Breaking the Lakeland 24 FKT – Kim Collison

“I train all year around.  It’s a lifestyle, not just for an event”.

Kim Collison is a name synonymous with modern British trail and mountain running.  With a wealth of success in the field, Kim has twice represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the World Trail Championships.  In 2014, with victory at the Lakeland 50, he become the British Trail Running Champion, going on to achieve a number of ultrarunning records including Hardmoors 55, Lakeland Trails 110km and the Arc of Attrition 100.

With success both here in the UK and on the World circuit, Kim has also had a top 10 finish in the massively competitive Skyrunning World Championship, winning the Falcotrail Ultra in Spain.  Having racked up an already impressive roster, Kim recently succeeded on the incredible.  Breaking the Lakeland 24 fell record (with an outstanding 78 tops in 23 hours 45 minutes!), 23 years after Mark Hartell in 1997.  Read more about the man himself – in his own words, Kim Collison, as he spoke to Ultrarunner Magazine…

My background in running goes all the way back to secondary school.  I was running with my dad as he was training for the London marathon, and I found I was good at the endurance side of things.  I had the ‘never give up’ stubborn nature. Running with my dad was a really nice thing to do; it created a strong bond.

It wasn’t until I came back from travelling in 2007 that I ended up moving to the Lake District.  It had to be somewhere stunning to keep me there, after all – I had travelled the world and witnessed some beautiful places.