FRA/Club help for beginners

[Arnica]

Question: Do you think clubs/ FRA could/should do anymore to help beginners to the sport?

Nevermind beginners, as most responses here have missed the point of the question maybe it's the more 'seasoned' runners that need assistance with their reading/ comprehension? Or maybe it's all that time spent out in the hills?

As fellrunning is dominated by ageing balding men I think more should be done to encourage / assist newcomers into the sport to keep it alive.

As a sport that prides itself on it's friendly and welcoming attitude, as compared to it's more formal cousins on the road/ track, there isn't really a lot of proactive recruitment and supportive pathway into it going on. It's very much a case of if you want to run on the fells, just get on with it and don't ask silly questions.

That's not to say fra and clubs particularly don't already do stuff, but will it be the case in 20 or 30 years time that the vet70s outnumber the vet 40s?

[Duncan]

A couple of comments on the demographics of fell running:

- it seems to be an older person's sport as most clubs are well outside the cities and most 20-30 yr-olds in small towns on the sides of the Pennines have got better things to do than hang around with their parents generation running around on the moors.
- there's been a massive influx of 30-somethings into the sport as the yoof who went to the cities, got degrees, joined Uni outdoorsie clubs, are now looking for a better quality of life back out of the cities and find that their local fellrunners are great bunch of people.
I think the sport is highly self-selecting and if it's something you want to do then you'll drift into it. In a lot of ways it's like climbing or caving in that you learn the ropes (pun) as you go along - a good club might identify where newcomers are deficient in, say, navigation, and may help that person hone their getting-lost abilities but what else is there to learn?
Whether it's on a short club run or a two-day mountain marathon I've always found other runners are perfectly happy to share wisdom and opinions although not necessarily on an uphill stretch.

[idler]

Hmm, not sure. You see a race you like the look of, you go along and hand in your 4 quid and have a run. I'm pretty new to the game and have found the atmosphere at races great without exception. But nobody recruited me.

We run on sensitive land sometimes, there's only so many footfalls the terrain can take without it complaining. The low key, unpromoted atmosphere is part of what makes hill running special. Low key, but not exclusive, and certainly not elitist.

Sure the sport's demographic is fairly bald and probably slowing, but isn't that true of running in general? Heck, so's the classical music demographic. It just is. And speaking personally, every young fit person that turns up is a place closer to the back for me

[idler]

Anyway that sounds a bit miserable. Here's a nice little film (if you ignore the fluff) from a beginner's point of view, with Iain of this parish...
http://channel.audi.co.uk/play/media/2255

[karen nash]

It's not all bald oldies, or male.

The woodentops do loads (still) in their area of Yorkshire, Rosendal have lots of Juniors, helm Hill likewise.
Others are introduced to it by parents ( my son did A Amble with me last weekend and likes the longer fell races but not so much the short sharp XC type ones)
Our club has now got more ladies running on the fell than ever. I don't think we recruited them as such but people showed them what was possible and them helped them along. ( after all even us women can keep up with many aging baldies)
Agree transport can be an issue but there are people who will offer lifts if asked ( ran leg of relays the other week with 18 yr old and no car - he got lifts and used his bike to get to it)

[stevefoster]

As fellrunning is dominated by ageing balding men

I promise i will not dominate anybody.........In an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice

[The Piglit]

It says elsewhere on this site

Fell running is perhaps unique amongst sports in that it does not seek to attract ever greater numbers of participants.

Then adding

The reason for this policy is that we have to balance our sporting interests with the impact on the environment. The sad fact is that the hills of Britain simply will not cope with ever increasing pounding of feet.

I will confess that I wasn't entirely sure what to make of all that. Those of us who fancy we have less in the way of ability and aspiration (however keen we are) may take it to mean that we are as welcome as a fart in a space suit.

[Mr Ricepudding]

It says elsewhere on this site

Fell running is perhaps unique amongst sports in that it does not seek to attract ever greater numbers of participants.

Then adding

The reason for this policy is that we have to balance our sporting interests with the impact on the environment. The sad fact is that the hills of Britain simply will not cope with ever increasing pounding of feet.

I will confess that I wasn't entirely sure what to make of all that. Those of us who fancy we have less in the way of ability and aspiration (however keen we are) may take it to mean that we are as welcome as a fart in a space suit.

Well, maybe if you don't understand the importance of considering the sports impact on the environment ....

[The Piglit]

I don't think the sport has a measurable impact on the environment and I was surprised at that being stated as the reason for not encouraging people.

I think the expansion of developing economies (eg Nigeria aims to be in top 20 world economies by 2020 and is IMHO likely to make that) has a measurable impact on the environment.

One could get bogged here in arguments about whether National Park Authorities encouraging people to use the places more along with the Govt, the Ramblers etc etc doing all they can to get people out into the countryside to be "healthier" is a good idea environmentally

However....my real suspicion was that underlying the FRA reason was not in fact an environmental one, but a deeper sort of collectively personal, perhaps even elitest one about wanting to keep the sport small, special, and not universally popular.

Anyone for controversy?

[XRunner]

I don't think the sport has a measurable impact on the environment and I was surprised at that being stated as the reason for not encouraging people.

Foot strikes by fell runners do have an impact on the environment.

Fell runners are just part of the the total number of people who use the fells for recreational reasons. We need to accept the fact that there has been a very visible impact on the fells by all users. Look at the footpaths snaking over the lake district fells and in the peak district caused by people like ourselves who use the routes.