Introduction to Skyrunning (Lake District)

Dip your toe into the world of skyrunning! Join us for a full weekend of mountain running in which we provide a safe and supportive environment for women to try their hand at technical terrain - led by female guides.

Each year, the Lake District is home to an ever-growing number of technical mountain races - which are sometimes part of the UK Skyrunning Calendar. Girls on Hills has the skills and experience necessary to introduce you to this ever-growing extreme running discipline. To find out more about skyrunning and what it involves, read our article on UK Hillwalking.

This introductory skyrunning course is suitable for anyone who can comfortably run 10km on trail or who has a reasonable level of hillwalking fitness, and who wants to get hands-on withthe edges and ridges of the beautiful Lake District. Please don't be concerned about your pace, fitness or physical strength when signing-up - we'll be taking a relaxed and sociable pace, with plenty of stops for photos, snacks and getting to know each other. Simply join a group of likeminded ladies and start exploring the fells with both your hands and feet!

This course is will take place in the lesser frequented Northern Lakes - with rocky, steep mountains, fewer people and more hidden gems - what’s not to love!

Our local running guides are based in the Lake District and are Summer Mountain Leader qualified, with experience of skyraces and ultra-distance events across the UK and abroad. You can read morer about our local guides, including our Lakes guide, Rosie Watson here.

Day 1 focuses on mountain running skills, technique and mountain safety, along with advice on training and nutrition. Together we will look at safety and technique for moving efficiently over technical rocky ground.

Day 2 extends into more challenging terrain* and incorporates part of a skyrace route. Your experienced skyrunning guides will provide kit-check, navigation and route-planning so that you can focus on your running!

Due to the important role that weather plays in deciding what route to take, we won't confirm the exact route plans for the weekend before the course but we will email you information on what to wear and bring with you. We will meet up to check kit and discuss final plans for the day over coffee before we start!

Girls on Hills is a 'no-frills' experience - we don't include food or accommodation, allowing you the flexibility to choose your own to suit travel logistics or budget. There is plenty of budget accommodation locally, including hostels/bunkhouses/pods.

We will seek to facilitate lift-sharing once on the course to reduce traffic and parking congestion in this area of the National Park. The two days will take place around the Keswick area (within 30 mins) and may not start from the town itself. We will provide full details in our briefing email to you.

You can travel to Keswick on public transport by getting the train to Penrith, then the bus direct to Keswick.

We pride ourselves on being 'approachable and relatable' so please please do get in touch with any concerns or queries you might have now or nearer to the event. We look forward to having some fun and showing you some great skyrunning in the northern Lake District.

* Please note that this introductory course does NOT cover scrambling terrain graded 2-3. For bespoke guiding on difficult scrambling/climbing terrain please contact us directly for a guide.

www.girlsonhills.com/terms-and-conditions