Today's poet

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hes

I've said it before but you do make me laugh!:D

---

I'm serious about the plates Hes! :eek::D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Harry H Howgill

I've been thinking about the spirit of fell running theme, so I trawled through a thread or two for some inspiration. All I've done is edited some lines slightly and added a couple of my own. By no means a finished piece - haven't really decided what form it might take really - but I thought you might like some of the comments, and even add some too. Take it and run with it.

The Spirit of Fellrunning

Just turning up at a race, paying a few quid, and running
Borrowing a pair of shoes off a stranger to race in
New races starting, old ones dying
Waiting for the hounds to come in before setting off
“Race you to the top of that hill and back lads”
Helping on a Bob Graham leg for someone you don’t know
Just being in the mountains.
It takes me back to beinga boy- just me and my dad
Giving it your all, getting covered in mud
At odds with a risk adverse society
Juniors disappearing, come back at 40
A desire to lose oneself in the hills – whether by design or not
It isn’t all about the racing – the racing has changed, the running hasn’t
Whether the sport grows, withers or dies – that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that the fells will always be there for those who appreciate them
A sense of place, of territory, or the connection between man and the land, the fact that you discover something new about the country, and yourself, each time you run.
Feeling naked amid your surroundings. Free from the world.
I can be on my monday morning meat wagon to Central London, close my eyes and see myself bounding over Green Gable
A tasty post-race, post-bath glass of Laphroig.
The welcoming attitude that all of you show to new members
Running solo in the hills. How can that not be free spirited?
The isolation, the beauty, the slightly bonkersness of it
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow; sometimes alone, sometimes with company.
No barriers for anyone who wants to take the sport up.
The people - competitors, organisers, supporters - are welcoming and friendly

---

Wow! that's impressive, really liked the one about being on the train to London but thinking about bounding over great gable...i will think on about others....:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Harry H Howgill

I've been thinking about the spirit of fell running theme, so I trawled through a thread or two for some inspiration. All I've done is edited some lines slightly and added a couple of my own. By no means a finished piece - haven't really decided what form it might take really - but I thought you might like some of the comments, and even add some too. Take it and run with it.

The Spirit of Fellrunning

Just turning up at a race, paying a few quid, and running
Borrowing a pair of shoes off a stranger to race in
New races starting, old ones dying
Waiting for the hounds to come in before setting off
“Race you to the top of that hill and back lads”
Helping on a Bob Graham leg for someone you don’t know
Just being in the mountains.
It takes me back to beinga boy- just me and my dad
Giving it your all, getting covered in mud
At odds with a risk adverse society
Juniors disappearing, come back at 40
A desire to lose oneself in the hills – whether by design or not
It isn’t all about the racing – the racing has changed, the running hasn’t
Whether the sport grows, withers or dies – that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that the fells will always be there for those who appreciate them
A sense of place, of territory, or the connection between man and the land, the fact that you discover something new about the country, and yourself, each time you run.
Feeling naked amid your surroundings. Free from the world.
I can be on my monday morning meat wagon to Central London, close my eyes and see myself bounding over Green Gable
A tasty post-race, post-bath glass of Laphroig.
The welcoming attitude that all of you show to new members
Running solo in the hills. How can that not be free spirited?
The isolation, the beauty, the slightly bonkersness of it
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow; sometimes alone, sometimes with company.
No barriers for anyone who wants to take the sport up.
The people - competitors, organisers, supporters - are welcoming and friendly

---

Great idea HHH. I can relate to the whisky after the bath line very well!! Here are a few of mine:

The wilderness and the sense of the power of nature
A sense of freedom and abandonment
Feeling totally alive in every nerve and sinew
The hand offered as you hesitate at a river crossing,
Falling and being lifted back on my feet by two men who didn't break their stride!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by freckle

Wow! that's impressive, really liked the one about being on the train to London but thinking about bounding over great gable...i will think on about others....:)

---

I thought you'd all like it. I thought people's comments were so good I didn't just want to hoard them until some time later when I got round to doing something with them.

HHH, that was fantastic and really captured the essence and spirit of our sport. It also brought a big smile to the face of a slightly weary, currently absent member of the forum ;):D:cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hes

Great idea HHH. I can relate to the whisky after the bath line very well!! Here are a few of mine:

The wilderness and the sense of the power of nature
A sense of freedom and abandonment
Feeling totally alive in every nerve and sinew
The hand offered as you hesitate at a river crossing,
Falling and being lifted back on my feet by two men who didn't break their stride!

---

That's great. I like those images. Especially the last two. You've got me thinking now.

I can't quite decide how to present them. Maybe as (edited) quotes, a list seems not poetic enough. I don't know. Some form of inspiration will smack me across the chops sometime. Then the work will begin! :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Derby Tup

HHH, that was fantastic and really captured the essence and spirit of our sport. It also brought a big smile to the face of a slightly weary, currently absent member of the forum ;):D:cool:

---

I can't take any credit at all as I've just cobbled together quotes from other forumites.

Good to hear from you DT. Hope your trip is going well, you've had lots of haiku-inducing experiences and you'll be home soon.

HHH

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Derby Tup

HHH, that was fantastic and really captured the essence and spirit of our sport. It also brought a big smile to the face of a slightly weary, currently absent member of the forum ;):D:cool:

---

good to hear from you DT...hope you can get some well deserved shut eye /rest soon :)

Cheers guys. Slept well last couple of nights (its 8.10am here!) and head's cleared now. Sadly, been too busy for haiku or much else but have been reading Jung Chang's epic Wild Swans, which has a kind of poetic feel to it :cool:

[QUOTE=Harry H Howgill;274189]I can't take any credit at all as I've just cobbled together quotes from other forumites.

here's mine for now...

the spirit of fellrunning (to me) =

fatigue, fellowship, pain, beauty, and an uncomplicated relationship with nature.

where human nature and the environment meet in a friendly fight

or....a variation

where human nature and the hills meet in a friendly fight

and...

an awakening from the sleep of everyday life