When I was a child, my parents loved Alfred Wainwright’s pictorial guides to the Lakeland fells. They came on many an adventure, his black and white sketches bringing the hills to life.

Since then, I’ve run 2 continuous rounds of the 214 Wainwrights, including the only self-supported round in winter. Preparing for these adventures brought me back to Wainwright’s books and my love of his drawings. I kept turning the pages until I got to the 8th book on the shelf, The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, which I realised contained many beautiful places which I had never visited. I also realised that completing the Wainwrights and the outlying fells had been done by hill walkers, but no one had ever run a continuous round of these tops before.

Starting at the Moot Hall in Keswick on 5 May 2026, I’ll be covering every fell described in Alfred Wainwright’s Lakeland guides, a total of 330 peaks - self supported. This is far further than I have run before and is the next step in my journey of exploring the outdoors and testing what I’m capable of. It is also a personal tribute to Alfred Wainwright and all the great family memories he created. As well as the fells, I plan to visit Wainwright’s first entry point to the lakes, Windermere train station, and the place where his ashes were scattered, Innominate Tarn.

I’ve spent more than a decade taking on long-distance challenges, and while I’ve been fortunate to have some successes along the way, each one has taught me more about resilience and humility.

In my role as a Consultant Anaesthetist at Airedale Hospital, I’ve cared for many patients in the Emergency Department (ED). I see every day how hard the ED team works and how important the right environment and resources are, especially when time is critical. That’s why I’ve chosen to support Airedale Hospital & Community Charity’s Emergency Department Appeal.

Every year since 2014 an average of 75,000 patients have visited ED to seek emergency care. This means in just nine years over half a million people have received help when they need it most.

The Emergency Department Appeal will raise vital funds to refurbish three key areas that are in urgent need of some TLC: the Paediatric Waiting Room, the Paediatric Resuscitation Room, and the Bereavement Suite.

These spaces are crucial in providing comfort, dignity, and care to patients and families during some of their most difficult moments.

This run is a personal challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to contribute, in some small way, to improving our ED for patients and staff and to give back to the community I’m proud to be part of.

During the Lakeland Round I will be covering 330 hills, hundreds of kilometres, and a huge amount of ascent. I know it will test me physically and mentally, and there will be moments that feel overwhelming. But I won’t be alone. Your support, every donation, every message, will help keep me going over every ridge and up every climb, and will bring us one step closer to transforming a space that saves lives every single day.

Alongside your kind support, the people at Montane and Scarpa are offering a prize to those supporting our Emergency Department Appeal. If you are making a donation over £5 please make a guess at the time you think it will take me to complete (days, hours, minutes) and the total ascent of the challenge (meters). Please add your guesses as a comment when making your donation. The prizes are a Montane Vortic waterproof jacket and a pair of SCARPA Spin Planet trail shoes.

Entries to the prize competition will be open until midnight on 10 May (there is your first clue!). The closest to the correct answer in each category will win a prize. After 10 May the answers may become too easy to guess, but donations to the Emergency department will still be very gratefully received.

For those that enjoy watching a dot you can follow me here - https://live.kongtracking.com/LKLNDRND2026/

Thank you for supporting me and for supporting Airedale’s Emergency Department Appeal.

Your donations make a difference, and I’ll be carrying your encouragement with me over every summit.

Together we can save lives.

Tom