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Bill Smith (May 1936 – September 2011) was a fell runner and author on the sport. His achievements in breaking records for the number of peaks scaled within 24 hours, contributions to fell-running events, plus documenting its history, earned him the accolade of "legend" within the sport upon his accidental death in 2011."The word legend is all too often rolled out in sporting circles. A footballer who scores a few goals, a cricketer who enjoys a few good days, they sometimes earn the tag as memories of their greatness often exceed their actual achievements. Few legends are actually responsible for a genuine shift in their sport, few legends become synonymous with their sport. Bill Smith was, without any question, a legend in the world of fell running. In the wake of his dreadfully sad death, lavish tributes have been paid to a man who changed the perception of his sport." His body was discovered on 7 October in a
peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...
in the
Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...
, Lancashire, England, after a three-week disappearance.


Career

A lifelong resident of
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
who left school at age 15, Bill Smith earned his livelihood by working as a porter at a Liverpool
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
for most of his adult life.''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' named his employer as
Lewis's Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which ope ...
and ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' says it was
Blacklers Blacklers was a large department store on the corner of Elliot Street and Great Charlotte Street in Liverpool, England. The store was famous for its lavish Christmas grotto and its wikt:rocking horse, rocking horse, Blackie, which is now on dis ...
department store. (See and .)
Smith took up fell running in 1971 and quickly became one of the sport's best-known competitors. Peter Booth, chairman of
Clayton-le-Moors Clayton-le-Moors is an industrial town in the Borough of Hyndburn in the county of Lancashire, England. located two miles north of Accrington. The town has a population of 8,522 according to the 2011 census. To the west lies Rishton, to the n ...
Harriers, said that Smith "did so much for fell running ... and will be greatly missed by all." In 1969, 1970 and 1971 he put in respectable performances in the Fellsman Hike, a race that is said to be the "ultimate fell running challenge." Second place finishes were attained in 1973, 1976 and 1977 and he "quickly became a member of the prizewinning team" at the Clayton Harriers. The 1970s saw him train per week. In 1973, Smith became the twelfth person to complete the Bob Graham Round, considered "one of the most demanding challenges in the country", and breaking its record (with Boyd Millen) by scaling 42
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
peaks in under 24 hours. He built on the feat by traversing 55 peaks in 24 hours, and in 1975, 63 peaks in 23 hours and 55 minutes. The latter established a new benchmark in fell running, second only to the record of 72 peaks set by
Joss Naylor Joseph Naylor (10 February 1936 – 28 June 2024) was an English Fell running, fell runner who set many long-distance records, and a sheep farmer, living in the Lake District. He became known as the "King of the Fells" or simply the "Iron Man" ...
.Naylor and Smith were setting records in roughly the same era, at what some might consider to be an advanced age, and both were born in 1936. – Total pages: 581Erroneously reported as 65 peaks at His conquest of Marilyns, tors and
peak bagging Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which Hiking, hikers, climbing, climbers, and Mountaineering, mountaineers attempt to reach a collection of summits, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world ...
was renowned. He successfully competed in long distance fell races, ''e.g.'', the Lake District Mountain Trial and the Wasdale "Horseshoe" Fell Race.''See'' Smith lived alone in Everton, and was said to enjoy "
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...
 ... nd gypsy music." He eschewed telephones and cars, often walked rather than rode, and was a devotee of public transportation. He constantly acted as a mentor at events, took photographs that he would share for free, and when not running, he acted as a marshal. In July 2011, Bill Smith was part of a
relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...
that carried Fred Rogerson's ashes "around their beloved Bob Graham Round ..."Despite 40 years of supporting the event with his "heart and soul", Rogerson never completed the Bob Graham round himself. However, as a tribute and memorial his ashes were borne by his associates "in a pocket watch case presented by Bob Graham to his pacer Phil Davison in 1927." Rogerson, Stan Bradshaw and Bill Smith, were a trio that "formed part of the bedrock of modern-day fell running." All three died within the span of 18 months. In August 2011 he was named as "Honorary of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers", to recognise his service to the club and sport.See Road Runners Club. From 1972 he was member No. 172.


