Fell running: an introductory guide

Fell running: an introductory guide
Subscribe to the Guardian HERE: bitly.com/UvkFpD
In Staveley, Cumbria, Morgan Donnelly, 2011 British fell-running champion, talks Kate Carter through the origins of the sport. He outlines the kit you will need and explains that no matter how much experience you have, you will always be welcome at a fell race.
Check the Fell Runners Association website for information on upcoming races.
fellrunner.org.uk

[@crh7742]

Definitely something elf-like and otherworldly about this chap. Can imagine him sitting cross-legged on a large toadstool, playing a flute.

[@michaelregan427]

Lol yes. This dude is the man.

[@wolgainuk]

Met him today, he was HB21 British Fell Championship organiser. Nice chap.

[@Redflowers9]

With a medieval jester hood and giggling like "hee hee hee" rocking back and forth clapping his hands

[@antoniocardinale6958]

Morgan Donnelly is a great guy , and a fantastic fell runner .

[@T4Cification]

Fell running barefeet is crazy given the fact many mt runs are rocky. As regards how to get started,,,find a hill and start to run up it slowly

[@northernninjarunner5506]

Great to see Kate Carter 👊

[@patrickmccready6051]

Thank you so much for your advice i may introduce it to my marathon training i think it will help.

[@NorthEastTrailRunner]

I do the occasional fell race in the Cheviots, in Northumberland. It's not easy, but very rewarding.

[@whalewatchersa]

Set the playback speed to 0.25 and go to 0:24. When were crash mats invented?

[@mariumraja4821]

Lovely video enjoyed watching

[@eaglelegend1]

What a great film

[@kkndcf]

I think this guy has been picking mushrooms as he runs.

[@jones1068]

I used to do a lot of Fell running.

[@arontesfay2520]

It makes perfect sense to do it barefoot because the last thing you want going up a hill is extra weight on your feet

[@peteoutdoors5791]

I’ve run some fell races but never got a free pint at the end of it 😀

[@seanmorris]

All the free beer gone by the time you finished? 😜

[@JustifyJustin]

The domain of the ectomorph. The closer you are to pure sinew the better ;)

[@on0the0lamb]

I sold this guy a bunny hood so he wouldn't be attacked by Stalchilds in Hyrule field.

[@jonathanbower7081]

I'm not great at fell running - in fact I fell, running!

[@carbar64]

"whole horseshoe of hills"

[@paulm2467]

A horseshoe is usually all the fells around a valley, the Lake District is basically made up of open ended valleys with the highest ground on ridges with multiple peaks usually getting higher towards the closed end of the valley. The advantage of a horseshoe is that you end up very close to your starting point so it's ideal for racing. The most famous of these are probably the Fairfield horseshoe, the Kentmere horseshoe and the Langdale horseshoe but there are others such as Wasdale and Ennerdale. Most of these have fell races and are in the championships. There are also " horseshoes " in many other places such as Scotland, Yorkshire and even the Isle of Wight.

[@eoghanjquigley]

inov8

[@theworldslargestturtle1453]

Swag

[@TraumaER]

Seems like a great way to destroy your knees.

[@paulbailey7641]

Not true.

[@groundworkcivils7506]

Soft ground is it nor

[@Autumn_Forest_]

Nope, I’ve been running *fast* up and down hills since I was a kid - and I am an almost-50-year-old competitive runner. My knees are great! You just need strong quads.