A LEGENDARY Lake District fellrunner completed his first parkrun at the weekend.

Joss Naylor, 85, was challenged by parkrun book author Eileen Jones when they were both speaking at an event at the Kendal Mountain Festival last month.

Eileen remarked, 'Joss, you have done everything there is to do in the running world, bar one. You’ve never done a parkrun. How about it?”

Joss signed up, got his barcode, and turned up at Millom parkrun, the nearest to his West Cumbria home.

Joss, a sheep farmer, won countless races in the Lakeland hills, and competed in the Mountain Trial for 53 years.

His record for the Wainwright round of 214 peaks was held from 1986 until 2014, and he still holds the record for the 105-mile Lakes, Waters and Meres circuit, which he set in 1983 with a time of 19 hours and 14 minutes.

He never took up running professionally but continued to tend his sheep, fitting what little training he could around his commitments on the farm.

He’s also a great supporter of local charitable causes, notably the Brathay Trust which supports disadvantaged young people in the area.

Joss finished 81 out of 91 runners and walkers, in a time of 50.45, setting a course record for the 85-89 age category.

He said afterwards: "The whole thing was the best event I've been to for a long time. I think more people ought to do it."

Eileen, whose book How parkrun changed our lives was published this year, is usually one of the volunteer team at Fell Foot parkrun at Newby Bridge. She said: “Joss is such a good sport and an amazing athlete, though Millom was probably too flat for the mountain man. We need to get him to Whinlatter next. He’ll feel more at home there.”

The event also happened to be Millom’s fifth birthday event.

Also taking part in her first parkrun was 75 year old retired scientist Marion Jackson who is staying with family in the Lake District over Christmas.