Beth Pascall and Damian Hall decimated the existing Cape Wrath Trail FKT (Fastest Known Time) of 7 Days 9 hours and 31 minutes, by completing the the 230 mile trail from Fort William to Cape Wrath, in an astonishing 4 days 9 hours and 43 minutes. To put this into perspective, the majority of their running was at night, in bitter conditions, as they traversed the trail in winter conditions. The brutality of their conquest was made evident in the footage captured by Summit Fever Media, shot by Directors Matt & Ellie, along with run and gun footage shot by Beth and Damian.
Given the remote nature of the trail, in the North West Highlands, a satellite dish was been brought into allow the team at Summit Fever Media to send daily update edits to Runners World UK, who hosted the videos on their Facebook Page.
Regarded as one, if not, the toughest trail in the UK, the Cape Wrath Trail isn’t way marked and does require navigation skills to keep on course, as often there is no path. With roughly 6 hours of daylight available, alternate light sources were required to make any attempt possible.
This feat of endurance and self sufficiency tops of a stand out year, as a long with other results, Damian finished 5th overall at UTMB (check out my review for Underdog – Summit Fever’s film that documents his race) and Beth finishing 4th Lady at UTMB.
Having both completed the Spine Race, Britain’s Most Brutal race, with Damian’s best result being 3rd and Beth’s 4th overall/1st lady (ironically the same year) they have experience in winter multi-day racing, along with Damian’s FKT of the South West Coast Path, a mere 630 miles in total…..
Below are the Episodes produced by Summit Fever Media, which give a glimpse into 4 days, 9 hours and 43 minutes of running the Cape Wrath Trail.
Please let me extend my congratulations to Beth and Damian, who battled through tough conditions and showed us all, getting out the door is often the worst part of a winter run.
James Mackeddie 