Andy Berry has inscribed his name in the annals of fell running legends by breaking the Lake District 24-Hour fall Record. The record goes back to 1904 and involves a runner attempting to conquer as many Lake District peaks as possible in a 24-hour period.
Andy, an inov-8 athlete and Keswick AC member, summited 78 Lake District peaks in 23 hours and 23 minutes, finishing 22 minutes faster than former record holder Kim Collison, who also climbed 78 summits in 2020.
Prior to then, fell running superstars like Joss Naylor (72 peaks), Mark McDermott (76 peaks), and Mark Hartell (77 summits) held the record.
Andy had aimed to complete 79 peaks in 24 hours, but chose during the race to skip the extra scheduled peak (Haycock) to guarantee he arrived at the finish in time. His path, which began and ended at the summit of Newlands Pass, was 94 miles long and climbed over 40,000 feet.
“Andy put it all on the line and reaped the rewards,” said inov-8 communications manager and seasoned fell runner Lee Procter. His commitment to painstakingly arranging this record attempt was remarkable to behold, and he deserves all of the accolades.
“The Lake District 24-Hour Fell Record is extremely difficult.” In comparison, the famed Bob Graham Round 24-hour task entails summiting 42 Lake District peaks totalling around 66 miles.
Andy added 36 more peaks on top of those, running at a ’15-hour Bob Graham Round speed’ to do so.”
“I’m grateful to everyone who came out to assist me; I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of them.”
Andy summited 78 summits during his record run, including Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak at 3,210 feet above sea level, Skiddaw, Helvellyn, and Great Gable.
Andy, a plumber from Tudhoe in County Durham, was helped along the way by experienced pacers on the fells and his partner, Jess, at road crossings. His pacers included former world record holder Kim, who also serves as his coach.
“I can’t believe it all came together on the day and I managed to build on the incredible feats of those who have gone before,” Andy, who established the new mark on Saturday before returning to work Monday morning, said.
“This record has been a huge dream of mine for the past 18 months, and everything I’ve done has led up to this attempt.” I’m honoured to be listed with some of the finest long-distance fell runners in history.
“One more fell from a great mood…” Chris writes for numerous online publications, having studied at The University College of North Wales, Bangor. He is regularly in The Lake District and enjoys wild camping, hiking and watersports. His favourite location? Muncaster Castle…
