Why the interest in fell running?
Posted in Running
An excellent article on fell running from the ever popular Planet Fear on the increase in popularity of fell running has prompted me to add my two pennies worth on the subject. They are right and there is no denying that some races are getting harder to enter. I won’t spoil it all but I will say read the article. There is not much I can add to the article apart from to discuss why it is seen to be becoming more popular.
It is generally seen now that all outdoor activities are becoming more popular. This could be mountain biking, trail running, walking, climbing, adventure racing you name it. It seems as the majority of the nation generally gets fatter there is a growing minority that is getting away from it all out of the city and into those hills.
The growing popularity of outdoor sports in general and particularly extreme outdoor sports has added to the popularity of fell running. I myself came from a background of adventure racing and after completing a mountain marathon got led to run more fell races. Now fell running is my main sport. This seems to be a popular transition into the sport as many names from both sports can be seen at the starting line. It also seems like many climbers are attracted to fell running and many fell runners climb. Both have an appreciation of the dramatic outdoors and aim to tame it in their different ways. Running in the hills and mountains as training for climbing just makes sense.
Orienteering also seems to be gaining a bit of momentum at the moment. They certainly have a healthier youth section than fell running and again the cross over of people doing both is huge.
The cross over from different sports is increasing the pressure on fell running. So even though the FRA do not actively promote they have the commercial adventure racing competitions advertising new people to the sport through the back door. Orienteering is also promoting their sport to new blood therefore again increasing participation in fell running as a result.
One group I have not mentioned yet are the road running converts. This is a tricky one for me to answer properly and would welcome comments on this from others. At the running club I attend it seems like fell runners are still a fringe group and there are not a lot of people crossing codes. However from discussions with others and various forum talk It does seem that there are road runners coming into the sport and this has increased the popularity of known events such as the Ben and 3 Peaks. Many may only race 1 or 2 races a year but it gives an impression of a busy and growing fell running scene. This could account for the growth in the sports key top events and also the lack of entries in some of the less well known races.
The final contribution to the increase is about availability to information either in print from the web.
Many of the now more popular races are ones mentioned in Feet in the Clouds. A great book on fell running and one that really does glamorise the sport has managed to get a number of people from non-fell running background interested in the sport. They will then gravitate towards races they have heard of. I think many of these people will be the same people who race on fells once or twice a year and spend the rest of the year focusing on their main sports be it triathlons, adventure racing, road running, etc etc.
The web also has their place in the increase. The once almost secretive sport of fell running has grown through the internet and increased visibility. Now time spent on the internet can give you the dates and the entry details for most races. The thing that people will search on are still recognised races. They will find these details through a variety of sources this includes club websites and the FRA calender on the site. Sites like this (if anyone was reading it) and planet fear will also add to the increased accessibility to the sport. I will be trying to keep a balance between informative without pissing off organisers and this is a thin line.
I also think that the FRA forum also adds to the increase as it is a great way for beginners to understand the sport and to get to know about races. Unfortunatly it seems like the most popular events are the most written about on the forum hence the increase of people entering.
So with a boom of outdoor activities and especially running what to do about it?
If you are thinking about racing in the fells then please do join the FRA and find out about some of the great races across the country that are not as popular. Try to spread the load as the less busy ones across wild terrain is really the true essence of fell running.
September 7th, 2008 at 6:31 am
I’m a relative newcomer to fellrunning, and there’s no doubt that the greater access to information about the sport and the events has encouraged me to ‘give it a go’. That wouldn’t have been the case 5 years ago when it was very much a hidden world. Reading Feet in the Clouds captured my interest as well.
My main problem is that I’d really like to do more fellrunning, but living in Cambridgeshire makes it difficult. I think that this geographical factor is one reason why many people will continue with other activity sports such as road running as their main focus and only have a go at three or four fellraces a year. Inevitably they end up doing the classics, and those that they have read about.
In many ways fellrunning is no different to road running as far as popularity of events is concerned. People outside road running are attracted by the high profile events eg London Marathon, Great North Run, and there’s no doubt that they are great events to take part in. Many people will do these events and then that will be it. For the minority who take it further (but still as a midfield runner) the smaller events are often better – easier parking, less congested at the start, lower cost. I therefore agree with you about seeking out the less well known events in the fellracing calendar. As well as reducing the pressure on the popular events, it may well be a better overall experience for the runners.