Steve Birkinshaw, left, with record holder Mark Hartell

Ultra runner Steve Birkinshaw failed in his attempt at the Lake District 24-hour record this weekend.

The 42-year-old long-distance expert had hoped to beat the 13-year-old record held by Mark Hartell by topping 78 peaks after setting off at 3am on Saturday.

But the Threlkeld-based runner pulled out of his challenge short of Honister Hause after falling behind schedule and ended up 23 peaks short of his target at about 10pm. He pulled up after summiting Pillar above Ennerdale.

Writing in response to supportive entries on the Fellrunners’ Association Forum, Steve said: “I gave up on the way between Wasdale and Honister. I am so disappointed; I tried really hard but in the end it was not good enough.

Birkinshaw lost time on the ascent of Yewbarrow

“I was losing bits of time all the way to Wasdale and then big chunks going up Yewbarrow and Red Pike. Once I knew the record was out of reach I lost all motivation, I started to feel all dizzy.

“The weather was as good as you could hope for on the day but I got my eating and drinking wrong again.”

He gave a graphic description of the difficulty of getting his energy intake right. “After five hours my stomach was really bloated and I felt sick. I was getting sweet stuff down but anything else was just sitting there. Eventually after 12 hours it all came up: around three pints of liquid and food. I felt lighter but by then the damage was done.”

The runner, a research associate at Newcastle University, attempted the record – an extension of the original 42-peak Bob Graham Round – last year and had to give up. Present record holder Mark Hartell was one of Steve’s support team on this effort.

Birkinshaw said: “It is a great record with no slack it in for if things go wrong. Thanks also to my support team who did a great job.”

Jos Naylor pushed the record in the 1970s

Keswick guesthouse owner Bob Graham set the ball rolling with his round of peaks – the same number as his age – in 1932. Dr Birkinshaw holds the fifth fastest time for the BGR.

Since then, successive extensions have included Alan Heaton’s who pushed it to 54, beaten the following year when Eric Beard added an extra top, only for Heaton to retake the record in 1964 with a 60-peak effort.

Wasdale legend Jos Naylor then took over, stretching the number to 61, 63 and then 72 in the 1970s.

Mark McDermott traversed 76 peaks in 1988 and Mark Hartell bettered this by one in 1997, the record that still stands.