natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or syngas. Before the advent of gas, cooking stoves relied on solid fuels, such as coal or wood. The first gas sto ...

and travelling to events by bicycle. Although she missed most of the summer, she recovered sufficiently to win the fifth World Masters Mountain Running Championships in England's

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

in September.

Skyrunning

For 2006 Mudge became a member of the Team SaabSalomon Adventure Running Team, and competed in the Buff Skyrunner World Series, a grand prix of eight

high altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometry, geographical s ...

endurance races around the globe.Team SaabSalomon website
She did not participate in the opening race in Hidalgo, Mexico, but was victorious in four successive subsequent rounds in

Zegama Zegama, popularly known as "the shadow of Aizkorri", is a town and municipality in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. Nature an ...

, Spain,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 30 May 2006 Valposchiavo, Switzerland,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 11 June 2006 Nagano, Japan,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 26 June 2006 and Canazei, the Dolomites, Italy,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 24 July 2006 breaking the course record on each occasion. She missed two subsequent events following the loss of her twin sister to cancer,"The Sky's the Limit"
interview with Angela Mudge, Fiona Russell, '' Daily Record'', 15 January 2007 but her third place in the 20th

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...

Climbathon in

in the final event of the season ensured she won the Series overall,"Anna Pichtrova Clinches Fifth Crown At Mt Kinabalu Climbathon"
, Malaysian National News Agency, 30 September 2006 along with the €3000 prize. She also regained her Scottish Hill Running Championship title in 2006, winning all four of the events she entered. Team SaabSalomon retained Mudge's services for the 2007 Skyrunner Series, and she subsequently won the first three races in which she competed, in

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga de ...

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland Comarques of Catalonia, comarca in the Comarques Centrals, central region of Catalonia, Spain. It lies partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. The capital is the city of Berg ...

, in the Catalan region of Spain,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 20 May 2007 Vallnord in Andorra,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 22 July 2007 and the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

in Italy., Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 30 July 2007 A second-place finish in the Zegama-Aizkorri Alpine Marathon was enough to see her retain her title in 2007. After her skyrunning success, Mudge travelled to

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in November 2007 to participate in the twelfth Everest Marathon, the world's highest marathon which starts only two hours from Everest Base Camp, at an altitude of ."Peak performance"
Bryn Palmer, ''

'', 8 December 2007 She finished eighth overall, the first woman and the second westerner out of 80 participants, setting a course record of 5h 3m, thirteen minutes ahead of the previous mark."Mudge: toughest race ever"
, Kevin Ferrie, '' The Herald'', 11 December 2007"Scottish woman on top of world"
Melanie Reid, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 14 January 2008 She was an occasional competitor in the 2008 series, winning in Valposchiavo, Switzerland,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 6 June 2008 and her home event in

Fort William, Scotland Fort William is a town in the Lochaber region of the Scottish Highlands, located on the eastern shore of Loch Linnhe in the Highland (council area), Highland Council of Scotland. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census, Fort William had ...

., Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 6 September 2008 She also finished second in the other two races she entered, the WMRA Grand Prix in Saillon-Ovronaz, Switzerland,, Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 13 August 2008 and the ''Sky Marathon de la Grigne'' in Italy., Buff Skyrunner World Series website news, 23 September 2008 However, a record-breaking performance by rival Corinne Favre in the latter denied Mudge a third successive championship. In domestic competition, she became the British Fell Running Champion for the fifth time in 2008,"Sam Murphy Joins Angela Mudge On A Fell-Running Adventure"
, Sam Murphy, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', December 2008 after winning all four races in which she competed."2008 Championships"
, Fellrunner.org.uk

Selected results

World Cup wins

References

External links

Personal website of Angela Mudge
Carnethy Running Club website
List of Scottish medallists
at Scottish Athletics website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mudge, Angela Living people 1970 births Sportspeople from Tavistock British fell runners British female mountain runners Scottish female long-distance runners British female long-distance runners Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Stirling Alumni of the University of Leicester British sky runners Female ultramarathon runners Trail runners World Mountain Running Championships winners