Katharina Hartmuth set a new women's speed record on the Bob Graham Round on July 24, 2026. The German runner crossed the 42 peaks of the 106-kilometre loop in 14 hours, 11 minutes and 58 seconds. The route runs through England's Lake District.
A 22-minute cut on Pascall's mark
The time beat the old women's record by 22 minutes. Beth Pascall set that mark of 14:34:26 back in 2020. This time Pascall did not just watch. She ran part of the day as a pacer, a warm gesture that fits the spirit of this round.
Wet rock and a hard third leg
Hartmuth left Moot Hall in Keswick and ran clockwise on a dry, cloudy day. She moved fast through the first two legs and matched Pascall's early splits. She felt strong.
Her one low point came on the third leg, from Dunmail Raise to Wasdale. The ground was technical, the cloud was low, and the rock near Scafell Pike was wet. She also felt a slight stomach problem.
The hardest test was Broad Stand, a tricky step up toward the summit. She had never tried it in training, so she was nervous. Once she was through, her mood lifted and she felt the record was real.
The fourth leg brought longer climbs on Yewbarrow and Great Gable. The clouds began to clear. On the final leg the evening sun spread over the fells, and Hartmuth knew she had time to spare.
"It was so much fun because I was pushing myself to the limit, but in this different environment compared to a race," she told reporters afterwards.
The run came just two days after a last-minute flight from Colorado, with jet lag still fresh. A May attempt had failed in bad weather, and this spring she won the Madeira Island Ultra Trail. Now her attention turns to the UTMB World Series Finale in Chamonix.
