Mike Hartley (runner)

Last updated

Mike Hartley
Personal information
Full nameMichael Hartley
Born (1952-07-14) 14 July 1952 (age 72)
Yorkshire, U.K.
Sport
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Sport Ultramarathon
Event100 km

Michael Hartley (born 14 July 1952) is a British ultramarathon runner. [1]

He won the Fellsman in 1984, 1987, 1989 and 1990 [2] and was also the first finisher in some of the LDWA’s hundred mile events, including the White Peak Hundred in 1988 which he completed in 17:58. [3]

In 1989, he finished second in the West Highland Way Race in a time of 15:32. [4]

Hartley set fastest known times for running several long-distance footpaths in the UK. [5] [6] In 1988, he completed the Southern Upland Way, around 212 miles, in 55:55 [7] which stood until 2020 when it was beaten by Jack Scott. [8] In 1989, Hartley set records for the Dales Way with a time of 13:34 (later beaten by Dennis Beresford) and the Staffordshire Way with a time of 16:10. [9]

In July 1989, Hartley completed the Pennine Way in a record time of 2 days, 17 hours and 20 minutes. He ran the Way, approximately 268 miles, in the north to south direction, from Kirk Yetholm to Edale. He did not schedule any time for sleep during the run, and none was taken. His time took approximately four-and-a-half hours off the previous best which had been set by Mike Cudahy. [10] For his Pennine Way run, Hartley received awards for performance of the year from both the Fell Runners Association and the Bob Graham Club. [11] The record stood until 2020 when John Kelly reduced the time by thirty-four minutes. [12]

In 1990, Hartley ran the three main British twenty-four hour mountain challenges (Ramsay's Round, the Bob Graham Round, and the Paddy Buckley Round) one after the other, completing them in a total time of 3 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes including travelling time between the routes. [13]

Hartley broke another of Mike Cudahy's records in 1991, when he ran Wainwright's Coast to Coast route in 39:36. [14] This remained the fastest time until 2021 when Damian Hall completed the route in 39:18. [15]

Later in his running career, Hartley was more prominent in road and track races. He finished third at the London to Brighton in 1992 [16] and was victorious at the Barry 40 mile track race in 1992 and 1993, his time in the latter year being 4:00:20. [17]

He represented Great Britain at the 100k European Championships, finishing in fourth place in the 1993 edition. [18] His time in that race of 6:37:45 is still in the top ten of the British all-time road ranking list for the distance. [19] He also represented his country at the global level at the 100k distance in the 1993 and 1995 World Championships. [1]

In 2023, Hartley wrote an autobiography entitled From One Extreme to the Other. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennine Way</span> Long distance footpath in England

The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for 268 miles (431 km) from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes described as the "backbone of England". Although not the United Kingdom's longest National Trail, it is, according to The Ramblers, "one of Britain's best known and toughest".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultramarathon</span> Footrace longer than the marathon

An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres. The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast to Coast Walk</span> Walk from the west coast to the east coast of Britain

The Coast to Coast Walk is a long-distance footpath between the west and east coasts of Northern England, nominally 190-mile (306 km) long. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park. The current actual measured distance is reported as 182-mile (293 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badwater Ultramarathon</span> 135-mile run from Death Valley to the slopes of Mount Whitney

The Badwater Ultramarathon is a 135-mile (217 km) ultramarathon race starting at −282 feet (−86 m) below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8,360 feet (2,550 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July when the weather is the most extreme and temperatures can reach 130 °F (54 °C) during the day at Badwater Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Jurek</span> American Ultramarathoner

Scott Gordon Jurek is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker. Throughout his running career, Jurek was one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, winning the Hardrock Hundred (2007), the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Spartathlon, and the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (1999–2005). In 2010, at the 24-Hour World Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, Jurek won a silver medal behind Shingo Inoue and set a new US record for distance run in 24 hours with 165.7 miles. In 2015, Jurek set the Fastest Known Time running record for the 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddy Buckley Round</span>

The Paddy Buckley Round, also known as the Welsh Classical Round, is a long distance fell running challenge in Snowdonia, Wales. The route is a circuit of just over 100 km long, taking in some 47 summits. The Round has the reputation of being somewhat tougher to complete than its English Lake District equivalent, the Bob Graham Round.

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Robert Jebb is an English fell runner, skyrunner, and cyclo-cross rider. He has won the annual Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross in the Yorkshire Dales a record thirteen times since 2000, is a four-time-winner of the Three Peaks Race in the same region and broke Catalan dominance in the Buff Skyrunner World Series when he became champion in 2005.

