Newbie friendly races

[Shazza]

I'm sure this has been asked hundreds of times before but here goes...

I've just joined up but coming from London have no fell running experience and zero navigation skills!

Can anyone recommend any races to try out this summer?! I reckon I'd be happy with M/L length races as I'm OK on endurance but ideally something thats either marked or doesnt need much navigating until I suss out how to read a map

I'm happy to travel but I'm restricted where I can get to by public transport or getting a lift where poss..
any suggestions/advice welcome

[Derby Tup]

Welcome to the forum

This thread http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showt...l-Running-Club and the one that is linked from it, might be a start

Good luck and enjoy your running

[Tussockface]

Short events such as gala races are much more likely to be flagged and marshalled.

M and L races tend to be unmarked and require some navigational skills. There are many races you should not attempt until you have those skills, and there are those who would say that if you genuinely have "zero navigation skills" then you shouldn't be fell running. You certainly shouldn't underestimate the potential dangers of running in wild and mountainous places.
However, there's a Catch-22 here: you can't run if you don't have navigational skills, but you can't develop navigational skills if you don't run.
The solution is to be sensible.
1) If you are confident you can stay with the pack, then you can follow others. This is by no means an infallible course of action, but at least you won't get lost by yourself.
WARNING: do not rely on this advice in bad weather or over particularly dangerous terrain (NB: At risk of sounding like a Health and Safety officer, ALL terrain is potentially dangerous.)
2) Choose an event that has few turnings and follows obvious natural features. 'Horse shoe' courses generally afford less scope for going seriously wrong than routes that cover broken or confusing ground, or go up and down several valleys or across barren plateaux. (Avoid the Howgills, for instance, in which one large grassy hill looks pretty much like another, and there are few farms, walls, pylons, tracks, etc....)
3) Take full kit and a mobile.

Alternatively, good ways to develop experience are to do events which, while not pure 'fell runs', are often not dissimilar in challenge but afford rather more in the way of organisational support. Examples would be trail races such as the Lakeland series or the James Herriot run, or LDWA events. The latter are especially good for helping to develop navigational sense, as they usually publish a text-based route description which you can use alongside a map. I've successfully 'navigated' up to 50 miles in completely unfamiliar countryside simply by following one instruction at a time (eg straight ahead 120m with wire fence on left to step stile, cross and turn left along walled lane) LDWA events are particularly reassuring if you're a slower runner like me, or if you get lost, because there are always walkers coming up behind you to set you back on track. I'd strongly recommend this as a way in to fell running.

Of course, you can always do an FRA navigation course!

Hope this helps. Good luck with the running. You won't regret taking to the fells; there are lots of fantastic places to discover and lots of friendly folk to meet (including Derby Tup).

[Antisocial]

Hi Shazza

You may know this but if you want to experience the fell running experience of running round aimlessly and scratching your head wondering where the route has gone, swearing and shouting out loud and frightening the local livestock (in this case londoners), then sprinting like mad to make up ground and afterwards rehydrating with ale and wondering why everything is spinning. You could run with any of the london hashes, true there are no hills (or countryside) as such but there is varied company, people of all ages shapes and sizes particpating and the opportunity to find routes that possibly do not exist legally. All are good but you get a harder run with City Hash.

Info here
http://www.londonhash.org/theothers.php

[Shazza]

Cheers for the advice everyone,
I'd probably agree that I shouldn't be fell running yet... dont want to end up completely out of my depth and well aware of the dangers - hence the question.
Part of the reason for my interest in the fells is that I did a 'mountain marathon' in Slovenia a couple of weeks back 22miles/2500metres and its kinda given me the bug for mountains but it did have the luxury of marked paths
I'll deffo look into FRA navigation course and possibly local orienteering club to get map skills up to speed.
Otherwise I'll try n look out some simpler routes as suggested and recce them first..

[Derby Tup]

There might be some LDWA events that take your fancy if you enjoyed your run-out in Slovenia www.ldwa.org.uk

[Steve John B]

You could try a few routes on the South Downs as navigation practice. Just get yourself a map and compass, print out a basic "how to" off the internet and away you go. There's no magic involved, once it clicks the basics are pretty straightforward.

Guildford station's only an hour on the train from London and probably less than a mile from countryside. You'll never be so far from civilisation that you're putting yourself at risk and you'll get a nice day out to boot. If you pick a station 10 miles down the line to come back from you don't even have to retrace your steps (apart from when you get lost!)

[Shazza]

Just to answer my own question, I was up in the lakes last week and did a couple of runs using the idiot-proof (or at least Shazza-proof) race maps and got on fine with those

So I'm gonna give Kentmere a go and if I'm still in one piece after that I'll do the Rydall Round later in the week...

So if you see me somewhere at the back in a shiny new pair of Walshes looking very nervous give me a wave

[are we nearly there yet?]

Good luck Shazza, this race is beautiful to run-and remember to look up from your map and take in the views! Another one worth considering is a race i organise "the Settle Loop Tough Trail" we have got rid of the tarmac section we had for the 1st 2 years, its now grass and bridleways all the way-its also shazza proof in that you don't need a map and each gate is marshalled also flagged all the way around. it means you could relax and enjoy the race without worrying about getting lost.

[Duncan R]

Hi Shazza, welcome to the madhouse! One point that occurred to me was were you a member of the FRA? In doing so you'd get a fixtures booklet highlighting fell races with contact details for those races who could give you more info on specific course requirements. You'd also get a splendid mag with loads of info + race reports also giving you more of a sense of what is available.

Should you identify a race that fits your time/distance/costs needs, you could set out to recce it, and there is a recce thread on here for such plans, There a good chance someone with more experience would be happy to jog round a route with you and point out key areas and map skills.

Good luck with it.