Angela Mudge
Encyclopedia
Angela Mudge is a 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), the British
Fell Running Championship five times (1997–2000, 2008), and holds the women's record on more than thirteen courses in Scotland alone. On the international stage she won the Women's World Mountain Running Trophy in 2000, the World Masters Mountain Running Championship in 2005, and the Buff Skyrunner World Series in 2006 and 2007. She was named on a list of "100 things we still love about sport" by The Observer
newspaper in June 2008.
in order to rectify this.
When she was a teenager she raced on the track
, but gave it up out of dissatisfaction with "running in circles". Even cross-country courses were insufficiently challenging, and it was only following her graduation from the University of Leicester
with a B.Sc.
in chemistry
, when she moved north to the University of Stirling
to obtain her Master's degree
, that she discovered hill running and began to fulfil her potential. When she subsequently moved to the University of Edinburgh
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
, Mudge has only ever represented Scotland at international level, commenting that "[i]t 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."
She continued her international success in 1999, the year she broke the course record for the prestigious 4100 metre Mount Kinabalu
Climbathon in Sabah
, Malaysia, as she won the race and the US$2,500 prize. 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 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) course.
In the European Mountain Running Trophy, her best results have been as runner up in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Carinthia
, Austria
in 1999, which she repeated in 2001 in Slovenia
, finishing behind Russia
n Svetlana Demidenko, and again in 2003 in Trento
, Italy
, when Belgium
's Catherine Lallemand won. She won the women's World Mountain Running Trophy in Bergen
, 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.
Following her World Mountain Running Trophy win, she was one of only five Britons nominated at the 2001 Laureus World Sports Awards
, alongside football
er David Beckham
, rower
Steve Redgrave
, triple jump
er Jonathan Edwards
and boxer
Lennox Lewis
. However, she was unable to attend the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall
in London
because she had already booked a long-planned holiday to the Antipodes
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. She also won the 2003 Pikes Peak Marathon
, which she only entered as a warm up for the Alaska race. Her victory in 4h 19m 38s not only set a course record for the 4300 metres (14,107.6 ft) peak, it marked the only defeat in six years for Los Alamos, New Mexico
runner Erica Larson
, the most successful woman in the event's history.
which left her on crutches, and then succumbing to a bout of plantar fasciitis
between May and July. Of her surgery, Mudge said: "I'd worn away all my knee cartilage
– more to do with my running style than the sport itself. I was running on the bare bone of my femur
, 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 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
cheese and a CHF
50 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
when touring the circuit, cooking over a gas stove
and travelling to events by bicycle
.
Although she missed most of the summer, she recovered sufficiently to win the fifth World Masters Mountain Running Championship in England
's Lake District
in September.
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 endurance races around the globe. She did not participate in the opening race in Hidalgo, Mexico
, but was victorious in four successive subsequent rounds in Zegama
, Spain
, Valposchiavo, Switzerland
, Nagano, Japan
, and Canazei, the Dolomites
, Italy
, breaking the course record on each occasion. She missed two subsequent events following the loss of her twin sister to cancer
, but her third place in the 20th Mount Kinabalu
Climbathon in Malaysia in the final event of the season ensured she won the Series overall, 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
, Berguedà
, in the Catalan
region of Spain
, Vallnord
in Andorra
, and the Dolomites
in Italy
. A second place finish in te Zegama-Aizkorri Alpine Marathon was enough to see her retain her title in 2007.
After her skyrunning success, Mudge travelled to Nepal
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 5200 metres (17,060.4 ft). 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.
She was an occasional competitor in the 2008 series, winning in Valposchiavo, Switzerland, and her home event in Fort William, Scotland
. She also finished second in the other two races she entered, the WMRA Grand Prix in Saillon-Ovronaz, Switzerland, and the Sky Marathon de la Grigne in Italy. 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, after winning all four races in which she competed.
Fell running
Fell running, also known as mountain running and hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty...
and skyrunner
Trail running
Trail running is a variant on running that differs markedly from road running and track running. Trail running generally takes place on hiking trails, most commonly single track trails, although fire roads are not uncommon. A distinguishing characteristic of the trails is that they are often...
