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Gloucestershire runner breaks Coast to Coast record

inov-8 / Leo Francis Damian Hall runninginov-8 / Leo Francis
Mr Hall also picked up litter along the route

A Gloucestershire runner has broken a 30-year-old record for completing the Wainwright Coast to Coast route.

Damian Hall, 45, ran the 185 miles (297km) from St Bees Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire in 39 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds.

The previous record was 39 hours, 36 minutes, and 52 seconds, set by Mike Hartley in 1991.

The Nailsworth competitive runner said the run was very "tough" but he "absolutely loved it".

Visit England/Cumbria Tourism/Brian Sherwen St Bees Head, CumbriaVisit England/Cumbria Tourism/Brian Sherwen
The coast to coast path runs from St Bee's Head, in Cumbria...
Visit England Robin Hoods BayVisit England
...to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire

The route across England, devised by Alfred Wainwright and published in his guidebook in 1973, crosses three national parks; the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, and North Yorkshire Moors.

During the last leg of the race, Mr Hall said he almost "let it slip" and could have lost the record title.

"It was really lovely through the Lake District but it got tougher at night time, through bad weather and as the terrain changed," Mr Hall said.

"At the hardest part one of my crew described me as pleasantly confused.

"People turned up along the route, like in Richmond at two or three in the morning two people turned up with cow bells up on the moor, cheering me on."

inov-8 / Leo Francis Damian Hall with a pintinov-8 / Leo Francis
Mr Hall celebrated the record-breaking win with a pint from the pub and pizza and said he is yet to plan his next challenge

Supported by a small group of friends, Mr Hall also picked up litter along the way.

He added: "I'm very concerned about our climate and the ecological emergency, so I picked up litter as we went along St Bees. It's not exactly going to save the climate crisis, but hopefully it brings some kind of attention to it.

"I've recently tried to make my lifestyle carbon negative with the help of a group called Our Carbon and made sure this project was also carbon negative."