What are Trail and Fell Running?

 

Trail and fell running have grown in popularity over the past few years, both within Mountains and the general outdoors community. There is a distinction between the two: trail running sticks almost exclusively to paths and doesn't necessitate climbing any mountains, whereas fell running usually takes a more direct approach up and down the hills. Don’t worry however: we don’t usually run up hills! Instead, we mostly power hike up and then run the downhill and horizontal parts of the route.

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Fell running is a incredible way to experience more of what the hills have to offer and push yourself both mentally and physically.

 

When fell running, we carry much less gear than on a normal walk, usually consisting of a waterproof, food (and lots of it!), drink, safety gear and navigational equipment. We also use trail running shoes rather than walking boots, which are too heavy and cumbersome to run comfortably in.

 

What do we do at Warwick Mountains?

 

At Mountains, we have plenty of opportunities to try and experience both forms, and we often combine the two. Several of our Walk Leaders are fell runners and lead such runs, however there is no guarantee that there will be one on every trip.

 

On trips, fell runs tend to be 30-40km with over 2000 metres of ascent across 7-9 hours, making them very physically challenging and strenuous. However, there may be opportunities to run over shorter distances as well, such as on Saturday evenings and Sundays. We also move quickly across technical, hazardous and varied terrain, making these runs unsuitable for people who are new to hiking in such environments. 

 

This does not mean that we want to exclude people from taking part, but please consider whether you are a) capable of completing such a run both from a physical and technical standpoint and b) if you will enjoy such a day: I am constantly asked “are you insane?", and the answer is slightly!

 

If you want to improve your fitness, we have a weekly club run which is a great way to meet fellow trail runners and work your way up to joining us for a full day! The best way to gain technical ability is to join us for our weekend trips in the hills and get hiking and scrambling: most of us who fell run spent many years walking up hills before beginning to run.

 

Whilst these days are not easy, they are very rewarding and a fantastic way to experience the hills!