. Despite being born with birth defects in both legs, and finding track athletics
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
not to her liking, she discovered her sport while a postgraduate student in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in the mid 1990s, and developed rapidly.
She has won the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Hill Running Championships three times (1997, 1998, 2006), the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Fell Running Championship five times (1997–2000, 2008), and holds the women's record on more than thirteen courses in Scotland alone. On the international stage she won the Women's World Mountain Running Trophy in 2000, the World Masters Mountain Running Championship in 2005, and the Buff Skyrunner World Series in 2006 and 2007. She was named on a list of "100 things we still love about sport" by The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper in 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 "[w]e got a bit squashed in the womb", and for the first few years of their lives both girls were required to have their legs in braces and plasterOrthopedic cast
An orthopedic cast, body cast or surgical cast, is a shell, frequently made from plaster, encasing a limb to hold a broken bone in place until healing is confirmed...
in order to rectify this.
When she was a teenager she raced on the track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, but gave it up out of dissatisfaction with "running in circles". Even cross-country courses were insufficiently challenging, and it was only following her graduation from the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
with a B.Sc.
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, when she moved north to the University of Stirling
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
to obtain her Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
, that she discovered hill running and began to fulfil her potential. When she subsequently moved to the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
to study for her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, she joined the Carnethy Hill Running Club, where she remains an active member and competitor. She obtained her doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 2000.
Although born and raised in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, Mudge has only ever represented Scotland at international level, commenting that "[i]t 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."
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 1997–2000. 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. 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.She continued her international success in 1999, the year she broke the course record for the prestigious 4100 metre Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
Climbathon in Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, Malaysia, as she won the race and the US$2,500 prize. Mudge also triumphed in similar record-breaking style in the 2001 Cinq 4,000s in Sierre-Zinal, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, becoming the first woman to achieve a sub-three hour time on the 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) course.
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in 1999, which she repeated in 2001 in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, finishing behind Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Svetlana Demidenko, and again in 2003 in Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, when Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
's Catherine Lallemand won. She won the women's World Mountain Running Trophy in Bergen
Bergen, Lower Saxony
Bergen is a town in the north of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Administratively it acts as a municipal borough divided into 12 subordinate parishes based on the town and its surrounding villages: Becklingen, Belsen, Bergen, Bleckmar, Diesten, Dohnsen, Eversen,...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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.
Following her World Mountain Running Trophy win, she was one of only five Britons nominated at the 2001 Laureus World Sports Awards
Laureus World Sports Awards
The Laureus World Sports Awards are awarded annually to sportspeople who have been outstanding during the previous year. The Laureus World Sports Awards were established in 1999 by Founding Patrons Daimler and Richemont and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and...
, alongside football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
er David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
, rower
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
Steve Redgrave
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave CBE is an English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals...
, triple jump
Triple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
er Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards (athlete)
Jonathan David Edwards, CBE, is a former British triple jumper. He is a former Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995....
and boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
. However, she was unable to attend the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
because she had already booked a long-planned holiday to the Antipodes
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
and, she claimed, "...didn't possess a little black dress, and would only have wandered around collecting autographs."
She finished second behind New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's Melissa Moon in the 2003 World Mountain Running Trophy, held in Girdwood, Alaska
Girdwood, Alaska
Girdwood is an unincorporated year-round ski resort community within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies in a valley in the Chugach Mountains near the end of the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, 36 miles southeast of Anchorage proper.It is surrounded by seven permanent...
. Compatriots Tracey Brindley finished third and Lyn Wilson eighteenth, and these combined results meant Scotland won the Women's Team championship. She also won the 2003 Pikes Peak Marathon
Pikes Peak Marathon
The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon is a racing event that begins at the base of Pikes Peak, in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and climbs over 7,700 feet to the top of the 14,115 foot peak...
, which she only entered as a warm up for the Alaska race. Her victory in 4h 19m 38s not only set a course record for the 4300 metres (14,107.6 ft) peak, it marked the only defeat in six years for Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
runner Erica Larson
Erica Larson
Erica Larson Baron is a chemist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and a champion mountain runner. She has won the Pikes Peak marathon on five occasions, more than any other woman since the event's inception in 1959....
, the most successful woman in the event's history.
