On Monday, August 12, ultra runner Jake Catterall, 32, officially set a new world record for the first, and fastest run across the Alps. He traversed the range on the new Via Alpina red route, taking 35 days.
His journey started in Trieste in Italy and took him into Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France, before finishing in Monaco, following the great arc of the alpine chain. This entailed covering around 60km a day, while the total distance was around 2,000km, with a staggering 110km of vertical elevation gain – that's equivalent to 12-and-a-half Everests from sea level to summit.
Each day demanded over 10 hours of running, while Jake had to consume more than 4,000 calories to fuel his efforts. Support was provided by two friends, Roy Potterill and Chris Joubert.
Way beyond
Jake grew up in Leicester in England's East Midlands but now resides in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He's no stranger to epic endurance feats, having previously ran the length of Europe from northern Norway to the south of Spain, a distance totalling 5,600km. On that particular adventure, he averaged an ultra marathon every day for 93 consecutive days. GPS tracking meant that hundreds of other runners were able to join him for sections along the way, many of whom also achieved personal milestones.
Jake's Running the Alps mission was part of his Way Beyond life project, designed to encourage other to push their limits and pursue their dreams.
The ultimate goal of the mission is to attempt a solo traverse of Antarctica in record time. Both his Norway to Spain run and his recent alpine exploits are stepping stones towards this final goal and there are plans to collate his efforts into a documentary film.
Before taking on his alpine challenge, Jake said: "We have become accustomed to creating boundaries for ourselves, celebrated for saying no to engagements, but where does ‘yes’ come in? Sometimes, you have to start something alone to do things together. I fully believe it takes time to build something great, and in our fast-paced world, committing yourself to a journey, spending time to craft yourself, your ideas, and dreams is the key to success in life. When we say yes to what we love, it inspires positive action for others to say yes to more, too."
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