Brian Melia stands on the footbridge of Settle station at the end of his A Pennine Journey run. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

Runner Brian Melia has completed a continuous run of A Pennine Journey, the long-distance route based on Alfred Wainwright’s 1938 walk.

He is believed to be the first to achieve such a completion of the 247-mile route, up and down a stretch of the Pennines.

Melia arrived at Settle railway station in North Yorkshire just before 10.17pm on Tuesday, posting a time of 3 days 16hrs 16mins 58 secs.

He was greeted by his family and supporters, many of them from the Gritstone Club, of which the runner is a member.

His run began and ended in the middle of the pedestrian bridge at the town’s station, from where Wainwright began his walk north along the eastern flanks of the Pennines as far as Hadrian’s Wall, then returning back south along the western edges of the chain.

Brian Melia and his pace runner battle winter conditions on the summit of Ingleborough on the final day of his A Pennine Journey run. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

David and Heather Pitt have adapted the author’s original walk to form a waymarked long-distance leisure route, which Melia followed meticulously.

A Pennine Journey has a sting in the tail. Despite mostly avoiding the high peaks of the range, the final section involves ascents of both Whernside and Ingleborough. Melia and his pace runner had to contend with blizzard conditions and a whiteout on the summit of the latter on Tuesday afternoon.

The athlete is an optometrist at Hull University Teaching Hospital and is an experienced ultra- and endurance runner, having taken part in the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc three times, Dragon’s Back twice, the Bob Graham Round, Fellsman, several Three Peaks Races, the Eiger Trail and several other endurance events.