Ultrarunner Paul Tierney has set a new record for the fastest time to summit all 214 of the Lake District’s Wainwright peaks.
The Corkman, who is now working in Cumbria as a running coach, sliced seven hours off the record, completing the 512km course – the equivalent of 12 marathons – in six days, six hours and two minutes.
He battled through some difficult weather conditions to ascend a total of 36,000m in that time – the same as four summits of Everest.
Tierney also raised over £17,000 (€19,000) for mental-health charity Mind in honour of his friend and fellow ultrarunner Chris Stirling, who died in April.
The 36-year-old was supported by his partner Sarah McCormack, also an international runner, and a team of athletes to help with pacing, navigation, and occasional sleeps.
He began his challenge at 8am last Friday, before reaching the finish around 2pm this afternoon.
The previous record-holder, Steve Birkinshaw, who also helped Tierney’s record attempt, wrote a book called There is No Map in Hell about his 2014 achievement, which took six days, 13 hours and one minute. The prior record of just over seven days had stood since 1987.
In his previous sporting life, Tierney was an unused sub when Cork won the 2004 All-Ireland hurling title. His sole Championship appearance came against Kerry in 2004 by which time he had won three Cork SHC titles with Blackrock, before leaving hurling behind at the age of 23.
You can still donate to Tierney’s JustGiving page for mental-health charity Mind here.