Lizzy Hawker
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Elizabeth Hawker (born 10 March 1976) is a British endurance athlete. Her career highlights include five wins at the
Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is a mountain ultramarathon race, first held in 2003, that follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc. It has been regarded as the most competitive trail ultramarathon in the world. Renamed in 2023 as UTMB W ...
(UTMB), as well as the 2006
IAU 100 km World Championships The IAU 100 km World Championships have been held annually since 1987, at different locations, and is organized by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU). Due to lack of sponsorship, the 2013 event, planned for Jeju Island, South ...
. She is a former world record-holder at the 24 hour distance. She has also worked as an oceanographer and climate change researcher.


Early life

Hawker grew up in
Upminster Upminster is a suburb of east London, England, in the London Borough of Havering, northeast of Charing Cross. Historically a rural village, it formed an ancient parish in the Chafford hundred of the county of Essex. The economic history of ...
, a suburb of London. She stated that she first fell for mountains when visiting
Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...
in the
Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...
at the age of six.


Career

Hawker ran her first long-distance race at the London Marathon in 2000. Hawker first ran the
Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is a mountain ultramarathon race, first held in 2003, that follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc. It has been regarded as the most competitive trail ultramarathon in the world. Renamed in 2023 as UTMB W ...
(UTMB) in 2005. Although she had never owned a pair of trail-running shoes until 10 days before the race she won it at her first attempt. She has won UTMB record five times, a record for either male or female runners.
The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, a distinct ...
began sponsoring Hawker in 2005. She continued to work as a researcher for the
British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...
until 2007, when she relocated to the Laufschule Scuol, a training centre in the Swiss Alps. Hawker won the 2006 IAU 100km World Championships, and in 2007 set the record for running the 199 miles between
Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
South Base Camp There are two Base camp#Shelter, base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: #South Base Camp in Nepal, South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of (), while #North Base Camp in Tibet, North Base Camp is in Tibet at (). ...
and
Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
, Nepal, in 77 hours 36 minutes. The 2010
IAU 100 km World Championships The IAU 100 km World Championships have been held annually since 1987, at different locations, and is organized by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU). Due to lack of sponsorship, the 2013 event, planned for Jeju Island, South ...
saw Hawker lead the way for most of the race, battling with her compatriot
Ellie Greenwood Ellie Greenwood (born 14 March 1979) is a British and Canadian ultramarathon runner. She is a four-time 100km World Champion, winning both individual and team titles in 2010 and 2014. She won the 90 km Comrades Marathon in South Africa i ...
but she faded towards the end to take bronze behind Greenwood and Monica Carlin of Italy. This also earned her a bronze in the jointly hosted
IAU 100 km European Championships The IAU 100 km European Championships is an annual, ultrarunning competition over 100 kilometres (60 miles) for European athletes. It is organised by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) and was first held in 1992 – five years aft ...
. In 2011, she set the women's 24-hour world record with 153.5 miles in
Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community â ...
, Wales. She also improved on her Everest record with a time of 71 hours 25 minutes. The following year Hawker won UTMB, the 100-mile Run Rabbit Run in Colorado, and the 155-mile Spartathlon while setting a new women's record and placing third overall. She beat her Everest Base Camp–Kathmandu time in 2013, completing the distance in 63 hours. Hawker says that she has suffered few injuries in her career, except in the two years up to 2015, when she suffered six stress fractures. She has a reputation for recovering quickly after major races. While training for the UTMB, Hawker ran along the footpath of the Tour de Monte Rosa many times. This experience led her to create a new race, the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa, which runs for 93 miles from
Grächen Grächen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. The village is situated at an altitude of on a terrace above St. Niklaus in the Ma ...
to Zermatt, on through villages in Italy, before returning to the start point. It incorporates more than 32,000 feet of ascent and descent over technical terrain. The inaugural "Zero Edition" took place in August 2015. Hawker ran, hiked and climbed 1,600 km across the Himalayas in Nepal in 2016. She is the author of the book ''Runner: A short story about a long run''.


Personal life

Hawker completed her PhD in physical oceanography from Southampton University in 2005. She has worked for the
British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...
, studying climate change along the Antarctic coastline. As of 2013, she lived in Switzerland. Hawker has been a strict vegetarian since five years old.


See also

*
List of Mount Everest records This article lists different records related to Mount Everest. One of the most commonly sought after records is a "summit", meaning to reach the highest elevation point on Mount Everest. Records Highest number of times to reach the summit ...


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawker, Lizzy 1976 births Living people People from Upminster Athletes from the London Borough of Havering British ultramarathon runners English female long-distance runners British female long-distance runners Place of birth missing (living people) Female ultramarathon runners British sky runners Trail runners 20th-century British sportswomen Alumni of the University of Southampton British expatriates in Switzerland