Bob Graham Round

History of the Round

On 13/14th June 1932 the Lakeland fell runner Bob Graham set a peak bagging record of 42 Lakeland peaks in just under 24 hours. His feat, now known as the 'Bob Graham Round' was not repeated until 1960. It thus stood for that period as the Lakeland 24 hour record. The fells of the English Lake District are ideal for this activity with some 200 recognised 'tops' distributed over a fairly compact area; the evolution of the 24hour record from 1883 to 1932 is given in more detail in the fell-walking section of M. J. B. Baddeley's Lakeland guidebook (ref 1).

Graham, born in 1889, was a guest-house owner in Keswick, and according to some sources, returned home after his feat to prepare breakfast for his guests ; . He died in 1966.

Building on the basic 'Bob Graham Round', later runners such as Eric Beard (56 tops in 1963) and Joss Naylor (72 tops in 1975) raised the Lakeland 24 hour record considerably. The present record of 77 tops, was set by Mark Hartell in 1997. The ladies record is 62 tops, set in 1994 by Anne Stentiford. The record for the fastest BGR of the standard 42 tops is held by Billy Bland who in 1982 set a time of 13 hours 53 minutes.

The Bob Graham Round is now a standard fell-runner's test-piece, and by the end of 2007 had been repeated by over 1380 people. The route is around 65 miles with approx. 27,000 feet of ascent.

Although it is possible to complete the basic round at a fast walking pace, provided an optimal route is taken, most participants choose to run at least the downhill and level sections, with at least one other runner in support (as required for acceptance by the BGR Club).

Graham is believed to have chosen 42 peaks as his age at that time (he had attempted a round of 41 peaks the previous year and narrowly failed to complete in 24 hours). Several later runners have successfully attempted 50 peaks at 50, and 55 peaks at 55. (Naylor attempted 60 peaks at age 60 over 36 hours (first to last peak) to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research). Yiannis Tridimas completed 60 at 60 on 6-7 August 2005. To date, seventeen individuals have successfully completed a winter round of the standard circuit.

The Lakeland writer Harry Griffin is credited with rekindling interest in Graham's record in the late 1950s, at a time when the veteran walker Dr Barbara Moore had gained much publicity for doing the John o'Groats to Land's End walk. Griffin went on, with Fred Rogerson, to found the BGR Club, which meets bi-annually in the Lakes.

The Bob Graham cairn , commemorating both Graham and his feat, stands just below Ashness Bridge (grid reference NY270196), quite close to the road.

Gallery

References

• Baddeley, M. J. B. The Lake District, 23rd edition (edited by R. J. W. Hammond) 1968, Ward, Lock & Co.
• Smith, Roger, forward by A H Griffin, (1982), 42 Peaks: The story of the Bob Graham Round

See also

South Wales Traverse sometimes considered the South Wales equivalent of the BGR

External links

• Bob Graham Round Bob Wightman's Bob Graham Round webpages
• The Bob Graham Round States BGR is 74 miles. The true distance is around 65 miles.
• Fell & Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District FRCC site, giving long walks and runs in the English Lakes
• The Fell Runners Association organizers in the UK with links to regions, events and clubs
• Bob Graham 24 Hour Club Official site of the BGR club