Hi Tom, you are preparing for your latest running challenge – tell us what you are going to attempt.
I am attempting a new round - Wainwright's Lakeland Round. It's a 550 mile round of 330 tops, the 214 Wainwrights and the 116 outlying fells from Wainwright's 8th book - The Outlying Fells of Lakeland'. I am starting at the Moot Hall in Keswick on 5th May 2026, self supported.
This has never been done before by a runner – what inspired you to take on the challenge?
When I was a child, my parents loved Alfred Wainwright’s pictorial guides to the Lakeland fells. They came on many an adventure, his black and white sketches bringing the hills to life.
Since then, I’ve run 2 continuous rounds of the 214 Wainwrights, including the only self-supported round in winter. Preparing for these adventures brought me back to Wainwright’s books and my love of his drawings. I kept turning the pages until I got to the 8th book on the shelf, The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, which I realised contained many beautiful places which I had never visited. I also realised that completing the Wainwrights and the outlying fells had been done by hill walkers, but no one had ever run a continuous round of these tops before. Who could resist that?
This is far further than I have run before and is likely to be the furthest I ever run. I am looking forward to testing what I am capable of, but this is also a personal tribute to Alfred Wainwright and all the great memories he has created for me and my family. As well as the fells, I plan to visit Wainwright’s first entry point to the lakes, Windermere train station, and the place where his ashes were scattered, Innominate Tarn.
How do you prepare for a challenge like this?
Resilience is the key word. You can never do enough physical training for this kind of mileage, although I have been putting in a fair few hills. I have been concentrating more on strength training so that my joints and tendons don't give out and my feet have never been moisturised so much!
I have the benefit of my years of previous experience which gives me an adaptable mind set to what is thrown at me, as well as the experience of what works and what doesn't rather than having to think too much when I am tired. I have a plan of what I will do at every rest point so that I don't waste time and I have also recced almost all of the route at least once so that there are no surprises. It's a big route so recceing it is no mean feat.
Where I haven't summited is in a couple of places where I have delberately an outlying fell summit uncompleted to keep me motivated to have completed them in their own right as well as the round as a whole.
This is the cumulation of a lifetime of running, but as it's the biggest thing I have ever done I still won't know until I get to the finish line whether the preparation was enough.
The round will take you across loads of amazing scenery and some lesser trodden parts of the Lake District – is there any hills, fells or areas you are most looking forward to?
I am ashamed to say that Sara and I used to call the outlying areas of the Lake District the Fake District. Iv'e had a fab adventure already proving us wrong and visiting some beautiful places, many of which reminded me more of some of my favourite parts of the Yorkshire Dales and the Howgills rather than Lake District fells.
I have also been greeted and supported by the local community wherever I've been. I am particularly looking forward to Black Coombe and White Coombe, both for their beauty and in getting the higher parts of the outlying fells out of the way. I still need to visit the summits of Top O Selside and Sleddale Pike to complete my outlying fells, so there will be a little cheer in both those places. And, of course, every Wainwright is special.
And any parts you think will be particularly tough?
I know the Wainwrights round well. This route is based on that and on Darren Parker and James Gibson's route of the outlying fells. One of the pleasures of preparation has been creating my own parts of the route which link these 2 rounds.
I love a good map and trying to plan best lines. However, I think my familiarity with the Wainwright's round will mean that every time I leave that route to head to an outlying fell will hurt my head a little. There are also some long stretches of road which are not my forte. Everyone who does a Wainwright round curses the road run to Binsey. This round has a much longer road run to and from Humphrey Head. That's a long way on the road and a long way in between 3 peaks.
You’ve chosen to run in the SCARPA Spin Planet – what makes them a good shoe for this sort of running?
The Spin Planet is just right for me for this kind of distance. It has a 28 to 24mm stack height, and so is well cushioned and encourages forefoot running, but unlike a lot of shoes of similar height it also has good flexibility and good ground feel which is essential on the more technical terrain.
It has a high volume toe box and allows room when feet swell while still having good mid foot hold. It has a sole that will do the distance but still has grip on the endless rocks. It is also a shoe that lasts which I find is not always the case in other eco shoes. The environmental credentials are important to me. I am doing this round self supported partly because of the difficulty of organising so many supporters over this kind of distance, but also because the environmental impact of the run is massively reduced without a support crew.
There will be a lot of challenges you face both physically and mentally during the run – how do you overcome them and keep going?
Mentally it is important to not think about the enormity of the challenge but to focus on where you are and breaking things down into manageable chunks, with only the next rest point in sight.
Paying attention to any niggles early is important, particularly foot care, sorting a hot spot before it becomes a blister. The one thing I will keep in the back of my mind is the charity and the money being raised. When you are feeling low it is always easier to let yourself down rather than others. As I am self supported, I am going to miss all the amazing supporters I usually have with me on the hill, but knowing I have that support at home, and that every step might mean another donation will keep me going.
As well as the personal challenge – you are also raising money for Charity – tell us about the cause and why you’ve chosen to support them.
I am raising money for Airedale Hospital and Community charity. The charity aims to provide things for patient and staff wellbeing that are above and beyond the essentials which come with NHS funding. Money raised will go towards our Emergency Department Appeal and is looking to upgrade the environments in the children's area and the bereavement area. Being a child in a busy emergency department is often an overwhelming experience and it is important that the environment is a space that feels friendly and safe. Sadly sometimes people come into the ED and we are unable to save them. Being told bad news about your loved ones in a busy emergency department can add significantly to the trauma experienced in those moments. A dedicated quiet space to talk and to be able to grieve is an important part a good outcome for families.
Links -
Donate and Win!
Alongside your kind support, the people at SCARPA and Montane are offering a prize to those supporting our Emergency Department Appeal. If you are making a donation over £5 please make a guess at the the total ascent of the challenge (metres). Please add your guesses as a comment when making your donation. The prize is a pair of SCARPA Spin Planet trail shoes and a Montane Vortic waterproof jacket
Entries to the prize competition will be open until midnight on 10th May (there is your first clue!). The closest to the correct answer in each category will win a prize. After 10th May the answers may become too easy to guess, but donations to the Emergency department will still be very gratefully received.
