Ioana Barbu
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My Story
Dave is the driving force behind TrailSkin, and he is driven by a passion for adventure and performance.
This is his story.
"I was a runner is in my youth and into my early 20s.
Then I wasn't. Until 2019.
In 2019, I signed up to my first half marathon. TBH, I was unfit and overweight. A busy work and family life and too little time for exercise had created a version of me that I needed to change.
The 1st Mile is always the Hardest!
My 1st training mile was more walking than running. I think the furthest I ran in training for that half was 9 miles.
In Oct 2019, I completed my 1st Half Marathon. It may not have been pretty, but I got it done. I then signed up to a 110k race for Oct 2020. Due to Covid, it was 2021 when I completed that. - NC110, a great Race by Climb South West.
Now, I have a Gold ARC buckle, I have ran the Cotswold Way, Race to the Stones, UTS 100k and more.
And now I am running a Running Company."
Whats your story?
I would love to hear your stories of your "1st Mile"
Below you can read about some of our Ambassadors stories.
Sean Merryweather
Sean Merryweather
Most days Sean can be seen running on the trails, having Snowdonia, The Peak District and the Lake district all a short drive away is great, and leaves little excuse not to be out on the hills and mountains.
Achievements:
2025: GB Ultras Chester Ultra 100mile.
Sean won the 2025 GB Ultras Chester 100mile race inan emphatic 16hrs 20mins, taking an incredible 1hr 44 off the course record.
2022:
Manchester to Liverpool ultra 50 mile (1st Place)
GB Ultra Snowdon 50 miles (1st Place)
2021 :
GB Ultra Chester 50 (1st Place)
Europe's Toughest Mudder (12 hour overnight OCR race) 1st place
Ioana Barbu
Ioana is on a mission to become the first British woman to complete all four races of the Beyond The Ultimate Global Race Series in a single year.
In February 2025, she won the Ice Ultra in the Arctic Circle, finishing 2nd overall.
This extreme trail series tests endurance in the world’s harshest environments. Ioana began with the Jungle Ultra in the Amazon Rainforest (June 2024), followed by the Desert Ultra in Namibia. She will revisit both later this year.
Her final race, the Mountain Ultra in Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan Mountains, is in July 2025.
She’ll also take on the Highland Ultra (April) and the For Rangers Ultra (September).
TrailSkin is proud to support Ioana on these incredible challenges and you can support Ioana at makesomenoise.enthuse.com/pf/ioana-barbu
Alex Welch
Alex is a true adventurer.
In February 2025 Alex completed and WON the Beyond the Ultimate Ice Ultra, becoming the youngest winner of this awesome event.
Alex has plans for more BTU events, and will be seen at the UTS 100km event in May.
Alex has raced in the 2024 Marathon Des Sables where he finished in the top 30 (& a sub 30 hr completion time), as well as being a top ten finisher at the 2023 Race to the King, Alex has some great adventures planed for 2025, kicking off with the Beyond The Ultimate Ice Ultra in February 2025, followed by UTS in May and some more exciting adventures later in the year, possible heading back to the desert.
TrailSkin are proud to support Alex with his upcoming adventures.
Sara Eydmann
Sara is attempting to be the first documented female to run the North Coast 500 route in Scotland.
The route consists of 516miles and 10,000meters of elevation.
The route itself is around the top of Scotland's coasts with rugged roads and challenging climbs.
Sara will be attempting to set the fastest known time for the route to show that gender shouldn’t be a barrier when accomplishing dreams.
The Challenge:
- 516 miles.
- 10,000meters of elevation.
- Under 5 days and 23 hours (current fastest known time).
- Rugged exposed roads around the North Coast of Scotland following the North Coat 500 route.
- Starting Wednesday 4th June 2025.
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TrailSkin is proud to support Sara on this incredible challenges and you can learne more about Sara's challenge at www.saraeydmann.com/
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Gary Hutchings- Atlantic Dash, Solo Rower
Gary Hutchings is a passionate adventurer, preparing to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean in January 2025 from Lanzarote to Antigua in the Atlantic Dash. What began as a search for a new challenge has turned into a monumental mission to raise funds for charity. Self-funded and self-supported, Gary is committed to completing this challenge in 60 days, while raising money for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Devon Air Ambulance as well as the British Airborne Forces Charity.
We are proud to support Gary, and Gary will be using some of our products on his Adventure.
In addition to supporting Gary, we pleased to support his chosen charities.
If you would like to support Gary and make a donation, you can do so at: https://www.justgiving.com/team/pollyanhutch2025
You can follow Gary's adventure on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/pollyanhutch2025
Oliver Burton-Taylor
Oliver Burton-Taylor
Oli emailed me his amazing story after the National Running Show in January 2025.
It struck a chord with me. His story is very similar to my own, and I believe that the first mile you run is the hardest.
Oli ran that 1st mile!
Now in his 5th year running, he has completed some great races and has many more planned.
We are proud to support Oli, and all runners who take that step to run their 1st mile.
Oli's Story:
Oli is a 40 year old trail & ultra runner based in Oxfordshire.
Running was a massive part of his life as a child & teenager competing at national X-country competitions & even an international Trethalon competition.
However, as a hockey, tennis & cricket fanatic Oli gravitated away from running after school, university and younger adult years. Family life started & the sport stopped & it was 2019 when he looked at holiday pictures of himself & didn’t like what he saw, and decided to start running again.
Oli is now into his 5th year of competitively running & despite turning 40 last year is running stronger now more than ever. Past races have included UTS (x2), Race to the Stones, Brecons Way Ultra, Lakes Osprey, Beast of the Beacons, Beast of the Blacks, Ultra X Madeira, Country to Capital, the South Coast Challenge, the South West Challenge & various Maverick events such as the Original Cotswold, and the Original Hampshire to name just a some.
James (Jim) Graham
Jim is an Ultra runner with a few great races and FKTs to his name.
He is too modest to write a Bio, so I did it for him!
2nd place at 2024 Montane Spine Challenger South
Winner and Course Record Holder at Devon Coast to Coast 2022.
Winner at North Coast 110M 2021 (Course Record)