THE University of Gloucestershire has been working with England Athletics to prepare elite ultra-distance runners for international competition.

The university’s sports and performance science experts Simon de Waal and Ashish Balagopalan have been working with members of the England team competing at the upcoming Anglo-Celtic Plate 100km event on May 3.

Using specialist sports facilities with advanced diagnostic technology, England team members Shaun Dixon and Dan Summers completed a series of assessments which gave specialists critical pointers for areas like hydration, fuelling and oxygen intake.

Simon de Waal, Senior Lecturer in Sport, said: “Working with Shaun and Dan was a real pleasure and provided our team with valuable insights into the levels of athletic performance achieved by ultra-distance runners competing at their level.

“Our facilities allow for highly accurate diagnostics to be run on any athlete’s physiological capacity, prior to conducting a training programme for them.

“We wish Shaun and Dan every success at the British Championships and for the rest of the season and look forward to continuing our relationship with Robbie and his team at England Athletics.”

Dan Summers, England Athletics member, said: “Simon and his team were great from start to finish. The opportunity to test running at specific speeds around my predicted 100k pace has been invaluable for planning my fuelling and pace strategy for the race.

“I would thoroughly recommend these tests to anyone looking to get the most out of themselves in an upcoming race.”

Data from the tests conducted by Simon and Ashish could also help plan race pace strategy for Shuan and Dan, and final training decisions ahead of the race.

England Athletics will take on teams from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at Mallory Park in Leicestershire.

More information about the athletics event can be found online.