Steve Birkinshaw

In June 2019, inov-8 ambassador Paul Tierney set out on an epic adventure to summit all 214 Alfred Wainwright Lake District peaks in one go. His goal was to try and beat the record time of 6 days 13 hours and 1 minute, set five years earlier by fellow fell runner Steve Birkinshaw. Needing to cover a distance of approximately 318 miles and ascend the equivalent height of four times Mount Everest, Paul knew this was his biggest challenge to date and enlisted the help of friends and family. Battling sleep deprivation and everything the Lake District weather could throw at him, what transpired was a story that gripped not only the fell-running and ultra-running communities but also the wider sporting world.

In 1992, a 300km mountain race was run along the mountainous spine of Wales. Over five days the world's leading mountain runners undertook an incredible adventure across wild, trackless, remote and mountainous terrain. Very few made it to the finishing line and the legend of the Dragon's Back Race™ was born. Twenty years later 84 runners from 15 countries are lining up in Conwy Castle looking to repeat the feat. Many had considered the 1992 Dragon's Back Race™ to be the toughest mountain running event ever organised. However, the 2012 route was harder still and included all the Welsh 3,000ft mountains on the first day, a number of additional summits on the other days and less road running throughout as the course weaves through the stunning Welsh mountains. The Dragon's Back Race™ is one of the hardest mountain races in the World.

The unassuming and unlikely Steve Birkinshaw is one of the great fell runners. In this Lakeland tale of epic proportions, family man Steve turns to the people's champion as an inspirational figure through this extraordinary challenge. Have your mind and arteries blown as Steve attempts to break the legendary Joss Naylor's 27 year old record by linking up all 214 Lakeland Wainwright summits in under seven days. A level of suffering breaching into the super human. Featuring stunning cinematography by multi-award winner Alastair Lee, this wholesome, touching and personal account will not fail to leave you uplifted and believing anything is possible. We share every high and low as Steve questions his motives and battles on through 20 hour days with little or no sleep, blister hell, dehydration, searing heat and tendonitis are just some of the obstacles between Steve and a place in fell running history. Essentialy this is not a story about fell running but of the relentless human spirit.