Rupert Bonington of Mountain Fuel running up towards Maiden Moor, the first peak in the 10 in10 MS Challenge, with Cat Bells in the background

Records fell and personal goals were scored during a weekend of varied challenges across the Lake District.

A spur of the moment decision by Borrowdale fellrunner Paul Cornforth saw him put together a scratch team of supporters in an attempt to beat the best time for the Joss Naylor Challenge.

It was inaugurated by fellrunning legend Joss Naylor in 1990 as a fund-raising challenge for the over 50’s. Successful contenders must complete the route and raise at least £100 for a charity of their choice.

The challenge involves climbing 30 tops, crossing 48 miles of mountain terrain and ascending nearly 17,000 feet. To beat the record Cornforth had to complete his run in less than 10hrs 46mins, a time set by Leigh Warburton about 10 years ago.

Having only decided on Thursday night to give it a go, Paul Cornforth managed to get together a team of support runners and with their help knocked 12 minutes off the record by finishing in 10hrs 34mins. His nominated charity donations were to the MS Society in support of the 10 in10 and ClimbForCAN Community Action Nepal appeal.

The 10 in 10 featured in two other challenges backed by Rupert Bonington, co-owner of Cumbria-based sports nutrition business Mountain Fuel. And yes, he is the son of the renowned elder statesman of British mountaineering.

He tackled the route himself, involving 10 fell tops: Maiden Moor (576m); High Spy (650m); Dale Head (753m)’ Robinson (737m); High Snockrigg (115m); Whiteless Pike (660m); Wandope (772m); Crag Hill (839m); Sail (773m) and Causey Pike (637m).

Bonington managed to complete the course in the fastest time of the day, coming home in 4 hrs 15mins. He said: “The 10in10 has got to be one of the Lake District’s best charity challenges. Whether you are walking or running the route it has amazing views, plenty of helpful and supportive marshals but most importantly a real sense of camaraderie amongst the participants who are all helping to raise money for this fantastic cause.”

Also on the route was Nic Page who only took up walking a couple of years ago and in that time has walked all 244 Wainwrights and lost 6 stone in the process. Her goal this year was to walk 20 peaks in less than 20 hours for the MS Society.

Her double loop entailed a distance of 26 miles and 4,000m of ascent. Page, along with her brother Tony Pearson in support set off on Friday night and completed the walk in 16hrs 17mins. She said: “We were so lucky with the weather and support all around the route which really helped keep me going.”

Steve Angus on leg three of the Billy Bland Challenge climbing Broad Stand between Scafell Pike and Scafell, the oldest recorded rock-climb in the Lake District and still a serious undertaking in wet conditions

More fellrunning challenges were tackled by the Keswick AC team who were attempting the vets’ Billy Bland Challenge involving running 66 miles while scaling 42 peaks with an ascent of 8,200m. Rupert Bonington said: “Our local Mountain Fuelers Andrew Slattery from Kendal, Steve Angus from Carlisle and Dave Troman from Keswick were tackling leg three and four respectively and between them managed to knock an hour and three-quarters off their scheduled times which helped the overall team capture a new relay record.”

Steve Angus said: “So if you want to know what it takes to run the quickest recorded leg three of the Bob Graham Round, the answer is: a decent breakfast, two sachets of Mountain Fuel Energy, a litre of Cumbrian beck water, and about 30 years of training most days of the week.”

Howard Winter of the Hazeldene Hotel, Keswick was awarded a gold award for his monumental Coast to Coast in a Day challenge. He said: “It was a fantastic days riding with around 1,000 other cyclists.

“The weather was favourable for the entire ride. The route took us over Hardknott and Wrynose Passes before a short rest break on the ferry over Windermere.

“Kendal was the first of four timing and food stops before heading out through the Yorkshire Dales and on into the North York Moors and onwards to the finish line in Whitby where we were welcomed by a huge crowd and a carnival atmosphere.

“I’m so pleased to have finished the ride an hour ahead of my schedule while also feeling so good which I can only put down to sipping Mountain Fuel Energy as I went, I just wish I made a few more pancakes; six wasn’t enough.”

The 150-mile route took Winter 9hrs 7mins, including 4,500m of ascent.

The final Cumbrian challenger was Josh Hebson taking on some of the country’s top obstacle course racers at Total Warrior in Leeds.

Howard Winter at the finish of the Coast to Coast in a Day in Whitby

Henson is still an OCR novice in comparison to the elite runners who race a couple of times a month. He said his aim is to perfect his training and techniques this year so he can compete at the highest level next year. He said: “I had a blast and battled it out for third place but made a mistake on the swamp section going through the middle, rather than the edge but despite that learnt a lot and am delighted to have finished fourth out of 5,000. I’m one of Mountain Fuel’s biggest fans as it has turned my racing around and I also love that we are building such a great community of people who love what they do and want to feel good doing it.”