FIND YOUR PATH

Some suggested routes for fastpacking adventures

NATIONAL TRAILS

The South Downs Way, Cumbria Way and West Highland Way are great routes for your first multiday run. The trails are friendly and easy to follow, and there’s plenty of accommodation if you don’t want to carry camping gear. Visit nationaltrail.co.uk/south downs, walklakes.co.uk/cumbriaway and westhighlandway.org

ULTRA RACE ROUTES

Try the South Wales 50 or Lakeland 100 split over several days. runwalkcrawl.co.uk/event and lakeland100.com

RUN THE ROUNDS

Follow the Bob Graham, Paddy Buckley or Charlie Ramsay rounds on a multi-day journey. Go to gofar.org.uk

TRAVERSE THE COUNTRY

Run from the Irish Sea to the North Sea following Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route. Crossing three national parks, it makes a superb running adventure that will test your ability to navigate. Visit wainwright.org. uk/coasttocoast. html and check out The Coast to Coast Walk by Terry Marsh (Cicerone Press)

GO BOTHY HUNTING.

Sandy’s Bothy at Strathchailleach, Sutherland sits on the Cape Wrath Trail and is decorated with murals painted by a recluse who lived there for 30 years. It lies just beyond Sandwood Bay, one of Britain’s most beautiful and remote beaches. Visit mountain bothies.org.uk/ bothies/northernhighlands/strathchailleach and also walkhighlands.co.uk/sutherland/ sandwood-bay. shtml

DIY ROUTES

Enjoy a two-day circuit around the Brecon Beacons or Black Mountains, stopping overnight in a youth hostel or bunkhouse. Alternatively, run through Dartmoor to find your perfect spot among the tors for a wild camp. Visit brecon beacons.org and dartmoor.gov.uk

Fastpacking isn’t about raceday atmosphere, personal bests or finisher’s T-shirts. It’s all about the experience. You could see it as adventure racing without the race; it’s about exploring and enjoying your surroundings at your own pace. There’s a special satisfaction in making a running journey powered by your own two feet and seeing the surroundings change as you go. For many runners, spending days immersed in the landscape through fastpacking is a much richer and deeper experience than a trail run or ultra race. By carrying no more than you need, fastpacking provides a beautiful sense of simplicity and freedom.

Many runners also use fastpacking to train for, and recce, ultra races. Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc winner Jez Bragg admits that he often enjoys long weekends fastpacking in the Alps and Scotland much more than races.

HOW DO I TRAIN?

Training for fastpacking has the same principles as preparing for stage races. You need to get used to sustained effort over multiple days and be able to recover quickly. Back-to-back runs – for example, long runs on Saturday and Sunday – are a key component. To get used to running with a pack, try a couple of long runs with a pack slightly lighter than the one you’ll be carrying on your trip, perhaps about 5kg.

If you are planning a mountainous route, you should include hills in your training to build leg strength. Any time spent hiking is also great preparation – Jasmin Paris has attributed much of her recordbreaking success in long fell running challenges such as the Bob Graham Round to trekking in the mountains.

WHERE SHOULD I STAY?

On established long-distance routes there will often be guesthouses, hostels and bunkhouses, but if you’re fastpacking you have additional options to get off the beaten track. For the purist, fastpacking is about being totally selfsufficient, which means wild camping. You can use a lightweight tent or go lighter still with a tarp or bivvy bag. Strictly speaking, wild camping in the UK is only permitted in Scotland and areas of Dartmoor (dartmoor.gov.uk). Elsewhere in England, Wales and Northern Ireland it’s technically illegal to wild camp without obtaining permission from the landowner. In practice, however, this is often impractical, and wild camping may be tolerated in remote areas – typically, more than half a day’s walk from a campsite or other accommodation – as long as it is done sensitively. Another option is finding a bothy. Bothies are free mountain shelters – usually old buildings that have been left unlocked for walkers and other outdoors folk to use. The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) maintains, through volunteers, around 100 such shelters, mostly in Scotland but with a few in England and Wales, while there are others run by private estates. Accommodation is basic and camping in a stone tent is a common description for bothying, but they are generally located in wild, remote locations ideal for running adventures.

Staying in bothies means you’ll often meet people too, which could lead to an evening by a fire, sharing stories, food and a hip flask. You will, however, still need the same gear as for wild camping, in case the bothy is full. You’ll also have to carry or find water. Be warned: bothies generally don’t have toilets – there may be a spade.

