With the World Cup season about to start, Shauna Coxsey is in training mode, but she’s still finding time to head to the boulders, just ticking her second-ever boulder 8b in Spain. Before her trip, we caught up with her in legendary Llanberis cafe Pete’s Eats to talk training and her hopes for this season.
Pete’s Eats? Is that part of your training diet?
Training diet? What training diet? I’m not so strict with dieting. I like food (especially cake)!
We’ve heard it’s a busy comp season this year – what’s the schedule like?
It is a mental season this year. There are eight World Cups in just 11 weeks across three continents. Good job I’m not scared of flying.
Which competition will be the toughest this year?
It is hard to say. The ones in China usually take a lot out of you, due to the time difference and the time it takes to get there, but I’m starting to get used to it now.
How do you maintain focus when you’re away from home for so long?
I spend months and months training for the World Cups, so they’re my focus for much longer than the time I am away from home. It’s what I train for and I am always so excited about being there.
You’re heading to all the competitions with Mina Leslie-Wujastyk. What’s that relationship like – are you competitive with each other?
Not at all. We’re good friends and it’s really nice to have someone you get along with to travel and see the world with. It makes the comps much more relaxing and much more fun.
You’ve just come first in the Climbing Works International Festival – was that a good pre-season confidence boost?
Yes, of course. I felt great at CWIF and, although I had a few hiccups, it felt good to be back competing in front of a crowd. It’s easy to forget the overwhelming atmosphere of big competitions when you train day in day out when the wall is quiet.
Who’s the person to beat this year?
Come on, everyone knows this: Anna Storh of course! But I think the level of the women is only going to continue to increase, so it will be interesting to see the improvements we have all made over the last few months.
You once said “I’m not interested in having a coach as I don’t work so well when I’m being told what to do”. But it sounds like this has changed?
Ha! I am sure my coach, Mark, would agree this is still the case. However, we have learnt to work together and now I can’t imagine what I would do without him. I have improved so much under his guidance.
How many hours a week do you train?
It depends on how I am feeling but usually 30+.
What kind of training are you doing right now?
I am currently in Spain on a bouldering trip to Albarracin (UPDATE: Shauna has just bouldered 8b there - see video below). It is important to remember the fun bits of climbing and to take a break from regimented training.
The funding for GB Bouldering has been cut. How will that affect Team GB?
It was really sad to hear that we had lost a large chunk of our funding. It has made some big decisions very hard for myself and other team members. Most of the team members work full time and have to take unpaid leave to go to events. It’s a big (and now even more expensive) commitment for people to just get to one event, never mind the full season. But the CrowdFunding worked amazingly well, we are impressed with the climbing community.
You’re a new BMC Ambassador. What could the BMC do to help young people who want to start climbing?
With so many new climbing walls opening, it’d be great to get more schools involved in the sport and more events where young people can experience climbing for the first time.
What grade is it: 8a+ or 8b?
In the guidebook it’s given 8b. Everyone who was at the boulder thought it was 8b, and it's 8b in the recent video of Romain Desgranges. However, Michele Caminati gave it 8a+. Who knows. I have no idea and I definitely don’t have the experience to downgrade or upgrade problems!
What made you choose this problem?
I didn't really pick it out. I went along with Ned (Feehally) for him to try it. I hadn't planned on climbing as it was so cold. But it looked like fun, and I liked the idea of doing some crimping. Plus, all of the moves could be worked from the ground and I’d been doing a lot of dry firing and scaring myself so this boulder seemed quite friendly. Initially, I thought the big move in the middle wouldn't be possible, but I was surprised to figure all of the moves out quite quickly.
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