Runner is sole finisher of 47,000ft hill challenge

10 December 2025

Chloe HughesWest Midlands

News image — Sarah Perry completed the challenge less than an hour before the cut off

David Miller Photography A woman with brown hair tied back is wearing a purple waterproof jacket, black three quarter length leggings and purple and pink trainers. She is running down a hill which is mostly brown earth with patches of green grass — Sarah Perry completed the challenge less than an hour before the cut off

A challenge that saw 24 entrants attempt to run 56 laps up and down The Wrekin in Shropshire saw only one person finish.

The Hill challenge, the first time it has been held in five years, has a total ascent of 47,000ft (14325.6m) and runners had to complete the distance, which totalled 160 miles (257km) within 48 hours.

Sarah Perry, from Cockermouth in Cumbria finished in a time of 47 hours and one minute, and was the only person left in the race.

"The last third of the race was hard. The biggest difficulty was the lack of time," she said. Ms Perry broke the women's ultramarathon world record in October.

"I knew that six weeks to recover and build back up was a big ask, but I've wanted to do The Hill for so long and this was the first time it's been run in five years, so I just had to be on that start line," she said.

"I'm thrilled to have finished and, quite honestly, can't believe that it was possible for me."

David Miller Photography A picture of several runners standing in the rain in the dark, with head torches on. The main focus of the picture is a woman with a purple waterproof on and a head torch. Her hood is up and she is laughing — Sarah Perry chose to skip breaks and ignore her wet socks

Runners are largely unassisted for the race - they are not allowed sticks, headphones, outside assistance, pacers or supporters.

They cannot stop for more than 30 minutes at a time, or leave the route to get supplies or sleep, and must have a DNF (did not finish) strategy to get them home safely.

The closest competitor to Ms Perry completed 41 laps before bowing out.

Several runners retired on the first night, with more tapping out on Saturday and Sunday.

David Miller Photography A silhouette of a woman on top of a hill next to a stone. The sky behind her is blue and grey with grey clouds, and the yellow glow of the sun — A lot of people gave up on the first night

"I chose to skip breaks and ignore things that I'd usually get sorted, like wet socks and sleep deprivation, and instead chose to keep on the hill," said Ms Perry.

"Unlike in backyard ultra races, there are no scheduled breaks so I was constantly doing the calculations in my head to figure out whether I could complete it.

"Often there was no wiggle room."

Wayne Edy, founder of sports brand INOV8, who Ms Perry runs for, said: "We are incredibly proud of Sarah and her incredible achievements."

"They are just reward for the many, many hours of commitment she has put into her training and the sport.

"Sarah is small in stature but big in grit and determination."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.