Nikki Kimball is an American distance runner specializing in the Ultramarathon. She ran her first 100-mile race at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2004, and was the female winner. She was the winning female at Western States again in 2006 and 2007, becoming only the third woman to win Western States three times. In 2014, she won the Marathon Des Sables multi-stage endurance race on her first attempt. Prior to running, her main sport was cross-country skiing. She was crewed at the 2007 Western States by U.S. Senator Max Baucus of Montana, where Kimball lives. She lives in Bozeman, Montana.

Eleanor Robinson is a British former ultramarathon runner and two-time winner of the IAU 100km World Championships. She was the first woman to run over 150 miles in a 24-hour endurance race. She was the winner of the first Badwater Ultramarathon in 1987. She was twice bronze medallist at the IAU 100 km European Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borrowdale Fell Race</span>

The Borrowdale Fell Race is an annual fell race held in August, starting and finishing in Rosthwaite. It is considered to be one of the "classic" Lakeland races and the route initially heads over Bessyboot before climbing England's highest summit, Scafell Pike. Great Gable is then scaled before a descent to Honister Pass and the final climb up Dale Head. The distance is approximately 17 miles and the route has around 6,500 feet of ascent.

The Wasdale Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in July, starting and finishing at Brackenclose in Wasdale. The course is approximately twenty-one miles long with around 9,000 feet of ascent and takes in checkpoints at Whin Rigg, Seatallan, Pillar, Great Gable, Esk Hause shelter, Scafell Pike and Lingmell nose wall. The route between Pillar and Lingmell is very rough, with steep technical ground and boulder fields. Among long fell races, Wasdale has one of the highest ratios of feet of ascent per mile, and it is often considered to be the toughest of the British races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finlay Wild</span> Scottish doctor and runner

Finlay Wild is a Scottish runner and mountaineer who has been a British fell running champion. He has won the Ben Nevis Race twelve times.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Morgan</span> Irish ultrarunner

Carol Morgan is an Irish ultrarunner, who specialises in non-stop mountain ultramarathons 100 km and longer, often in challenging conditions with significant ascents / descents. Born in Dublin in 1973, where she trained as a nurse, she is an advanced practitioner in emergency medicine. Morgan holds the course record for endurance ultra event, the Kerry Way Ultra.

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The Spine Race is an ultramarathon held over a distance of around 268 miles (431 km) from Edale, England, to Kirk Yetholm, Scotland, along the Pennine Way. Participants are allowed seven days to complete the course. The race has been held annually since 2012. Initially held in the winter only a summer version the Spine Fusion was introduced in 2017. The events are now known as the Winter Spine Race and Summer Spine Race.

Sabrina Verjee is a British long-distance fell-runner who held the overall record for the 325 mile circuit of the Wainwrights from June 2021 to May 2022 and the female record for the Pennine Way from September 2020 to August 2021.

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Anna Troup is a British ultramarathon runner who, in 2021, achieved the fastest known time for a female completion of the Pennine Way. She is a qualified lawyer and works in financial management.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Hartley, Michael". Deutsche Ultramarathon-Vereinigung.
  2. Fellsman: Results.
  3. Strider, 51 (Aug 1988), 41.
  4. West Highland Way Race: History.
  5. Hunt, Sophie; Drinkwater, Wayne (24 January 2021). "Setting the 'Fastest Known Times' - Interview with Mike Hartley". Ultrarunner Magazine.
  6. "Mike Hartley". Fastest Known Time .
  7. Mike Cudahy, Wild Trails to Far Horizons (London, 1989), 116-18.
  8. Martin Stone, "Long Distance Round Up", The Fellrunner, Autumn 2020, 88-93.
  9. The Fell Runner, Jun 1989, 31-32; The Fell Runner, Sep 1989, 34. Archived 2 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "The Fell Runner, Sep 1989, 34-35" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  11. The Fell Runner, Jan 1990, 37 Archived 3 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine ; The Fell Runner, Jan 1991, 33.
  12. UKHillwalking: John Kelly Breaks Pennine Way Fastest Known Time.
  13. Gofar: The UK Big 3 Rounds.
  14. The Fellrunner, Oct 1991, 28.
  15. Grough: Runner Damian Hall sets new record for Coast to Coast route.
  16. Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC: The History of the London to Brighton Race.
  17. GBRAthletics: Ultra.
  18. IAU: 1993 100k European Championships.
  19. Runbritain: 100k Rankings.
  20. Hartley, Mike (14 July 2023). From One Extreme to the Other. 2QT. ISBN   978-1-914083-76-1.