Conquer fell running

Infamously tough yet famously friendly, the sport of fell running will take your fitness to new heights amid the wildest landscapes. Here's our beginners' guide

- Sam Pyrah

1 What is fell running?

In his paean to the sport, Feet in the Clouds, Richard Askwith explains pithily: “You run up the fell; you run down again.” Simple it may be; easy it is not. Unlike trail running, which generally sticks to well-defined tracks, fell running means negotiating challenging, often pathless terrain. Expect lung-busting climbs, steep descents and unpredictable weather. The word 'fell' comes from fjall, Old Norse for hill; in Scotland, the sport is simply called hill running.

2 Steeped in tradition

The earliest recorded hill race was staged on Creag Choinnich near Braemar in 1064, by a Scottish king seeking fleet-footed messengers. “Fell races as we now know them were established in the mid-1800s,” says Steve Chilton, author of It’s a Hill, Get Over It, a fell-running history. “They took place at local events and fairs, mostly in the north of England.” That grassroots, no-frills ethos persists today, he adds: “Fell races are cheap, low-key and noncommercial – organised by and for the community.” Expect a friendly welcome, but don’t expect baggage drops, aid stations or finishers’ medals.

3 Find your feet