2005 injuries
Mudge missed much of the 2005 season, first recuperating from an operation to rehabilitate a damaged kneeKnee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
which left her on crutches, and then succumbing to a bout of plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory process of the plantar fascia, the connective tissue on the sole of the foot.Longstanding cases of plantar fasciitis often demonstrate more degenerative changes than inflammatory changes, in which case they are termed plantar fasciosis. The suffix...
between May and July. Of her surgery, Mudge said: "I'd worn away all my knee cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
– more to do with my running style than the sport itself. I was running on the bare bone of my femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
, so the surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
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 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
Raclette is both a type of cheese and a Swiss and French dish based on heating the cheese and scraping off the melted part.-Cheese:Raclette is a semi-firm, cow's milk cheese - most commonly used for melting...
cheese and a CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
50 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
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
when touring the circuit, cooking over a gas stove
Gas stove
In cooking, a gas stove is a cooker which uses natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or other flammable gas as a fuel source.-History:...
and travelling to events by bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
.
Although she missed most of the summer, she recovered sufficiently to win the fifth World Masters Mountain Running Championship in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
in September.
Skyrunning
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, but was victorious in four successive subsequent rounds in Zegama
Zegama
Zegama is a town and municipality in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Valposchiavo, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Nagano, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Canazei, the Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, breaking the course record on each occasion. She missed two subsequent events following the loss of her twin sister to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, but her third place in the 20th Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
Climbathon in Malaysia in the final event of the season ensured she won the Series overall, along with the €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
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
Berga is the capital of the comarca of Berguedà, in Catalonia, Spain.- History :Berga derives its name from the Bergistani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area before the Roman conquest. The Bergistani were first subdued by Hannibal in 218 BC...
, Berguedà
Berguedà
Berguedà is a comarca in the interior of Catalonia, Spain, lying partly in the Pyrenees and partly in Catalonia's Depressió Central.-Geography:...
, in the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
region of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Vallnord
Vallnord
Vallnord is a ski/snowboard resort in the Pyrenees mountains in the country of Andorra, close to the border with Spain at Tor, Pallars.It encompasses the linked sectors of Pal and Arinsal and the Ordino-Arcalis sector some kilometres away.All the separate sectors within Vallnord contain...
in Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, and the Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. A second place finish in te Zegama-Aizkorri Alpine Marathon was enough to see her retain her title in 2007.
After her skyrunning success, Mudge travelled to Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
in November 2007 to participate in the twelfth Everest Marathon
Everest Marathon
The Everest Marathon, the world's highest marathon, was started in 1985 by Jan Turner and Tony Hunt on a trek to and from Everest Base Camp. Jan Turner pioneered the course in 12 hours without aid stations and a full back pack. On their return to Namche Bazaar they set up an impromptu half marathon...
, the world's highest marathon which starts only two hours from Everest Base Camp
Everest Base Camp
There are two base camps on opposite sides of Mount Everest. South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of , and North Base Camp is in Tibet at ). These camps are rudimentary campsites on Mount Everest that are used by mountain climbers during their ascent and descent...
, at an altitude of 5200 metres (17,060.4 ft). 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.
She was an occasional competitor in the 2008 series, winning in Valposchiavo, Switzerland, and her home event in Fort William, Scotland
Fort William, Scotland
Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles...
. She also finished second in the other two races she entered, the WMRA Grand Prix in Saillon-Ovronaz, Switzerland, and the Sky Marathon de la Grigne in Italy. However, a record-breaking performance by rival Corinne Favre
Corinne Favre
Corinne Favre is a French professional ski instructor, competitive ski mountaineer, and champion mountain runner....
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, after winning all four races in which she competed.
