Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This i ...
and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport on the
fells of northern Britain, especially those in the
Lake District. It has elements of trail running,
cross country and mountain running, but is also distinct from those disciplines.
Fell races are organised on the premise that contenders possess mountain
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...
skills and carry adequate survival equipment as prescribed by the organiser.
Fell running has common characteristics with
cross-country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...
, but is distinguished by steeper gradients and upland country. It is sometimes considered a form of
mountain running, but without the smoother trails and predetermined routes often associated with mountain running.
History
The first recorded hill race took place in Scotland.
[ - Total pages: 581
] King Malcolm Canmore organised a race in
Braemar in 1040 or perhaps as late as 1064, reputedly to find a swift messenger. This event appears to have been a precursor to the
Braemar Gathering. There is no documented connection between this event and the fell races of the 19th century.
From the 19th century records survive of fell races taking place as a part of community fairs and games. The sport was a simple affair and was based upon each community's values for physical ability. Fell races took place alongside other sports such as wrestling, sprint races and (especially in Scotland) heavy events such as
throwing the hammer. These fairs or games events were often commercial as well as cultural, with livestock shows and sales taking place alongside music, dancing and sports. In a community of shepherds and agricultural labourers comparisons of speed and strength were interesting to spectators as a source of professional pride for competitors. The most famous of these events in England, the
Grasmere Sports meeting in the
Lake District, with its ''Guide's Race'', takes place every year in August.
The Fell Runners Association started in April 1970 to organise the duplication of event calendars for the amateur sport. As of 2013 it administers amateur fell running in England, in affiliation with British athletics. Separate governing bodies exist for each country of the United Kingdom and each country has its own tradition of fell running, though the sport is largely the same. The most important races of the year include the
Ben Nevis Race
The Ben Nevis Race is a mountain race that takes place annually, from the foot of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the British Isles) to the top, then back again. The course is 14km long and includes around 1,340metres of ascent. Up to six h ...
in Scotland, run regularly since 1937, and the
Snowdon Race
The Snowdon Race ( cy, Ras Yr Wyddfa) is a ten-mile endurance running competition in Gwynedd, from Llanberis to the peak of Snowdon. Contestants must make the five miles up the Llanberis Path to the summit ( above sea level) and return down. Cur ...
in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
Overlap with other sports
Fell running is often known as hill running, particularly in Scotland. It is sometimes called mountain running, as in the name of the Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association although the term mountain running often has connotations of
WMRA races which tend to be on smoother, drier trails and lack the
route choice which may be available in fell races.
Fell race courses are often longer than cross country running courses, steeper and unmarked when out on the hills (with a few exceptions). Fell running also overlaps with
orienteering. Courses are again typically longer but with less emphasis on navigation. Fell running does sometimes require navigational skills in a mountainous environment, particularly in determining and choosing between routes, and poor weather may increase the need for navigation. However, in most fell races, the route or sequence of checkpoints is published beforehand and runners may
reconnoitre the course to reduce the risk of losing time working out where to run during the race.
Category O events and
Mountain Marathons (
see also below), test navigational ability, attracting both orienteers and fell runners. Other multi-terrain events, such as the
Cotswold Way Relay and the
Long Mynd Hike, also qualify as fell races under Fell Runners Association rules.
Some fell running could also be classed as
trail running. Trail running normally takes place on good paths or tracks which are relatively easy to follow and does not necessarily involve the significant amounts of ascent that are required in fell running.
Rocks
Fell running does not involve
rock climbing and routes are subject to change if ground nearby becomes unstable. A small number of fell runners who are also rock climbers, nevertheless do attempt records traversing ridges that allow running and involve scrambling and rock climbing – particularly where the record is 24 hours or less. Foremost of these in the UK is probably the traverse of the
Cuillin
The Cuillin ( gd, An Cuiltheann) is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin ('), which lie to the east of Glen Sli ...
Main Ridge on
Skye, the Greater Traverse, including
Blaven and the
Lakes Classic Rock Round.
