Fell runner to climb 47 peaks non-stop for charity

A fell runner is attempting to run up 47 Welsh mountains in 24 hours to raise money for a mental health charity.

Dan Beaumont, from Southville in Bristol, hopes to complete all four of the UK's classic fell running endurance tests, known as The Big Rounds.

On 1 June he will be tackling the Paddy Buckley in Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, which involves a total ascent of 28,543ft (8,700m) over 62 miles (100km).

Mr Beaumont is supporting the charity, Mind Over Mountains, which is hoping to raise £500,000 to expand its services into the south west.

"Given the unpredictable weather of the UK, navigating technical mountain terrain, and complex organisation and logistical challenges, this is an enormous project that simultaneously excites and scares me,” he said.

"Essentially, in the fell running community, these crazy people create these rounds and then lots of other people try and do them.

"This is an ultra fell running round, which was devised by Paddy Buckley in the early 1980s.

"I think only a few hundred people have managed to do it in under 24 hours, so I've got my work cut out for me," he added.

Mr Beaumont will be traversing peaks overnight and will only stop for four 15 minute breaks.

"I've been preparing for this kind of running for the last year and a half.

"Training involves getting out a lot so I go to the Brecon Beacons, the Mendips, Pembrokeshire and the Gower Peninsula."

Mr Beaumont said the weather conditions were looking ideal.

"It's looking great this weekend, if maybe more on the hot side.

"But I've purposefully been doing three or four sessions in the sauna for five weeks to prepare for that."

Mind Over Mountains leads therapeutic walks and weekend retreats in National Parks, including Dartmoor and Eryri.

Each walk includes mindfulness sessions and participants are accompanied by qualified coaches and counsellors.

Ian Sansbury, chief executive, said: "Our ambition is to make nature and activity-based responses to wellbeing the norm in mental health care and support."

Mr Beaumont said fell running had helped him manage his own mental health.

"In my darkest moments, nature and the mountains have been my refuge."

Collectively, The Big Rounds takes in 152 mountain summits, including the highest peaks in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mr Beaumont has already completed the Bob Graham in the Lake District and the Denis Rankin in Northern Ireland, and will attempt the final challenge, the Charlie Ramsay, in Scotland in August.

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