Jack spends eight hours running up Ben Nevis to win ultra-marathon – then climbs it again the following day!

The 26-year-old, from Fareham, was first to finish the 52k (roughly 33 and a half miles) Salamon Skyline Scotland race, featuring around 12,000 feet of elevation.

He finished the course - which according to the event website features ‘ remote Scottish glens, technical single track, airy ridges, & high mountain passes’ - in a time of 8 hours 6 minutes and 14 seconds. He was around eight minutes quicker than anyone else.

‘It was such an adrenaline rush,’ he told The News. ‘It was probably my best ever result for that type of mountain race.

‘The scenery was epic - I got a better look at it when I climbed Ben Nevis the following day with my girlfriend!’

It was Oates’ second big mountain challenge of the year, after competing in the Ultra Trail Snowdonia in north Wales.

That didn’t go quite so well. ‘I hardly got any sleep the night before in the tent because the weather was horrendous,’ he recalled.

‘The race was pure bog and the course took you up and down (Mount) Snowdon three times. But I took a wrong turning and ended up doing it four times!’

Oates now has two more long-distance races on the horizon. First, he competes in the 45-mile Transvulcania event on the Canary Island of La Palmas next month.

Then, during a travelling trip to the Far East with girlfriend Kelly Davis, Oates is tackling the 55k Ultra Trail Thailand.