AN INTERNATIONAL recall seven years after his last outing in an England vest has Swindon ultra-distance ace Nathan Montague feeling like the long and winding road back from injury is finally over.

Back in 2009, the 35-year-old represented his country on the road against a host of home nations competitors in the 100k Anglo Celtic Plate in Galway, Ireland – he finished 10th with a time of seven hours 46.46 minutes.

However, in the years that followed, rather than build on his England experience, Swindon Harriers man Montague endured years of pain, including a set of injuries, which included a broken leg, that threatened his athletic career altogether when he was involved in a car accident in Savernake Forest in January 2013.

Father-of-two Montague also suffered another major injury blow when he sustained a serious stress fracture in his foot when competing in the Clarendon Marathon in October 2012.

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Nathan Montague in action at the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Desert Marathon

But the Swindon runner battled through those setbacks and in November 2015, he wrote his name in the history books by becoming the first British male winner of the torturous and unforgiving Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Desert Marathon.

Across seven days and a distance of around 250k, Montague braved record temperatures reaching as high as 40°C in the Kalahari Desert to cross the line in 13:55:41, almost 50 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.

That show-stopping performance in southern Africa has helped push the Swindon man back towards the international fold and after first being named as a reserve for the England team, Montague has made the full squad for the 22nd Anglo Celtic Plate in Perth, Scotland on March 27, returning to the very same event in which he made his last appearance for his country.

“I’m thrilled to get an England vest again – it’s exciting because it’s all you dream about when you’re growing up,” said Montague, who works as a PE teacher at Wyvern College in Salisbury.

“I’ve not represented England since 2009 and that was in the Anglo Celtic Plate but I think the achievement means a lot more now because ultra-running has really boomed since back then. There used to be only a handful of races in this country but there are loads now.

“After 2009, I started to concentrate on the trails a lot more but that’s when my injury problems started.

“I was running in a marathon and I felt something just pop in my foot on mile 17. It put me out for quite a while and just when it had healed, I had my car accident.

“My youngest (daughter Anais, now three-years-old) was ill, so there were circumstances to it. I came off a dip and went into a tree.

“I broke one leg and damaged the other quite badly, but I was lucky to be alive and walk away from it.

“For a while, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to run again but I managed to get back fit and with things like the Kalahari win and now this call-up, I feel like I’ve come back from it.”

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Montague celebrates his win in the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Desert Marathon

After competing in Africa last year, Montague, who has long been mentored by Rod Viggers and earned his first England call-up back in 2006, looks set to earn another stamp in his passport next month when he takes part in the Wild Elephant Trail in Sri Lanka.

The 210k event will be held over six stages from March 4-12 and Swindon’s Kalahari champion couldn’t be prouder of his globetrotting antics.

Montague, who is sponsored by event organising company Extreme Energy, said: “I’ve been invited to Sri Lanka by a company called Global Limits. It’s another multi-day trail race and it’s going to be great preparation for Perth.

“I’m really looking forward to it and it’s amazing to have the chance to go to other countries to compete like this.

“It really is special and as a lad from Parks in Swindon, I’m really humbled to be going to places like Africa and Sri Lanka to run.”