In September 2016 three university friends and I will attempt to complete a 269 mile journey along the Pennine Way on foot. Hoping to complete it in 10 days, we will cover over a marathon a day and camp at night, with a bit of help from family and friends along the way.

The Route

The Pennine Way runs 267 miles from Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border through the Northumberland National Park and the Yorkshire Dales to Edale in the Peak District. The route covers over 11,343 metres of ascent (Everest and a third), and is usually completed in 20 days.

Here are some 'fun' facts about the route:

The fastest completion of the Pennine Way was set by Mike Hartley in July 1989. Mike ran the route in 2 days, 17 hours, 20 minutes and 15 seconds without stopping for sleep. Mike rested only twice - one of those was an 18-minute fish and chip break.

Alfred Wainwright offered to buy half a pint of beer for any walker who completed the full trail. The promise apparently cost him nearly £15,000 by his death in 1991. Despite his promise, Wainwright himself wasn’t a fan of the Pennine Way. “You won’t come across me anywhere along the P.W.” he wrote, “I’ve had enough of it.”

The trail is used by 15,000 long distance walkers and more than 250,000 day walkers every year.

Some parts of the Way receive up to 2.5 metres of rain per year.

The full route navigates 249 stiles, 204 bridges and 287 gates.

The Team

Meeting at university, Thomas, Howard, Pete and David have complete a number of long distance challenges over the last three years. This has included a number of triathlons, marathons, and long distance bike rides, such as Lake District - Newcastle - Edinburgh Coast to Coast, and Lands End to John O'Groats, during which they raised over £1500 for Cardiac Risk in the Young.