BREAKING TEN: Dan Lawson LEJOG Film

This Summer, British ultrarunner and former European 24hr Champion, Dan Lawson ran 825 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats in less than 10 days and now the much-awaited film is going to be released on Saturday 28th November.

Join the loveable rogue Lawson as he averages over 80 miles a day on the roads and trails of Great Britain to break Richard Brown’s 25-year-old record of 10 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes. 

dmtwo media’s Dave MacFarlane joined the crew for the entire adventure and in doing so has created one of the most memorable and endearing films about ultrarunning that you’ll watch this year. 

From the treacherous A30 in Cornwall, through England, Wales and Scotland and battling along the A9 in Scotland, the ultrarunner’s relentless progress, supported by his family and friends, is simply an inspiration. 

Along the way Dan was joined by a whole host of runners, to cheer and guide through towns and cities, but also showcasing the beauty of the British running community at the same time. “The right people always turned up at the right time” said Lawson. 

For those just starting on their own running journey, to experienced ultrarunners and adventurers, there’s so much for everyone in the packed 30 minutes of viewing. If you don’t come away from the film inspired to run out of the door and not stop until John O’Groats, then it can’t help you. 

For just £3.75, the film is available to watch on Vimeo, as well as added out-takes and extra interview footage from the record-breaking run. 

Lessons from LeJOG.

To give an insight into what makes such an adventurous FKT successful, here are Dan and Robbie's top three tips for running 825 miles in under 10 days. 

1. “Get yourself a good crew” said ReRun Clothing’s Dan. “I just had to run. The team of Mick, Charlotte, Robbie, Richard and others looked after everything else.” “There’s a theory around cognitive drafting recently.” says Dan’s coach Robbie Britton. “If you take away a lot of the mental workload from the activity and just let an athlete run, it can lower fatigue in the latter stages of each day. So think about how you can lower the mental fatigue of your next race or run.”
2. Eat, eat and eat some more. Over the course of the nigh-on ten days Dan had 54 packets of SiS Beta Fuel, bundles of PH1500 energy drink and real food, like sandwiches and pasta, at every stop. If you can’t manage the eating around an FKT like this, then you’ll grind to a halt eventually. 
3. Smile. It seems simple, but “you have to remember that this is your hobby and if you weren’t out on a trail or road racing, you’d probably be at home wishing you were,” said Dan. “Even in the darkest moments of the LeJOG movie, I’m doing something that I love, I just had to work hard to remember that at times.”

Read our article on Carla Molinaro's record breaking attempt at the LEJOG. The GB international ultra runner started her 874-mile journey on 16th of July when she left Land’s End in western Cornwall. She arrived at John O’Groats in the far north of Scotland on the 28th of July, with her time beating the previous world record of 12 days, 11 hours, 6 minutes and 7 seconds which had been set by Sharon Gayter last year.