Brothers break world 'Everesting' record in memory of their dad
Two brothers broke a world record running the height of Mount Everest up and down a single hill in Sedbergh last weekend.
Joe and Andrew Symonds took on the 'Everesting' challenge to raise money for charity and in memory of their father Hugh, 35 years after he set his own world record.
Advertisement
'Everesting' is a concept that sees runners, cyclists and skiers pick a hill anywhere in the world and repeatedly run, ride or ski up and down it until they reach the elevation of Mount Everest, 8,848m.
Joe Symonds said: 'I'd only ever seen people attempt Everesting on bikes, and I wanted to see if I could do it on foot.
'When I was looking for a hill to use for this Everesting attempt, Winder seemed like the perfect choice,' said Joe. 'Apart from being the ideal gradient and terrain for the challenge, it would have been the hill that our dad ran on the most in his life.'
Joe and Andrew's dad Hugh was a school master at Sedbergh School and lived in the town for 43 years.
Advertisement
A prolific fell runner throughout his life, Hugh Symonds set a world record in 1990 after continuously running over all the 3000ft mountains in Great Britain and Ireland in 97 days – a record that stands to this day.
Read more
Hugh's sons wanted to follow in his footsteps in fundraising too, aiming to raise £8,848 for Practical Action, a charity that develops sustainable solutions to health inequalities and poverty in poor communities, and the same charity that their father raised £20,000 for in 1990.
Setting the route on Winder meant measuring a 148m stretch up the front face of the hill, which the brothers would need to run 48 times to reach the height of Everest. By completing this in 10 hours 8 minutes and 53 seconds, they built the previous record by 36 minutes.
Advertisement
The pair were supported in their efforts by friends and family who ran several of the laps alongside them, while Sedbergh School organised relay teams who took on the same challenge in teams, collectively reaching the same elevation.
Joe and Andrew said the support from everyone has been incredible, already reaching 91% of their fundraising target.
'Mum was there for the whole day and a lot of family members ran with us,' says Joe. 'It felt like the right thing to do for Dad too, he would have loved it.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Brothers complete mammoth 186-mile walk of Pembrokeshire coastal path
Two brothers have raised more than £4,000 for charity after completing a 186-mile trek for their grandmother. Rhodri and Gethin Poacher walked the entire Pembrokeshire Coast Path to support Alzheimer's Research UK, honouring their grandmother who has lived with the disease since 2021. Gethin Poacher said: "We walked for our granny. For all of those whose memories are slipping away. For the families, like ours, who care for them, and for the researchers working tirelessly for a cure. "We're blown away by the generosity and support we've received along the way." Their journey, which began in Amroth and ended in St Dogmaels, included more than 11,000 metres of elevation gain—the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest. Along the way, they passed more than 50 beaches, camped under the stars, and took dips in the sea. Rhodri Poacher said: "It's been the toughest thing we've ever done, both physically and mentally, but also one of the most meaningful. "We have witnessed all that Pembrokeshire has to offer, growing our family connection to the path and honouring the work of our grandad in preserving its beauty and sustainability. "During our journey we met so many wonderful people and have been reminded of the strength of community." Their JustGiving page has raised £4,045 so far, with donations coming from across the UK and beyond. The funds will support Alzheimer's Research UK's efforts to improve the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and eventual cure of Alzheimer's disease. The brothers' challenge also gained attention on social media, helping them surpass their fundraising target. To support their cause, visit their Just Giving page.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool signing finally makes debut alongside wonderkid after return from Asia tour
Two Liverpool summer signings made their first appearances for the club's Under-21s on Saturday as it played out a 0-0 draw against Hull City's youth team. The Under-21s have no official fixtures confirmed yet for the upcoming season, with the Premier League still to make an announcement on the schedule for the Under-21 league, but in the meantime, the underage side has played four summer matches. After wins over Celtic and Lens, plus a draw against Wigan Athletic, Liverpool hosted Hull on Saturday. In total, 21 players featured for Rob Page's side, with all 10 outfielders changed after an hour. Goalkeeper Armin Pecsi was the only player to manage the full 90 minutes. READ MORE: Liverpool goalkeeper suffers nightmare start to loan after controversial penalty in heavy defeat READ MORE: Liverpool confirms appointment of 'highly regarded' Man Utd coach The Hungarian joined the Reds from Puskas Akademia earlier this summer and was one of seven new arrivals this window to travel with Arne Slot's first-team squad on the pre-season tour of Asia. But Pecsi, who has come in mainly to play for the Under-21s and strengthen the backup group supporting Alisson, didn't play a single minute of the matches against AC Milan and Yokohama However, as featured in the 5-0 win over Stoke City, Saturday's outing against Hull wasn't his first in a Liverpool shirt. Another summer signing, Will Wright, did make his bow the Reds. His move from Salford City was only completed this week, and he is also expected to play for the Under-21s this term. The 17-year-old had attracted interest from Arsenal, but opted to remain in the north-west. Fans will certainly keep an eye on the forward's progress this season given his high-profile transfer. Meanwhile, several other familiar names were on show for Liverpool on Saturday at the AXA Training Centre. Calvin Ramsey and Lewis Koumas were among the starters, while Amara Nallo, Kieran Morrison and Kaide Gordon came off the bench. The Under-21s will be hoping for an improved campaign in 2025/26 and finished 16th in a 26-team league last term. Page's appointment is seen as a coup for the academy, with Simon Wiles confirmed as Under-18 head coach on Friday. Speaking in a recent interview with Liverpool's club website, Page spoke of his excitement to return to the club game. 