# Robbie Britton

British 24-Hour Record Holder | Ultra Endurance Coach & Athlete

Canonical: https://mornings.network/shows/center-stage/guests/robbie-britton

## Biography

In February 2023, Robbie Britton ran 277.439 kilometers — 172.392 miles — in a single day in Turin, Italy. He ran in 1-kilometer circles, lapping Ruffini Park for twenty-four consecutive hours at an average pace of 5:11 per kilometer, breaking a British 24-hour record that had stood for forty-one years. The record had been set by David Dowdle in 1982. Robbie had been chasing it for a decade.

The moment he crossed the line, he collapsed. He described it afterward as the hardest thing a human body can do.

Robbie Britton is a British 24-hour record holder, one of the most respected ultra-endurance coaches in the world, and a man who has turned the philosophy of suffering into a professional science. He is a UKA Athletics Coach, holds an MSc in Performance Coaching and an IOC Sports Nutrition postgraduate diploma, and is a member of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland 24-hour team management. He began coaching professionally in 2013 and has worked for over fifteen years in ultra-distance running and cycling — starting when he quit his last tutoring job after competing in the World 24hr Championships and discovering that coaching gave him both the flexibility to train and the intellectual challenge of a second career.

He is also the author of 1001 Running Tips: The Essential Runner's Guide, a must-read for anyone serious about the discipline.

But Robbie's authority is not built on credentials alone. It is built on the specificity and intimacy of what he has put his own body and mind through. He knows what a 24-hour race does to a human being — because he has done it multiple times, at world championship level. He knows what it means to run when the legs are broken and the mind is screaming to stop — because he has been there. He finished third at the World 24hr Championships in 2015, covering 261 kilometers. He set the Fastest Known Time on the 650km Jordan Trail in 2019. He won the Wicklow Way 127km in 2019 with a course record. He has represented Great Britain at four World and European Championships.

Now based in Italy — where, as he notes with characteristic dry humor, his British name becomes "Brighton" in Italian pronunciation — Robbie trains some of the finest ultra-endurance athletes in the world while simultaneously preparing himself for the 2025 World 24hr Championships.

His philosophy is precise: "Simmer, don't boil." You cannot win a 24-hour race in the first half. You can only lose it. The entire strategic architecture of ultra-endurance, Robbie argues, is about learning to sustain the right effort for the longest possible period — not maximizing effort at any single moment. This principle applies not just to racing but to training, to recovery, and to the mental management of discomfort over time.

Robbie Britton joined Mornings in the Lab's Center Stage because of a video — his teammate showed it to the hosts — of Robbie crossing the 24-hour line and collapsing. The question that generated the invitation was simple: how do you train your mind to get to that point? Robbie's answer, across the full arc of the conversation, is the reason this episode exists.

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## Transcript

coming back with Robbie Britain bring him into the lab and let's get to know the young man Robbie Rich Chris Robbie Rich we've got John am Marty coming back what's up Robbie Britain hello in the audio works right now that's the main worry at this point I I think I think we have you working there we got Johnny coming back here what Shak and Robbie where are you joining us from today you were joining us from London no I'm from London but I'm joining you from Italy so ironically my name is Britain but here in Italy they pronounce it Brighton so myself I just want to fit in and not C any Dr there you go so Robbie is a let me get my camera feed here so guys Marty Rich Johnny Robbie is a professional endurance coach since 20 specializing in ultra distance running and cycling he's the author of a,1 running tips the essential Runner guide to must read for anyone serious about running we're going to get that for John Anderson coming up here he holds the British 24-hour record covering an incredible yeah incredible 172 miles in one day for all my American friends do the math 172 miles in one day he represented Great Britain and nor Ireland in a 24-hour race earning third place world and European championships he's now part of the management team for British Athletics 24-hour team sharing his experience and expertise in endurance science Richie Ingram coming to you brother when you said hey I got somebody for the show you're like I got somebody for the show and you're like we got to get Robbie on the show Richie in a sentence or less why do we have Robbie Briton on the show today this guy represents everything there is about endurance like like I said Robbie showed me that video of when he crosses the 24-hour 24-hour line and just fell over I I don't know I want to know exactly like how do we train to our minds to get to that point yeah and Robbie is the Pinnacle of that