Introducing Tom
His love for running is rooted firmly in the mountains. Long days immersed in nature, moving through changing light and weather, are where he feels most at home. Road running, for Tom, is simply a means of getting between hills. What draws him back time and again is the depth of experience that comes from prolonged time in wild places, and the sense of flow that mountain terrain allows when approached with patience and respect.
Motivated by a desire to explore his limits, Tom is driven to test what is possible across distance, ascent, and technical terrain. During lockdown, this mindset led him to design the Dales 30 Round, a demanding route through the landscape he calls home. What began as a personal challenge has since inspired others to take it on, something Tom is particularly proud of given his deep connection to the Dales.
Resilience has been a defining theme in his journey. After slipping a disc early in the year of his Vertical Marathon attempt, Tom spent months fast packing rather than running. When race day arrived, he drew on that period of adaptation and mental strength to turn what had felt like a running wilderness into one of the standout achievements of his career.
Key Achievements
2025 -
Winter Spine Sprint South 2nd, Great Lakeland 3 day Adventure (score) course 1st and full map (all controls visited) | Self Supported winter Wainwrights. Only non supported winter completion beating the self supported summer FKT in the process | Unsupported Dales 30. Only unsupported winter completion beating the self supported summer FKT in the process
2024 -
2nd Place Winter Spine Challenger North
2023 - 10th Swiss Peaks 360 | Barkley Marathons, 26 pages although a nasty guy with a beard told me this was still only 1 loop.
2022 - 4 FKTs in one run! Broke the double and triple everesting records. Set new distances of quad everesting and completed the only known vertical marathon (26.2 miles of ascent doing hill repeats). My very own backyard ultra! | It'll be grand round (back to back rankin and wicklow rounds)
“I used to think that mountain running was only for hardcore nut jobs, but I came to realise that the hills are so accessible and an amazing place to flow through. All you need to do is pace yourself.”" - Tom
