Damian Hall

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Damian Hall
Damian Hall runner.jpg
Hall in 2023
Personal information
Born1975 (age 49–50)
Website www.ultradamo.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Sport
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Sport Trail running

Damian Hall (born 1975) is a British ultrarunner, author and activist. [1]

Contents

Career

Hall grew up in the Cotswolds. Though he was competitive at cross-country at school, he didn't start running as an adult until 2011, aged 36. The following year, he completed his first marathon (dressed as a toilet). [2] In 2016, Hall represented Great Britain in the IAU Trail World Championships in Gerês, Portugal. [3]

Hall has held the Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for a number of British long-distance trails, including the South West Coast Path, Cape Wrath Trail (with Beth Pascall), Paddy Buckley Round, Pennine Way, South Wales Traverse and Wainwright's Coast to Coast. [4] [5] [6]

Hall won the 2019 Ultra Tour Monte Rosa and the 2023 Spine Race. He was 4th at the 2023 Tor des Géants and 5th at the 2018 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. [1] [7] He has attempted the Barkley Marathons twice, reaching the final loop on both occasions. [8]

Various documentaries have been made about Hall. Wrath followed his 2018 run with Beth Pascall on the 230-mile (370 km) Cape Wrath Trail, self-supported and during winter. [9] In 2019, Underdog was released, following Hall's attempts to break into the top ten of the prestigious 105-mile (169 km) Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. [10] In 2020, Totally FKT followed his battle with John Kelly to break the 268-mile (431 km) Pennine Way FKT. [11]

Hall is vegan, a climate activist, [12] and a founding member of The Green Runners . [13] [14] He is outspoken about sportswashing, unveiling protest banners at race finishes and pledging not to run races with high-carbon sponsors. [15] He has plogged (picked up rubbish while running) during record attempts. [16]

Hall has written for a large number of newspapers and magazines. [17] As well as writing the walking guides Walking in the Cotswolds [18] and Pennine Way, [19] Hall has written books about running and FKTs with In It For The Long Run, [2] and about running and climate with We Can't Run Away From This. [20]

References

  1. 1 2 "Hall, Damian". Deutsche Ultramarathon-Vereinigung.
  2. 1 2 Hall, Damian (2021). In It For The Long Run: Breaking records and getting FKT. Vertebrate.
  3. ↑ "6th IAU Trail WC Trans Peneda-Geres, Braga (POR)". Deutsche Ultramarathon-Vereinigung.
  4. ↑ "Athlete: Damian Hall". FKT. 26 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Carter, Kate (7 June 2016). "Ultra-distance runner Damian Hall on setting a new record: 'I recommend a daily sob'". The Guardian .
  6. ↑ "Gloucestershire runner breaks Coast to Coast record". BBC News . 28 May 2021.
  7. ↑ Pearson, Rick (23 January 2023). "Damian Hall and Hannah Rickman on the Spine Race 2023". Runner's World .
  8. ↑ Bozon, Jenny (15 April 2024). "'I was wandering around in the dark, at the bottom of a mountain, thinking, "You've messed it up again!"'". Runner's World .
  9. ↑ WRATH: a 230-mile record run attempt in Scottish winter. Summit Fever Media. 10 December 2019 – via Vimeo.
  10. ↑ Underdog: chasing a UTMB® dream. Summit Fever Media. 27 June 2019 – via Vimeo.
  11. ↑ Totally FKT: breaking the Pennine Way fastest known time. Summit Fever Media. 22 November 2020 – via Vimeo.
  12. ↑ "Activism". Damian Hall.
  13. ↑ "Our Story So Far". The Green Runners.
  14. ↑ "The Green Runners call for climate action in the sport". BBC News . 24 September 2024.
  15. ↑ Turner, Jonathan (12 September 2024). "Top British ultrarunner says 'F*** OFF Ford' as he makes 'STOP OILY MONEY IN SPORT' protest after brutal 330km race". RUN247.
  16. ↑ Bolt, Richard (27 July 2020). "Damian Hall "Plogs" His Way to a 268-mile Pennine Way Record". American Trail Running Association.
  17. ↑ "Writing". Damian Hall.
  18. ↑ Hall, Damian (13 April 2016). Walking in the Cotswolds: 30 circular walks in the Cotswolds AONB. Cicerone. ISBN   9781852848330.
  19. ↑ Hall, Damian (3 March 2016). Pennine Way: National Trail Guide. Aurum. ISBN   978-1781315651.
  20. ↑ Hall, Damian (2022). We Can't Run Away From This: Racing to improve running's footprint in our climate emergency. Vertebrate.


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