Fell runner Joss Naylor: 'Legendary' record-breaking runner, who ran fastest known times on Three Peaks, dies aged 88
A record-breaking veteran fell runner, who was known as the King of the Fells, has died aged 88.
Joss Naylor was a sheep farmer who broke the Lake District 24-hour record three times and ran the fastest known times on the Three Peaks, Welsh 3,000ers and Pennine Way. The Climbers Shop in Ambleside wrote on Facebook that he died on Friday evening (28 June) "in the company of family and friends".
The Fell Runners Association said it was "hugely saddened" by his death, adding he "inspired so many". His friend Terry Abraham described him as a legend.
Mr Naylor took up running in 1960. In 1986, aged 50, he ran all 214 Wainwrights in seven days. When he turned 60, he ran 60 Lakeland fell-tops in 36 hours and at 70 ran 70 Lakeland fells.
In February 2021, he told BBC Countryfile he was running two to three times a week on the fell tops among "the best views on this earth". Mr Naylor was appointed an MBE for services to sport and charity in 2007.
Chairman of The Fell Runners Association, Stuart Ferguson, said: "We are hugely saddened by the news that the legend that is Joss Naylor has passed away. Joss inspired so many and will be ever remembered for what he gave to our unique sport."
Mr Naylor was a patron for the Brathay Trust, external, which said he used his long-distance races to raise about £40,000 for the youth charity between 2007 and 2019. Fundraising manager Scott Umpleby said the trust would put on races and Mr Naylor "attended every year" until he suffered a stroke in 2021.
He added: “He was always so positive... his legendary status was so wide and we would get queues of people to see him. Last year, he was determined to come and watch - even from his wheelchair.
"On a personal level, I started fell running and racing as a teenager in the 1980s and Joss was already a legendary figure. I really looked up to him."