Johnny Parsons

Runner

Johnny Parsons

Runner

From the depths of Peru our very own Paddington Bear, if slightly taller and err… less bear like, moved south from fighting it out in the chaos of Lima, but still trying to escape whenever he can...

Born & brought up in the Lakes, Johnny has been into the mountains since he was a nipper. Moved house 29 times. Currently residing in Arequipa.

Predominantly a (pretty average) fell runner, but never really set the world alight.
Have been dining out on his Bob Graham Round for way too long now, but Johnny enjoys coming up with all sorts of quirky adventures when he can. Been dodging injuries and keep continually trying to get properly fit again in the mountains of Peru.

Good coffee, mmm...

Career Highlights

  • 3 miles on a Peruvian roof terrace
  • Bob Graham Round (can't resist!)
  • El Misti Sky Race
  • Mongol Rally
  • Lakeland 100
  • Alston to John O'Groats on a C90

Entries from the Mountain Journal

Ultramarathon running kit list

Ultramarathon running kit list

Here's our kitlist for ultramarathons. We've stripped everything back to the bare essentials for a run of over 26 miles in fine weather. In each se...
July 15, 2023
Mountain Marathon Tips and Advice

Mountain Marathon Tips and Advice

Running in the hills, sometimes for whole days at a time, is an exhilarating experience. And there are few tougher (or more rewarding) tests than M...
June 24, 2021
Dragon's Back Race Kit List

Dragon's Back Race Kit List

380km, Conwy castle to Cardiff castle, taking in 17,400 metres of ascent over 6 days. The Dragon's Back race takes in the stunning, wild scenery ac...
June 03, 2019
Know your Navigation

Know your Navigation

A week of heavy rain, thenglorious sunshine, then thick cloud and more rainhas reminded us of how temperamental British summertime can be. Alpkit b...
June 01, 2019
Taking on the Dragons Back 2019

Taking on the Dragons Back 2019

Preparing forthe Dragon’s Back In just under a weeks time I will be taking on the Berghaus Dragons Back Race; a 5 day, 315km stage race from the to...
May 15, 2019
Getting the Winter Miles in with Alpkit Running Club

Getting the Winter Miles in with Alpkit Running Club

It’s winter, and with winter comes snow, debates over which is the best mince pie, and the daily conflict between going into hibernation and throwi...
December 08, 2017
Arro wind shell - lightweight, packable and versatile

Arro wind shell - lightweight, packable and versatile

The humble windshell jacket is the often overlooked unsung hero of the outdoor wardrobe. The warmth a windshell can provide compared to it’s low we...
February 19, 2016
Ultra runner Nicky Spinks' insights on The Spine Race 2024

Ultra runner Nicky Spinks' insights on The Spine Race 2024

As an introduction – I have wanted to do the Spine for many years; however, I’ve been involved in the Trigger organisation and running that race as...
February 14, 2024
What to Pack for an Ultra-Marathon

What to Pack for an Ultra-Marathon

Stu Taylor's Lakes Traverse 100km kit list: Apparel: Kit Name: Waterproof Jacket Gravitas Waterproof Trousers Parallax Spare Synthet...
June 12, 2023
A Treasured Outdoor Moment - The magic of a sunrise

A Treasured Outdoor Moment - The magic of a sunrise

A Treasured Outdoor Moment - Scott Palmer My treasured moment outside this Christmas has been getting up before the kids to go for a run in the nea...
January 06, 2022
A Treasured Outdoor Moment - A Brocken Spectre

A Treasured Outdoor Moment - A Brocken Spectre

A Treasured Outdoor Moment - Carolyn Barker Arnside Knott in Cumbria is my favourite place to go trail running, with its wide variety of terrain...
January 06, 2022
David's Pennine Way Run

David's Pennine Way Run

I wanted to raise some money for Ashgate Hospicecare, who cared for my mum when she was terminally ill in 2020. Ashgate Hospicecare looked after mu...
September 27, 2021
Incredible stories from Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon

Incredible stories from Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon

It was brilliant being at Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon(SLMM) again this year. What a weekend! Here are some of our favourite stories from th...
July 13, 2021
Planning the West Highland Way

Planning the West Highland Way

In a recent ‘Uphill Athlete’ podcast about Women in ultras, coach Scott Johnston said ‘…typically the men that come in grossly overestimate their c...
May 18, 2021
2020 and the Grand Plan

2020 and the Grand Plan

PART III A seed had been planted and it did start to grow, but sadly never flowered! The weather goes skitzo in December in Arequipa. After 9 month...
May 11, 2021
Return to Misti – MSR 2019