'They [Liverpool] have had difficult moments over the years [at youth level] and even more so recently, and seeing the club react to it all together, the connection between the players, the supporters and the staff has been incredible. This is a very special club. 'For me to come back into development football at a massive club like Liverpool – who smashed the Premier League last season, seeing what they have done in the transfer window again – and work with some of the younger talents here and try to help develop top players into the first-team environment or help them to go on and have careers elsewhere, it was definitely an exciting option for me.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Welsh hotel is being roasted online by guests with shocking stories to tell
Angry tourists have accused a Newport hotel of cancelling their bookings with little or no notice. Reviews online, including on TripAdvisor show a number of tourists alleging staff at the Silurian Hotel in Newport's High Street, which is now owned by budget apartments company Belvilla, had informed them on arrival that their stays had been cancelled. Visitors to the hotel were often, they claimed, left bemused as to what had happened to their bookings and they also claimed they received little or no explanation from Belvilla, which has operated the hotel since autumn, 2024 and does not appear to have responded to any of the highly critical comments about it online. In recent weeks, multiple people have told a similar story about the hotel. READ MORE: Locked Up: The criminals justice caught up with in July READ MORE: A sinkhole appeared in this busy road 2 years ago - it's been shut ever since they looked inside Many said they chose the hotel due it being close to Newport railway station, providing convenient access to Cardiff for gigs, but claimed that on arrival hotel staff said they had no evidence of their bookings or in some cases the hotel had decided to cancel their bookings in advance of stays due to the standard of the room. Never miss a Newport story by subscribing to our newsletter here. One visitor claimed she'd booked for five separate people and each room was cancelled within hours' notice with the same reason given by the hotel. Suzy Evans, who had booked the hotel in October, 2024, for a gig on July 12, claimed: 'I made a booking at this hotel in October, 2024 for July 12, 2025. The hotel is very close to Newport station and we wanted to stay there as we had tickets to a concert in Cardiff that evening. 'Already when we arrived things did not look promising. We were fourth in the queue to check in and the person being served looked to be having issues with checking in. There were two people serving guests but the gentlemen were just sitting there looking on. 'After 10 to 15 minutes of waiting he finally served the second person in the queue. After 30 minutes of waiting we finally were served but they couldn't find my booking. 'Just two weeks earlier they'd confirmed via that I could check in from 2pm. They hunted for another 10 minutes or so and came to the conclusion that they could not in any way offer us a room for the night. We were extremely annoyed and shocked by this having reserved months in advance.' Suzy also claimed: 'On arriving home I found an email from asking me to confirm that I hadn't checked in and then an hour later at midnight another email arrived stating the hotel had cancelled my booking. 'I have tried to contact the hotel directly but there is a recorded message and I cannot leave a voicemail as their inbox is full. Who knows now if they'll try to charge me. It's been quite an unbelievable and unpleasant experience.' A tourist named Alex also claimed on TripAdvisor that he was left confused when, before he was due to stay at the hotel, he was contacted by Belvilla who told him the rooms weren't right for them and so his booking had been cancelled. He claimed: 'I booked three rooms for a group and one month before arrival they cancelled the three bookings. The guest experience manager said the rooms were not up to OYO Hotels' standard and so he cancelled our booking. 'He tried to reassure me that we would not be charged any money for this booking. He felt I should be grateful not to be charged for a cancelled booking.' A review from another visitor named Michelle told the same story, claiming. 'We had five rooms booked and slowly, one by one, they said there was a problem with each room and they needed to cancel. I saw it on loads of previous reviews but thought we'd be okay." Many of the stories followed a similar line in that tourists claimed they'd booked for particularly busy nights for hotels in the area due to concerts and everything had seemed fine before their bookings were suddenly cancelled. Lucie, who said she had travelled a long way to the area for a gig in Cardiff, claimed: 'My husband and I booked weeks before a concert we were going to in Cardiff via We travelled a long way to be there - checked the night before that my booking was confirmed. 'When we arrived they said there was no booking in our name. We checked my account and the booking had been cancelled just four and a half hours before check in time. 'They left us high and dry on a very busy Friday night. By the time we found somewhere else to stay we had missed the beginning of the concert and had no time to eat.' Tourist Andy claimed on July 14: 'I arrived at the hotel on Friday afternoon only to be told that they didn't have our reservation despite me having email confirmation and I was also able to show the reservation on their own website. 'They said they were fully booked. By that I take it they have a policy of over booking to ensure that they are full, hence the numerous reviews with regards to last minute cancellations.' Belvilla has been contacted for comment.
