1000 miles running over the Alps…
Stuart Walker
The Alps are one of the most famous mountain ranges in the World and dominate central Europe with the highest Peaks towering over 12,000feet. From West to East they stretch for around 1000miles…
… and on the 12th May Sheffield based Adventure Runner Stuart Walker begins a remarkable journey by running from Vienna to Nice in 30-days, across the Alps.
The challenge has never been attempted before and will include mountain tops, via exposed passes and cols, passing through six countries, with an average daily distance of 35 miles.
Stuart may only be 26 years old, yet he is no stranger to adventure. He Ultra Runs and thinks nothing of 100 mile races and also competes in multi day adventure races that can last up to 5-days, non stop!
He holds the record for running solo across Hadrian’s Wall (2004) and is currently leading in the UK’s Ultra Championship race series. During the Big Alps Run, Stuart will run solo, carrying a small tent; food and all his equipment; and will camp most nights. Stuart believes it will be the hardest challenge he has attempted and said:
“I’m really looking forward to the Big Alps Run, but I am expecting it to hurt a lot! The purpose is to raise money for charity though, and I have found in the past that this helps me keep going when things get really tough”.
Stuart’s chosen charity is Water for Kids, a charity he supported during his British Isles Challenge in 2010, when he travelled from the Scilly Isles to Orkney. This time though, he hopes to raise more money, CONCLUDING
“I raised about £3000 last time, but the Big Alps Run is a much bigger undertaking and I’ve set the target at £10,000”.
The charity works on the provision of clean water and sanitation to communities in developing countries, and has secured wells in many areas where only dangerously dirty water was previously available. This valuable work helps dramatically reduce incidence of water-borne diseases like dysentery, cholera and typhoid.
Stuart’s challenge is supported by Accelerate (accelerateuk.com), New Balance, Skins, and Injinji, to whom he is very grateful for helping him to pursue this challenge.
Trail Running Magazine will also be following his progress, and you can sponsor Stuart by texting “ALPS70 £10” to 70070, or visit www.justgiving.com/bigalpsrun.
For more information on the challenge please visit Stuart’s website at www.bigalpsrun.eu.
