A high barren landscape covered in grass, heather and rocks. There are several valleys that run up into the main hillside. A path leads the eve to the distance where there is a war memorial.
Abstract hill that also looks like a letter f and the words fell run that look like a shoe

What is Fell Running?

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by

kel
in ,

In the simplest terms it is running in the fells.

“Huh, what are fells?” I hear you ask!

Oops, I forgot, you’re not from the North of England and haven’t heard the term before. That’s okay, read on and all will become clear (as mud?).

A fell is a kind of hill, specifically a high and barren field or moor.

It’s not really a mountain, although confusingly some fells are also mountains, and it’s different from a hill, although some fells could easily be hills too.

It’s something between a hill and a mountain, but it’s also a certain quality of landscape that seems to be quite unique to the north of England. There may be other places in the world where there is similar terrain, if you know of somewhere, please let me know.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few of my photos that to me, epitomise what I mean by fell:

First of all the header image above, it’s a stunning, beautiful landscape, but there are no trees, exposed rock and lots of low growing shrubs, heathers, grasses, etc.

A high barren landscape covered in grass, heather and rocks. There are several valleys that run up into the main hillside. A path leads the eve to the distance where there is a war memorial.

Maybe it looks pretty easy and inviting to walk or run over, but there are so many hazards that actually make it very difficult in many areas.

Here’s a slightly different perspective. See how the ground is just short tough grass? The path is narrow, difficult to follow.

Barren moorland, a faint path, tough short grass. Clouds and sun create drama. It looks moody and uncertain.

It gets worse. Without warning, sometimes the ground will give way to watery bog. It’s not uncommon to suddenly find yourself knee deep in cold, wet sloppy mud.

The fells and the moorland can also be beautiful, when the heather is in bloom they are absolutely stunning.

But heather is as treacherous as it is beautiful. The thick sinewy stems are perfect for snagging on shoe laces.

Stunning pink heather with rolling fells and woodland valleys in the background.

Sometimes there are hard flat stone paths installed by the environmental services looking after the area. Personally I find these really painful to run on. They are there for good reason though, some parts of the fells are very popular and have a lot of visitors. Without these paths the ground becomes almost impassable for the average person because they turn to deep mud and become slippy and dangerous.

Autumn on the moorland fells, a hard path made of stone slabs to the right and lots of fields to the left in the wide valley below.

Of course fell running includes running up and down to and from the fells. This often takes us through beautiful woodland. And of course, there are many gates, styles and other boundary pass ways to negotiate (often a handy excuse for a little breather).

Then of course there is weather and seasons to contend with. I particularly like running in storms but I never take photos during these runs because I am barely hanging on for dear life.

This day was particularly good fun trying to run through the giant snow drifts.

A path leading up a hill full of drifted snow in beautiful sculpted shapes. A sign post tells the way. A tree stands guard. A wall on either side.

Hopefully you now have a reasonable idea of what fells are, so what exactly is fell running?

For me it is running over this wonderfully mixed terrain in all weathers, the more varied, difficult and challenging the better.

Fell running is as much a mental sport as a physical one. It requires intense concentration to stay upright and not trip up on any of the thousands of hazards that are encountered on nearly every step of every run.

It’s about keeping going when everything is saying ‘no’. It’s about resilience, toughness. But it’s also about admitting that no matter how tough you might think you are, nature is always tougher and in this sense it is the most humbling thing I have ever done.

There’s a saying amongst the running community that goes something like “you will never regret going for a run” and I believe this is especially true for running in the fells.

Even in the foulest of weather there is joy to be found splashing around in the puddles, grinding up that last steep path against the wind and turning around and feeling like you can fly because the wind is now lifting you up and making you literally run like the wind.

There is so much more to it than this, and I will write again to explore some of these ideas in detail.

Until then, I hope this inspires you to get out and experience the simple pleasures of running in the fells.

Happy running!