Check out the MBA website (mountainbothies.org.uk), Thebook of the bothy, by Phoebe Smith (Cicerone Press) and The Scottish Bothy bible, by Geoff Allan (Wild Things Publishing). If you venture outside the UK, running between mountain huts is a fantastic, cost- effective way of fastpacking in the Alps and other mountain ranges across the world, and it saves you carrying a tent, stove or sleeping bag. Often located in spectacular locations on established trekking routes, huts provide a bed, hot dinner and breakfast, so runners can live well and travel light.

High-altitude mountain huts are an alien concept to many British hikers, but there are thousands of them across Europe, ranging from the most basic shelters for climbers to larger places that almost resemble hotels, with cosy bunks, thick blankets, superb views, hearty food and a common room filled with outdoorsy types from around the globe. Huts typically cost around £45 a night for halfboard. Although a mattress and bedding are provided, you must bring your own sheet and sleeping bag. Route guidebooks are usually the best source of info on hut locations, but you can also check out The mountain hut book, by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press).

WHERE SHOULD I GO?

Fastpacking trips can range from an overnight out-and-back from your doorstep, to tackling a high-altitude trekking route in Nepal and staying at tea lodges along the way. Some adventurers have even run around the world.

Designing your own route allows you to take in landmarks you want to see, new trails you want to run or hills you want to climb. Simply pick a place you’ve always wanted to visit and design a route around it.

You could also run on existing long- distance hiking routes in the UK, Europe or further afield. These will generally have good transport connections, accommodation and services, with guidebooks and maps readily available, all making logistics easier. There are often luggage-moving services available too. A great resource is the Long Distance Walkers Association. Its website ( ldwa.org.uk) has details on more than 1,600 UK long-distance routes.

Ultra-marathon race routes can also be a great choice for fastpacking, with route maps and GPX files usually available online. An advantage is that race routes will generally be runnable, although there won’t necessarily be much accommodation.

Key considerations in choosing a route are distance, height gain and loss, the technical difficulty of the terrain, navigation and safety. All these factors mean you will be slower than on a typical run, so they need to be carefully taken into account when planning your running adventure. The UK’S National Trails are a great way to try fastpacking and generally are not technically difficult or particularly mountainous. You could even opt to use a baggage service to move your gear, getting used to running over consecutive days before adding a heavier pack.

It’s a good idea to start with a simple overnight trip, such as a circuit with a stopover. You could take the train somewhere and then run back to your start. These short trips allow you to build up experience of back-to-back running days while carrying a pack.

WHAT DO I TAKE?

Your most indispensable item of kit is your backpack. It’s crucial to have a pack that is comfortable for multiple days’ running carrying all your gear. If you’re wild camping or using bothies you’ll also need a tent, stove, sleeping bag and mat, as well as food. Your clothes will be a significant weight and your goal is to pack minimally while ensuring you have everything you need for the expected conditions, and never compromising on safety. It’s a balancing act that requires you to question whether every item earns its place.

Always consider multiple uses for items of gear. A pair of running tights will be travel wear, evening wear or running wear when it’s cold or wet. A fleece top for the evening will be an extra running layer if it gets cold. A buff could be a beanie, headband, travel towel or wrist sweatband.

While more experienced ultrarunners might manage a hut-to-hut trip carrying the bare minimum, others might want more gear – but remember that pack weight will affect your enjoyment of the trip.

Definites on the packing list are a map and compass, and you must know how to use them in all conditions. Don’t rely solely on electronic equipment for navigation, as it can fail or run out of charge. Treat your smartphone as an emergency device and always rely on your own navigation skills.

Your energy requirements through the day will be high, owing to the demands of carrying a pack and the often hilly or mountainous terrain, so you’ll need to carry enough food. If you’re running between accommodation, then you can get away with just carrying snacks and stopping for meals – whether at a pub, cafe or mountain hut. Fastpackers who wild camp, however, fall into two food categories: cold or hot. Some carry only food they can eat cold, to avoid packing a stove and fuel; for others, a hot drink and meal at the end of the day are worth the extra weight.

Staying hydrated is crucial, given the high levels of exertion from running long distances with a pack, so you’ll need to carry water. But as weight is key, invest in a lightweight, collapsible water carrier and carefully plan how much water to carry and where you can fill up en route, whether that’s a shop, stream or mountain hut. And ensure you rehydrate well in the mornings and evenings to avoid the risk of cumulative dehydration from back-to-back days.

If you’re wild camping, aim to camp near a river or stream. Most bothies are near a water source. While some drink from rivers and streams without treating the water first, it’s better to err on the side of caution and take water-purification tablets with you.

Perhaps the most important item to bring with you is also the lightest: a sense of adventure. Once you take your first steps in fastpacking, you’ll find exciting new journeys, views and possibilities opening up. And out on the trails, as you survey the landscape and look back on each day, you’ll be amazed at how far you have come.