Jack Kuenzle smashes Kilian Jornet’s Bob Graham Round record

American Jack Kuenzle has broken Kilian Jornet’s record for the Bob Graham Round. 

The former Navy Seal set a provisional time of 12 hours, 23 minutes and 48 seconds. – nearly half-an-hour faster than the time set by Jornet in 2018. 

And Jornet was one of the first to congratulate Kuenzle, posting on Twitter “This is so great!!! Congrats Jack Kuenzle’. 

Tranter Round record

This record-breaking run came just a month after Kuenzle set a new record for the Tranter Round in Scotland.  

Kuenzle had started his Bob Graham Round challenge at 6am on Friday morning (September 2) and by Leg Three he was already ahead of Jornet’s time. He continued to set a blistering pace that challenged his pacers all the way to the finish. 

His performance has captured the attention of the stars of the mountain and endurance running world. 

Tribute from John Kelly

Fellow American John Kelly, who returned to the USA earlier this year after three years in the UK during which time he won the hearts of the UK running community with a series of record-breaking performances, said: 

“This is how long it took UK fell running to find a new American JK.  What an absolutely phenomenal summer by Jack Kuenzle – first Tranter’s Round & now Bob Graham. There will be many more big things from him in the future, and I can’t wait to see them.” 

The Bob Graham Round involves 66 miles, 42 fells and 29,900 feet of ascent. It starts and finishes at Keswick Moot Hall.