I used to be on the forum as Behind You since about 2007 but lost my log in, a friend of Daleside who made(!) me do a couple of races, but I was never much of a poster and an even worse runner, although I did win some beer once over Ilkley Moor as I was the only person in my age category. I did enjoy following the banter and supporting events though.
From 2004 to 2018 I coached juniors, including quite a few fell runners.
It didn't seem to matter what their discipline was, there is just a drop out each year.
Look at most cross country leagues and U11 which are relatively new, are the biggest age group. Moving through U13, U15, U17 it reduces with age.
r
Richard Taylor
"William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
Sid Waddell
Tom Sessford might well have literally grown out of fellrunning. Last time I saw him he was an absolute unit. Not fat, but a big strong guy more suited to being a back-row forward or basketball player than running in the hills
Poacher turned game-keeper
Hey mate,
Hope you're well?
I know Sean started working and dropped out of it and I think Tom works as a ski instructor now so he's still into outdoorsyness.
I often speculate that it's a mixture of changing interests, perhaps more exacerbated by the sharp transition from junior to senior and the things that brings with it - like nav, kit carrying etc.
I obviously broke my ankle so that put me out, but when I was a junior I was doing MMs, BG support etc, so I built a base of experience perhaps that helped me more transitioning into being a senior runner than perhaps those who were winning FRA junior races.
Obviously, there are standout examples like Marc and James Knox (11th at the Vuelta). It seems that the juniors who make successful senior transitions generally go down the athletics club route though
Trying to plod up hills every day slightly faster than the day before
Sorry to hear about the ankle. Hope it's all fixed now. I've always felt that you can't "make" a fell runner. It's something that has to come to you. Maybe those younger runners will rediscover the joy of fell competition later in life.
By the way, as one of those involved in the protracted safety debate, I apologise if it put you off the forum. At the time I felt it was an important debate as it cut to the heart of what fell running is about.
Some good old folks back in the day who meet up and enjoyed there time together out, regardless of ability.
I actually thought it was a debate that needed to be had too, I just found the tone of it wasn't balanced out perhaps by the original camaraderie of the forum...but people have become more polarised on the internet nowadays.
I do get on here quite a bit still to trawl old threads for races etc.
Trying to plod up hills every day slightly faster than the day before
Definitely noticed a big change. It used to be all a bit of a lark down the pub. And the 'proper' threads were a valuable source of fell running activity. But the safety debate was the first time it got as bit nasty in parts. Mind you, the recent Brexit bollocks kicked it into a cocked hat! Hopefully we can josh along a bit better now.
Simon Blease
Monmouth