At 630 miles in length, the South West Coast Path is England’s longest National Trail.
Weaving its way from Poole Harbour in Dorset to Minehead in Somerset, the gruelling path rises and falls with every river mouth, leading to a total ascent of approximately 115,000ft – almost four times the height of Mount Everest.
Incredibly, INOV8 ambassador Sarah Perry has just completed a self-supported run of the entire route in 13 days 11 hours and 31 mins.
Not only is that a new women’s record time, it’s also the fastest overall self-supported completion.
The previous best time by a woman was 14 days 14 hours and 44 mins by Julie Gardener, while the self-supported record had been held by David Myers at 13 days 13 hours and 43 mins.
The overall fastest time remains 10 days 8 hours and 24 mins, achieved by Dave Phillips in 2022.
Sarah ran in one pair of TRAILFLY shoes throughout her epic ultra running adventure and used the RACEPAC 20 to carry everything she needed.
She ran alone, battling tough conditions, sleep deprivation and ferry cancellations (there’s 13 water crossings that need to be made on boat).
Sarah had booked accommodation along the route and fuelled on food that she bought from local shops along the way.
The Cumbria based runner, who is also the Backyard Ultra British women’s record holder, said: “After a failed attempt last year, I was itching to get back on the coastal path and have another go.
“Originally, I was set to go in May, but earlier in the year I found out that my usual support team would no longer be able to help me, so I set about planning a self-supported attempt for the Easter holidays in April.
“I literally poured hours of time into the schedule and in the run-up, I thought of nothing else. In all honesty I was scared, there was so much that could go wrong and so many things to think about, but I knew I could do it and was willing to take the risk either way.
“After a day of travelling I started on Monday April 1st at 3.30pm. Over the next couple of weeks I battled the elements, trudged through the worst mud I've ever experienced, did all-nighters and caught more ferries than I'd ever taken in my entire life.
“I also saw seals, experienced the most beautiful stretch of coastline, ate tasty treats and talked to lovely people.
“I fought to stay on schedule when one of my ferries was cancelled due to bad weather, having to take two buses to get round and essentially spending half a day travelling. From there, I ended up running through the night most days and catching an hour of sleep whenever I could. It was tempting to add a day or two onto the schedule, but I had made a commitment to myself to do the best that I could. I hadn't come for a holiday.
“I touched the end in Minehead at 03.01am on Monday April 13th. I still feel totally overwhelmed and haven't processed the whole experience yet but am content with the knowledge that I couldn't have done any more.”
