Bob Graham Round
Written by Catriona Adams. Published 10 August 2026 · Updated 1 September 2026
The Bob Graham Round is a 66-mile, 42-summit circuit of the Lake District fells, run within 24 hours from a standing start and finish at Moot Hall in Keswick. There's no marked course and no aid stations — runners plan their own line, timing, and support. First completed by Bob Graham in 1932, it's the oldest and most attempted of Britain's self-navigated Rounds.
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of the actual route
Key points
- 66 miles (106 km), 42 summits, 26,900 ft (8,200 m) of climb, 24-hour limit.
- No marked course, no aid stations — the runner plans the line, timing and support.
- First completed by Bob Graham in 1932, in 23h 39m, at age 42 — hence 42 peaks.
- Membership requires a witness at every summit; guiding services aren't accepted since 2020.
The numbers
| Distance | 66 miles (106 km) |
|---|---|
| Elevation gain | 26,900 ft (8,200 m) |
| Summits | 42 fells |
| Time limit | 24 hours |
| Start / finish | Moot Hall, Keswick |
| First completed | 12–13 June 1932, by Bob Graham, in 23h 39m |
| Verifying body | Bob Graham 24 Hour Club (proposed 1971 by Fred Rogerson) |
How the round is verified
Completing the distance within 24 hours isn't, by itself, membership of the Bob Graham 24 Hour Club. The Club — proposed in 1971 by Fred Rogerson — requires a witness at each of the 42 summits with a recorded time, which rules out an unwitnessed solo effort counting toward membership even if the runner genuinely finished in time. Since January 2020, the Club has also stopped accepting rounds completed with commercial guiding services: support from friends and pacers is normal and expected, but a paid professional guide is not recognised. By the end of 2025, the Club had accepted 3,037 members.
Current records
| Category | Holder | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men — supported | Jack Kuenzle | 12h 23m 48s | 2 September 2022 |
| Women — supported | Katharina Hartmuth | 14h 11m 58s | 24 July 2026 |
| Men — unsupported | James Gibson | 21h 12m 19s | 16 December 2022 |
| Double round — men | Caspian James | 1d 19h 53m | 23 June 2025 |
| Double round — women | Nicky Spinks | 1d 21h 30m | 15 May 2016 |
| Most fells in 24h — men | Kim Collison | 78 peaks, 23h 44m 43s | 12 July 2020 |
| Most fells in 24h — women | Nicky Spinks | 64 peaks, 23h 15m | 1 May 2011 |
Nicky Spinks holds two of these records outright. Her own account of the double round is published on her site, runbg.co.uk.
Why navigation decides the round, not fitness alone
Fitness gets a runner through 66 miles and 26,900 feet of climb. It doesn't get them through low cloud on Great Gable at 3am with the line to the next summit invisible, or through the decision to abandon a leg when the weather turns and the schedule is already gone. The Round has no marshals to redirect a wrong turn and no cut-off checkpoints to force a decision — every navigational call is the runner's, and a wrong one costs more time than most runners have to spare. See our guide to self-navigation for fell and mountain running for how that skill is built.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Sources for this page
Related