Gemma Hillier-Moses on why the road to CCC is about patience, learning – and turning down a Western States ‘Golden Ticket’

For many runners, a difficult race can leave a bitter aftertaste.

For Gemma Hillier-Moses, however, last year’s experience at CCC – a rare blip in a rapid upward trajectory since her first ultra in late 2023 – has become one of the most valuable lessons of her trail running career so far.

Hillier-Moses entered the race after a disrupted build-up that included eight weeks out with a glute injury. While she managed to get herself to the start line, she admits the preparation was far from ideal.

“I spent eight weeks on the bike with a glute med tear,” she explained when RUN247 caught up with her to find out more about what has been a quite incredible running journey.

“So when I came back I had about ten weeks before CCC and was basically restarting running again.

“You try to cross-train as hard as you can, but it doesn’t really replicate running.”

Learning curve

As a result, she believes she arrived in Chamonix without quite the same level of running sharpness that had previously been one of her strengths.

“My climbing was actually pretty strong,” she said.

“But maybe my running speed wasn’t where it normally would be because I’d spent so much time cross-training.”

That, combined with fuelling problems during the race, made for a tough day in the mountains.

But rather than seeing the race as a setback, Hillier-Moses views it as an essential part of the learning curve.

“When things go wrong you can actually learn a lot,” she said.

“Fuelling had never been an issue for me before, so that was something new to understand.

“And that’s part of ultra running – it’s not just about who’s the fittest.”

A sport that rewards experience

Hillier-Moses only ran her first ultra in November 2023, meaning her progression into longer trail races has been rapid.

Last year she stepped up from 73km to 100km for the first time, while this season she is continuing that progression and in her longest race to date last weekend she was a superb fourth to the legendary Courtney Dauwalter at the 120km Ultra Trail Chianti Castles by UTMB.

She could have grabbed a Golden Ticket for [the 100-mile] Western States on the back of that performance but decided to leave that project for another year and focus on that CCC return in 2026.

That also underlined the importance of sticking to the long-term plan, something she’s written about since Chianti here.

She believes ultra trail running is a sport where experience can matter just as much as physical ability and taking things one step at a time is the right approach.

“There’s still a lot for me to learn,” she tells us.

“I haven’t done any through-the-night running yet and there are still lots of things about mountain racing that you only learn by doing.”

That learning process is also part of the appeal.

“I love the fact that there’s so much to practise and develop,” she said.

“It’s not just about running fast. There are so many other elements – the terrain, the conditions, the decisions you make during the race.”

Ideal combination

And that all ties into how Hillier-Moses and her husband / coach Lewis Moses use technology to help with her training, even if she usually runs “to feel” in races themselves.

“I wear a Suunto watch but in races I barely look at it,” she explains. “Trail races are so varied that pace on the watch doesn’t really mean much anyway.

“Trail running is much more about effort than pace. You learn what the effort should feel like on climbs and descents rather than chasing a number.”

Where the watch becomes particularly valuable, however, is away from race day.

“I probably use the watch much more in training than in races,” she says. “It’s really useful for tracking how long you’ve been out for, looking at effort and reviewing sessions afterwards.”

For Hillier-Moses, that combination works perfectly – using technology to inform training, while still relying on instinct when the racing starts.

“Most of the time when I’m racing I’m just running on feel,” she adds. “But the watch is brilliant for capturing the data and helping you look back at everything afterwards.”

Big ambitions still to come

Looking further ahead, Hillier-Moses admits there are some iconic races she would love to tackle in the future.

Among them are the ‘full’ UTMB and, as mentioned earlier, Western States. “I’d love to do UTMB in the next two or three years,” she explains. “Western States as well.

“I like big occasions and big races – competing against the best and seeing where you fall.”

For now, though, her focus remains on gaining experience and continuing to build towards the longer races she believes suit her best.

“It’s only really been a year since my first 100km race,” she said.

“So there’s still a lot of development to come.”