Think a marathon’s a long way? Think again, says Jenny Laue, after meeting two of the region’s fell runners.

WHY anyone would want to put themselves through a gruelling 95-mile run – nearly four times the distance of a normal marathon – up and down a mountain, over rugged terrain and more often than not in inclement weather is anyone’s guess.

The men and women who line up at the start of ultra-marathons must be incredibly hardy and super fit. Fell running is obviously a step too far for anyone remotely normal, even those who work out in the gym three times a week.

Not so, says Helen Witham, from Cotherstone, near Barnard Castle, who’s been a passionate fell runner for more than ten years and who ran the 95-mile West Highland Way Race not long ago.

“I started running after I had my daughter, who’s 27 now,” says Helen, who belongs to the Durham Fell Runners, based at Hamsterley Forest. “It was a way to get the baby weight off and get active. It was probably ten years ago that I really got into fell running. I just found myself turning off the road more and more.

“But I don’t think I’m ultra-fit. I have a lot of endurance. On some of the ultras I have to work hard to keep going,” she says. “But I absolutely love it. Because I love the countryside and I can’t think of anywhere nicer to train than in and around Cotherstone or Hamsterley. Sometimes we train at How Gill, in the Dales or on the North York Moors. What’s best is that because I’m stuck in an office all day, I get to enjoy nature.”

Helen reckons that and the increasing popularity of running as a beneficial weight-bearing exercise is the reason why more women are taking up the once-male dominated sport. Where once she was one of only a few, women now make up nearly a third of the Durham Fell Runners’ membership.

That’s a view Andrew Minister, a fell runner from Hartlepool and fellow club member, shares. Although his main club is the Hartlepool Burn Road Harriers, he tries to get out to places like the Lake District, the North York Moors or Roseberry Topping to train as much as he can. The 33-year-old social worker started running as a youngster and for him, taking his training from the road into the hills was a natural progression.

Andrew thinks that for the same reason as people clamour to take part in events like the London Marathon or the Great North Run, fell running presents a real challenge to them, not so much against other runners but against themselves. It’s a test of their willpower.

“It’s about pushing yourself. It’s very rewarding when you’ve kept going although halfway through a race you think, what am I doing here?

When it’s a really hard race but you manage to finish it, you’re totally buzzing,” he says.

But isn’t running for hours over fell and dale, sometimes in the dark, sometimes in atrocious weather, rather dangerous? Races have had to be abandoned due to treacherous conditions in the past – most recently the Welsh 1000m Peaks Race in Snowdonia in North Wales in June, when participants had to be airlifted off the mountain.

“I don’t think fell running is a particularly dangerous sport,” says Helen. “Yes, there is always the possibility that you can turn over on your ankle and a risk of the odd blister, but otherwise it’s pretty safe. And I also don’t run by myself, in case something should happen. I have a training partner, a girl I train with.

We run races together because you’re not allowed to run them alone anyway as sometimes you have to navigate from point to point in uncharted terrain,” she says Andrew believes the media is partly to blame for blowing the dangers of fell races out of proportion. He says the Fell Running Association has years of experience organising races and all runners are well aware of the risks involved. No one who cannot prove their experience and capability in navigating or who shows up to a race without the correct survival gear is allowed to take part.

Both Helen and Andrew always carry a backpack with provisions on every race, even if it is over a short distance.

Fell races are highly organised events: with the unpredictability of the British weather, they have to be.

Not only do runners set off in pairs, but they are also equipped with navigating instruments such as maps and a compass, as well as first aid kits, torches, whistles, extra warm clothing and emergency food, in case weather conditions worsen dramatically.

OTHER safety guards include manned checkpoints which have to be passed by the runners within a certain time, otherwise they are not allowed to carry on. Most runners also have back-up, in Helen’s case her daughter, who provides food and encouragement.

“I’m really lucky I have such a supportive daughter,” she says. “She thinks I’m totally mad, but she drives and makes sure I get food, change of clothes and shoes.”

Last, but not least, both Helen and Andrew say the comradeship that exists among the members of a club as well as the wider community of runners is something that keeps them in their running shoes too.

“We’re a tight-knit little community, which is wonderful,” says Helen.

“There is a bit of competitiveness, but it’s as much against myself as others. The sense of achievement that comes with it is a great high.”

Fell running: how to get started

Durham Fell Runners was founded in 2004 and now has 62 members, the oldest 75, the youngest 17. The club trains every Thursday evening at 7pm at the visitor centre at Hamsterley Forest. Find out more about fell running and the club on durhamfellrunners.org.uk.

Races being run in our area in July are: Beacon Hill, Rothbury, Northumberland, July 9; Pinchinthorpe Plot, Guisborough, July 21; Summer Handicap Series 4, Hamsterley Forest, July 23 and James Herriott Run, Bolton Castle, North Yorkshire, July 26.

Other athletic and fell running clubs in our area: Northumberland Fell Runners, northumberlandfellrunners.co.uk; Crook Athletic Club, crookathletic- club.org.uk; North York Moors Athletic Club, nym.ac; Cumberland Fell Runners, c-fr.

org.uk; Quakers Running Club, quakersrunningclub.org.uk; Hartlepool Burn Road Harriers, hartlepoolburnroad.co.uk and Teesdale Athletic Club, eastbriscoe.co.uk/tac For more information, log on to fellrunner.org.uk