Runner Back on the Trail That Nearly Killed Him: Tommy Price Finishes the Bob Graham Round Four Years Later

Tommy Price nearly died in January 2022, halfway through one of the toughest trail runs in England. He was attempting the Bob Graham Round, a 66-mile route over 42 fells in the Lake District with 27,000 feet of climbing, all inside 24 hours. Hypothermia set in, his heart stopped, and a rescue team found him face down in the snow. Rescuers tried three times to restart his heart before he was airlifted to Royal Victoria Infirmary. His body temperature had dropped to 64.4 degrees, and doctors believe that extreme cold is what protected his brain and organs long enough to save him. He spent five days in an induced coma and months regaining feeling in his hands and feet.

That’s the kind of story that could end with a quiet thanks and a retirement from the trails. Tommy Price did neither. He ran the London Marathon in an incredible 3 hours and 10 minutes, raising money for Keswick Mountain Rescue, the volunteer team that pulled him off the mountain. Then he set his sights on the run that almost ended him. Five days ago, four years after his near-fatal attempt, Price finished the Bob Graham Round. His friend Max ran with him, rescue volunteer Jonny Hulme ran the first leg beside him, and Dr. John Ferris, who arranged his airlift, was at the finish to greet him. In an interview, Price said,“I am very lucky to be alive and even luckier to be able to run still.”He called the return trip unfinished business, something he had to do to finish the story.

Stories like this remind us that rescues in remote places don’t just depend on helicopters and hospitals. They depend on volunteers who leave their own families to search for strangers in the dark and cold. And sometimes, those strangers come back years later to say thank you in the best way they know how. What’s your unfinished business, the thing you would go back and conquer if you got the chance? Tell us in the comments.