Fell Running

Fell running, also known as mountain running and 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.

Fell races are organised on the premise that contenders possess mountain navigational skills and carry adequate survival equipment as prescribed by the organiser.

Racing up and down hills has a long history in the north of England and throughout Scotland and Wales where most of the UK's hills are found. The sport appears to have started, and been sustained, as a part of many community fairs and games.

The sport was a simple affair and was based upon the community's values for physical ability as were the other sports found in these games such as wrestling and heavy events such as throwing the hammer. These fairs, or games events, were often commercial as well as cultural.

In a community of shepherds and agricultural labourers, comparisons of speed and strength would be interesting to spectators and a source of professional pride for competitors. A fast shepherd or a strong labourer would be as respected, one imagines, as any top ranking colleague in a more modern employment.

Modern fell running has common characteristics with cross country running. Courses are often longer, steeper, unmarked when out on the hills (with a few exceptions) and these longer races can demand mountain navigational techniques.

Fell running also overlaps with orienteering. Courses are again longer but demand different techniques from orienteering. However, fell running does require navigational skills in a wild, mountainous environment, particularly in determining and choosing between routes. Category O events and Mountain Marathons, test navigational ability - attracting both orienteers and fell runners.

Fell running does not involve rock climbing. Races avoid rock climbs and are subject to change when any 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 hrs or less. Foremost of these in the UK is probably the traverse of the Cuillin Main Ridge on Skye, and the Greater Traverse, including Blaven.

Fell races are generally run annually and over an established sequence of checkpoints. A marked route may lead runners from the start onto the open hill and back from the hill to the finish. Where the route is unmarked, a runner may choose their own route between the ordered checkpoints. Even so, routes between checkpoints tend to be well established for fell runners in fine weather. The runners decision when there is a choice of routes will generally depend on the weather, visibility, surface conditions and their ability to ascend at that point in the race.

The Fell Runners Association publishes a calendar of 400 to 500 races per year. Additional races, less publicised, are organised in UK regions.