Woman chases record for 400-mile lap of Cornwall in honour of mother with Alzheimer’s

A woman has started an attempt to run a lap of Cornwall to honour her mother and raise awareness of Alzheimer’s.

Elsey Davis, from Camelford, is hoping to set the fastest known time (FKT) for the 400-mile journey.

She set off on Monday and is aiming to complete the challenge in a week by covering about 100km (63 miles) a day.

Ahead of the event, Ms Davis, 36, said “Anything could happen, but doing it for my mum is going to make it that bit easier.”

She is raising money for, and awareness of young-onset Alzheimer’s, which can affect people as young as in their 40s, after her mum received a diagnosis of the disease in 2023.

“Originally, I wanted to run the whole of the South West Coast Path but then a friend sent me the circuit of Cornwall FKT and the chance to loop around my home county appealed so much more,” she said.

She believes she may be the first runner to attempt a fast time on this particular route which incorporates the South West Coast Path and the Tamara Coast to Coast Way which runs along the historic border between Devon and Cornwall.

She said: “[The disease] is incredibly challenging and upsetting for my mum and family, for a long time I’ve just felt really powerless about what I can do to help or change things.

“This is just my way of trying to take back some of that power and fight Alzheimer’s in my own way.

“My mum’s disease is quite progressed now, but the main thing is that we just have learnt to live presently and take each day as it comes, one step at a time.”

Ms Davis’ run started and will finish at Land’s End with more than 18,288m (60,000ft) of elevation in between.

“I think a lot of it is going to be a mental challenge,” she said.

“I think when your ‘why’ is so strong, the how doesn’t matter, there’s going to be very little that’s going to stop me getting back to Land’s End.”

Ms Davis said she was hoping her family, including her mum, would join her for part of the route.