His epic run started at the Tan Hill Inn in County Durham, and he crossed over into no less than four other counties finishing at the Cat and Fiddle Inn on the moors between Buxton and Macclesfield.

These are the two highest pubs in England. The original idea for this route dates back to 1953 and was first intended to be a three day walking challenge for the hardier and arguably slightly less sane members of the 'Rucksack Club'.

The route takes in some of the most desolate and wild moorland in England as well as about 20,500ft of ascent and descent and is not for the faint-hearted.

Mark was supported every 10 miles or so of the route by friends and family who met him at strategic road crossing and loaded him up with fresh supplies of rice pudding, drinks and quiche, etc – whatever took his fancy at each stage in the journey.

The regular breathers also allowed Mark to change socks and shoes occasionally, in the case of the latter for larger ones as each fifty miles or so made his feet swell by half a size. Despite his feet getting bigger, he also lost an estimated seven pounds in weight.

The route traverses many famous Yorkshire hills from Great Shunner through Buckden Pike and Great Whernside, with check points on the outskirts of towns and villages such as Linton, Skipton, Kettlewell, Todmordon, and Edale.

There are numerous tricky stretches of moor to cross – such as Jackson's Ridge where the undulating and ditch ridden ground can easily send the unwary traveller shifting from Yorkshire to Lancashire and back. And Black Hill, a vast area of featureless tussocky grass, and energy sapping peat bogs.

Mark was fortunate in getting good weather – initially at least.
The night running was under a moonlit clear sky, but later both the wind and rain set in and took their toll on the final day. The weather never really improved much beyond misty rain – but at least he was not too hot.

Long distance challenges run in the Cudahy family - Mark follows strongly in his father's footsteps, for Mike Cudahy still holds the record for the fastest time for the same route in a mere 27 hours, and has completed it on several occasions.

It is interesting and indicative of the immensity of the undertaking that both father Mike, and son Mark each took three attempts on the route before completing the full 120 miles.