Fell running has long been a popular past time in the Dales, and it’s popularity seems to be increasing. Jenny Cornish – who will be taking part in her first such run this weekend – talks to the organisers of the respected Woodentops fell races Olympic heroes Jonny and Alastair Brownlee do it for fun. Hundreds of ordinary people dress up in costumes and do it every Christmas. It’s a long-standing tradition at many Dales summer shows. So why is fell running so popular?

There are a lot of big hills in the Dales and the moors. Running up them isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. Splashing about in bogs and getting covered from head to toe in mud just doesn’t appeal to some. But it can be strangely exhilarating, according to those who take part.

Dave and Eileen Woodhead have been organising the Woodentops fell races for nearly 30 years.

Dave has been fell running since the early 1980s. With a background in the army and boxing, fell racing probably didn’t seem as daunting as it might to many. He says the challenge is like no other kind of running.

“In a road race or a track race, the other competitors are your challenge,” he said.

“In a fell race, you still have that, but you also have the challenge of the terrain and the elements. No two fell races are the same. The weather conditions will make it completely different. Bad weather or sunny weather can totally change who’s going to win a fell race.

“If you run on the road, you look at the scenery. If you’re looking at the scenery while running on the road – why not run in the scenery?

“Then you’ve got the joys of falling into bogs, running up Ben Nevis or Snowdon, completing the Three Peaks… when you finish a fell race, you look up at the hills and you think, did I really do that?”

The Brownlee brothers have both previously won the Woodentops’ Auld Lang Syne race, the annual New Year’s Eve race at Penistone Hill Country Park, near Haworth.

Jonny said after winning last year in the howling wind and driving rain: “This is the first Woodentops race I’ve ever won, which is very satisfying as I’ve competed in these races since I was 10 years old, so this means a lot. I was always confident of winning, but the weather made it very interesting.”

But Dave says it’s the ordinary people taking part, many in fancy dress, who make the races really special.

“If it wasn’t for all the people behind the winners, they wouldn’t look so good,” he said. “Alastair and Jonny Brownlee have both won the Auld Lang Syne race – but the 500 people behind them made them look really good.

“With all our races, we try to have fun. You want people to go away having enjoyed themselves. That’s where the future of fell running is – to get the kids away from their computer screens and get an interest in it.”

The next Woodentops race, The Stoop, is also at Penistone Country Park, on Sunday December 22. All competitors are given a free Santa hat and the rules state you must run in it. There’s also a festive fancy dress competition and all finishers get a Curly Wurly bar. This event also includes junior races for children aged six and over.

These are an ideal way to get into fell racing – and work your way up to the heights of the Three Peaks fell race, which traverses the famous Yorkshire Dales mountains of Pen-y-Ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, taking in 24 miles of spectacular countryside.

Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “It’s hard not to be inspired to take part in sports like this when you look at the stunning, challenging locations the Yorkshire Dales provide. The views are matched only by the terrain – and those vistas might well provide the lift and motivation a runner needs when the going gets tough!”

So if I’m embarking on my first fell race at the Stoop, what do I need to know? Dave’s top tip: “Make sure your shoes are fairly tight on your feet before you start off, because if you step in a bog, you don’t want to be looking for your shoe!”

For more information, check out the Woodentops website woodentops.org.uk; the Fell Runners Association website www.fellrunner.org.uk and the Three Peaks website www.thethreepeakschallenge.co.uk/ yorkshire-three-peaks-challenge/.