Feet in the Clouds: A Tale of Fell-Running and Obsession: The Classic Tale of Fell-Running and Obsession

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Richard Askwith introduces us to not only fell running, but also fell runners, fell races and long-distance challenges, and the remarkable story of fell-running history – all interwoven with details of the contemporary fell-running year as it passes month by month. Also interwoven is Askwith's struggle, to complete the 72-miles and 48-peaks of the Bob Graham Round (of Lakeland fells) in under 24h, much of which is in his head. Cumulus cloud bases have been observed up to 9,000 feet (2,750 meters) over North Central Texas, and thunderstorms with cloud bases from 11,000 to 12,000 feet (3,350 to 3,650 meters) have occurred near San Angelo, Texas. Training for any technical trail race more than two hours or 5 miles long is mind-numbing, filthy, and frustrating. Yet, peaceful exhaustion and anticipation of the next training run or event inevitably follows. It looks crazy to uninvolved onlookers. Sometimes, it even feels crazy. But Richard Askwith and the fell runners on the other side of the planet get it. Today We Die a Little: Emil Zátopek, Olympic Legend to Cold War Hero". British Library . Retrieved 16 July 2020. One of the ways in which clouds are formed is by the heating of the earth's surface which causes air to rise which condenses water droplets to form clouds.

From the other side of the fence, I am a fell runner who has just turned to cycling after years of watching the sport. My fell running experience taught me that the first thing to do was join my local club and I can tell you that your impressions are right: there is a real similarity between the two sports in terms of their ethos and atmosphere. I felt at home immediately. The base of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds can sometimes be higher than 6,500 feet (2,000 meters). During summertime, the base of these convective clouds will be well into the mid-level cloud range in the non-mountainous areas of the southwest United States.Most interesting to me, personally, as an aging would-be runner, is the sheer durability of these guys. And gals. Mr. Askwith describes the Wasdale, a race over 25 miles of rugged mountain terrain, as having sixty-eight starters with only twenty-six under forty. Do the math--68-26=42. 42 runners over forty years old. Is the sport aging out? Confession: I did get tired of the book, about halfway through, but that's more my own personal failing rather than a jab at the book. I'd still recommend it. The reason clouds are white and the sky is blue is all to do with the colour spectrum of light. Light from the sun starts out white but becomes scattered by particles in the sky. Atmospheric particles in the sky scatter away blue light more than other colours which gives the sky its blue appearance. Cumulonimbus clouds are one of the few clouds that span the low, middle, and high layers. They resemble the cumulus clouds from which they grow, except they rise into towers with bulging upper portions that look like cauliflower. Cumulonimbus cloud tops are usually always flattened in the shape of an anvil or plume. Their bottoms are often hazy and dark. Let IT Go: My Extraordinary Story, from Refugee to Entrepreneur to Philanthropist. Andrews UK. 2012. [9] (co-written with Stephanie Shirley)

