Damian Hall has set a new running record on the 268-mile Pennine Way, breaking John Kelly’s recent record-breaking time by more than three hours.
Damian, 44, from Wiltshire, England, ran an impressive time of two days, 13 hours and 34 minutes to finish at Edale today. John had run in the opposite direction, from Edale to Kirk Yetholm, in two days, 16 hours and 46 minutes.
It is only eight days since John broke the record that had stood for 31 years. Mike Hartley ran the national trail in two days, 17 hours and 20 minutes in 1989.
After the finish, Damian said: “I feel overwhelmed, really. I remember writing about Mike Hartley’s record in the Pennine Way guidebook before I got into running and thinking, ‘That’s insane, I could never do that!’
“It was a huge team effort and I couldn’t have made it happen without the support of my road crew, pacers and the people we met along the way. I had the inevitable low spells, but the incredible team got me through them.
“I felt hugely motivated by three things and had FFF written on my arm in permanent marker as a reminder. They stood for Family, Friends, Future – the latter relating to our need to protect the planet.
“There wasn’t lots of litter on the trails, but we picked up anything we saw. The road support crew did likewise from the places they met me at along the way.
“Also, the whole attempt has been certified as ‘carbon negative’ by Our Carbon, as has all my running and my family’s lifestyle for 2020.”
Damian, an inov-8 ambassador, also fuelled without animal products or plastic waste. Damian is fundraising for Greenpeace UK. You can donate here.
Throughout the challenge, Damian, who took fifth place in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in 2018, looked to be amazingly comfortable.
At various points, he said he felt “a bit weary”, “a little tired” and he described it all as a “rollercoaster”. He added: “These things always are.”
Before setting off he talked about why he wanted to challenge the Pennine Way record. He said: “I first walked the Pennine Way nine years ago. I have done the Spine Race twice on the same route.
“When I set an FKT on the South West Coastal Path, I then started to think about what next. The Pennine Way seemed like the obvious choice.”
He described Mike Hartley’s record of two days, 17 hours and 20 minutes as “stunning”. He said: “Mike’s record is just so good but then John broke this time only recently. I do feel a bit conflicted that I am trying to set a new record so close to John’s run as we are friends.
“But we both knew we were going to attempt it. I guess someone had to go first.
“I wanted John to break the record but only by a bit, if I’m honest. I am hopeful I will beat his time but it’s a tough route.”
Damian, who was wearing the new TERRAULTRA G 270, ran to the finish in Edale and then stood alongside Mike and John. As everyone around him cheered and shouted congratulations, he said simply: “Thank you everyone.”
Mike Hartley had turned out to support Damian during the run. With tough weather conditions at times, Mike commented: “Rather him than me!”
See earlier video: Pennine Way FKT bid in brief:
Credit: Summit Fever Media and inov-8.
Who is Damian Hall?
Damian, who is also a coach and journalist, is a successful long-distance runner. He completed Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) – the world’s biggest ultra-distance trail running race – in four consecutive years, steadily progressing from 31st in 2015, to 19th in 2016 and then 12th in 2017 (first veteran over 40). in 2918, he finished in fifth place overall.
He has podiumed at numerous races, including the Spine Race, the Dragon’s Back Race and the British Athletics UK Ultra Trail Championships.
He’s completed in the 105-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc four times, the Marathon des Sables, the Ice Ultra in Arctic Sweden and placed in the top 10 at several Ultra-Trail Word Tour races.
He holds FKTs for the Paddy Buckley Round (set in 2019, winter record set in 2020); Britain’s longest National Trail, the 630-mile South West Coast Path (supported, 2016); and the 230-mile Cape Wrath Trail (self-supported, mixed gender with Beth Pascall in 2018).
He has also completed a Bob Graham Round and a Ramsay Round.
Also read:
- Damian set a Fastest Known Time (FKT) with Beth Pascall for the Cape Wrath Trail.
- Damian and Beth reveal highs and lows of the Cape Wrath record run.
- The inov-8 Terraultra G 270s are an evolution of the inov-8 Terraultra G 260s.