From my letter to Nick Harris:


You will be aware of the current controversy on the use of GPS devices to navigate in fell races. Navigation has always been part of fell running, and hopefully that will long continue. Permitting the use of GPS derived distance, height, time, and as a compass is logical, and it would be senseless to try to prevent runners looking at these during the event. But using pre-stored bread crumb trails or arrows that point to stored checkpoints can make navigation so easy that it completely changes the nature of the event - and to have some doing this and some not would be like having 5 year olds and adults in the same race - it makes for two different events that just happen to be taking place simultaneously.
Ambleside AC has put considerable thought into the issue and has come up with a sensible rule. Rather than having individual ROs decide on the issue for themselves, it would be quite straightforward for the FRA to take on the "Ambleside Rule" as its default setting, with those ROs who wish to opt out of this rule doing so by notifying the FRA accordingly. I think the number of ROs who would wish to opt out would be very few.
Otherwise I fear the sport will fragment into factions, each with their own different set of rules - which would be a sad day for what is meant to be a simple and pleasurable sport.
And just to touch on the issue of safety - what could happen to a fell novice attempting the Great Lakes Race with a pre stored trail to follow does not bear thinking about.