The Bob Graham: 66 miles, 42 mountains, 24 hours - to find a cure for Crohn's

Will Herman is raising money for King's College London
Donations cannot currently be made to this page

Bob Graham · 12 June 2017

King’s has been named the 31st best university in the world and 5th best in the UK in the QS World University rankings 2026. As we look towards our 200th anniversary, King's vision is to make the world a better place through our excellence in teaching, research and service to society.

Story

Currently there is no cure for Crohn’s, just symptom management. We want to change that. 

There is now compelling evidence that Crohn’s disease is caused by MAP bacteria - research is underway at King's College to develop a test which can identify the MAP bacteria in the tissue of Crohn’s sufferers and ultimately, create a vaccine.

To achieve this and take a step towards a cure for Crohn’s sufferers, King’s College needs to raise £300,000 to fund clinical trials.

To help raise these funds, Gaynor and I are attempting the Bob Graham - an ultra-distance fell run in the Lake District - in June 2017. Lots of training required between now and then...

First completed in 1932 by Bob Graham, hotelier of Keswick, Cumbria, the 42 summit round is now a rite of passage for ultra-distance fell runners.

The route covers 66 miles and includes 27,000ft of ascent to take in the 42 summits. 

On average, only one in three that attempt the Bob Graham will complete it within the 24 hours allowed. To date, less than 2,000 runners have succeeded.

www.bobgrahamclub.org.uk

Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is a debilitating and aggressive form of inflammatory bowel disease which affects around 4 million people worldwide and around 250,000 people in the UK. 

In addition to severe pain, weight loss, diarrhoea and chronic fatigue, around 80% of cases result in invasive surgery.

Increasingly there is compelling evidence that Crohn’s disease is caused by MAP bacteria, which is proven to cause Johne’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease in cattle. 

DNA testing found MAP in 100% of tested Crohn's sufferers but until now widespread testing and vaccination has been challenging.

Professor Hermon-Taylor and King’s College are developing a MAP test which can identify the MAP bacteria in the tissue of Crohn’s sufferers which will enable a human vaccine to be created.

For more information on how the funding will be spent, visit the Crohn’s MAP vaccine website.

Please help if you can.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Donation summary

Total
£10.00
+ £1.25 Gift Aid
Online
£10.00
Offline
£0.00

Charities pay a small fee for our service. Learn more about fees