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Fetch Fell Runners

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Northern Exile 17 Mar 2:04pm, 17 Mar 2025 10,924 posts	Quote Pin Northern Exile Given that it's a championship race I think this might be heavily frowned on, quite apart from it being "not the done thing". That said, I followed a well-known female runner at Langdale one year and she'd stashed a bottle of water at the bottom of PoB, so I'm unsure if stashing food is specifically against the rules.
paulcook 17 Mar 2:12pm, 17 Mar 2025 7,621 posts	Quote Pin paulcook I was going to say I've never heard of anyone getting outside support on a fell race unless I'm being daft though I haven't done much in the way of the long Lakeland classics. Do jelly babies by enthusiastic kids at the Three Peaks count as outside support?! I have seen, heard, known of food stashing. But I don't actually know what the rules are for either. Quick check on the FRA website and I can't see anything.
Derby Tup 17 Mar 2:13pm, 17 Mar 2025 71,137 posts	Quote Pin Derby Tup Putting a bottle behind a wall should be okay I’d have thought
larkim 17 Mar 2:40pm, 17 Mar 2025 26,902 posts	Quote Pin larkim Son said he was definitely behind someone on the long run last year who picked up a stash on the way, and that was someone in the top 5 or 6 runners. Which is why we thought it might be "ok"; he was impressed that it was quite smart of someone to not have to carry their stash of water the whole way around. There's not much difference between handing someone a bottle as they climb a stile vs pointing to them and saying "there's a bottle at the base of the wall next to this stile" in truth! I've never spectated at a "long" event so wasn't sure whether it was just something people did or not, a bit like the elites in marathon races getting tables with their own drinks handed to them.
larkim 17 Mar 2:40pm, 17 Mar 2025 26,903 posts	Quote Pin larkim Thanks for the responses btw!
Derby Tup 17 Mar 2:43pm, 17 Mar 2025 71,139 posts	Quote Pin Derby Tup A lad from our club used to take a rucksack up Whernside when it was the Three Peaks race with water etc
paulcook 17 Mar 2:44pm, 17 Mar 2025 7,622 posts	Quote Pin paulcook larkim wrote: he was impressed that it was quite smart of someone to not have to carry their stash of water the whole way around. I've considered it at least twice - once was an ultra, the other not a race. I wish I had done so the second time but even then the amount of water I was going to stash wouldn't have touched the sides given how ridiculously hot it was. I'm guessing a lot of the solo, unsupported rounds do similar to this?
Northern Exile 17 Mar 2:47pm, 17 Mar 2025 10,928 posts	Quote Pin Northern Exile Just thinking about this, Dave Tait was/is well known for his choccy biscuit support at the bottom of Big End on ToP, nobody has ever complained about that I bet.
larkim 17 Mar 2:49pm, 17 Mar 2025 26,905 posts	Quote Pin larkim It does make a mockery of the self supported bit if you've set out and dumped 100kg of food at strategic points along the route in advance! Odd that the rules don't seem to make any mention of support runners etc for the races. Definitely agree that the spirit of this sort of thing ought to be that any external support should be available to all at the very least.
rf_fozzy 17 Mar 2:56pm, 17 Mar 2025 23,640 posts	Quote Pin rf_fozzy I have never done it myself (except the organised drops on 3P), but I have seen runners have support from family members, friends and clubmates on various races. Usually at road crossings or other strategic locations. Some marshal points have had jelly babies and similar at some races too. But I've never been at the pointy pointy end of such races. Where ive seen it is usually the longer races - 3P usually has lots of supporters out at various places. But also at Edale (people coming up to top of Jacob's ladder for example or at the top of Grindsbrook). People were up the old man on turner landscape and so forth.