American ultra runner Jack Kuenzle has set a stunning new record for a famous English fells circuit. Jack, 26, completed the Bob Graham Round in 12:23, which is 29 minutes faster than previous record holder Kilian Jornet.
The circuit takes in 42 peaks in the Lake District in England and Jack recorded a distance of almost 63 miles and a total ascent of 26,584ft.
Prior to Spanish runner Kilian’s fastest time, the record of 13 hours and 53 minutes had been held by Billy Bland for an incredible 36 years.
Last month Jack set another new record, running what is known as the “Tranter’s Round” in Scotland. Jack’s fastest time of 8.38 came just a day after top Scottish runner Finlay Wild bettered his own record on the 37 mile circuit of 18 of the country’s tallest mountains, and with a total ascent of 20,000ft.
Jack’s Bob Graham Round strategy
Jack is a keen chaser of FKTs (Fastest Known Times.) Hailing from Connecticut, he was in the US Navy and lived in Virginia until November last year. Jack then travelled around California, Oregon and Washington, chasing some some ski mountaineering records, until April this year.
From there, he moved to New Hampshire and raced a 100-mile trail FKT before arriving in Scotland this summer. He is also an endurance coach.
He heard about the Bob Graham Round after the news of Kilian’s fastest time. It is also the sort of route that Jack likes. He said: “I prefer to race steep, technical routes that aren’t rock climbing. Arguably, the Bob Graham Round route is the most competitive in the world in that category.”
When planning his strategy for the Bob Graham Round, Jack paid close attention to Kilian’s splits on the course, which comprises five legs. He also took into account the second fastest time of 12:59 for the route set in 2021 by Scottish runner Finlay Wild.
Jack said: “Kilian and Finlay both have super fast times on this course. I could see where they lost and gained bits of time. I aimed to stick to a slightly slower leg one pace compared to Kilian and then pick up time later in the round.”
Jack was also grateful for the support of a checkpoint crew and many running pacers.
Jack runs to the end of his Bob Graham Round. Credit: Andrew Maybury Emotion as Jack smashes Bob Graham Round record. Credit: Andrew Maybury
Timing – not exactly ideal!
Jack’s original plan was to attempt the record on the first good window after September 10. He explained: “I wanted to increase my recovery time after doing the Tranter on July 28 and to recce more of the Bob Graham route.
“In the end, I woke up on August 28 and saw how dry it was going to be that following week. So, I decided on Friday and Saturday September 1 and 2.
“The issue was that the week before I had run a total of 105 miles and some 46,000ft of height gain.
“I had already recruited some 30 people who were interested in pacing the Bob Graham Round, but only a couple were available for my chosen Friday. Fortunately, some folks took pity on me and put out the word in a bunch of different athletic club group chats and we ended up getting a great crew.
“I would have been better off with a better taper, but I felt it was key to maximise the conditions and the rest of the month was forecast to be unsettled.”
Highs and lows of Jack’s Bob Graham Round
When running a long and challenging mountain round, there will always be plenty of highs and lows.
The first high point for Jack came in the first split of the circuit. He said: “Having never run any of the legs to a set time, I was unsure how possible it was for me to touch Kilian’s leg one split.
“But on the day, my splits, which I wanted to be eight minutes slower than Kilian’s, felt smooth and very easy coming out of Keswick up to the summit of Skiddaw.
“I kept accidentally pushing the pace and one of my pacers, Nicola Jackson, kept reeling us back in.
“We summited Skiddaw and then dropped down to the dirt track before Great Calva. We hit the dirt track 40 seconds back on my target splits, after what I felt was a good descent – and I just freaked. I was worried.
“I was very concerned because I had descended well but lost time on Kilian. We had run Calva way too fast – but it was extremely unsustainable.
“Later on, I was worrying another pacer, Billy Cartwright, and I had gone way too fast so we pulled the pace back up to Blencathra.”
But there were tough times on the first leg, too. Jack said: “It was much boggier than expected and despite it being at least a week since the last heavy rain. Coming down Blencathra, Billy and I took some rather poor lines but it did have the benefit of preventing me from hammering my quads too hard.”
Heading into the second leg, Jack became worried about his pace. He said: “In leg two, I made good progress up to Clough Head, and thanks to my support pacers. But I was still to match a single Kilian split and I was very concerned.