Return to Misti – MSR 2019

PART II The Misti Sky Race is a unique event, it is potentially the highest sky race in the World, right up to the very top at 58225m (19,119ft)...
May 11, 2021
The Spine Race and Other Mishaps

The Spine Race and Other Mishaps

What you are about to read is an exclusive extract from the book "In it for the Long Run" by Damian Hall. To see more books we love and books that ...
April 19, 2021
MAF Running or how to run slowly to run faster

MAF Running or how to run slowly to run faster

Stuck in a lockdown running slump, Katie Palmer tried out low heart rate training as a means to revving up her enthusiasm. Two months in to the pro...
August 04, 2020
Johnny Parsons Is Running On His Roof: Lockdown In Peru

Johnny Parsons Is Running On His Roof: Lockdown In Peru

I trust this finds you all fit and well and safe as I report in from Arequipa, southern Peru, with my wife and six year old daughter. We are curren...
March 26, 2020
The year of the Bob

The year of the Bob

Back in 2018 I had an epileptic fit in a period of24 Hours of Awfulthat stripped me of mydriving licence for a year, which in turn halted my passio...
July 18, 2019
Race Report: 2019 Dragon's Back Race

Race Report: 2019 Dragon's Back Race

I felt a lump rising in my throat as the choir began singing in Conwy castle. I’m not an outwardly emotional person so this took me by surprise but...
June 03, 2019
Fuelled by the Honey Sandwich

Fuelled by the Honey Sandwich

I have suddenly realized that the winter is now over. We’ve had a few nice weekends and the clocks have changed. This means it’s just a matter of w...
May 02, 2019
Running the Wainwrights

Running the Wainwrights

When I was a kid, the Wainwrights were something that my parents and their middle-aged friends talked about whilst huddled around a map. Growing up...
April 24, 2019
Forecast is Misti - Skyrunning

Forecast is Misti - Skyrunning

Of all the races I have lumbered around since I started running at the age of 12, the ones that got me the giddiest were the ones that I might not ...
January 18, 2019
24 Hours of Awful

24 Hours of Awful

Episode 1: Ian Palmer is ramping up the training in this first update of how he plans to get in the miles to be ready for a Bob Graham Round in ...
November 21, 2018
16 National Marathons

16 National Marathons

The 16 National Marathons is a project where I will run 16 marathons in 16 days in all 16 UK National Parks in an attempt to find an answer to the ...
October 22, 2018
Langtang Himalayan Marathon

Langtang Himalayan Marathon

Alpkit customer and Kathmandu resident Samuel Johns takes his Gourdon 20 on a Nepalese marathon. LANGTANG HIMALAYAN MARATHON,Kyanjen Gompa, ...
September 06, 2018
A different road to the mountains

A different road to the mountains

An empty calendar is never a good thing for a giddy runner, the new year temptation is just to fill it with races. Which is exactly what I did in 2...
August 13, 2018
Running Up and Falling Down

Running Up and Falling Down

The Alpkit Team headed up to Grasmere for the 40th Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon last weekend to run and navigate under sunny Lake District s...
July 05, 2018
Escape Lima

Escape Lima

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! Alarms are one of two kinds; nuisance or welcome. Day-to-day, dragging us from the land of dreams, to the rea...
June 08, 2018
The Transvulcania

The Transvulcania

There’s nothing like the post-race blues to make you find something bigger and harder. Just after Glen Coe Skyline a friend showed me Transvulcania...
May 28, 2018
OMM 2017

OMM 2017

As we reached the end of the ridge, the wind hit us squarely in the face. We were hoping the track would drop away to the south. It didn't. This...
November 13, 2017
Tutus and Beer Kegs

Tutus and Beer Kegs

Have you ever wondered what the residents of one of England’s busiest National Parks get up to as each summer draws to a close? Some of them cho...
June 03, 2017
Cuillin Speed

Cuillin Speed

The Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye is considered to be the greatest mountaineering challenge in Great Britain. I would go a step further and say...
May 12, 2017
Jelly legs and jaffa cakes - Trail Quest Spring Series 2017

Jelly legs and jaffa cakes - Trail Quest Spring Series 2017

I am, what I would describe as, an unnatural runner. But, one with anaspiration to be a competent long(ish) distance trail runner. I don’t crave wi...
April 02, 2017
Grindleford Gallop 2017

Grindleford Gallop 2017

My fell shoes were barely dry from High Peak Marathon when Dan in Marketing asked if anyone wanted to enter a race at the weekend. It didn’t sound ...
March 14, 2017
High Peak Marathon 2017

High Peak Marathon 2017

I started running properly when I moved to Sheffield 4 years ago. I fell in with the wrong crowd at Uni, the type of people who thought running at ...
March 13, 2017
Dreaming of home

