This year the KE office is once again setting the bar high with our charity challenge. We are taking on one of the UK's Big Three Hill rounds; the 'Bob Graham Round'.

In April 2026, as a relay split over five legs, a team from the KE office in Keswick will be taking on a run of 42 fells and over 66 miles, ascending over 8,229m. This is to raise funds for one of our valued charities, Mind Over Mountains.

Last year’s attempt unfortunately had to be postponed due to extremely heavy rainfall and poor conditions on the fells, which would have made the challenge unsafe. While it was disappointing to delay, the team are now back for 2026, motivated and ready to give the challenge another go - with hopefully better weather in our sights.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has already donated to support this challenge. Your generosity means a great deal to both the team and the important work carried out by Mind Over Mountains. However, we still have a way to go to reach our £1,000 fundraising goal, so any further donations - big or small - would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you for supporting the team as we prepare to take on this iconic Lake District challenge and raise funds for a cause that is close to our hearts.

The Bob Graham Round is a legendary endurance challenge in the English Lake District. Named after Bob Graham, a Keswick hotelier who first completed it in 1932 at the age of 42, the challenge involves running a circuit of 42 Lakeland fells (hills) within 24 hours. Covering approximately 66 miles with around 8,200 meters of ascent it's a truly formidable route over some of England's highest mountains.

As a team we'll be splitting the route into five legs. We will start at Moot Hall in Keswick around 7pm on the 24th April (feel free to come and wave us off if local!) and have a target of finishing before 7pm on the 25th of April. Below is an indicator of the timings of each leg:

Friday 24th April

LEG 1 – 19:00 (4hr) Keswick to Threlkeld

LEG 2 – 23:00 (5hr 30) Threlkeld to Dunmail Raise

Saturday 25th April

LEG 3 – 04:30 (6hrs) Dunmail to Wasdale

LEG 4 – 10:30 (5hrs 30) Wasdale to Honister

LEG 5 – 16;00 (3hrs) Honister to Keswick

Keswick – 19:00

Even when splitting the challenge into a relay this is a daunting challenge and not for the faint hearted. 8 of our intrepid staff members from across the business will be running one of the five legs. We have Tom, Alasdair, Kerrie, David, Tim, Aaron, Katy and Zoe taking part. We caught up with them to hear why this race is so special, how they’re preparing and what it means to take on one of the UK’s most iconic endurance challenges.

The rest of our team will be supporting with logistics, snacks and moral support!

We will also have the honour of welcoming Mind Over Mountains founder, Alex Staniforth, to support us on one of the legs!

Good luck all!

If you would like to follow the challenge as it happens, then you can do so on our social media channels. If you would like to make a donation to this incredible charity (we'd be so grateful if you could spare anything) the button below will take you to our Just Giving fundraising page for Mind over Mountains. Thank you very much.