Athlete Profile: Susie Chan, Endurance Runner

There is little that endurance runner Susie Chan doesn’t know about running. In the relatively short time that Susie has been running – having started seven years ago just to be a bit healthier – she has built up from half marathons and marathons to compete in some of the world’s toughest ultra-marathons and endurance races.

Susie has four times finished the legendary Marathon des Sables, won the Adventure Category of the 2017 Coastal Challenge Costa Rica, survived five days’ self-sufficient running 250km through the Amazon jungle, run the Thames Path 100, become a Six Star Finisher at the World Marathon Majors, come 3rd placed female at the 2018 Self Transcendence 24-hour track race, completed numerous multi-stage ultra-marathons and broken the world record for the longest distance run on a treadmill in 12 hours.

Now we love running at Breathe Unity, but Susie’s running history is pretty exceptional. It demonstrates outstanding physical capability and true mental grit.

It’s not all about the long run, however, as Susie enjoys races of all distances and terrains. She’s happiest when she’s out running with her friends on trails, and is an active member of the running and wider sporting community. She can often be found at the start line of events ranging from parkrun to marathons, pacing races such as the Intersport Run Reigate Half Marathon and the Virgin Money London Marathon, and commentating at many others including Ealing Half Marathon and Shrewsbury Half Marathon.

“I love to participate in local races as they are a great opportunity for me to meet other runners, make friends and just be part of the running community”, Susie confirms.

When not in her running shoes, mum Susie can sometimes be found cycling or swimming in open water races; she once did an Ironman just to see what it felt like.

She might be an extraordinary athlete but Susie couldn’t be nicer in person and she unsurprisingly has a significant and engaged following on social media. She documents the challenges she embraces on Twitter and Instagram and is thoroughly supportive of all abilities of runner – as it wasn’t so long ago that she was a beginner herself.

With her extraordinary experience and bouncy personality, it’s easy to see why she is often asked to speak at public and charity events, host events such as The National Running Show, commentate at races, perform magazine and podcast interviews, appear on national TV and radio, undertake kit reviews and contribute to guest blogs. Susie is also a fantastic ambassador for Intersport. If anyone can inspire, Susie certainly can!

Susie Chan – Achievements & Adventures

So, what’s next?

Susie of course has plenty of adventures lined up for 2019 which we are looking forward to documenting here. She will be heading back to the Sahara for her fifth Marathon des Sables, although this time as part of the media team, and she is looking forward to hosting two more courses at The Campus Run Academy, her very own running academy with top British runner Lily Partridge. Plus we will have lots of exciting races, events, interviews, podcasts and commentating to report on!

You can follow all of Susie’s running activity on Strava.

Susie Chan – Contact & More Info

We are proud to be looking after Susie at Breathe Unity, and if you would like to discuss working together please do get in touch with Rebecca@BreatheUnity.com.

You can follow Susie on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Find out more about Susie at www.susie-chan.com.

Header image © Ben Lumley Photography.