Jo Meek

About

Jo Meek, known as The Running Squirrel, is a British ultrarunner, sports physiotherapist, and former British Army logistics officer born on May 20, 1977, now based in Moretonhampstead on Dartmoor in Devon. She served four years as an Army officer from 2003 to 2007, including a deployment to Iraq, before qualifying in physiotherapy and building a practice specialising in musculoskeletal and running injuries. A road marathon personal best of 2:46 underpins a versatile career spanning fell races to multi-stage desert epics. She first came to wide attention with second place at the 2014 Marathon des Sables — the highest-ever finish by a British woman at that event — and has since won the Lakeland 50 (2014), placed second at the CCC by UTMB (2016), represented Great Britain at three World Trail Championships (best finish 7th, as first British woman), finished fourth at the IAU 100k World Championships, won the Cape Wrath Ultra (2023, setting a new women's course record of 52:09, over 45 minutes inside the previous mark across 400km of Scottish Highland terrain), and won the Dragon's Back Race (2024), the 380km journey from Conwy Castle to Cardiff Castle along the spine of Wales. A Scott Running athlete since 2015, she is married to marine biologist Jon and lives on Dartmoor with her border terrier Wilfred.

Notable Wins

• — Marathon des Sables 2014 2nd (fastest British female ever)
• — Lakeland 50 2014 winner
• — CCC by UTMB 2016 2nd
• — IAU Trail World Championships 7th 2016 (first British woman)
• — IAU 100k World Championships 4th
• — Cape Wrath Ultra 2023 winner (women's record 52:09)
• — Dragon's Back Race 2024 winner

Race History