Words: Ultra Magazine
In 1989, Hartley completed the 268-mile Pennine Way in a record time of two days, 17:20:00, a time that would not be beaten for another 31 years.
Of all the male fellrunning legends it was difficult to pick the first to be inaugurated into the Ultrarunning Hall of Fame, but we felt that Mike Hartley deserved the honour after a lifetime of excellence in long-distance mountain running.
Hartley found a love of the mountains at secondary school, where a student teacher introduced him to rock climbing and persuaded the school’s PE department to buy a rope and sling; and then after the teacher left the school Hartley and his friends would borrow the kit and go climbing themselves to the Roaches and North Wales, eventually joining Stafford Mountain Club and Lichfield Mountaineering Club. He joined the Rucksack Club in 1989 and became active in outdoor pursuits such as sea kayaking to add to walking, climbing and running.
Arguably Hartley’s most impressive running performance came in 1990, when he completed Ramsay’s Round, the Bob Graham Round, and the Paddy Buckley Round one after the other, making him the first person to consecutively complete all three of the UK 24-hour rounds. He did all three in a time of three days, 14:20:00 minutes including travelling time.
By this time Hartley’s status as a world-class ultrarunner was in place, after several wins at The Fellsman, first in 1984, and setting records for traversal of many of Britain’s long-distance trails. In 1988 he ran the 212-mile Southern Upland Way in 55:55:00 and then a year later set records for the 80-mile Dales Way in 13:34, the 92- mile Staffordshire Way with a time of 16:10:00.
Arguably Hartley’s most impressive running performance came in 1990, when he completed Ramsay’s Round, the Bob Graham Round, and the Paddy Buckley Round one after the other.
Incredibly, also in 1989, Hartley completed the 268-mile Pennine Way in a record time of two days, 17:20:00, a time that would not be beaten for another 31 years. During the run he didn’t sleep, and managed to beat the previous record time, set by Mike Cudahy, by over four hours.
His Pennine Way effort earned awards for Performance of the Year from both the Fell Runners Association and the Bob Graham Club.
Hartley also finished first in several 100-mile races organised by the Long-Distance Walker’s Association, and in 1991 he set another long-standing record for the 190-mile Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route, finishing in a time of 39:36:00. This time would stand as the record for 30 years.
Showing his diverse capabilities as a runner, Hartley went on to finish third at the London to Brighton Road Race in 1992, and won the Barry 40 mile track race twice in 1992 and 1993. He represented Great Britain at the 100k European Championships in 1993, finishing in fourth place with a time of 6:37:45 – the fifth fastest time set by a Brit at this distance – and competed in the 1993 and 1995 World Championships at the 100km distance.