Account, pics and route up at http://www.longdistancechallenges.blogspot.com
Account, pics and route up at http://www.longdistancechallenges.blogspot.com
Originally Posted by Full Moon Addict
Fantastic feat John, but how about sending your write-up to The Great Outdoors magazine instead? I'm sorry, but for me this isn't what fellrunning is about.
Johnny F. The top and bottom of it is that "fell running" covers some very 'grey areas' that are well outside the scope and interest of all but the very fittest of fell walkers. Hence so many on this forum taking an interest in LDWA events. Fell running is where the interests of elite (fast) athletes comes into contact with (and, sadly, often into conflict with) the interests of pure mountain men. Your viewpoint is often shaded by where you came into the sport from. A typical example is the issue of litter on the fells. Some that have come into fell running from an athletics background and are obsessed with personal performance would appear to be quite happy to see support points on long events take on the appearance of marathon feeding stations, with discarded plastic cups etc, strewn on the ground. This totally cuts across the grain of a 'mountain man', the hills, and my love of them, come first; my performance is a secondary issue.
At the end of the day how many TGO readers would be interested in cramming what John did into 3 days?
Even 'non-fell running' is about the marathon as well as the 100m sprint.
Well done F.M.A.!!
Chapeau.
Ere ere Donkey! some fair words, which I and many others I'm sure would agree with.
And its not as though these types of challenge are swamping the forum...
Can I make my debut post with a thought on this?
I come from a resolutely road running background, as a reasonably decent (sub-3 hour) marathon runner well into my 40s. 24 months ago I'd never so much as set foot on a fell. Informed first by Askwith and next by a brief holiday in Lakeland, I took on Borrowdale, Langdale, and a couple of shorter Lakeland races to discover that inside every PB-obsessed road runner, there lurks an apallingly useless fell runner. And I couldn't care less (about the "useless" bit, that is.) Halfway up Bowfell on the way round Langdale I saw Scafell rising majestically across the valley in the distance and it suddenly dawned on me that drink stations and sacrificing time with the kids for another interval session weren't the point. I've not run a road race since (although I've taken my 4 year old up his first Wainright) and have no urge to do so again. I'm quite happy trotting round the back of the field in fell races, doing my best, and having the time of my life.
All of which, for me, is a roundabout way of saying that Full Moon Addict is the embodiement of what fell running (and this board) are all about: moving quickly through sometimes unimagineably challenging terrain and employing courage, initiative and considerable skill along the way; working with the landscape rather than against it. If we get rid of epics such as this, we might as well send BGR reports to The Great Outdoors, too. Or do we keep BGRs here just because Bob Graham is a recognised name and therefore a challenge we can categorise, almost like a 'race"?
Think about it. The Full Moon Addicts of today are the Bob Graham's of tomorrow. Fifty years from now (not trying to embarass anyone here) there may well be a thread on this board about preparation for a "Fleetwood Highland Traverse." And you're telling us that's not fell running?
TGOs gain would be our loss but thankfully I guess there's no likelihood of that happening. Keep the reports of winter epics coming, please!
Top man, Bucket. You've really grasped the issues here.
Well said Donkey and Bucket (is that a pub???)..
The spectrum of fellrunning is indeed a wide one and I've often said that "fellrunning" is an inadequate word for it. The basis of it is moving quickly over natural terrain (in all it's forms) on foot - the most natural thing in the world - and it includes the whole range, from Kenny Stuart doing 12:01 at Butter Crag or John Wild's 15:53 at Rivington Pike, right up to John's epic Scottish traverse that started this thread - and maybe even beyond! Long may it continue thus!
The thing that binds us all together as 'fellrunners' is a love of hills and of moving over them swiftly in all conditions.
Last edited by Fellhound; 29-12-2007 at 12:21 PM.
In all weather/season/light conditionsmoving quickly over natural terrain (in all it's forms) on footthats what I and a lot of others do.
Couldn't put it better than wheezing donkey and bucket.
I think anyone repeating any of Johns epics is going to be found in these forums not TGO
Bill
I agree, but I wasn't talking about the forum. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Fellrunner magazine.
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