We are a friendly fell running club or around 100 members, formed in December 2014 and based in and around the Northern Fells of the Lake District National Park. We are affiliated with England Athletics, and a UKA Affiliated club recognised by the Fell Running Association. We are primarily a fell running club with our social runs held on the fells. We encourage members to take part in FRA Fell races and have club championships to help encourage participation in local Fell races.

We also organise our own Fell races in the Northern Fells area such as the Carrock, Fellside and Old Crown Round (selected as the AL race for the 2022 and 2026 English Championships). Many of our members also compete in road races. We normally meet every Wednesday night at 6:30pm and every second Sunday for social club runs. There are monthly virtual challenges and a Winter Warrier series, too. See the club runs page for more information.

You can find more information about us on our Facebook pages: Northern Fells Running Club Facebook

Our Committee

Chairman, Tony Bolton

Tony followed his son Harry into fell running at 57, having not run for 35 years! In the few years he has been running he has medalled in the English Championships and been part of the successful Northern Fells V60 team that have been English Champions twice. He loves racing and has competed in a large number of Fell and Hill races in Northern Britain. He loves the feeling of getting out there on the fells in all weathers and loves the friendly vibe of his local club. He became Chairman in January 2026.

Secretary & Welfare Officer, Natalie Hawkrigg

Natalie is an experienced fell runner, completed many of the Lakeland classics and local fell races. She has completed a Bob Graham in 2016, and gone onto do many more fell running challenges such as the Cumbria Traverse, Tea Round, 10in10 Ultra, Tranters Round and Joss Naylor. She is also an enthusiastic swim-runner and has completed a Frog Graham, and a winter Frog Graham. She was the first person to complete all three UK swim run challenges – Frog, Puddle Buckley and Stirling Round.

Claire Dickinson – Treasurer

Claire grew up in Langdale in the heart of Cumbria, and lives now ithe Northern Fells on her farm near Hesket Newmarket. She has been with the Northern Fells club from its very first club run. She has grown in her running confidence as the club has grown, pushing herself take part in new challenges over the years. She enjoys the short fell races, and takes part in the clubs British Fell relays team each year. She has completed the Montane 50 several times and she actively encourages other new fell runners to take part and push their boundaries. She regularly leads Sunday social runs and has become a confident run leader. She supports and mentors new runners to join club runs and get out on the fell. She has completed all her wainwrights twice , and enjoys nothing more than getting out on the fell with her dogs.

Phil Pearson, Championship Secretary

Philip took up running in his mid 30’s when working in Dublin. He was encouraged by a work colleague to join Saltwell Harriers Running Club, based in the North East and one of the oldest running clubs in the country having been established in 1890. Saltwell have a strong fell running section and their fell running championship included a lot of Lakeland races. First fell race was Borrowdale in 1997 and Philip has run at Borrowdale every year since other than 2012 and 2014 (in Australia) and 2020 (covid – no race). He generally prefers the longer tougher lakes races, particularly the Lakeland Classics series. Ran a solo Bob Graham Round in 2002 and supported a lot of BG rounds in the early 2000’s. Spent 3 years in Australia between 2010 and 2014 competing in Trail Running Association of Queensland (TRAQ) events. He enjoys running in Europe with highlights being a win in the 20 mile Obergurgl to Vent flea race in 2010, competing in the classic Sierre to Zinal race in 2016 and 2019, completing the four day Ultra Tour Monte Rosa in 2017 (4th) and 2018 (5th) and being a regular competitor in the Zermatt Ultraks Matterhorn races.

Philip has regularly taken part in English Championship races over the years finally winning an age category as a V65 in 2025. More recently he has also run in the British Championship long races with success as a V65 in Wales in 2024. He particularly enjoys researching the race routes to find the best lines and going on reccies both individually and with team mates and others.

Jonathan Savage, Membership Secretary

Jonathan is a retired ultrarunner who specialised in 100-mile and 24-hour races. In 2011, he finished second at the US 24-Hour National Championships, covering 146 miles, and in 2012 he was part of the US team that won the team silver medal at the 24-Hour World Championships. He won nine ultramarathons and competed in a further 63 ultras, including the Keys 100 and Badwater 135. Over the course of his racing and training, he has run the marathon distance more than 500 times. His long-standing interest in sports physiology is reflected in his website, fellrnr.com, and he continues to run recreationally.

Jo Cartmell, Communications Secretary

Jo has always enjoyed running, from school and military cross-country to bleak Falkland Island ultras and joining crazy dirtbag runners in the Californian desert (sometimes with a burro). It’s the sense of community that has sold the much colder and tougher fell running to Jo since moving to the Lake District in 2019. That said, she’s still very keen on spending as much time in the South Island, NZ as possible, where month long trail running holidays in the sunshine offer a simplistic form of joy (washed down each afternoon with wood fired pizza, a quality session IPA and route planning for the next day)!

Jo runs her own holiday cottage in Caldbeck these days, and spends as much time as she can on the fells with her club mates – who have since become firm friends and very much her ‘tribe’. Jo’s husband, Chris, has also (luckily!) caught the fell running bug, loves all the gang equally as much and joins her for many of her adventures. It’s a shame their black labradors aren’t built for speed or distance, but they do try to take them out on slower jaunts around the gentler Northern Fells. Jo completed a summer BG in 2025, loves supporting others and hopes to continue racing on the fells – short, medium and long – well into old age. Just a bit of discipline needed with the old S&C….