For Members
The Fell Runners Association
The Fell Runners Association was formed in 1970 to cater for the needs of fell runners. It has over 9,000 individual Members from around 300 athletic clubs. The Association (which is affiliated to UK Athletics) acts as the Governing Body for the sport of fell running in England.
Fell running has a relaxed low-key atmosphere where friendships are easy to make on the hills that are there to be enjoyed. There's something for just about everybody, whether it is the thrill at the sharp end, the pleasure of taking exercise amongst the hills, or the solitude of the lone long distance runner.
To join the FRA go to the SiEntries site here. The Membership year runs from 1st January to 31st December but anyone who joins the FRA from 1st October onwards is granted membership until the end of the following calendar year.
The Benefits
The Fellrunner Magazine
Three times a year members produce a full colour magazine full of news, race results, feature articles and photographs. It is the official journal of the Association, so is only available to FRA Members, and is posted to your home. The magazine keeps you up to date with championships, committee news, future courses on safety and navigation, social events, ultra-distance and international news. It is written by fell runners for fell runners so it is always worth reading.
Handbook and Fixtures Calendar
This is posted every year only to Members.
The Handbook section tells you about the various championships, the rules of and safety requirements for fell running, the risks of hypothermia, entry forms, parental consent issues, first aid; in fact everything a fellrunner needs to know!
The Calendar section lists around 600 races, most with full race details, and includes race information for events in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Championships
The FRA is involved with several championships and, for example, it organises the annual English Championships which consists of six races (two short, medium and long) of which four count towards determining medal winners in the various gender, age, team categories. There are equivalent championships for junior fell runners.
Annual Dinner and Awards
At the end of each season there are senior and junior presentation / meal events where the focus is on fun, enjoyment and no speeches!
The Environment
Fell running is perhaps unique amongst sports in that it does not seek to attract ever-greater numbers of participants. The reason for this policy is that we have to balance our sporting interests with the impact on the environment. The sad fact is that the hills of Britain simply will not cope with ever-increasing pounding of feet. Protecting the environment is one of our primary aims. We continually liaise with agencies and landowners over access and racing over environmentally sensitive areas. The Fell Runners Association will continue to protect your interests in these and many other matters.
Admin Stuff
Remember folks if you move house and you want to continue to get your Fellrunner magazines and annual handbook and fixtures calendar, you also need to update your address in SiEntries. You can also renew your membership, or make or change a donation.
For all membership queries please email Membership Secretary Patrick McIver
We also get occasional queries from Members who have noticed payments leaving their accounts and then being returned. These are invariably old Standing Orders which will no longer work as subs are now collected by Direct Debit. If this applies to you then you just need to cancel the old Standing Order with your bank.
Donations
Many Members make donations, including by adding a small amount on to the annual Direct Debit payment. These donations are used for specific purposes and will be reported in The Fellrunner. For 2021 we subsidised junior races and senior championship races to enable them to move to online entry and automated timing without increasing entry fees. In future donations will be used to promote junior fell running in some way.