Chris Gaskin: The Special Forces veteran who set a Wainwright record in the Lake District

The Outdoors Fix is a podcast to inspire you to make the outdoors a bigger part of your life. It’s hosted by Liv Bolton. Have you ever wanted to take on an outdoors challenge or tick off an outdoors goal but you’ve never got round to it or you’ve doubted yourself? My guest in this episode, Chris Gaskin, is someone who might give you the confidence to go for it. Chris is a Special Forces veteran and endurance athlete from Yorkshire who set the record in 2021 for the fastest solo and unsupported continuous round of the Wainwrights in the Lake District. He managed to climb all the 214 Wainwright fells and walk in between them in just 11 days, 10 hours and 58 minutes. The fastest known time for the 325-mile feat during which he also carried all his own food and equipment. Chris tackled the endurance challenge to raise money for the military community and charity Walking with the Wounded. I loved chatting to Chris about his challenge when we went for a walk together on the Pennine Way in the Peak District. But what I found equally fascinating was the mental resilience approach he uses to get through difficult moments in life and big physical challenges. A mnemonic called MINDSET. It’s something that I found incredibly useful and inspirational to hear about and I think you might too. You may not be focused on setting a Wainwright record like Chris, but his techniques might just help you with whatever outdoors challenge or goals you’d like to pursue. So listen to the episode to find out what MINDSET stands for and how Chris used it to help him complete his Wainwright record-setting round. Don’t forget to listen out for Chris’ endurance challenge tips at the end of the episode as well as the minute of sounds of nature to bring a bit of escapism into your busy day. I hope you enjoy the episode and please feel free to rate and review it, or tell your friends about it! Liv x The Outdoors Fix is a podcast produced and hosted by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk You’ll find Chris on Instagram @mr.g.runningfree You can find photos of our recording on Instagram @TheOutdoorsFix The Outdoors Fix book is now available to pre-order: http://bit.ly/3GJDLJc This episode of The Outdoors Fix is kindly supported by outdoor footwear brand Merrell. Merrell are offering listeners of The Outdoors Fix a 20% off discount on their shoes at Merrell.co.uk So just use the code FIX20 which is valid on all full price items on their website.