Ricky Lightfoot is a British ultrarunner and firefighter born in Cumbria, 1985.

Inspired by his school caretaker, Ricky started competing in fell-running races at the age of 14 on the hills and mountains that litter the English county he grew up in. It wasn’t just the racing that made it worthwhile, however; Lightfoot’s Dad and Grandad both attended his races, which he says took them to places they had never had the chance to visit before.

Ricky Lightfoot would go on to become a true legend in the discipline; he has won Three Peaks, Wasdale, Three Shires and many more of fell running’s most sought-after titles throughout his long career.

He has also had success in more popular disciplines as well, and in 2013 when the IAU Trail Running World Championships came to Conwy in Wales, he stormed to victory and became the Trail Running world champion.

His success has not just come in Britain; in 2009 Lightfoot finished third in the WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships when the event was held at the Kaisermarathon in Söll, Austria. That same year he also win the Zegama-Aizkorri SkyMarathon race in the Basque Country which in turn contributed to a third-placed finish overall in the SkyRunner World Series. 

Other notable results abroad include a third at the 2011 Olympus Marathon in Greece, a third at the North Face 100 Singapore the following year and a first place at the 2014 edition of the Xtreme Dodo Trail in Mauritius. 

But ultimately, it’s home where Ricky Lightfoot is happiest running. In 2022 he competed in the “Man versus horse” race, and he came out on top 1,000 runners and 50 horses with a time of 2:22:23, despite having been up for 29 hours straight as he had flown back into the country the day before. He is only the third person to have beaten the horse in the event’s 41-year history.

Ricky Lightfoot’s partner is called Sophie, with whom he has a daughter and a son. When he is not running, Ricky is a fire fighter with the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service. In 2020 he even ran a Bob Graham Round relay with colleagues in part of his uniform for the Firefighters Charity.

He has been sponsored by Salomon since 2008 and has worn Salomon kit and shoes since. He also uses Lifesystem’s Light and Dry Nano First Aid Kit 

Ricky Lightfoot Record and Results

Ricky Lightfoot has won numerous British fell running titles.  

He was third at Three Peaks in 2022, but he has won the competition twice, in 2014 and 2015. He won Lakes in Day in 2019. 

He is a legend of British fell running; he has won Wasdale four times, Three Shires five times, Borrowdale eight times, Ennerdale once and has also claimed victory at Skidaw. He won the Lakeland Classic Trophy twice- in 2007 and 2015. 

Abroad, Ricky Lightfoot also has victories to his name. A Trail Running World Champion in 2009, he finished third in the SkyRunner World Series that same year. 

He has won the Zegama-Aizkorri SkyMarathon, the 2014 edition of the Mauritius’ Xtreme Dodo Trail, the Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira 2015, South Africa’s Otter Trail Run and France’s Trail du Colorado in 2013 and the Salomon Hammer Trail 2012 in Denmark.