Damian Hall (born 1975) is a British

ultrarunner An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the s ...

, author and activist.

Career

Hall grew up in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

. Though he was competitive at cross-country at school, he didn't start running as an adult until 2011, aged 36. The following year, he completed his first marathon (dressed as a toilet). In 2016, Hall represented Great Britain in the

IAU Trail World Championships The IAU Trail World Championships are annual trail running World Championships, from 2007 up to 2015 was biennial, held for the first time in Huntsville, United States in 2007 and organised by International Association of Ultrarunners. The 202 ...

in Gerês, Portugal. Hall has held the

Fastest Known Time A Fastest Known Time (FKT) is the speed record for a running, hiking or cycling route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as marathon world records, FKTs are self-organized and done alone or in small groups. FKTs are most popular on long ...

s (FKTs) for a number of British

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

s, including the

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked Long-distance footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...

, Cape Wrath Trail (with

Beth Pascall Beth Pascall (born 15 September 1987) is a British ultrarunner and paediatrician. Among her victories are the Spine Race in 2015, the Ultra Trail Cape Town in 2019 and the Western States Endurance Run in 2021. Biography Beth Pascall grew ...

Paddy Buckley Round The Paddy Buckley Round, also known as the Welsh Classical Round, is a long distance fell running challenge in Snowdonia, Wales. The route is a circuit of just over 100 km long, taking in some 47 summits. The Round has the reputation of bein ...

Pennine Way The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...

South Wales Traverse The South Wales Traverse is a long distance fell running challenge across the mountains of south Wales. It is a linear route of around taking in some 31 summits over high, providing around of ascent. The aim is for challengers to complete the ...

and Wainwright's Coast to Coast. Hall won the 2019 Ultra Tour Monte Rosa and the 2023

Spine Race The Spine Race is an ultramarathon held over a distance of around from Edale, England, to Kirk Yetholm, Scotland, along the Pennine Way. Participants are allowed seven days to complete the course. The race has been held annually since 2012. Initi ...

. He was 4th at the 2023 Tor des Géants and 5th at the 2018

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is a mountain ultramarathon race, first held in 2003, that follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc. It has been regarded as the most competitive trail ultramarathon in the world. Renamed in 2023 as UTMB W ...

. He has attempted the

Barkley Marathons The Barkley Marathons is an ultramarathon Trail racing, trail race held each year in Frozen Head State Park in Morgan County, Tennessee, United States. Described as "The Race That Eats Its Young", it is known for its extreme difficulty, purposefu ...

twice, reaching the final loop on both occasions. Various documentaries have been made about Hall. ''Wrath'' followed his 2018 run with

on the Cape Wrath Trail, self-supported and during winter. In 2019, ''Underdog'' was released, following Hall's attempts to break into the top ten of the prestigious

. In 2020, ''Totally FKT'' followed his battle with John Kelly to break the Pennine Way FKT. Hall is vegan, a climate activist, and a founding member of '' The Green Runners''. He is outspoken about

sportswashing Sportswashing is a term used to describe the practice of governments, individuals, corporations, or other groups using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing. A form of propaganda, sportswashing can be accomplished through hosting ...

, unveiling protest banners at race finishes and pledging not to run races with high-carbon sponsors. He has plogged (picked up rubbish while running) during record attempts. Hall has written for a large number of newspapers and magazines. As well as writing the walking guides ''Walking in the

'' and ''Pennine Way'', Hall has written books about running and FKTs with ''In It For The Long Run'', and about running and climate with ''We Can't Run Away From This''.

References

External links

* * * Living people 21st-century British sportsmen British male mountain runners British ultramarathon runners 1975 births {{UK-athletics-bio-stub