Trim rooting for Ellen Vitting in Ultimate Hell Week finale

Trim Athletic Club member Ellen Vitting has overcome the most gruelling of challenges to make it to the final of Ultimate Hell Week with the series finale airing on RTE 2 at 9.30pm tonight.

Ellen, who lived in Trim for ten years before recently moving back to her native Kerry, has shown the most incredible physical and mental strength to get to the final episode and viewers will find out tonight if she makes it through the final selection. Just seven of the original 28 recruits have made it this far.

The series was filmed last May and Ellen has been hugely impressive in the challenges to date which of course comes as no surprise to her Trim AC clubmates who know just how fit and strong Ellen is.

Indeed just last weekend, she was the very impressive winner of the Seven Sisters Skyline event, an epic 55km mountain running event in the Derryveagh mountains in Donegal.

Ellen covered 55 kilometres and 4000 metres of climbing in a time of 8h37.20 over 36 minutes ahead of her nearest rival. She has also qualified for the World Mountain Running Ultra series and this race was great preparation for her participation in the Mont Blanc Ultra in August.

Ellen has got huge support from her many friends in Trim AC and her old neighbours who have all been rooting for her throughout the series.

Ellen, who loves triathlons and adventure racing which involves cycling, running and kayaking on mountainous ground, said it was something that she always had in her head that she would like to do but up to this had been tied up with training for different events.

“Covid hit and I had more time to train and when I saw they were looking to sign up another group of lunatics, I thought it was as good a time as any as I wasn't in training for other events.”

Ellen was living in Trim when the show was recorded and moved to Kenmare in September with husband Neil and children Aaron (10), and Zara (4), to be closer to family. She works as a financial planning and analysis manager with Liberty Insurance and had the opportunity to work remotely and decided to move while her children were still quite young.

“We were ten years in Trim, I loved Trim. Only I have family in Kenmare and my job moved to remote working, I would still be there,” she said.

Ellen joined Trim Athletic Club as soon as she moved to Trim. “It is what grounded me in Trim really and made me stay that long. I thought we might stay for a year or two but I made fantastic friends and it was the saddest thing about leaving.”

She was also involved in the Tri and Mhi triathlon club for a number of years.

Looking back on the Hell Week experience now and watching it on television Ellen describes it as “surreal”.

“It's surreal. I'm like did that really happen? I'm trying to remember what I did. It is so surreal watching it. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Find out tonight if Ellen passes the course on Ultimate Hell Week on RTE 2 at 9.30pm.