Mom of Twins Smashes UK Three Peaks Record by 8+ Hours

Trish Patterson just became the fastest woman to ever run between all three of the UK's highest mountains, and her first plan is refreshingly simple: take a week off.

The 41-year-old mother of twin girls from Hampshire covered 425 miles and climbed over 10,000 meters in five days and 21 hours. She ran every single mile between Scotland's Ben Nevis, England's Scafell Pike, and Wales' Yr Wyddfa, surviving on just 90 minutes of sleep per night.

Patterson didn't just break the record. She demolished it, shaving more than eight hours off the previous mark set by Imo Boddy in May 2024.

Most people know the National Three Peaks Challenge as a 24-hour race where participants drive between mountains and only hike the summits. The on-foot version is a completely different beast: an unbroken, self-propelled journey down the entire length of Britain's western spine.

"The sleep deprivation is intense," Patterson told BBC South. "I actually turn my brain off, because that's the only way you're going to get through miles and miles of repetitive stuff."

She wasn't alone out there. Friends and family supported her journey, while strangers appeared along the route offering encouragement and the occasional ice lolly on hot days.

Why This Inspires

Patterson's record is now the second-fastest time ever recorded on this route by anyone, male or female. The fact that two major improvements happened in just two years shows that women's ultrarunning is exploding with new talent and determination.

But the clock wasn't really the point. Patterson ran in memory of a close friend who recently died, raising money for Mind Over Mountains, a mental health charity.

"Running is a great way to connect with people and I really enjoyed that whole process," she said. The community she found along those 425 miles mattered as much as the miles themselves.

As for what comes next, she's planning to return to her local parkruns and "back to getting beat by small children and pensioners."