Selected results
| Year | Event | Location | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | European Mountain Running Trophy | Ebensee Ebensee Ebensee is a market town in the Traunviertel region of the Austrian state of Upper Austria, located within the Salzkammergut Mountains at the southern end of the Traunsee. The regional capital Linz lies approximately to the north, nearest towns are Gmunden and Bad Ischl... , Austria |
4th | |
| British Fell Running Championship | 1st | |||
| Scottish Hill Running Championship | 1st | |||
| 1998 | British Fell Running Championship (2) | 1st | ||
| Scottish Hill Running Championship (2) | 1st | |||
| 1999 | European Mountain Running Trophy | Bad Kleinkirchheim, Carinthia, Austria | 2nd | |
| British Fell Running Championship (3) | 1st | |||
| Inter-Counties Cross Country Championship | Wollaton Park, Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... , United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
1st | ||
| World Mountain Running Trophy | Individual championship | Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia | 7th | |
| Team championship | 3rd | |||
| Mount Kinabalu Climbathon | Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia | 1st | ||
| 2000 | European Mountain Running Trophy | Miedzygorze, Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
5th | |
| World Mountain Running Trophy | Bergen, Germany | 1st | ||
| British Fell Running Championship (4) | 1st | |||
| 2001 | Cinq 4,000s | Sierre-Zinal, Switzerland | 1st | |
| European Mountain Running Trophy | Cerklje, Slovenia | 2nd | ||
| World Mountain Running Trophy | Arta Terme, Italy | 5th | ||
| 2002 | European Mountain Running Trophy | Individual championship | Câmara de Lobos Câmara de Lobos Câmara de Lobos -History:The location of the modern town is believed to be the original landing point for the Portuguese discoverer João Gonçalves Zarco, who is credited with the discovery of the Madeira Islands... —Madeira Madeira Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union... , Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
5th |
| Team championship | 3rd | |||
| World Mountain Running Trophy | Innsbruck Innsbruck - Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus... , Austria |
2nd | ||
| 2003 | European Mountain Running Trophy | Trento Trento Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino... , Italy |
2nd | |
| Pikes Peak marathon | Pikes Peak, Colorado Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains... |
1st | ||
| World Mountain Running Trophy | Individual championship | Girdwood, Alaska | 2nd | |
| Women's team championship | 1st | |||
| Team championship | 3rd | |||
| 2004 | Mount Kinabalu Climbathon (2) | Sabah, Malaysia | 1st | |
| Scottish Cross Country Championship | 3rd | |||
| 2005 | World Mountain Running Trophy | Individual championship | Wellington Wellington Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range... , New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
20th |
| Over-35 championship | 1st | |||
| World Masters Mountain Running Championship | Keswick, Cumbria Keswick, Cumbria Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park... , United Kingdom |
1st | ||
| 2006 | Buff Skyrunner Series | Zegama-Aizkorri Mendi Maratoia | Zegama, Spain | 1st |
| 5^ SkyRace Internaz. Valmalenco/Valposchiavo | Valposchiavo, Switzerland | 1st | ||
| OSB Mount Ontake SkyRace | Nagano, Japan | 1st | ||
| Dolomites SkyRace | Canazei, Italy | 1st | ||
| 20th Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon | Sabah, Malaysia | 3rd | ||
| 2006 Female World Championship | 1st | |||
| Scottish Hill Running Championship (3) | 1st | |||
| 2007 | Buff Skyrunner Series | IV Marató de Muntaya de Berga | Berga, Berguedà, Spain | 1st |
| III Sky Race Vallnord | Vallnord, Andorra | 1st | ||
| Dolomites SkyRace | Canazei, Italy | 1st | ||
| Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri | Zegama, Spain | 2nd | ||
| 2007 Female World Championship (2) | 1st | |||
| Everest Marathon | Gorak Shep–Namche, Nepal Nepal Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India... |
1st | ||
| 2008 | Buff Skyrunner Series | 7^ SkyRace Internaz. Valmalenco/Valposchiavo | Valposchiavo, Switzerland | 1st |
| WMRA Grand Prix | Saillon-Ovronaz, Switzerland | 2nd | ||
| Ben Nevis Race | Fort William Fort William, Scotland Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles... , Scotland |
1st | ||
| Sky Marathon de la Grigne | Sentiero delle Grigne, Pasturo Pasturo Pasturo is a comune in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km northeast of Milan and about 11 km north of Lecco... , Italy |
2nd | ||
| 2008 Female World Championship | 2nd | |||
| British Fell Running Championship (5) | 1st | |||
External links
- Personal website of Angela Mudge
- Interview with Angela Mudge, Carnethy Running Club website
- List of Scottish medallists, at Scottish Athletics website