Pennine Way (UK)

United Kingdom

Distance

420 km

Vertical Gain

11,836 m

This is a Premier Route. To claim an FKT on this route, you must meet a high standard of documentation and verification. See details here: https://fastestknowntime.com/premier-routes.

"Steeped in history, this National Trail chases along the mountain tops along the rugged backbone of England and offers 268 miles of the finest upland walking in England. A once in a lifetime experience."

The Montane Spine Race covers the most of the Pennine Way in winter (It deviates in a few spots, but most notably it omits the summit of the Cheviot, on the border ridge close to the northern end of the route). The overall course record was set in January 2019 by fell running phenom & nursing mother Jasmine Paris in 83h12m23s: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-46906365

Josh Perry alerted us to an early unsupported FKT on the Pennine Way. In 1989, Robin Price completed in 4days 8hrs and 39mins. Reported on in that September's issue of Fellrunner Magazine (see p.35). As best we can tell this is still (August 2020) the unsupported FKT

https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way

GPS Track

tracker.gpx293.06 KB

FKTs

Male

Supported
John Kelly	2d 10h 4m 53s	2021-05-17
Damian Hall	2d 13h 35m 15s	2020-07-24
John Kelly	2d 16h 46m 0s	2020-07-16
Mike Hartley	2d 17h 20m 15s	1989-07-23

Self-supported
Stephen Hurren				4d 6h 59m 43s	2026-06-13

Female

Supported
Anna Troup				3d 0h 46m 37s	2021-08-17

Male

Supported
Stephen Hurren				10d 4h 46m 33s	2026-06-19

Comments

What an amazing effort that has lasted many years. www.kristianultra.com

Anyone know of a self supported record here?

The unsupported (not self supported) record appears to be Robin Prince in a time of 4 days 8 hours and 39 minutes, as reported in the September 1989 issue of Fellrunner Magazine.

For reference, Robin Prince's record is mentioned here (search PDF for 'Robin Prince'):

https://fellrunner.org.uk/fellrunner/1989_Sept.pdf

Any male self-supported or unsupported FKT would need to beat this time.

Forgot to say - thanks to Josh for this info!

The document isn't available but the Web Archive has a copy. Copy of the paragraph for reference:

Robin Prince is definitely a hard man. On 15th June he set off from Edale with a 17-pound rucksack on his back. He was attempting to jog and walk the Pennine Way solo-unsupported in less than four days. He grabbed about three hours sleep each night in his bivi-bag and in disgustingly hot weather, arrived at Kirk Yetholm four days eight hours later, having eaten almost half the contents of his rucksack. His strict regime of 4 ozs complan with 2 ozs glucose alternated every four hours with 4 ozs muesli would turn the stomach of the toughest runner. In a disciplined way, he divided his ration into 12- hour packs which also contained bars of chocolate and vitamin supplements. He bought nothing en route and experienced great difficulty in finding enough safe water. Robin lowered Geoff Bell’s 1981 record by 12 hours and “enjoyed” himself so much that he intends to go for sub-four days next year.

It's Robin Price - the name was misprinted in the 1989 Fellrunner Magazine.

Hi All, I am going to go for an unsupported/self-supported attempt (south to north) from August 16-20 2021. This will be my first FKT attempt so I would love any advice :). I plan to record on my watch and use the GPS track provided on the website. Anything else I should know? Thanks!

Hi Kelly, think I’ll be setting off just ahead of you by a few days. Same idea. I was going for supported but I’ve had to isolate and don’t want to put my team through that again so planning on getting dropped off and off I go. Good luck ? ?

Starting on Mon 22/05/2022 I will attempt to set the self-supported speed record on the Pennine Way going Northbound from Edale. I will carry a small pack with my gear and resupply along the way.

Made it to Alston (290km) in approx. 3d and 4hrs where I decided to quit.

day1 Edale - Ickornshaw 96km

day2 Ickornshaw - Hawes 89km

day3 Hawes - Gregs Hut 108km

had a flyby with Damian Hall in the middle of the night above Dufton which was pretty cool I think.

Hi. On Friday 29th May I’ll be setting off from Edale on a self supported adventure. Just me and some parcels I’ve posted myself en route. It could be amazing, it could be a disaster. Only one way to find out!

Tracker here: https://map.racetracker.no/?race=lucy_gossage_pennine_way_2026

or follow me on insta: @lucygoss

Hey all, I'm setting out tomorrow (15th August) to walk the route, self supported. I will be following the diversion at Crowden due to wildfires. I'm not fast but I would love to get a time on the site. No tracking but I will upload each day to Strava instead. I can't wait to have an adventure!

I’m planning to attempt the men’s self-supported FKT on the Pennine Way, travelling south to north from Edale to Kirk Yetholm.

Planned start date: 8 October 2026.

I’ll be recording the complete attempt by GPS and retaining the original activity files for verification, alongside Garmin/Strava data and supporting evidence.

I have huge respect for everyone who has taken on this route before me and for the incredible efforts that have established and pushed the FKTs on the Pennine Way. I know exactly what I’m choosing to put myself up against, and nothing about it will be easy.

This will be one of several self-supported FKT and endurance challenges I’m training towards over the coming years, including Land’s End to John o’ Groats (LEJOG) and a future attempt across all 214 Wainwrights.

But the records themselves are only part of the journey.

Through Walking 4 Hope, I’m working towards a long-term vision of creating a Base Camp — a place to support families and young people through connection, the outdoors and early intervention, while contributing in our own way towards the aims of the UK’s national suicide prevention strategy.

If you’d like to follow the training, the attempts, the successes, the failures and, most importantly, the purpose behind them, you can follow my journey here:

https://linktr.ee/Walking4hope

On 8 October 2026, I’ll stand at the start in Edale and give the Pennine Way the respect it deserves.

Then I’ll give it everything I have.

Route: Pennine Way (UK)

FKTs

Comments