Organisations
The Fell Runners Association (FRA) publishes a calendar of 400 to 500 races per year. Additional races, less publicised, are organised in UK regions. The
British Open Fell Runners Association (BOFRA) publishes a smaller calendar of races (usually 15 championship races, and other smaller events, such as galas or shows)>– mostly derived from the professional guide races – in England and Scotland and organises a championship series. In Scotland, all known hill races (both professional and amateur) are listed in the annual calendar of
Scottish Hill Runners. In Wales, the
Welsh Fell Runners Association provides a similar service. Northern Ireland events are organised by
Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association. Again, races are run on the premise that a contender possesses mountain navigational skills and carries adequate survival equipment. In Ireland events are organised by the Irish Mountain Running Association.
The
World Mountain Running Association is the
governing body for mountain running and as such is sanctioned by and affiliated to the IAAF, the
International Association of Athletics Federations. It organises the
World Mountain Running Championships. There are also continental championships, such as the
African Mountain Running Championships
The African Mountain Running Championships was an annual Mountain running competition organized by the CAA for athletes representing the countries of its member associations. The event was established in 2009 and ceased in 2014.
Editions
Res ...
, the
European Mountain Running Championships
The European Mountain Running Championships is an annual international mountain running race. Inaugurated in 2002, it is organised by the European Athletic Association (EAA) in July each year. The venue for the championships is changed each year.
...
, the
South American Mountain Running Championships and the
North American Central American and Caribbean Mountain Running Championships.
Championships
The first
British Fell Running Championships, then known as Fell Runner of the Year, were held in 1972 and the scoring was based on results in all fell races. In 1976 this was changed to the runner's best ten category A races and further changes took place to the format in later years. Starting with the 1986 season, an
English Fell Running Championships series has also taken place, based on results in various races of different lengths over the year.
Race categories
Race records vary from a few minutes to, generally, a few hours. The longest common fell running challenges tend to be rounds to be completed within 24 hours, such as the
Bob Graham Round
The Bob Graham Round is a fell running challenge in the English Lake District. It is named after Bob Graham (1889–1966), a Keswick guest-house owner, who in June 1932 broke the Lakeland Fell record by traversing 42 fells within a 24-hour period ...
. Some of the mountain marathons do call for pairs of runners to carry equipment and food for
camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...
overnight. Longer possible routes do exist, such as an attempt at a continuous round of
Munros.
Mountaineers
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...
who traverse light and fast over high Alpine, Himalayan or through other such continental, high altitudes are considered alpine style mountaineers by fell runners.
Races run under the FRA Rules For Competition of the
Fell Runners Association are categorised by the amount of ascent and distance.
Ascent categories
Category A
*Should average not less than 50 metres climb per kilometre.
*Should not have more than 20% of the race distance on road.
*Should be at least 1.5 kilometres in length.
Category B
*Should average not less than 25 metres climb per kilometre.
*Should not have more than 30% of the race distance on road.
Category C
*Should average not less than 20 metres climb per kilometre.
*Should not have more than 40% of the race distance on road.
*Should contain some genuine fell terrain.
Distance Categories
Category L
*A category “L” (long) race is 20 kilometres or over.
Category M
*A category “M” (medium) race is over 10 kilometres but less than 20 kilometres.
Category S
*A category “S” (short) race is 10 kilometres or less.
Additional categories
Category O
*also known as a Long O event
*checkpoints are revealed to each competitor when they come up to a “staggered” start
*entry by choosing an orienteering type class, such as a
Score-O event and often as a team of two (pairs)
Category MM
*events also known as
mountain marathons and mountain trials
*similar to Category O, but multi-day events, in wild, mountainous country. Competitors must carry all the equipment and food required for the overnight camp and subsequent days. Entry is usually as a pair.
Three example "classic A" races
*''
Wasdale Fell Race'' AL 21 miles (34 km) 9,000 ft (2750 m) - male record 3:25:21 (
Billy Bland, 1982), female record 4:12:17 (Janet McIver and Jackie Lee, 2008)
*''
Ben Nevis Race
The Ben Nevis Race is a mountain race that takes place annually, from the foot of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the British Isles) to the top, then back again. The course is 14km long and includes around 1,340metres of ascent. Up to six h ...
