Can't believe I missed this thread. AS, that's a great idea but it has one fatal flaw. However, suitably adapted, it could work wonders.
There has been talk about fellrunning becoming increasingly an old-man's/bird's game. Well, we can sort this out in one fell swoop. In what i like to call the 'Eskimo' plan, we simply enforce a retirement age of, ooh let me think, 37, leaving the sport to revel in its youthfulness and reducing numbers, erosion and cantankerousness (is that a word?). That would get me off my skateboard and outta da hood in no time and the oldies can simply spectate. And hand out Wurthers during races to the young uns.
Oh, the retirement age should increase by one year each year too.
AS you are a genius
Yours,
ST
Aged 36 and 3/4s
Thank you, but I cannot take this compliment as I do not truly believe it, though I am sure there are one or 2 on the forum who believe they are indeed touched by genius who would welcome your praise.
However you have missed the central premise of my idea, that most over 45 fell runners are so addled by booze that if there were no younger faster people in front of them who follow the well trod lines , they would bumble off in all directions onto less eroded soil.
Was going to stop posting on this but i have just come up the REAL solution after surfing the threads - its so obvious.
Want to reduce numbers and erosion - Ban TEACHERS from fell running, numbers will over halve. Why has nobody thought of this before!!
Obviously it would be difficult to enforce initially so you could make them have proper holidays like the rest of us instead of half the year off and stop teacher training days - they will not have enough time to run then/. (Well known fact teachers have to train twice as hard as the rest of us to get anywhere).
Swiss Toni is right - I am a genius.
Are you related to Mr Bean?