A FELLRUNNER has become the first person to complete the Winter Wainwright Round. 

James Gibson, a runner from Rydal, completed the route in eight days, six hours, and 44 minutes.

He became the first person to complete the entire route of 325 miles, with a 36,000m ascent, in one go.

James took on the challenge on December 1 in Keswick at the Moot Hall and finished at the same place on December 9.

James said: “This has been an ambition of mine for a while and I see this as a stepping stone for future challenges.

“I’ve been fellrunning for five years now. I’ve never really been interested in races, that’s not my scene. I prefer long days in the hills and the countryside.

“I’ve been in the Lakes for the past five years now and I studied at the University of Cumbria Ambleside campus in outdoor leadership.

“I’m the first person to do the whole route at the moment but a lot of other people have tried.

“While I was up there, I had to sit out a storm for a 24-hour period, but it was altogether an amazing journey.

“I got coaching by Missing Link Fitness Paul Tierney.

“Training took about a year and a half, and I’ve tried to build up to it over the last five years.

“The whole thing was 325 miles long, has a 36,000m ascent and is equal to about four Mount Everests.”