Starting competitive running at the age of 20, Jonathan Albon was a little late to the game. But this didn’t stop him, and he quickly made a name for himself in the ‘up and coming’ UK obstacle course racing (OCR) scene at the time. After this, he took his exploits to the hills and mountains; competing in, and winning, many ultra and mountain races alongside obstacle course racing.
He first became known globally in 2014, when he won both the Spartan and OCR World Championships held in the USA. With two World Championship titles to his name, he decided to take his running career full time and subsequently enjoyed a successful 2015; defending his title in the OCR World Championships, becoming the Toughest Mini Tour Champion, winning the Spartan European Championships and taking the win at the renowned Tough Guy race.
Though his career started with OCR, Jon’s true passion is running in the mountains. After moving to Bergen, Norway, in 2014, Jon’s training in the mountains began in earnest. Alongside a full-packed OCR calendar, Jon began to compete in extreme skyrunning events across Europe. Jonathan first shocked the skyrunning community in Tromso, Norway. Organised by the undisputed champion of mountain running, Kilian Jornet, Jon won the race by beating the Ultra Skyrunning World Champion of the time into first by 17 minutes.
Since then, Jon has twice won the final ranking of Sky Extreme Series (2016 and 2017) and has once been the overall winner of the Skrunner World Series in 2017. In 2018, he became Ultra SkyRunning World Champion before upsetting the favourites to scoop Gold at the IAU Trail World Championships in 2019.
As an obstacle racer, he has won the OCR World Championships in 2014 through to 2019, Spartan World Championships in 2014 and 2018 and Tougher Mudder World Championship in 2018. Furthermore, in 2016, Jon and Ryan Atkins became the first team to achieve 100 miles at the World’s Toughest Mudder Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As a full-time athlete, Jon now spends most of his time training and recovering. His training consists of running, bouldering, swimming, cycling and most other things active. Living in the Norwegian mountains in Romsdalen he also enjoys Randonée skiing, which now dominates his daily training in the winter months. He also enjoys a good cup of coffee and spending time with his, also very accomplished, wife.