International Women's Day

[anthonykay]

Yesterday was International Women's Day, and I have been reminiscing about an incident when an international woman made a lasting impact on our sport.

In the late 1970's, when fell running for women was a rather new idea, many organisers of long races put on a women's race over a shorter course. For example, in conjunction with the Ennerdale Horseshoe Race for Senior Men, there was a Ladies' Crag Fell Race (3.5 miles, 1500 feet of climbing). A race for Juniors (under 21) was also held on the Crag Fell course. On 9 June 1979 I was one of the 10 competitors in that Junior race; there were also 15 competitors in the Ladies' race (a remarkable turnout for those days), but all the talk was about a French woman who had defied the organisers and run the complete Ennerdale Horseshoe. These days, she would have been given a 3-month ban by the FRA Disciplinary Committee, but no such committee existed in those days. Her name was Veronique Marot, and she later settled in Yorkshire and turned to Marathon running, holding the British record for the Marathon before Paula Radcliffe came along.

The following year, women were officially allowed to run the full Ennerdale Horseshoe, although the Crag Fell course was also offered to ladies for two more years, and was later run as a standalone AS race for some years. But the general expectation soon became that all fell races would be open to women, running the same course as men.

Curiously, Bill Smith does not mention the 1979 Marot incident in Studmarks; neither does it appear in Steve Chilton's It's a Hill. But it does get a mention in Richard Askwith's Feet in the Clouds.

[Travs]

This was in It's A Hill, I was actually reading the very chapter last night...!

[Graham Breeze]

Yesterday was International Women's Day, and I have been reminiscing about an incident when an international woman made a lasting impact on our sport.

In the late 1970's, when fell running for women was a rather new idea, many organisers of long races put on a women's race over a shorter course. For example, in conjunction with the Ennerdale Horseshoe Race for Senior Men, there was a Ladies' Crag Fell Race (3.5 miles, 1500 feet of climbing). A race for Juniors (under 21) was also held on the Crag Fell course. On 9 June 1979 I was one of the 10 competitors in that Junior race; there were also 15 competitors in the Ladies' race (a remarkable turnout for those days), but all the talk was about a French woman who had defied the organisers and run the complete Ennerdale Horseshoe. These days, she would have been given a 3-month ban by the FRA Disciplinary Committee, but no such committee existed in those days. Her name was Veronique Marot, and she later settled in Yorkshire and turned to Marathon running, holding the British record for the Marathon before Paula Radcliffe came along.

The following year, women were officially allowed to run the full Ennerdale Horseshoe, although the Crag Fell course was also offered to ladies for two more years, and was later run as a standalone AS race for some years. But the general expectation soon became that all fell races would be open to women, running the same course as men.

Curiously, Bill Smith does not mention the 1979 Marot incident in Studmarks; neither does it appear in Steve Chilton's It's a Hill. But it does get a mention in Richard Askwith's Feet in the Clouds.

That a lady completed the course unofficially is referred to, post-official results, in The Fellrunner (January 1980 page 13) and to give Steve Chilton credit, he does mention it (page 148) and quotes The Fellrunner above.

As for Bill? The tenor from the RO at the time was annoyance "...expressly asked not to do so. ...where safety is paramount, unofficial runners must be discouraged...risk to themselves...burden on organisers". Given this I suspect Bill was loth to give publicity to Veronique's misdemeanor although he was well aware of it, not least because he was on the FRA Committee at the time as Press Officer!

[anthonykay]

That a lady completed the course unofficially is referred to, post-official results, in The Fellrunner (January 1980 page 13) and to give Steve Chilton credit, he does mention it (page 148) and quotes The Fellrunner above.

As for Bill? The tenor from the RO at the time was annoyance "...expressly asked not to do so. ...where safety is paramount, unofficial runners must be discouraged...risk to themselves...burden on organisers". Given this I suspect Bill was loth to give publicity to Veronique's misdemeanor although he was well aware of it, not least because he was on the FRA Committee at the time as Press Officer!

My apologies to Steve Chilton, I didn't check carefully enough.

I think Graham is probably right about Bill Smith, I couldn't imagine that he was unaware of the incident, and I was certainly aware of the RO's annoyance at the time.

[Wheeze]

Can anyone tell me when International Mans Day is please???

[JamesWoodman]

November 19th.

http://www.internationalmensday.com/

[ba-ba]

International man's day runs from March 9th to March 7th.
Or, if you wish to be crude, Steak and Blowjob day is March 14th.

[Wheeze]

November 19th.

http://www.internationalmensday.com/

Thanks James. Lookin forward to it!