Tessa Walmsley, a member of Trawden Athletic Club, will run 59 miles to mark the 59th edition of the Rossendale Round the Hills Walk, a free community event that has taken place annually since 1966. The challenge begins at 6pm on Saturday, September 5, 2026, and finishes on Sunday morning, September 6, with the full 18.5-mile route. Her goal is to raise money for three local charities: GAND AID UK, Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue, and Rossendale Rotary.
A Family Tradition and a Personal Challenge
Initiated in 1966 by Walter Whittaker, the Rossendale Round the Hills Walk has been held every year except for one very wet year and a break during Covid. For the last 30 years, it has been organised by Rossendale Rotary, with enthusiastic support from member and past-President David Walmsley. Tessa, David's daughter, has run the course for the past six years, always with her faithful spaniel Fee. This year, she decided to do something special: run 59 miles for the 59th edition.
Tessa's running journey began in 2013 when her husband Gordy introduced her to road running, but it was not her scene. Everything changed when they moved to Trawden in 2018. Joining Trawden Athletic Club introduced her to a completely different world: muddy fields, windswept moors, steep climbs, and endless views. She met a group of women who thought spending all day running across the hills sounded like the perfect weekend. That was the beginning of her ultra-running journey.
From First Ultra to 59-Mile Challenge
Her first ultra was Pendle Way in a Day in 2020, a 45-mile route around Pendle in February, which she absolutely loved despite the winter conditions. Since then, she has completed the 32-mile Howarth Hobble, the Lakeland 50, the Pennine Barrier 50, the Skipton Skedaddle 50, and the 38-mile Tour de Helvellyn in late December. Her most recent challenge was the Fellsman, a tough, self-navigation 100 km challenge across the Yorkshire Dales.
However, the Round the Hills Walk has always been Tessa's first love. As an anaesthesia associate at Blackpool Hospital, she knows that healthcare is about improving tomorrow, not just looking after people today. She has been touched by the story of a Rossendale Rotary member's young daughter who lives with GAND, a rare genetic neurological condition. The family founded GAND AID UK to help other families and support research.
Supporting Mountain Rescue and Rotary
The second charity is Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue. These volunteers cover around 350 square miles across East Lancashire, Pendle, the Rossendale Valley, and parts of Greater Manchester. Since January 2000, they have helped more than 500 people, including injured walkers, fell runners, climbers, paragliders, mountain bikers, and even the odd sheep and dog. They are on hand at every Round the Hills Walk to ensure the safety of the 700 or so walkers and runners.
The third charity is Rossendale Rotary, which has been part of Tessa's life for as long as she can remember. Growing up, she watched her dad spending countless hours helping organise events and raising money for others. Supporting Rotary now feels like a way of saying thank you for everything they have done for the local community and international causes such as the fight to end polio worldwide.
Event Details and How to Donate
Tessa's challenge starts at 6pm on Saturday, September 5, when she will run three shorter loops of around 13.5 miles, much of it in the dark, before finishing with the full 18.5-mile route on Sunday morning. Friends from her running club will join her for different sections, while Gordy has volunteered as chief crew member, meeting her at Clowbridge Reservoir and Marl Pits after every loop to refill bottles, hand over food, and send her straight back out. Spaniel Fee will also be there for a few miles.
Donations can be made via her challenge website at https://tessaschallenge.co.uk/. Every contribution, no matter how small, will support the three charities.
