Paul Wilson: Unsupported, Solo Bob Graham Winter Round

While some of us hunkered down in our houses and wrapped ourselves in fleece blankets this winter, Paul Wilson was beginning his most recent 24-hour challenge – The Bob Graham Winter Round. 

The Bob Graham Round was first established in 1932, when Bob Graham, at the age of 42, climbed 42 of the Lake Districts’ many peaks in under 24 hours. The circuit follows 106km (66 miles), climbing around 27,000ft across some of the highest peaks in the Lake District. 

Each summer, hundreds of the most experienced ultra-distance fell runners will attempt the round, with only a tiny amount able to achieve the route in the allotted time. In this context, the ‘winter’ round is completed between the first of December and the end of February; typically, a frosty time for even experienced fell runners.

Paul Wilson, an accomplished ultra and fell runner, was up for the challenge, having grown up among the mountains. “I’ve been messing around in the fells all my life since I was a kid.” He told UR Mag. 

Wilson is no rookie when it came to ultra-distance, with an impressive number of completed races, including the Lakeland 50 and Lakeland 100, the Spine Race, which he has completed twice and the Ark of Attrition.