'' AM 10 miles (16 km) 4,400 ft (1340 m) - male record 1:25:34 (
Kenny Stuart
Kenny Stuart (born 25 February 1957 in Penrith) is a former fell and road runner from Threlkeld in the Lake District.
Early in his career, when there was still a split between professional and amateur fell racing, Stuart competed in profession ...
, 1984), female record 1:43:01 (
Victoria Wilkinson
Victoria Wilkinson (born 19 August 1978) is an English runner and cyclo-cross rider who was a world mountain running champion at junior level and who has several times been a national fell running champion as a senior athlete.
Biography
Wilkin ...
, 2018)
*''Blisco Dash'' AS 5 miles (8.1 km) 2,000 ft (610 m) - male record 36:01 (Jack Maitland, 1987), female record 44:34 (Hannah Horsburgh, 2018)
Footwear
Modern fell-running trainers use light, non-waterproof material to eject water and dislodge peat after traversing boggy ground. While the trainer needs to be supple, to grip an uneven, slippery surface, a degree of side protection against rock and scree (loose stones) may be provided. Rubber studs have been the mode for two decades, preceded by ripple soles, spikes and the flat-soled "pumps" of the fifties.
24-hour challenges
Fell runners have set many of the
peak bagging records in the UK. In 1932 the Lakeland runner Bob Graham set a record of 42 Lakeland peaks in 24 hours. His feat, now known as the
Bob Graham Round
The Bob Graham Round is a fell running challenge in the English Lake District. It is named after Bob Graham (1889–1966), a Keswick guest-house owner, who in June 1932 broke the Lakeland Fell record by traversing 42 fells within a 24-hour period ...
, was not repeated for many years (in 1960); by 2011, however, it had become a fell-runner's test-piece, and had been repeated by more than 1,610 people. Building on the basic 'Round' later runners such as Eric Beard (56 tops in 1963) and
Joss Naylor (72 tops in 1975) have raised the 24-hour Lakeland record considerably. The present record is 78 peaks, set by Kim Collison, on 11–12 July 2020; the previous record of 77 peaks, set by Mark Hartell, had stood since 1997. The women's record of 65 peaks was set in 2020 by
Carol Morgan.
Bob Graham Club: Records.
/ref>
Most fell running regions have their own challenges or "rounds":
*Lake District – The Bob Graham Round
The Bob Graham Round is a fell running challenge in the English Lake District. It is named after Bob Graham (1889–1966), a Keswick guest-house owner, who in June 1932 broke the Lakeland Fell record by traversing 42 fells within a 24-hour period ...
*Scotland – The Ramsay Round
*North Wales – The Paddy Buckley Round
The Paddy Buckley Round, also known as the Welsh Classical Round, is a long distance fell running challenge in Snowdonia, Wales. The route is a circuit of just over 100 km long taking in some 47 summits. The Round has the reputation of being ...
*South Wales – South Wales Traverse
*Ireland – The Wicklow Round
The Wicklow Round is a long-distance hill running challenge in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. The route follows a proscribed 100-kilometre circuit of 26 mountains, which must be completed in a fixed order, that total over of elevation; th ...
*Northern Ireland – The Denis Rankin Round
See also
* Fastpacking
* Ski mountaineering
Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...
* Skyrunning
* Ultrarunning
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are both ...
* Adventure racing
Adventure racing (also called expedition racing) is typically a multidisciplinary team sport involving navigation over an unmarked wilderness course with races extending anywhere from two hours up to two weeks in length. Some races offer solo co ...
* Lakeland Shows
Lakeland Shows are agricultural and sporting shows in the English Lake District.
They have an emphasis on showing sheep, cattle and poultry, and are known for the Herdwick Sheep.
Sports events include Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling and f ...
* Peak bagging
* Rogaining
References
Further reading
*
* - Total pages: 581
*
External links
Fell Runners Association
Scottish Hill Racing
British Open Fell Runners Association
World Mountain Running Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fell Running
Orienteering
Running by type
Mountain running
Sports originating in the United Kingdom