Dreaming of home

How often do you ignore the common placed, your normal surroundings, the small and inconspicuous, for the grand and exotic? We all do it at some...
January 26, 2017
Here, not elsewhere

Here, not elsewhere

The purpose of adventure is to learn. You think you know something, you test it through the challenges adventure throws at you, you refine it and t...
December 07, 2016
Happiness

Happiness

Sweden brought much, including Wagony McWagonface, my new adventure wagon. So with ticket in hand, I sit waiting to board the ferry. To get onboard...
November 18, 2016
Crazy arctic nights and pulling on the trail tights

Crazy arctic nights and pulling on the trail tights

I moved to Sheffield for University, partly for the course but mainly because its Sheffield. Four years later I’m still here, climbing, riding and ...
October 14, 2016
A change of pace

A change of pace

Day 62: The sun is lacking in power and is setting. I keep marching on, determined to reach the river I have to cross and I do… Just as the sun van...
October 09, 2016
To the Montañas…

To the Montañas…

I love running, I have run since I was a lad (mainly because I was appallingly bad at most/all other sports), but like most passionate relationship...
October 03, 2016
Run E1 the opening stages

Run E1 the opening stages

It's the nature of big adventures... You start, lacking in the ability to comprehend the task ahead, unsure of the landscape, doubting everythin...
September 13, 2016
Reaching the E1 start line

Reaching the E1 start line

Suddenly it’s hit me. I can’t focus on the screen I type words on…A watery blur fills my sight and the more I fight it the more it flows. There ...
July 26, 2016
Double Bob Graham

Double Bob Graham

Bob Graham round; a circuit of 66 miles, 42 peaks and 28,000 feet ascent in the Lake District. Doing this twice, back to back in under 48 hours may...
June 21, 2016
The Wild West of Lima

The Wild West of Lima

Location: Puente Santa Anita, Lima, Peru. Friday, 6:40am on an already sweltering summer morning. “Documentos, documentos” barked the giant Police...
June 16, 2016
Barefoot and Stupid

Barefoot and Stupid

My lungs burn, my muscles scream at me to stop and I feel like I’m fighting with gravity and the ground with each step. BEEP! That’s my signal t...
May 10, 2016
Nicky Spinks - A Mountain Journal Short

Nicky Spinks - A Mountain Journal Short

Nicky Spinks. Female record holder for the four hardest fell running challenges in the UK. Bob Graham, Paddy Buckley, Ramsey round, Lake District 2...
October 22, 2015
A festive run.

A festive run.

Christmas day andAlpkit customer Sam Clifford put opening the stockings on hold, or got it out the way nice and early! Living in the middle of Dart...
January 22, 2015
A year of Mountain Marathons

A year of Mountain Marathons

Just over a year ago, I really started to get into running. Prior to that, the furthest I had run was about 3 miles (which would leave me totally o...
November 28, 2014
Flash Mob Run 2014

Flash Mob Run 2014

Garry Mackay sums up the first Flash Mob Run, which was brilliant and a total success. Then again, we would say that. It is fair to say that we had...
March 21, 2014
Patagonia Expedition Race 2012 - Summary

Patagonia Expedition Race 2012 - Summary

‘So, what races have you done before?’‘Errrm, None.’ This was quite a common conversation for us in the days prior to the race, it usually ended wi...
March 06, 2012
Patagonia Expedition Race 2012 preparation

Patagonia Expedition Race 2012 preparation

The 10th edition of the Patagonia Expedition Race gets underway on the 14th of Feb. Having undergone a selection process, of the 20 teams there wil...
January 31, 2012
Ultra Tour of the Lake District - Running The Lakeland 100

Ultra Tour of the Lake District - Running The Lakeland 100

Following my previous article, it has been a month of lounging around and not much running, except for an amazing day/night/day/bit-of-a-night out ...
September 08, 2011
Yukon Arctic Ultra- Race report

Yukon Arctic Ultra- Race report

The Breakingstrain, Lee and Garry, completed their first Yukon Arctic , here they run down how it went. Race Day – Sunday 6th February – Whitehors...
March 10, 2011
OMM 2010 KIT

OMM 2010 KIT

This coming weekend is the 2010 edition of the Original Mountain Marathon. It’s a classic event and I’ve always fancied a bash at it- this will be ...
November 01, 2010
Johnnys Bob Graham Round

Johnnys Bob Graham Round

Although it’s maybe not the most daring, or the most recent of Daring Deeds, one thing that pushed me to my absolute limit (and a bit more) was my ...
August 23, 2010
Romping round the New Forest...

Romping round the New Forest...

