Teenager with Altitude

I like the freedom in fells races to be able to pick your own lines, or take a chance and follow someone else. Y

ou never really know where you are in the race, and can end up overtaking (or being overtaken by) the same people multiple times from different directions.

Occasionally I got some good views too, but the weather didn’t always allow it!

Fell racers are generally much better than me at going downhill, so I would rapidly lose sight of people on the descents.

But it was also impressive to watch their confidence and speed going downhill.

Anyone who’s tried a bit of fell racing before, and wants to have a go at one of the more challenging options.

It’s 25km-ish distance with 2300m-ish of climb, and has a few particularly steep sections.

Be comfortable navigating with a paper map and compass, get your quads ready for the descents, don’t go off too hard up the first hill, and stay for the chilli and beer afterwards.

If you wanted something a bit shorter, you could try the Newlands Memorial race which takes place on the same day, with the same finish line.