Marcus absolutely smashes the Limestone Way record
A WELL-KNOWN Peak District trail has seen its fastest known completion time comfortably beaten by an experienced athlete.
Ultra runner Marcus Scotney, who lives in the Peak District, took on the challenge of setting the fastest time on the Limestone Way, on Easter Sunday.
He trounced the previous record of nine hours, 41 minutes and 29 seconds by three hours and 23 minutes, finishing the 46-mile trail in a time of six hours and 18 minutes.
The Limestone Way runs through the national park from Castleton to Rocester, and it was originally opened as a long-distance waymarked trail in 1986, with its previous record time being set by David Harrison in 2016.
Scotney is a respected figure in the world of ultra running (any distance longer than a traditional marathon), having 25 years of running experience and entering the ultra running field in 2008.
He has represented Great Britain at the 2010 and 2015 100km Championships and the European 100km Championship in 2010.
He said: “I have been training on parts of the Limestone Way since living in the Peak District and have often thought about running the whole 46-mile route.
“As the pandemic cancelled races last year and FKT’S (fastest known times) became the new buzz word in the ultra running community, I started to think of doing the Limestone Way.”
His wife, Jen, took over his Instagram account from Friday to document the attempt and was accompanied by their beagle, Sherlock, to film him reaching the finish.