Damian Hall in action during his record-breaking 2020 Pennine Way run. Photo: Bob Smith/grough
The record for running the length of the Pennine Way remains with John Kelly after challenger Damian Hall pulled out of his latest attempt.
Hall abandoned his quest to beat the fastest known time after battling strong headwinds on the national trail for the past two days.
A brief note on the 46-year-old’s Open Tracking site said he had called time on his attempt around the 220-mile mark. He ended his run in West Yorkshire on Friday morning.
Before setting out from Kirk Yetholm on Wednesday, Hall admitted there was a 98.5 per cent chance he would not beat USA runner’s Kelly’s time of 2 days 10hrs 4mins 53secs. He ran consistently a short distance behind the American’s record pace, but began to fall behind on the second day as unseasonably strong southern and western winds hampered his progress.
A committed environmental campaigner, Hall used his challenge to raise money for, and awareness of Greenpeace and set up a JustGiving page for donations.
Jock
28 May 2022I would love to read the mathematical derivation of a 98.5% probability of not beating the standing record.
...and yes, it can become windy in the Pennine uplands. There are weather forecasts available nowadays.