Billy Bland (born 1947) is a British former

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. He was one of the most prominent fell runners from the mid-1970s until the late 1980s, and is arguably the best long-distance fell runner in the history of the sport.

Biography

Bland was born in 1947 in

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland, England. It is in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, and is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' to distinguis ...

in the

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 ...

. His father Joe Bland was a guides racer and several other members of Billy's family also became fell runners, including his brothers Stuart and David. Bland took part in professional guides races early in his career and was reinstated as an amateur around the time of the inaugural Borrowdale Fell Race in 1974. By 1976 he had improved enough to finish eighth in the British Championships. This was followed by further progression until 1980 when he became the British Champion. Bland is a former holder of the record for the fell running challenge the

Bob Graham Round The Bob Graham Round is a fell running (hill running) challenge in the English Lake District. It is named after Bob Graham (1889–1966), a Keswick guest-house owner, who in June 1932 broke the Lakeland Fell record by traversing 42 fells within a ...

which involves a circuit of forty-two

peaks, covering around sixty-six miles. He accomplished this in a time of 13:53 on 19 June 1982. This stood as the fastest time until 8 July 2018 when it was beaten by

Kilian Jornet Killian or Kilian, as a given name, is an Anglicized version of the Irish name . The name was borne by several early Irish saints including missionaries to Artois (France) and Franconia (Germany) and the author of the life of St Brigid. The na ...

. Among Bland's other outstanding records are that for the Wasdale Fell Race, which he completed in 3:25:21 in 1982 (only three weeks after his Bob Graham Round record). This time has not been approached in recent years, despite the event being one of the counting races in the national championships on several occasions. He also holds the record for the

Borrowdale Fell Race The Borrowdale Fell Race is an annual fell running, fell race held in August, starting and finishing in Rosthwaite, Borrowdale, Cumbria, Rosthwaite. It is considered to be one of the "classic" Lake District, Lakeland races and the route initially ...

, having run 2:34:38 in 1981. His life story is told in Steve Chilton's ''All or Nothing at All: The life of Billy Bland'' (Dingwall, 2020).Sandstone Press: ''All or Nothing at All: The life of Billy Bland''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bland, Billy 1947 births Living people People from Cumberland (unitary authority) Sportspeople from Cumbria British fell runners British ultramarathon runners English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners Male ultramarathon runners