At 8.19pm on Tuesday 24 May Damian Hall reached Minehead and the end of Britain’s longest National Trail, the South West Coast Path (SWCP). In doing so, he set a new fastest known time (FKT) for the 630-mile footpath of 10 days, 15 hours and 18 minutes, knocking more than 16 hours off the previous record. He averaged 60 miles per day.



Hi Damian, have you recovered yet? My feet are a lot less grumpy. I’m no longer waking in the middle of the night in a sweat. And I can no longer eat three breakfasts without subsequent pressure being applied to my belt. So, hopefully, I’m partly recovered. I haven’t tried running yet.

Talking of which, what made you think running 630 miles would be a good idea? I’m not sure I ever did. It was my good friend Mark Townsend’s idea, and he’s a persuasive fellow. He co-owns Contours Walking Holidays and wanted to run the SWCP to help promote his company’s new arm, Contours Trail Running Holidays. More than that, though, he used to have the FKT and he wanted it back.

So two of your started, but only one finished? Mark had a knee problem from an accident a few weeks before our attempt, but he’s a heroically stubborn bugger – he once refused to drop out of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc after a mid-race stroke. He did the first 300 miles of the SWCP with me, but was in increasing discomfort and we slipped behind the then FKT. He had to stop, but really didn’t want to – the FKT meant a lot to him. But it made me all the more determined to set a new record on his behalf. From then on he became the tactical mastermind and his wimp-management skills came to the fore.

How so? I never thought of giving up. But I could get a bit despondent. I usually started running at 5am and because the terrain is so hilly – there’s around 111,000ft of ascent, more than three times up Everest – it took time to log the miles. Four miles an hour was the fastest I managed, and I rarely reached that. By about midnight I’d be inclined towards a lie down, especially if there was a bit of a storm on the go and the path went along remote clifftops. Sometimes Mark had to calmly explain that it wasn’t bedtime quite yet if I wanted to set a record.

“No, seriously, PLEASE tell me what’s in the custard surprise?” Photograph: Summit Fever Media / Contours Trail Running Holidays

Where did you sleep and eat? We had a VW Transporter Kombi, which was superb, and a good friend, Tom Jones, crewed for us. This meant feeding us at all hours, driving down ridiculously narrow and steep lanes, putting up with how ungrateful, grumpy and foul-smelling I was, running out to meet me in the middle of the night in apocalyptic storms and probably a thousand other things I don’t even know about. That man is a marvel. And he makes a mean “custard surprise”. He still won’t tell me what was in it.

How did your body cope with 630 miles? I got plenty of niggles – in fact, every previous injury I’ve had returned as if it had never been away – but it was amazing how my body just seemed to deal with them, strengthen and overcome them. I remember on day eight realising that my legs felt fantastic, really good – a tribute to my coach, Ian Sharman. My feet got a bit fed up and blistery towards the end, but feet can be a bit self-important like that.

What was the lowest point? The days when Mark was struggling were horrible because I could see how much he wanted to continue. I guess as I got more and more tired – I was averaging three hours’ sleep a night, then two for the last two nights – it was harder to remember to enjoy it. I allowed myself to feel oppressed by the task and it felt relentless sometimes: yes, you’ve done 60 miles, but there are still 200 to go. I fell asleep on my feet at one point. I also cried a bit, often just a five-second burst. I think that was just sheer tiredness, missing my kids and guilt about being away from them. But I felt amazing again after a quick weep. I recommend a swift daily sob to everyone.

And the highlight? The scenery was very special. So many handsome bays, coves, beaches and rugged cliffs. I saw deer, seals, hedgehogs, badgers, foxes chasing rabbits. But also people were so supportive when they realised what I was doing. I was often given cash towards my fundraising or free meals, free ferry rides, bags of sweets. People are great. Yay for people!

Very special scenery Photograph: Summit Fever Media / Contours Trail Running Holidays

Why try to set a record? It’s hard not to answer in cliches, but it’s a wonderful adventure, in a very special part of the world, where you learn things about yourself. I can often go through a week mostly on autopilot, only half alive. When you do something like this, you spend most of the time right there in the moment – above all because you have to watch where you’re putting your feet – and that mindfulness has to be good for you. And you go through so many emotions. You’re alive. You can be quite sleepy, but you’re definitely alive.

How did you get into ultra-distance running? I did my first marathon in 2012. I loved it and hated it and wondered, what next? Luckily, Outdoor Fitness magazine sent me to run an ultramarathon and I fell head over heels in love with the concept. The scenery, the camaraderie, the sense of achievement, all that compression-wear and cake. No wonder their popularity is booming. They’re far easier than most people seem to think. And trail running is so much better for you than road running, physically and mentally.

So what’s next? The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is the big one for me, in Chamonix in August. But I’m already scheming and dreaming about more FKTs.

Damian Hall is an outdoor journalist and ultramarathon runner. You can find more of this sort of hogwash at www.damianhall.info and @damo_hall