Death

On 10 September 2011, Smith travelled from
Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...
to Preston by rail, but never made the return trip. On 25 September, race onlookers and participants became concerned when Smith did not appear at the rendezvous point for the Thieveley Pike race near
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, where he was expected to serve as a marshal. His body was discovered by a
walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...
in a remote location outside the range of mobile phone signals and from which "it took several hours of hiking ... oraise the alarm." The remains were recovered by the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team in a five-hour extraction that required a helicopter.See
Mountain rescue in England and Wales Mountain rescue services in England and Wales operate under the association of Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW), formerly called Mountain Rescue Council of England & Wales. The association has a number of regional mountain rescue teams ...
.
There was a return ticket in Smith's pocket.''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' opines that it was a train ticket, and that he was taking an indirect route to the beginning of a race. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' said it was a "bus" ticket.
As ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' article commented: "The rescuers paused for a few moments to pay their respects to the man they found submerged in a
peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...
on the remote
Trough of Bowland The Trough of Bowland is a valley and high pass in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Lancashire, England. The pass, reaching above sea level at the head of the valley, links to Wyresdale, dividing the upland core of Bow ...
last weekend. It is an honour afforded all those that perish out on the wild Lancashire fell sides." However, the recovery party was largely clueless that the "elderly man, discovered the previous day but thought to have lain undiscovered for up to three weeks, belonged to one of the legends" of British sport. He is thought to have "fallen as he ran across Saddle Fell." Peat bogs are "a potent menace to all runners and walkers." Although said to be among the most tender and threatened British habitats, in the northern uplands they are a common landscape feature. A deceptive appearance of solid ground can mask "little more than a veneer of soil floating on often ice-cold water." According to survival experts, anyone who falls into a peat bog should move slowly and swim broadly in an effort to reach safety. As with being stuck in quick sand, panic and errant movements can exacerbate a bad situation and make "it impossible to escape without help." Filing a 'flight plan,' having a buddy system, and carrying proper equipment could be possible preventatives of similar tragedies. " untain rescuers said the tragedy showed that even seasoned runners needed to let someone know their plans", know where they are and have a cell phone, and to make sure they carry a full complement of equipment.This was the second tragedy for the Clayton Harriers. In April 1994, an uncharacteristic and strong blizzard killed Judith Taylor at the Kentmere Fell Race. See also, In some fell running events, ''e.g.'', mountain marathons, a buddy system is sometimes used, and there are teams of two. Required equipment can be extensive and finely detailed. See, ''e.g.''
Original Mountain Marathon The Original Mountain Marathon (OMM), formerly known as the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (or KIMM), and initially simply The Karrimor, is an annual two-day Mountain event, held in October in a different region across the UK each year. ...
Believing when he made the statement that a "walker" was involved, Phil O'Brien of the Rescue Team stated "I urge walkers not to take any unnecessary risks and where possible, to use appropriate maps." "They should tell someone where they are going and when to expect them back. They should make sure they are wearing appropriate clothing and footwear and to check the weather forecast before setting off. Inexperienced walkers should make sure they are with someone with them who knows the area well." Blurred eyesight was suspected to be a factor in his final fall; he skipped several scheduled procedures to deal with the ongoing problem. He found his prescription eyeglasses to be ineffective. He refused to wear glasses whilst running, and considered them to be a needless nuisance. Nevertheless, he was troubled seeing persons with whom he conversed; but was said to be "fearless" as he careened madly (and perhaps blindly) down mountains. Thus, he may have misjudged distances and fallen into the bog. In any event, "Friends ... said Mr Smith's failing eyesight could have been the cause of his tragic accident", but whether blindness "was the problem, or ... his heart gave out, nobody knew." Commonwealth gold medal-winning long distance runner Ron Hill said Smith's death "will be felt by many ... He was relatively young at 75 and tremendously fit and his death is a real shock to everyone. His loss is huge – but I suppose you can say that he passed away while doing what he loved doing, running across the
moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
." His funeral took place on 14 October 2011, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in
West Derby West Derby ( ) is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, in the east of the city. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West Derby achieved significance far earlier tha ...
. Reverend Sandra Trapnell officiated, noting his "great" contribution to the sport, and the many tributes that had appeared. A future memorial event by fell running organisations is anticipated. Donations were made to Mountain Rescue in his memory.


