Simon Booth (runner)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Simon Booth (born 10 May 1968) is an English runner who was twice the British
fell running Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running 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 o ...
champion and who has represented his country at the World Mountain Running Trophy. As a youngster, Booth’s preferred sports were
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. However, an early indication of his running ability was his performance at the Cumbria Marathon from
Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...
in 1982 when he was the first junior to finish at the age of fourteen and beat his father Bill Booth. Injuries ended Simon’s focus on rugby and after finishing second in the Borrowdale Fell Race in 1989, his attention turned to fell running. Booth won the
British Fell Running 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 t ...
in 2002 and 2005. He has performed especially well in the longer races and his wins include
Wasdale Wasdale () is a valley and civil parish in the western part of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Irt flows through the valley to its estuary at Ravenglass. A large part of the main valley floor is occupied by Wastwa ...
, the
Ennerdale Horseshoe The Ennerdale Horseshoe Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in June, starting and finishing at the Scout Camp near Ennerdale Water. The route is approximately in length with of ascent and takes in checkpoints at Great Borne, ...
, Great Lakes, Duddon Valley, Sedbergh Hills, the Anniversary Waltz, Buttermere Sailbeck,
Langdale Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet Great distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere in ...
, the Three Peaks and Skiddaw. He had a particularly notable sequence of results in the Borrowdale Fell Race which he won twelve times between 1995 and 2010. Internationally, Booth competed in the
Mount Kinabalu Climbathon The Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon is an international skyrunning competition held for the first time in 1987 (went international in 1988). It runs every year on Mount Kinabalu (Malaysia) in October, race valid for the Skyrunner World Seri ...
, finishing second in the 1999 race, just two seconds behind Ian Holmes. In 2000, 2001 and 2002, he was the winner of La 6000D at
La Plagne La Plagne () is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise (Savoie). Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area. It is currently owned by Compagnie des Alpes. In 2014, La Plagne was ...
in France and he also won the Avalanche Peak Challenge in New Zealand in 2001. He represented England at the World Mountain Running Trophy in Alaska in 2003 and in 2005, he placed second in the
Skyrunner World Series The Skyrunner World Series is an annual international championship of skyrunning (high altitude endurance races) and the official International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) race circuit for mountain running. Each year the Skyrunner World Series pr ...
. In 2015, Booth devised the “No Cure, Always Hope, Ultra Run” from the
Newlands Valley The Newlands Valley is in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is regarded as one of the most picturesque and quiet valleys in the national park, even though it is situated very close to the popular tourist town of Keswick and ...
based on the 10in10 challenge routes which were set up to raise money for research on
multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
, a disease with which Booth’s brother Duncan was diagnosed in 2010.10in10: No Cure, Always Hope, Ultra RunMathew Emery on YouTube: The Booth Brothers.
/ref>


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Simon British fell runners British sky runners 1968 births Living people