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30th out of 86 books
—
217 voters
Feet in the Clouds: A Tale of Fell-Running and Obsession
Exploring the world of fell-running—to run the ancient, wild landscape and stay a hero within one’s own valley—this portrait of one of the few sports to have remained implacably amateur and utterly true to its roots details the passionate ambitions of those who participate in one of the oldest extreme sports. With personal narrative by one of the participants of fell-runni...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
April 25th 2005
by Aurum Press
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Fell-running: a very British sport, where the pleasure is in taking part, not necessarily winning. Where the ability to punish yourself, through choice, is one of the motivations. The need to have that stiff upper lip, the hardness of mind over matter and the sheer determination not to yield to almost anything nature can throw at you. These are just some of the attributes fell runners need, and the best bits in this book, which is mostly about the sport and those who have thrived in it, are when...more
Jun 24, 2008
Beth
is currently reading it
Inspired by the endorphins and sense of accomplishment of hiking solo in the mountains in Scotland, I picked up this book on fell-running (racing up and down mountains at distances beyond "trail running") to read about the next level of adventurousness. (Truth be told, though Scotland was inspiring and I want to do more hiking there, fell-running is probably far beyond my level of adventurousness!) The writing is great, spirited and quick, an easy fun read.
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An eloquent and interesting history of fell running in Britain. There are some very self-deprecating and humorous accounts of the author's attempts at different events. The book also includes chapters on the big names in fell running throughout the history of the sport.
A lot of the book is centered around the author's attempt at the Bob Graham Round. I found his account of his fourth (successful) attempt very inspiring. His passion and connection with the countryside and a yearning for a simpler...more
A lot of the book is centered around the author's attempt at the Bob Graham Round. I found his account of his fourth (successful) attempt very inspiring. His passion and connection with the countryside and a yearning for a simpler...more
As a runner and peak bagger I've always had an interest in fell running but have never been in the right place at the right time to stumble into competition. An engaging overview of the sport which might seem more inspiring if I weren't sitting here with tendonitis pondering how to eke out more than one run and a decent hike a week without my leg getting worse....
An essential and wonderfully personal account of Askwith's obsession with fell running in Britain. This book is a history and an entertaining read, marking the legendary achievements of the nation's unsung champions. If you love the hills, running, want to discover the contemporary mythologies of the landscape: read this.
A bit like a fell race I needed stamina and a determined nature to get through this book. Did I enjoy it? Yes. But I found it difficult to absorb the frequent lists of names, places and finishing times. Having said that it was interesting. Perhaps as I have visited and loved many of the places mentioned... or because I used to run myself... or because as the child of a competing runner I know what the 'race' scene is like. Whatever the reason I'd only recommend this book to anyone with an intere...more
I've started doing a wee bit of hill-running/ trail-running/ fell-running (whatever it is called now) and enjoyed the author's recollections of his own introduction to this rather masochistic sport. He describes well the history and famous names of the past, but it is focussed largely on the areas he knows best, around The Lake District, which was a wee bit disappointing. Ultimately once you've read a few chapters the rest of the book continues in a similar vein, introducing new/old characters a...more
Loved this book and learning about the history of fell running in the UK... really tempted to get out there and join these impressive and courageous runners who truly push themselves to their physical and mental limits.
inspiring read about fell running & its history. Loved that its written by a 'middle of pack' runner instead of the pointy end of the field. Clear that the characters in this book love the mountains of Britain.
If you like off road running, and are easily persuaded to stupid things, then this book might convince you to run a bit further and a bit higher.
A bible for me and an insight into the Cumbrian running scene.
Hilarious and very motivating!
Beautifully written.
inspiring.
I'm a runner but this book introduced me to a whole new world of running that I did not know existed! The grit, the pain and the triumph of the human spirit played out in the mountains of Britain made this a great read indeed!
Nice book, I definitely liked author's crazy obsession. Very detailed writing about Britain's truly and incredible sport. I am also a runner so I admire those characters and their pure enjoyment and devotion. Most interesting parts are those where author tells us about his Bob Graham round attempts and training. Unfortunatelly, that's only 5% of book. All in all, I am very glad I've read it.
Never have I felt do inspired to get my running gear on and run up a mountain as fast as I can.
Richard Asquith makes fell running seem accessible to anyone wiling to put in a but of effort, and inspired me to get out there and train up. His tales of fell races and racing greats are at once interesting and amusing, whether you are an avid runner or otherwise.
Richard Asquith makes fell running seem accessible to anyone wiling to put in a but of effort, and inspired me to get out there and train up. His tales of fell races and racing greats are at once interesting and amusing, whether you are an avid runner or otherwise.
Fantastic! Never read a sporting book I liked before. If I wasn't passionate about fell running before I am now! This book is one of those where you have to keep reading the good bits out to other people in the room with you! Amazingly the whole book is back to back good bits, so I might have some luck in making everyone else read it too.
Enjoyed this and got a good insight into fell-running although it was a bit hard-going at times. There was lot about people who do this sport whom I've never heard of, and I think some parts of the narrative would be more interesting if you were an 'insider' but overall I liked it.
I started this book 3 days ago and until now is very interesting. I like the ethical point of view of the sport which is very different from mountain running in the rest of Europe.
I spend nice time reading the book!
I spend nice time reading the book!
I liked this book s much I am now consideirng trying the sport for myself ;)
May 18, 2013
Greg Jones
added it
May 11, 2013
Tom Pendrey
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2013
Darkling
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Peteandboodog
marked it as to-read
May 04, 2013
Dave Woodley
marked it as to-read
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Jun 24, 2008 08:35am