The book

For over a quarter century Smith published a "stream of immaculately researched historical articles" in ''Fellrunner'' magazine (which he helped popularise) and other publications. Smith's treatise, ''Stud Marks on the Summits'' started out as a fifty-page flyer, and was thereafter expanded into an "1800 page opus." In print it is 581 pages. The book was privately published after the publishing houses all turned it down; and possession is now a mark of being a fell runner aficionado. It sold out in 1986, and is available electronically on line from the Fell Runners AssociationThe hardback copy being deemed too valuable to loan out. The Association says: "Fortunately, Bill has granted us permission to hold an electronic copy of the work on the website ...". It has been called "the definitive guide" on the sport. Out of print, its internet price exceeded £100 several times.
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
winner and long distance runner Ron HillIn 1970, Hill won the 74th
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
in a course record 2:10:30. He also won gold medals for the marathon at the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
in 1969 and the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
in 1970. Hill held numerous national and world
long distance running Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running come two di ...
records.
described the book as a "bible for future generations." Despite its epic saga of fell running, Smith is mentioned only six times in the tome. Smith was held in high regard both for his running and for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport.Sources in ''The Economist'' characterized him "a walking encyclopedia of amateur fell-running. He knew all the history, the records, the meetings, and had set them down with exacting care in a book ..." The president of the Fell Runners Association, Graham Breeze, published a posthumous encomium and long-belated book review: "Considering the masterpiece that bears his name Bill Smith was a staggeringly modest and unassuming man ... I am privileged to have known him slightly and corresponded with him occasionally ... A few years ago I wrote a short piece about ''Stud marks on the summits'' and sent it to Bill for his approval. I wrote that I knew he would hate it but I would like it to appear in ''The Fellrunner'' in homage to his masterpiece. As I partly anticipated, he wrote back and asked me not to publish because it would embarrass him. We later talked about the piece at a race and I promised that, since all writers hate to waste material, it would only appear when he could no longer be embarrassed ... Fellrunners come and go, Champions come and go, but no-one will ever be as important to the development and history of fellrunning as the man who died in September on the Bowland fells."


Song

Boff Whalley, lead guitarist of
Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...
, recorded a song inspired by a chance meeting with Smith. Whalley took up fell running as a result. He was paraphrased as having said Smith "encapsulated the ethos of the sport – its emphasis on self-reliance and nature and its history."


Published works

* ** ** ** ** ** ** * * W.R. Smith, "Runners on the Three Peaks", The Dalesman, 37 (1975–76):966-68. * - Total pages: 581 **


See also

* British orienteers *
James A. Corea James A. Corea (September 25, 1937 – March 3, 2001), Ph.D., Dr. Science, ND, RPT, was a radio personality and specialist in nutrition, rehabilitation, and sports medicine. He founded Vita-Labs a brand of health food supplement. He died of ...
*
Jim Fixx James Fuller Fixx (April 23, 1932 – July 20, 1984) was an American who wrote the 1977 best-selling book '' The Complete Book of Running''; he is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution by popularizing the sport of running a ...
*
List of orienteers This is a list of all orienteering competitors found in Wikipedia and notable within the orienteering sport. A * Alida Abola, Soviet Union * Christian Aebersold, Switzerland * Gunborg Ahling, Sweden * Katarina Allberg, Sweden * Johanna ...
*
List of orienteering events This is a list of all orienteers events found in Wikipedia and which are notable within the orienteering sport. Foot Orienteering Championships World Championships * World Orienteering Championships * Junior World Orienteering Championships * ...
*
Micah True Micah True (November 10, 1953 – March 27, 2012), born Michael Randall Hickman and also known as Caballo Blanco (white horse), was an American ultrarunning, ultrarunner from Boulder, Colorado, who received attention because of his depiction ...
*
Munro A Munro (; ) is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevi ...
/ "Munro Bagging"


Bibliography


Footnotes


Endnotes

*


External links


Works by Bill Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bill 1936 births 2011 deaths Sportspeople from Liverpool British ultramarathon runners Male ultramarathon runners British orienteers Male orienteers English athletics coaches English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners English exercise and fitness writers Foot orienteers British fell runners Orienteering coaches Sport deaths in England 20th-century English sportsmen