A Cumbrian 10-year-old has completed all 214 Wainwrights in just 90 days.
Leo Mason, of Frizington, is now believed to be the fastest child of primary school age to complete the popular hiking challenge.
It’s an achievement that he has reached while living with Tourette’s syndrome, ADHD and hyperactivity – all of which Leo and his delivery driver dad Michael, 37, raise awareness of on their Facebook page, Tickinemoff, where they document their adventures.
The pair’s quick run of the fells also marks their second round of hiking the Wainwrights after they completed their first round in just nine months.
Michael said: “Just doing it nine months was an incredible achievement for him but to then do it in 90 days is amazing. It almost doesn’t seem real, it’s not that long ago we were celebrating completing round one.
“Leo, bless him, he just takes everything in his stride, he lives in the moment and he’s over the moon but I don’t think he has fully grasped how big of an achievement it actually is.
“We finished the first round on June 2, and we spoke about doing it a bit quicker and we then started our second round on June 3 and within a couple of days we started to realise we were going to be able to do it.”
To reach their epic feat, the duo spent their days hiking up to 15 miles to tick off up to 12 fells at a time – but Michael said it proved a breeze for Leo, who thrives in the mountains.
He added that their record-breaking adventure has also brought them much closer together.
Michael said: “The most we did in a day was 12, and other days we did eight or nine or more, but the minimum we did most days was four.
“When you’re at home these days, the harsh reality is we can all sit in same room and ignore each other whether we’re reading a book, on the phone or watching TV and that can happen for long periods of time.
“But being in the outdoors where you’re not getting your phone out except for pictures and videos, it changes that, we play silly games, take toys with us and have as much fun as we can.
“It’s brought all four of us including my wife and daughter closer together, but me and Leo especially this last round because we did it so often and we went out in lots of different weathers.
“So we’ve definitely build a stronger bond through those different situations, we’re almost like a little team.”
Leo was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome when he was seven years old and Michael said maintaining an active lifestyle has made a huge difference to his life.
Michael added: “He started with excessive eye flickers and then we started noticing other things he was doing that he couldn’t control.
“It progressively got worse and worse to the point where he couldn’t sleep at night and he was chewing his own tongue and biting his lips.
“When he got diagnosed at seven it was at its worst and he was ticking all the time and they wanted to give him sedative drugs to control it.
“But me and my wife felt against it as we really didn’t want to supress all the energy we could see he had.”
After researching Tourette’s syndrome, Michael and his wife found a lack of sleep and exercise as well as stress can often trigger and worsen Tourette’s.
They then made the decision to home-school Leo to help lower his stress and make his lifestyle much more active.
Michael said: “Within a month or so we noticed a big change in him. His ticks weren’t as aggressive and he was sleeping better at night.
“Now you can see he has ticks, but you can’t see it unless you recognise ticks and know what kind he has.
“But they’re hardly noticeable, not aggressive and hes not in pain through them and he’s sleeping eight to 10 hours. We don’t know if it’s what we’ve done that has changed it, but hes burning off the energy and it’s really working for him.
“I think with all the climbing and scrambling we do you also have to be hyper focused on what you’re doing and you don’t worry about anything else.
“You take him out for a few hours and he’s like a different kid.”
Leo became interested in taking on his first round of the Wainwrights after he completed a few while supporting his dad last year.
Michael said: “My climbing partner passed away last year at 74 and when he passed away, I offered to scatter his ashes around the Lake District.
“So me, Leo, my wife and my daughter went out and me and Leo did all the 10 locations we went to scatter his ashes together.
“We grew a bond because of it, and when we finished he’d done a few Wainwrights and he decided he wanted to keep doing them. “
The pair have now gained over 4,000 followers on their Facebook page Tickinemoff – where they share their adventures and future plans.
Michael said: “Leo had been asking for social media at the time, so we let him have it to share his outings and me and his mum look after it.
“We were trying to think of a name for the page and my wife came up with Tickinemoff based on the Wainwrights and the ticking for Tourette’s as well.
“So we set it up and we had a lot of interest and he gets hundreds of messages from people saying he’s inspired them and they’ve started going out because they’re watching Leo and their kids and wanting to go out because they’ve seen him do it too.
“It’s been absolutely amazing, he’s got a really supportive following of people behind him and it’s just been a really good thing for Leo.”
Leo and Michael are now fundraising to go to Everest Base Camp together next year – and they are hoping to see Leo become the first person with Tourette’s to complete the epic climb.
The pair have already been sponsored by local businesses including Northwest Autocare, Caterite Food & Wineservice Ltd, Owen Improvements, Windermere Convenience Store, Keswick Climbing Wall & Outdoor Activity Centre, and Star’s of Bowness.
They are also planning to raise money for charity alongside their fundraising for the trip and have several challenges in the works to help them reach their goal.
You can keep up with Leo’s adventures on his Facebook page, Tickinemoff.