The author captures the self-doubt, fear, stubbornness, and mind-numbing forward momentum fell and trail runners experience. If you ever wondered if nature-running endurance athletes were superhuman, look here for our superpower: dirty, bloody grit. Die Bob Graham Round ist eine besondere Form des Ultramarathon und das ultimative Ziel der meisten Fellrunner: eine Runde über die 42 höchsten Gipfel im englischen Lake District, die man innerhalb von 24 Stunden vervollständigen muss. Diese Runde war auch der große Traum von Richard Askwith und in seinem Buch nimmt er seine Leser mit auf seiner Reise, vom ersten bis zum letzten Schritt. The most striking thing about the book is that it made me think if I wasn’t a cyclist, I would take up fell running. In fact there is even a part of me, which wishes for the quiet of a Lake District fell, rather than fighting traffic on the A31. It is also a quiet homage to the spirit of local clubs and volunteers who give up their time to promote amateur sport and the amateur sporting ideal. Bei jeder Sportart gibt es immer eine Steigerung. Wem der Marathon nicht mehr reicht, der fängt mit dem Ultramarathon an. Wem das zu wenig ist, der verlässt die Straße und fängt an, Trail zu laufen. Irgendwann werden es immer mehr Höhenmeter und wenn man in der passenden Gegend wohnt, findet man sein ultimatives Ziel. Für viele Trail Läufer in Großbritannien ist das dann die Bob Graham Round. Very very enjoyable and will likely inspire most runners to take to the hills and run more in the countryside. The key reason, for me, for it being such a good read is that the book covers three focuses- (some) history and key figures of fell running, coverage of some results over the year, and the authors own experiences going from novice to relatively experienced, particularly with his Bob Graham round attempts.Was auch nicht für die ehemalige Läuferin geeignet war, waren die Vorstellungen der derjenigen, die die Bob Graham Round bis jetzt geschafft haben. Ohne ihnen ihre Leistung absprechen zu wollen: nach der zweiten Wiederholung hatte ich das Gefühl, dass sich ihre Geschichten wie ein Laufschuh dem anderen gleichen. Ich kann die Begeisterung von Richard Askwith und wahrscheinlich auch aller anderen Fellrunner, die das Buch lesen, für sie verstehen, aber für mich war es ein bisschen zu viel. This means an average size cumulonimbus would weight about 400,000 kg, roughly the same weight as an Airbus A380. When making observations at a weather station, cloud cover is measured in 'oktas' (eights of a sky). A reading of zero oktas would mean there is not a cloud in the sky, which is termed 'enubilous'. It appears that there are a bunch of old-timers in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that call mountains 'fells' and run races on them. Who'd have thunk it? Not me.

Endurance athletes, mostly over 40, revel in using our bodies and doing more than we thought we could. Some are physically gifted. Most are not. We’re moms, teachers, sheep herders, IT guys. We’re nothing special, which makes what we do out there all the more remarkable. Richard Askwith does an excellent job here of describing the obsessional and perhaps addictive nature of fell running.I would have liked some more content on other areas, other than the lakes as most of the focus is there- West Yorkshire gets quite a few mentions but never in any depth. However that is fair enough as the key roots of fell running are the lakes and that's where the author has done most of his own stuff. Toymaker: the autobiography of the man whose designs shaped our childhoods. 2021. [14] (co-written with Tom Karen) While there are many factors that will determine the exact amount of water vapour a cloud holds (e.g. temperature, altitude, pressure etc.) we can work with an average of about 5 g of water per cubic metre of cloud. Well, they might respond, why do I think the only thing to do with a beautiful view is to look at it? Oscar Wilde said, 'It seems to me that we all look at Nature too much, and live with her too little.' The author quotes this and agrees--

This book accomplished what I was looking for. Even though its many inaccuracies, not standing well the pass of time and even the misogynistic twitches (all of them pointed at and apologized for by the author in the 2021 epilogue), the book has driven me more decisively to get (even more) out there, running and being alone in the woods. Der schreibende Läufer beschreibt seine zahlreichen Wege bis zum Erreichen seines Ziels mit viel Ehrlichkeit, noch mehr Selbstironie und einer große Portion Läuferhumor. Der ist sportartenspezifisch und auch wenn ich über vieles schmunzeln konnte (auch wenn ich die Laufschuhe schon vor einigen Jahren an den Nagel gehängt habe), sehe ich doch auch ein, dass diese Art Humor sehr speziell ist und daher nicht für jeden geeignet. Feet in the clouds: a tale of fell-running and obsession". British Library . Retrieved 16 July 2020. The exception is low clouds which typically have cloud bases within the first 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) of the surface. But even that can vary.The title of highest cloud goes to the rare but beautiful but noctilucent cloud. They hover at around 60,000 m (200,000 feet) and are too faint to be seen in daylight. He isn't sure, but he does think the reason for such a large proportion of older runners may be that the old are fitter and healthier than ever and fell-running enthusiasts tend to stay fitter and healthier. From this, I'd say the answer is 'no'. So what did they do it for? Why not just run up and down the same mountain all the time, if you're not going to look at the view?