Day One of John Kelly's Pennine Way FKT Attempt

15.07.2020

Highlights from day 1 of John Kelly’s (John Kelly, Endurance Athlete) Pennine way FKT attempt.

You can follow John's progress here http://live.opentracking.co.uk/johnpennine20/

The long established record was set by fell running legend Mike Hartley and stands at 2 days 17 hours 20 minutes for the 268 mile route. That was in 1989 and his time has withstood all challenges to date.  Given the improvements in training, nutrition, running science and support for ultra running since then, it shows just what an incredible achievement it was, and what a tough time it will be for Kelly to beat.  (Other attempts on the record are also planned later this year.)

Kelly is running South to North, the same direction as The Spine Race, though the route for the record is slightly different and takes in Cheviot Summit, while Hartley ran North to South.  Hartley didn’t stop to sleep at all, while Kelly plans to take power naps along the way.