(Updated May 2024)

In 2019 I spent 9 months in the Lake District – living and working at YHA Borrowdale, and indulging in my passion for fellrunning in-between. In which time – apart from serving countless meals and scrubbing countless bogs – I really did rather a lot of running. Looking back on my Strava feed, I recorded over 100 activities, covering over 1000km in distance and climbing around 50,000 metres. But I probably did as much again which I didn’t record – various rambles, jogs, scrambles, stravaigs and other explorations on foot.

The vast majority of my trips out were directly from the YHA. I rarely got into the car first. The hostel, in the hamlet of Longthwaite, is perfectly located to explore Borrowdale’s famous fells, crags, valleys, waterfalls and more. I got to know my patch pretty well, and never got bored of it. Quite the opposite in fact – the more I explored, the more I found to explore.

In amongst all this I quite liked to race. I did 22 fell races in these 9 months, and 3 of them began no more than a 10-minute jog from the hostel. In fact, 5 races in the FRA calendar start within half a mile of YHA Borrowdale. So, in tribute to these few but esteemed square miles of the country, I shamelessly plug these 5 races below. Why not give one, or more (or all 5!) a try sometime?

Glaramara

1pm, Sun 19 May 2024

Start: Glaramara House, Seatoller

8km, 700m – AS

Organised by: Borrowdale Fell Runners

The climb up is strenuous but straightforward, but this race is all about picking the right line on the descent. Can you locate the alleged grassy ramps, that send you hurtling down the fell while normally-faster runners trail in your wake? Local knowledge and repeated recce-ing is a massive advantage here. And bear in mind that the bit you can’t recce (the final part of the descent, which is out of bounds except on race-day) is a potential ankle-breaker of rocks hidden in the bracken. Oh, and from my experience, don’t run it the day after supporting a Bob Graham Round – it might kill you.

Langstrath

7.15pm, Wed 19 June 2024

Start: Langstrath Hotel, Stonethwaite

7.5km, 430m – AS

Organised by: Borrowdale Fell Runners

Up the interminable stone staircase of Lingy End, then a rough trail by Dock Tarn to Watendlath (quicker but boggier lines across the moor are potentially available), then back down the main track to Stonethwaite. An evening race at midsummer – one of the best times to run in the Lakes (unless the midges are eating you alive, as they did in 2021).

Bessyboot

7pm, Wed 10 July 2024

Start: Borrowdale School

5.2km, 456m – AS

Organised by: Borrowdale School

A new midweek-evening race on the calendar (I ran the inaugural race in 2022). You get 200m of flat running at the beginning and end, but otherwise it’s a gnarly scramble up through the bracken then a rocky twinkle-toes descent down the other side. Local knowledge and recce-ing very much an advantage – the shortest lines are by no means the quickest.

Borrowdale

11am, Sat 3 August 2024

Start: opposite Scafell Hotel, Rosthwaite

27km, 2000m – AL

Organised by: Borrowdale Fell Runners

The distance and ascent don’t even begin to tell the story of the Borrowdale Fell Race, one of the classic events on the FRA calendar. Indeed “fellrunning” is a potentially misleading term here, as so little of the race involves conventional running. From the walks up Bessyboot, Great Gable and Dale Head, the invisible trods around Glaramara and Brandreth, the boulders up Scafell Pike and the scree-run down it, the technical descents of Gable and Dale Head…. factor in the weather, food and water considerations (the only “feeding station” I found was a murky trough of juice at Honister) and the challenging cut-offs and you have more an exercise in self-reliance & mountaincraft than a running race. I’ve got round it 3 times now, by various means, each time within those cut-offs and avoiding the bus of shame. Read my 2022 race report here.

Dale Head

1.30pm, Sun 20 October 2024

Start: opposite Scafell Hotel, Rosthwaite

8km, 675m – AS

Organised by: Keswick AC

A steep climb up the track, but what is the best line down? The best I can say is – it depends on what kind of runner you are. Better descenders can take the steeper, rougher lines; more workmanlike downhillers like me have to take the longer ways round. Still, in 2019 I ran this race in 57 minutes – 9 minutes quicker than I did in 2018 – a testament to what being in Borrowdale for nearly a year can do for your running! The race is usually held in conjunction with the Borrowdale Shepherds’ Meet.

Well, in October 2019 my summer contract at the hostel ended, although I’m glad to say I’ve returned to Borrowdale often enough since and have now given all these 5 races a go. Each race benefits from experience, so hope to be back in the valley to try them all again soon.