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][2]
Initially a climber and hiker,[3] Hartley took up running at age 28, training by running 7 miles (11 km) to and from his job as a meter reader.[2][4] He was soon successful in long, off-road events, winning the 60-mile (97 km) Fellsman in 1984, 1987, 1989 and 1990.[5] He was first in some of the Long Distance Walkers Association events, including the White Peak Hundred (mile) in 1988.[6] He finished second in the 96-mile (154 km) West Highland Way Race behind Dave Wallace in 1989, a race now considered legendary.[7]
Hartley went on to hold the Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for a number of British long-distance trails.[2][8] In 1988, he ran the 212-mile (341 km) Southern Upland Way in 55:55, a record which stood until 2020 when in was broken by Jack Scott.[9][10] In 1989, Hartley set records for the 81-mile (130 km) Dales Way with a time of 13:34 (beaten later that year by Dennis Beresford),[9][11][12] and the 92-mile (148 km) Staffordshire Way with a time of 16:10 (a record which stands to this day).[9][13] In 1991, Hartley broke the record for Wainwright's 185-mile (298 km) Coast to Coast route, running 1:15:36; [14] this remained the fastest time until 2021 when Damian Hall ran 18 minutes quicker.[15]
In 1989, Hartley ran the 268-mile (431 km) 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.[2] He did not sleep during the run, and took 4½ hours off the previous best, set by Mike Cudahy.[16] For his run, Hartley received awards for performance of the year from both the Fell Runners Association and the Bob Graham Club.[17][18] The record stood until 2020 when John Kelly reduced the time by 34 minutes.[19][20]
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.[21][22]
Later in his running career, Hartley was more prominent in road and track races. He finished third at the London to Brighton in 1992[23] and was victorious at the Barry 40 mile track race in 1992 and 1993, running a time of 4:00:20 in 1993.[24] He represented Great Britain three times in the 100 km road race: at the 1993 European Championships and the 1993 and 1995 World Championships.[1] 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.[25]
In 2023, Hartley wrote an autobiography entitled From One Extreme to the Other.[4]
