Lake District 24-Hour Fell Record
This set of pages comprises an attempt to record the comprehensive history of the Lake District 24-Hour Fell Record. I very much welcome comments, corrections and additions. Please use the contact form or email me at peterwmcdonald <AT> gmail.com
Notes: [endx] notation refers to the "endeavour code", essentially a unique identifier for each record attempt or walk. A full reference table is available here. [idnx] refers to newspaper references; [idx] refers to all other sources. Full references are available here
MEN'S RECORD
The first set of pages describe the progression of the men's record, from the early nineteenth century to the present day. I have split this story into four parts
1. Pioneers, so-called because the men involved shaped and codified the record we now know today. This covers the period from 1832 to 1904. A summary article for this period was published in Fellrunner (Winter 2019), which can be read here.
2. England's Everest, a play on words reflecting how Bob Graham's eponymous round involved 27,000 feet of ascent and the fact that some of the record-setters were also involved in early Everest expeditions. A summary article for this period was published in Fellrunner (Autumn 2020), which can be read here.
3. Graham's legacy, reflecting the efforts of the men who were inspired by Graham's record and progressed the record in relatively quick succession once Graham's round was 'rediscovered' after the war.
4. Modern era, which takes us from 1975 to the present day, most recently Andy Berry's 2023 record.
This charts the full history of the women's Fell Record, from Jean Dawes' Bob Graham Round to Fi Pascall's 68-peak round in 2022. This is a shorter but nonetheless fascinating story.
Unfortunately, as with many sporting histories, there is far more source material relating to the men's record than the women's record. Hopefully that will change in the future.
These tables summarise all the records and records attempts over the last two hundred years, for both men and women.
A detailed description of how the rules of the record have developed over the years - and some of the resultant debates.