| Mike Hartley | |
| Full Name: | Michael Hartley |
| Birth Date: | 14 July 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Yorkshire, U.K. |
| Father: | --> |
| Sport: | Ultramarathon |
| Event: | 100 km |
Michael Hartley (born 14 July 1952) is a British ultramarathon runner. He has held the record for a number of British long-distance trails, including the Pennine Way, and has represented Great Britain in the 100km road race.[1]
Initially a climber and hiker,[2] Hartley took up running at age 28, training by running 7miles to and from his job as a meter reader. He was soon successful in long, off-road events, winning the 60mile Fellsman in 1984, 1987, 1989 and 1990.[3] He was first in some of the Long Distance Walkers Association events, including the White Peak Hundred (mile) in 1988.[4] He finished second in the 96mile West Highland Way Race behind Dave Wallace in 1989, a race now considered legendary.[5]
Hartley went on to hold the Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for a number of British long-distance trails.[6] [7] In 1988, he ran the 212mile Southern Upland Way in 55:55, a record which stood until 2020 when in was broken by Jack Scott.[8] In 1989, Hartley set records for the 81mile Dales Way with a time of 13:34 (beaten later that year by Dennis Beresford),[9] [10] and the 92mile Staffordshire Way with a time of 16:10 (a record which stands to this day).[11] [12] In 1991, Hartley broke the record for Wainwright's 185mile Coast to Coast route, running 1:15:36; [13] this remained the fastest time until 2021 when Damian Hall ran 18 minutes quicker.[14]
In 1989, Hartley ran the 268mile Pennine Way from Kirk Yetholm to Edale in a record time of 2 days 17 hours 20 minutes, which he considers his most famous and most satisfying achievement. He did not sleep during the run, and took 4½ hours off the previous best, set by Mike Cudahy.[15] For his run, Hartley received awards for performance of the year from both the Fell Runners Association and the Bob Graham Club.[16] [17] The record stood until 2020 when John Kelly reduced the time by 34 minutes.[18] [19]
In 1990, Hartley ran a traverse of the twenty-four hour mountain challenges: Ramsay's Round, the Bob Graham Round, and the Paddy Buckley Round, to test himself to the limit. He finished in a continuous 3 days 14 hours 20 minutes, including travelling time between the rounds.[20] [21]
Later in his running career, Hartley was more prominent in road and track races. He finished third at the London to Brighton in 1992[22] and was victorious at the Barry 40 mile track race in 1992 and 1993, running a time of 4:00:20 in 1993.[23] He represented Great Britain three times in the 100 km road race: at the 1993 European Championships and the 1993 and 1995 World Championships. He finished fourth in the European Championships in 6:37:45, which remains in the top ten of the British all-time road ranking list for the distance.[24]
In 2023, Hartley wrote an autobiography entitled From One Extreme to the Other.[25]