When Ariya Woodall passed 1000 miles in 2021 she was still only five years old. Yet even more amazingly, this was the fourth time she’d reached the landmark and she went on to reach 2000 miles by the year’s end…
Ariya has been a challenger since the age of two and her hillwalking days stretch back even further. ‘We started her with Wainwrights in the Lake District, and she walked her first one just before she turned two,’ explains mum Leanne. ‘We were shocked and expected her enthusiasm to wear off.’
Meet the mega-toddler: Ariya reaching her first 1000 miles in 2018.
Happily, the opposite happened, and Ariya climbed The Old Man of Coniston (2635ft) aged two-and-a-half. By three she would walk eight to 10 miles at a time, and at three-and-a-half she completed the West Highland Way, camping each night. Still just six, she’s walked 115 Wainwrights, five Munros, three Welsh 3000s, over 50 Lancashire hills and 10 of The Dales 30.
‘When we first started we played lots of games,’ says Leanne. ‘One thing we didn’t do was rush her or expect her to walk at our pace.
‘We discuss three or four walks then she picks which one she’d like to do. I always expect her to have sore legs or feet the day after a big walk but she always gets up and asks where we’re walking again.
‘The hardest thing for me is keeping up with her energy for the outdoors. She certainly keeps us on our toes and doesn’t like staying indoors, no matter what the weather.
‘She’s home educated so outdoors is also her classroom. #walk1000miles has been part of our lives since she was two, so it’s now part of who she is and who we are as a family.’
What about the oldest?
Len Crockford from Lincolnshire reached 1000 miles with five weeks to spare, at age 89. Formerly a keen marathon runner and trail walker, Len fights two age-related heart diseases these days, so hills are now out of the question. But by counting the steps from his daily walks and gardening he’d clocked up the miles before December.
