What's running with the club like? - here's what Cath thought....
"Hi I'm Cath. I went along to a beginners evening at CVFR and I haven't looked back since. I had reservations on the way to the evening - 'they'll all be like mountain goats in 'we love Joss Naylor t-shirts.' - I couldn't have been more wrong (about the t-shirts!). I was made to feel very welcome. The other runners gave me the motivation to stick at it and the encouragement to keep going when it got tough. So now? I have stuck at it and have been going along for 5 months. I have learned it's about pushing yourself to your limit and finding out what you can do, not what you can't. My advice - give it a go! It's great fun, addictive and you run with like minded, encouraging and friendly people."
What's Fell Running all about?
Instead of pounding along roads with the smell and noise of traffic engulfing you, fell running allows you to explore our beautiful countryside. There are a few gifted top level atheletes, but the majority of people compete at their own level, meeting the same faces on different runs and going at their own pace. Fell running is an expanding sport following the publication of Richard Askwith's Feet in the Clouds, that describes the fell running world.
Races vary from a few miles to marathons and beyond, but the main aspect that filters through all races is a sense of fun and camaraderie. Fell running is an amateur sport and so you can meet and run with the top names in the country - although most will only see their backs disappearing over the horizon!
Running up hills - I can't do that...
The majority of runners will walk up the hills, but you'll be surprised with regular training how much further you can go.
The training runs seem a bit long...
The club training runs are for everyone. The full route run is described on the website, however many club runners take a shorter route and we are introducting "have a go" nights.
Where do you run from?
Club training runs tend to start at the Mytholmroyd Community Centre, but occasionally we have away runs so check the training timetable for details.
Running - is that all you do?
Our club members are not just runners. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and are interested in other sports such as cycling, adventure racing, climbing, walking etc. There are hobbies such as photography - especially of the fells! Often the whole family can come along - children can run in the junior races and the adults in the seniors. For the seniors there is also imprtant post race debriefing in the local pub! Check out our "What else do we do" page for some photos of our members...
Interested in trying us out? Contact Jo Porter here for more information / when & where to find us
Website email: Calder Valley Fell Runners