Newtown College lecturer Andy Davies recently upped his game entering the longest race of his career to date and achieved an incredible third place, securing his spot to participate in the world’s most difficult race the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) to be held later this year.
Andy is a Sports lecturer at Newtown College and has achieved success in numerous races finishing as British Record Holder in the 2022 Seville Marathon. The Istria 100 held in Croatia is described as the “most mythical trail race in the world”. Andrew finished the race behind winner, Stian Angermund, and second placed Andrzej Witek in the 69km (43 mile) race that included an elevation of almost 2,500m.
“It was a daunting challenge running for such a long period, but I am really pleased how it turned out in the end!” said Andy. “I was motivated en-route by the goal to achieve no less than third place to qualify for UTMB, so to get it was brilliant. I haven’t been involved in the trail scene for a few years so it was a bit of a test to see how it would go and there are some really good competitors in this field so it was really good.”
Andy has now qualified for The OCC (Orieres -Champex-Chamonix) 56 Km race at the UTMB running festival in France, a race renowned for brining together the best athletes to compete within a variety of challenging races held from August 28-September 3.
Head of Sport for NPTC Group of Colleges Barry Roberts said “Andy is once again proving if you set your mind to a challenge you can achieve it – a great ambassador for our students at NPTC Group of Colleges. Good luck Andy with your next marathon in Zermatt in July, we are all rooting for you.”
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