A Cumbrian fell runner has set a new record for tackling all of Alfred Wainwright’s 214 peaks in the Lake District.
Steve Birkinshaw broke the record set by Joss Naylor in 1987, who completed the challenge in seven days, one hour and 25 minutes. Mr Birkinshaw, 45, ran 320 miles (515km) and ascended 36,000m (118,000ft) in six days and 13 hours. The challenge raised more than £12,000 for two Multiple Sclerosis charities.
Mr Birkinshaw’s sister has the disease and he will be donation to both the national MS Society and a local charity, the Samson Centre.
He said: “It’s all a bit overwhelming to be honest. Joss Naylor is an incredible athlete, so to have beaten his record is an amazing feeling. There were some really tough times out there, but I was spurred on every time I reached a Wainwright top and met someone else who had made the effort to come out and support me.”Threlkeld-based Mr Birkinshaw, who works as a research associate at Newcastle University, got under way in Keswick on Saturday 14 June at 09:00 BST and finished back in the town on Friday at 22:00 BST. He ran the equivalent of two marathons each day and a GPS tracker recorded his movements.
The 214 fells (hills and mountains) were described in Wainwright’s seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells (1955-66).
More can be found in Steve’s blog: https://stevebirkinshaw-wainwright2014.blogspot.com
Steve was raising money for two MS charities: