A endurance runner from Mallaig who only took up running 10 years ago has set a world record on the Cape Wrath challenge.
Fish farm worker Pawel Cymbalista completed the 230-mile challenge in memory of his dad while raising money for Lochaber Hope.
Starting on Wednesday at 7.45am in Fort William, the 35-year-old harvest technician for Mowi completed the challenge on Sunday in three days, 14 hours, 49 minutes and 19 seconds.
The previous supported record stood at three days, 23 hours, 45 minutes and 19 seconds.
That means, the dad-of-two took eight hours and 56 minutes off the world record.
Remote route
The trail – which goes from Fort William to the most north-westerly point of Britain, Cape Wrath – is generally considered the toughest and most remote in the whole country and includes a combined ascent that is more than the height of Mount Everest.
He has so far raised £2,010 for Lochaber Hope, which offers mental health and wellbeing support to the community.
Mr Cymbalista thanked his wife Ashley MacDonald Cymbalista for supporting him on his run, which he shared with followers on Live Open Tracking.
He wrote: “Fastest known time record smashed.
“Massive shout out to Ashley MacDonald Cymbalista for doing an amazing job keeping everyone informed of what’s happening even though it was super hard because of the remoteness and unsupported nature of the challenge.
“She deserves all the credit, as I know following a dot can be really really stressful.
“Thank you for who you are and all the hard work.”
A member of Lochaber Athletic Club (LAC), Mr Cymbalista has a number of awe-inspiring challenges under his belt – including slashing the time of the Ben Nevis challenge last year.
‘I would not have known that any of this was possible’
In April 2022 he ran the 73 mile Great Glen Way Fort William to Inverness in 11 hours 28 minutes and 36 seconds beating his own record set in February by 24 minutes and 54 seconds.
At the time Mr Cymbalista, originally from Pile in Poland, said: “Ten years ago I would not have known that any of this was possible.
“On December 13, 2013, I started running to help me give up cigarettes and help me lose weight.
“First time I started running along the concrete path along the Fort William bypass.
“I remember like it was yesterday trying to catch my breath, struggling to breathe and feeling a lot of pain in my lungs and body.”
No limits
A post on Lochaber Hope’s Facebook page said: “Our heartfelt congratulations to Pawel Cymbalista on completing and establishing a new time record of running the Cape Wrath trial. 86 hours, 49 minutes and 19 seconds.
“We are so grateful you chose to fund raise for us whilst doing this greatest challenge yet.
“You have proven there really are no limits for you and made your father proud.”
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