Each month, we hope to feature a community and how they help bind people and places in shared passions. The criteria for a lifetime membership is that you must traverse on foot the 42 peaks of the Bob Graham Round β 66 miles with 27, feet of climbing on highly technical terrain β within 24 hours. Among the youngest members to complete this brutal initiation was the thenyear-old Hannah Saville , who did so in a time of 23 hours and 30 minutes in June of The oldest person on record to be admitted to date was Kenneth Taylor , who completed his round in in a time of β while 71 years young.
Beth Pascall, the fastest woman to have completed the Bob Graham Round, in a time of 14 hours and 34 minutes. Photo: Sam Benard.
The Bob Graham Hour Club was first formed in , by the then eight runners who had successfully completed the round. Since then, it has evolved from a fairly informal group to a more defined organization, with a committee, website, and extensive list of members. Rounds have long been a big part of the mountain running tradition in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Most operate on the same premise, the goal being to navigate a setlist of peaks in a circuit, in a particular order and often within a set time β most commonly within 24 hours.
As the routes tend to be off-trail, with no fixed route, course knowledge is handed down by word of mouth, with invaluable tips on certain deer tracks or crags to look out for being exchanged in car parks or pubs after local races.
Photo: Richard Nunan. The Lake District, and the North of England generally, is home to a thriving fell running club scene. As well as competing against other clubs, runners are encouraged to better themselves by racing against their fellow club members, with many clubs organizing an annual race, or series of races, to act as their club championships.
