Andy Symonds and Joe Symonds – England
“We were delighted by how much time we took off the previous record”
EVERESTING ON FOOT WORLD RECORD SMASHED IN YORKSHIRE
Records are falling, alright. On Saturday 7th June, brothers Joe Symonds and Andy Symonds set a new unsupported running Everesting world record: just over 10 hours 8 minutes, on the steep grassy slopes of Winder, their hometown hill in Sedbergh, Yorkshire Dales.
“After our Dad died of bladder cancer in November 2024 we wanted to do something together involving running in mountains in his memory,” says Joe.
Winder is the same hill where, as kids, they took part in a 1993 relay challenge called Everest in a Day, organised by their father, Hugh – a maths teacher who also used to take groups of kids running, and he would organise charity events in their community.
“We decided to raise funds for the same cause, Practical Action…it seemed natural to make the attempt on the very hill in Sedbergh where the 1993 event had happened, a hill that our Dad would have run up more times than any other.”
The route: 185m climb at 41% gradient, requiring 48 repetitions. Rain. Mud. Wind. But they moved together. Quiet, steady, determined.
“We were delighted by how much time we took off the previous record which stood at 10 hours 45 minutes. We think it helped that we chose a very steep slope, meaning we had to run just over a marathon in distance. The sheep looked quite perplexed by what we were doing!”
A massive congratulations to Joe and Andy, new Everesting world record holders!
“After our Dad died of bladder cancer in November 2024 we wanted to do something together involving running in mountains in his memory”
-Andy Symonds and Joe Symonds – England-