An endurance runner has completed a remarkable challenge on Ballard Down, running up and down the Swanage hill 89 times in 18 hours for charity – the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest.
Richard O’Connor, founder of the trail running community Madmule, began his Everesting challenge at midnight on Saturday, 7th March 2026, tackling repeated climbs to the obelisk above Ulwell, Swanage.
Approaching the obelisk on Ballard Down in the mist
In peak shape for the challenge
The endurance feat has so far raised more than £2,300 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, to support the emergency service which last year flew nearly 3,000 missions, at an operating cost of £30,100 a day.
Partly as a personal milestone and partly as a fundraising effort for the life-saving charity, Richard climbed and descended the hill 89 times by 6 pm, covering around 51 miles and with a total elevation gain of 8,848 metres – the height of Mount Everest.
Richard O’Connor, who has worked as a personal trainer for 25 years following nine years in the Royal Marines, said the challenge required careful preparation to make sure that he was in peak shape for the challenge.
The challenge was not his first endurance effort on the same hill – in 2020 he completed 48 repetitions there, climbing around 15,000 feet to help raise £15,000 for a wheelchair for a friend with severe motor neurone disease.
On one of 89 ascents of Ballard Down, to clock up the height of Everest
“Now it’s box ticked and done!”
Richard O’Connor said:
“From that moment I knew I would have to come back and do an Everesting session on the hill – that’s repeatedly climbing a hill until the total elevation equals Mount Everest, which has grown in popularity among endurance athletes in recent years.
“Cyclists have been doing it for many years, but more recently it has become known as an event in its own right for trail runners, so now it’s box ticked and done for me!
“But I was also looking for a fundraiser to do this year, as Madmule Trail has done in previous years, and we were particularly focused on raising money for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.
“The two ideas coincided so that I could do something which is pleasurable from my point of view while raising awareness for the air ambulance, which is doing an amazing job.”
In training for the challenge on the Jurassic Coast
“A matter of pacing myself”
Richard added:
“I’ve done a lot of mountain ultras over the years, so it was a case of making sure that the training was specific to this challenge over the last three months.
“I was totally focused on the climbing and the strength needed for the downhill sections, so then it became a matter of pacing myself and being sensible on the day, because the main objective was to raise a lot of money for the air ambulance.
“It was quite a big number of repetitions, but I was looking at the metres climbed rather than focusing on how many times I’d been up and down the hill.
“It was a constant tale of two halves, controlling my pace up the hill and not overcooking the descent to make sure the body lasted the whole 18 hours. It was a fun day – there was no burden at all, it was just a pleasure to do.
“Funnily enough the weather was perfect. It was misty, and when you came up to the obelisk the wind would come over the top and cool you down. As soon as you left the summit you’d warm up again – the mist and drizzle were like a natural cooling system.”
Dorset and Somerset air ambulance has launched a £1 million appeal for a second helicopter
Providing a comfort blanket
Throughout the challenge he was joined by supporters and fellow runners who accompanied him for sections of the climb.
A Just Giving page has already beaten the £2,000 target Richard had set, but it will remain open to increase the total – and to raise awareness of the work they do.
Through his Madmule programme, Richard has taken his trail running community over many thousands of miles along the Jurassic Coast, with much of it happening at night, to enjoy Purbeck’s dark skies and to encourage people to run less trodden routes.
Although he has never had to call for emergency assistance, he is aware that the air ambulance provides an unconscious comfort blanket knowing that they are there to provide life saving critical care should anything ever go wrong.
The hidden heroes of the air ambulance fly some 3,000 missions a year
“They’re the hidden heroes”
Richard O’Connor said:
“I wanted to give something back to a service that allows us to take the risks we do. I was quite taken aback by how many calls the air ambulance takes every month and the level of service they provide.
“I get that there isn’t funding for everything, but it amazes me that this particular charity is still relying on donations to run.
“Dorset is used so much by tourists, and I wanted to broadcast what the air ambulance do for everyone who visits us here. Ultimately Dorset can be a slow place to get around if there’s an emergency – but the air ambulance is not something you think about until you need their help.
“We are fortunate to have a level of emergency services that allow us to take greater risks than we may have chosen if those services were not in place.
“They’re the hidden heroes, and provide such an important service for the whole region. Every single person might need that service one day.”
The charity climb started at midnight, but even by dawn there was still a heavy mist
Further information
- Richard’s JustGiving page will remain open for a while for late donations
- Find out more about Madmule trail running on its website
- Follow the work of the Air Ambulance online