Well it’s a good start to the New Year with a 1st in the Dynamic Adventure Racing New Forest Challenge race. Two years before I competed in the 8 h...
February 09, 2010
Endurancelife Coastal Series Wins

Endurancelife Coastal Series Wins

It has been a while since Alpkit Adventure have been doing any blogging. This weekend saw the trio return to adventure racing action at the Enduran...
March 16, 2009
6 days and nights with Alex

6 days and nights with Alex

So we popped out to Fontainebleau for a few days which proved to be a mistake… It rains a lot there! All in all we had a day and a half of clim...
November 20, 2008
The OMM

The OMM

I guess you heard about the OMM. We started early, before the rain. so perhaps went for fast and light, rather than taking a bit more kit. It was v...
October 27, 2008
Saab Salomon Final Report

Saab Salomon Final Report

Saab Salomon Mountain X Race Back home and sitting at our desks, it’s hard to recount the events of the past week. A week of extreme physical and e...
August 04, 2008
Hamming around in Austria

Hamming around in Austria

Finally training has begun for the World Cup which is now fast approaching; we have been based in Austria near Hamming on the Inn. Have paddled a f...
July 22, 2008
The Welsh 3000ers - time to see how we worked as a team

The Welsh 3000ers - time to see how we worked as a team

There are 15 mountains in Wales over 3000 feet. Unfortunately they all lie just within walking distance of one another. The Welsh 3000s challenge t...
July 15, 2008
Time to test the fitness

Time to test the fitness

My first olympic distance triathlon of the year took place on the 1st of June at Rothervalley. The race consisted of a 1500m lake swim, 40km undula...
June 23, 2008
Stop. Hammer Time

Stop. Hammer Time

Friday (13th) saw the first ever Slope Jam on the Fournel River, France. The section paddled consists of four artificial weirs ranging in height fr...
June 21, 2008
Winning at Blenheim Palace

Winning at Blenheim Palace

Great to be doing my first blog post for Alpkit. I recently won the Mazda Blenheim Triathlon - the second biggest triathlon in the UK, after the Lo...
June 20, 2008
Mountain X Team

Mountain X Team

With a cool beer in hand, I settled down on the sofa in order to look through a few emails before starting on the never ending DIY chores. My wife ...
June 01, 2008
Words with Nicky Spinks

Words with Nicky Spinks

We managed to catchhold ofAlpkiteer and Inov-8 athlete Nicky Spinks,fresh from her successful Double Paddy Buckley and days before she heads to the...
June 27, 2019
Slaying the Dragon

Slaying the Dragon

POST RACE INTERVIEW – SLAYING THE DRAGON Fellow Bog BeautyLibbycaught up with Lisa freshfrom runningthe length of Wales and climbing the equivalent...
June 02, 2019
Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon 2019

Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon 2019

ALPKIT SUPPORTING 2019 SAUNDERS LAKELAND MOUNTAIN MARATHON After the success of the 2018 event we will be returning to support the 2019 Saunders La...
November 30, 2018
Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon

Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon

ALPKIT SUPPORTING 40TH SAUNDERS LAKELAND MOUNTAIN MARATHON We are delighted to announce that Alpkit will be supporting the 2018 Saunders Lakeland M...
December 01, 2017
NITro North 10k Night Trail Run

NITro North 10k Night Trail Run

Thisonecounts ran its 5th edition of NITro North 10k night trail run around the Clwyd Forest, North Wales on Saturday evening 5thMarch. This year t...
March 10, 2016
Running after the Asparagus

Running after the Asparagus

The Aspargus Colour Run takes part every year at The Valley in Eveshamto celebrate the Asparagus season and to raise money for charity. This year w...
May 22, 2019
Prism Makes iNews 'Top 8 Torches' List

Prism Makes iNews 'Top 8 Torches' List

If you need a hardworking head torch for outdoor adventure (including mountaineering, climbing, kayaking and trail running), this is the one to pic...
November 22, 2018
Arro First Impressions

Arro First Impressions

a functional, all-round wind-shell made from a tough-feeling Nylon with a water-repellent finish. Not the lightest out there, but then it should su...
June 10, 2016
Why is the Gamma the best headtorch for running?

Why is the Gamma the best headtorch for running?

The Fell Running Guide holds the Alpkit Gamma headtorch in high regard for several compelling reasons. Firstly, the Alpkit Gamma offers an affordab...
September 18, 2014
Is it possible to find a headtorch for running under £50?

Is it possible to find a headtorch for running under £50?

Is it possible to find a high quality running headtorch under £50? This is the question Rob posed on Fiona Outdoors. Though Fiona's preferred head ...
January 06, 2014