Hi all, my name is Lou Osborn and I recently won the British Champs race ‘Black Mountains’ in September 2022. Black Mountains is a long fell race which was part of the 2022 British Championship series. It was a beautiful, tough route with several energy sapping climbs but the weather was great on the day and luckily for me, my navigation was good and my body stayed in one piece! The organiser, Paul Dodds, asked me to write a bit about myself and fell running and hopefully it may inspire other women to take up our sport.
I started running on the fells when I moved to Cumbria when I was 17 years old, before then, I had never known such a sport existed. I was at college in Ambleside and every one I knew either ran on the fells or climbed on the crags. I was already an extremely keen rock climber so started running on the fells to join everyone else.
I entered my first race in 1994 in a pair of trainers aged 22. The race was a short steep route up a fell called Gunson Knot in Langdale. I finished 2nd from last but absolutely loved it. I then entered another race – Dalehead in Borrowdale, another short steep blast up and down and still in a pair of Nike trainers. I got a bit lost on the way down and a fellow competitor stopped and guided me back down to the path. That kind runner was from Keswick AC and persuaded me first to buy a pair of fell shoes and second to join Keswick AC. He is still a very close friend to this day and now comes to marshall at races that I organise!
After those 1st 2 races and having joined Keswick AC, my 3rd race was taking part in a relay – the Ian Hodgson Relay in Patterdale. Runners complete a leg of the relay in pairs and there are 8 runners to your team. I ran the 1st leg with another lady and absolutely loved it – we came way down the field but I was hooked. The race atmosphere, excitement and friendships that were formed were incredible. Everyone was so friendly and I met so many like minded people. Some were super elite athletes who were racing at the sharp end and some like me, were just starting out and were making up the back end of the field. We all went to the pub after the event and sat around together, swapping stories of the day and enjoying the atmosphere.
Since 1994, I have competed in thousands of races. I trained regularly with my club and enjoyed that just as much as the racing. I have been lucky and have competed for Great Britain, have won the British Championship 3 times and have won the World Masters Mountain Running Champs twice (most recently 2 weeks before the Black mountains race). I have loved competing at the elite end of the field but there have been times when I haven’t been fast, for whatever reason and I have been back at the back of the field but I enjoy that just as much. You still get to race with the same people and see them all before and after the race and the atmosphere is still the same – it just takes you a little bit longer to complete the course!
Fell running for me is so simple, all you need is a pair of fell shoes and some running clothing. Within 5 minutes of leaving a car park or road, you are out on the fells away from everyone, just enjoying the wide open countryside. I often run with friends and our dogs and could honestly not think of anything else that I would prefer to be doing. I am so so glad that I discovered the sport when I did – it has taken me to so many fantastic places and I have formed so many friendships over the years with other runners. I now organise around 15 or so races a year for my partner’s company – Kong Running in Keswick. This has allowed me to give something back to the sport which feels good. After 28 years of enjoying other people’s races, it’s time to put something on for everyone else to enjoy.
If you are trying to decide whether to give fell running a go, I would say, just go for it, join a club (you do NOT have to be fast to run for a club!) and look forward to many happy times!
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