“After this, I ran to Great Dodd with just one pacer, Steve Hebblethwaite, and hoped to hammer and match the split. We ended up splitting it three minutes faster than Kilian, but the pace still felt controlled.
“From here to Wasdale (Leg 3) I felt we really dominated and I think we gained on Kilian’s record time almost every split. We continued leap frogging pacers to prevent burnout and pushed on.”
More lows and highs
The first big low point of the run came on leg three. Jack said: “The climb up Steel Fell is brutal, steep, sustained and unrelenting, and I was in full sun without any wind. At the summit I felt OK, but pushing through the maze of wet bog and grass from there, over Calf Crag, and up to Sergeant Man I began to rapidly fade.
“My pacer, Matt Atkinson, was absolutely essential here because he had all these incredible lines through the bogs. His lines proved absolutely essential on legs three and the end of leg four and the fell section of leg five.”
Jack also reports that he ran out of water. He said: “I confess, I drastically underestimated how much water I would use during the round.”
Jack cruised through Thunacar Knott and Harrison Stickle and then at Pike o’ Stickle heading to Wasdale, Jack decided to listen to what he calls “some of the worst music I have turned up loud” on ear buds while trying to simply run directly in Matt’s footsteps and with another pacer Sam Stead close behind.
Jack says: “This was one of the highlights of the day, because it was so smooth. It involved zero brain activity. Then the sun got mercifully stuck behind the clouds and remained there until Wasdale.”
Jack lost a couple of minutes to Kilian’s time on the steep climb of Broad Stand but he enjoyed the change of pace during the scramble section.
Jack found the descent to Wasdale as relentless and pounding as he had expected. He said: “The pacers absolutely amazed me with their ability to scree surf. The last thing Sam told me was that I would have another low point, I agreed but just never would have fathomed the depths I would end up going to.”
Jack’s major low on the Bob Graham Round
On leg four, Jack and his pacers left Wasdale to climb 2000ft up Yewbarrow. Again, Jack lost a bit of time to Kilian’s schedule on this climb and then came another climb up Red Pike.
Jack said: “It was so hot and the climb was so sustained. My ears began to ring to the point I could hardly hear and my vision faded between grey and black. I stopped to pee and my urine was extremely dark. I quickly consumed a litre of water but then my pacers were left dry.
“Another two supporters had a litre of electrolyte mix but I was a little hesitant to consume so many electrolytes and possibly put myself in a position for hyponatremia.
“However, I did consume all the electrolyte mix and then 500ml of juice which was unbelievably good. Thankfully, I immediately felt better and by the time we were heading up Pillar, I was back to the same feeling as in leg three.”
Jack took on more water at the base of Kirk Fell. Next up was Great Gable and with various pacers, Jack ran on over to Grey Knotts, and managed to gain seven minutes on the hoped-for schedule. The same happened on Honister, where Jack picked up three minutes.
Leg five – and a triumphant finish
Leg five saw Jack on another long and “dreaded” climb of Dale Head, although he later reported “it passed well”.
Jack picks up his story: “Once I got to Robinson fell, it was a relief, but I was a bit concerned about the rowdy downhill to the valley. My pacer Matt took us on some absolutely whacky lines that ended up being fantastic. It was stuff I had never seen in my map study.
“We hit the tarmac and cruised the first three-quarter of a mile or so in fell shoes and then I met the support crew who helped me into my Nike Air Zoom Alphaflys. The upper doesn’t stretch at all and my socks were wet so this transition took far longer than I wanted, but I am so happy I did it.
“The shoes just made the ending so pleasant; fun and fast. I ran the road back to Keswick, trying to straight line between the sides of the road to find the shortest path.
“There were about 15 of us running by now and Billy Bland even joined us on his bicycle. So, while I ran on blind corners the pacers ran ahead to slow traffic that might block me, which I was very touched by.
“I sprinted into a big crowd in the town centre. I was so happy to finish but I was so physically wasted and I couldn’t stop crying. There was just so much pain and mental exhaustion.
“I think that having unlimited access to food and not having to carry water, plus little pressure to navigate yourself, you can just push so, so hard.”
‘The best UK hill running’
Jack has run in many places but he said he greatly enjoys the UK. He added: “I really liked the Lake District fells and while they are not as wild nor as beautiful as Scotland, in my opinion, the trods are better and the surfaces are a bit faster. I think the Bob Graham route is the best hill running you can have in the UK.”