Joss Naylor

Joseph Naylor, known as Joss, was an English fell runner and sheep farmer in the Lake District who set many long-distance records and became known as the King of the Fells or simply the Iron Man. He was born on 10 February 1936 at Middle Row Farm, Wasdale Head, and left school at 15 to work on the family farm. He took up running in 1960 at age 24 and won his first race, the Mountain Trial, in 1966. In 1971 he completed the Bob Graham Round, only the sixth person to do so, and in 1975 he claimed 72 peaks in 23 hours 20 minutes, a record that stood until 1988. He also set records on the Welsh 3000s in 1973 and the Pennine Way in 1974, and he died on 28 June 2024.