Lloyd Bentley completed his back-to-back Three Peaks challenge smashing his time target and raising more than £3,000 for The Kirkwood.

Lloyd was doing the challenge in memory of Chris Carbutt, father of his best friend James, who died of stomach cancer in March 2019. Lloyd raised £3,555 in total for The Kirkwood, the hospice which cared for Chris.

The 30-year-old self-employed decorator was determined to do the mammoth run in under 15 hours. He crossed the finish line in an unbelievable time of 12 hours and 22 minutes. 

Lloyd, fitness and conditioning coach at Huddersfield YMCA, said: “I couldn’t have asked for the day to have gone any better. 

“I had no injuries which was great, to say the length I ran and how fast I went to not get one injury was very good. Since the run I have done a lot of relaxing but my body has started to feel it now. 

Lloyd Bentley’s crew on the Three Peaks challenge run

“I thought I’d get to mile 30 and the wheels would start to fall off but they didn’t. I surprised myself really to be honest. 

“When I’d done the run one way before, I thought that turning around and running back would be tough. However, I think because I mentally prepared myself on the day to do it I didn’t find it difficult. 

READ MORE: Double marathon running challenge of painter and decorator crippled by allergy to paint fumes.

“All the support team were wonderful and I couldn’t thank them enough. What they did on that day was absolutely marvellous.” 

Whilst doing the run Lloyd had turned all of his notifications off on his phone bar his email. His phone is connected to his watch. Every time his watch buzzed it told him of another donation. 

He said: “I turned everything off as I didn’t want distractions. The only thing I didn’t turn off was my email. So every time my watch buzzed I knew it was a donation. It was a great feeling to see all these people donate to an amazing cause.”

Lloyd Bentley and friends on the Three Peaks challenge

On whether Lloyd is planning to run the Three Peaks four times in the future he said: “It’s something I haven’t discounted but I think it’s now time to have a break.

“My fiancee Dominique has been wonderful in supporting me through all my training but now it’s time to give her some time.”