Gavin Bland

Last updated

Gavin Bland (born 21 November 1971 [1] ) is a British fell runner who was a British and English champion and represented his country at the World Mountain Running Trophy.

Biography

Gavin Bland was born in 1971 in Penrith, Cumbria, and grew up on his family's farm in Borrowdale. [1] The prominent fell runner Billy Bland is his uncle, [1] and several other members of his family were active in the sport. He attended Keswick School, leaving aged sixteen to work on the family farm. [1]

Bland was successful in races as a youth. His first senior race was in 1989. [1] Perhaps the most notable performance in the early part of his running career was a second place in the junior race at the World Mountain Running Trophy in 1990. [2] He also represented England in senior races at the World Mountain Running Trophy in 1991 [3] and 1992. [4]

In 1991, Bland won the English Fell Running Championships and was second to Keith Anderson in the British Championships. In 1999, he won both the British and English Championships. This was despite being a self-acknowledged "lazy trainer", though his work as a shepherd meant that he spent a lot of time on the fells in addition to his specific training. [5]

Throughout the 1990s, Bland was particularly successful at the most prestigious or "classic" long fell races. His wins included the Ben Nevis Race, Borrowdale, the Ennerdale Horseshoe, the Peris Horseshoe, the Three Peaks, Wasdale, the Welsh 1000m Peaks, the Edale Skyline, Duddon Valley, Holme Moss, the Three Shires and the Langdale Horseshoe. [6]

After the interruption of fell running by the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak, Bland featured less prominently in races but had occasional returns to good form, winning counters in the English or British Championships series at Langdale in 2003 [7] and Silent Valley in 2013. [8] He still holds the race records for the Three Shires, [9] Peris Horseshoe [10] and the Carnethy 5. [11]

Related Research Articles

Yvette Baker is Britain's most successful orienteer. At the 1999 World Orienteering Championships (WOC) in Inverness she won the short distance event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Holmes (runner)</span> English fell runner

Ian Holmes is an English fell runner who was the national champion several times in the 1990s and 2000s and represented his country at the World Trophy and European Trophy.

Keith Anderson is a male British former runner who was the national fell running champion and competed in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games.

Mark Kinch is an English former runner who was a national fell running champion and represented his country at the World Mountain Running Trophy in the mid-1990s.

Angela Brand-Barker is a British runner who was a national fell running champion and represented her country at the World Mountain Running Trophy.

Simon Roger Arthur Bailey is an English runner who has been a national fell running champion several times and who has represented his country at the World Mountain Running Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Hope (runner)</span>

Robert Hope is an English runner who has been a national fell running champion several times and who has represented his country at the World Mountain Running Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borrowdale Fell Race</span>

The Borrowdale Fell Race is an annual fell race held in August, starting and finishing in Rosthwaite. It is considered to be one of the "classic" Lakeland races and the route initially heads over Bessyboot before climbing England's highest summit, Scafell Pike. Great Gable is then scaled before a descent to Honister Pass and the final climb up Dale Head. The distance is approximately 17 miles and the route has around 6,500 feet of ascent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Booth (runner)</span> English runner

Simon Booth is an English runner who was twice the British fell running champion and who has represented his country at the World Mountain Running Trophy.

The Wasdale Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in July, starting and finishing at Brackenclose in Wasdale. The course is approximately twenty-one miles long with around 9,000 feet of ascent and takes in checkpoints at Whin Rigg, Seatallan, Pillar, Great Gable, Esk Hause shelter, Scafell Pike and Lingmell nose wall. The route between Pillar and Lingmell is very rough, with steep technical ground and boulder fields. Among long fell races, Wasdale has one of the highest ratios of feet of ascent per mile, and it is often considered to be the toughest of the British races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langdale Horseshoe</span>

The Langdale Horseshoe is an annual Lake District fell race that starts and finishes at the Old Dungeon Ghyll. The course climbs to Stickle Tarn before heading to Thunacar Knott, Esk Hause shelter, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags and Pike of Blisco. The route is approximately 21 kilometres (13 mi) in length with 1,450 metres (4,760 ft) of ascent. It includes much rough and rocky ground. On the descent from Crinkle Crags, many runners negotiate the Bad Step, although it can be avoided depending on route choice. The race often presents navigational difficulties, especially in poor visibility.

The Three Shires Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in September, starting and finishing at the Three Shires Inn in Little Langdale. After an initial run along the valley, the route climbs steeply to Wetherlam, then down to Prison Band and up to the summit of Swirl How. The course then drops to the Three Shire Stone at the top of the Wrynose Pass, the meeting point of the historic counties of Cumberland, Lancashire and Westmorland. An ascent of Pike of Blisco follows, then the route drops to Blea Tarn before the final climb to Lingmoor Fell and descent to the finish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Lightfoot</span> British runner (born 1985)

Ricky William Lightfoot is a British runner who has been a world champion in trail running and a medallist in the World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ennerdale Horseshoe Fell Race</span>

The Ennerdale Horseshoe Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in June, starting and finishing at the Scout Camp near Ennerdale Water. The route is approximately 36.8 kilometres (22.9 mi) in length with 2,290 metres (7,510 ft) of ascent and takes in checkpoints at Great Borne, Red Pike, Blackbeck Tarn, Green Gable, Kirk Fell, Pillar, Haycock, Iron Crag and Crag Fell.

The Peris Horseshoe is an annual fell running race in Snowdonia, Wales. The race starts and finishes in Llanberis and has a distance of approximately 28 km and 2590 m of ascent. It is usually run in September. The event is organised by Eryri Harriers. It was first held in 1987, when it was organised by Arthur Clarke.

Mark Alan Rigby is a British runner who was a national hill running champion and who represented Scotland in the World Mountain Running Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverley Redfern</span> British mountain runner

Beverley Redfern is a British mountain runner who won the 1990 World Mountain Running Championships.

The Coniston Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in April or May, starting and finishing in the village of Coniston. The route is approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) in length with 1,065 metres (3,494 ft) of ascent and takes in checkpoints on the summits of Wetherlam, Swirl How and the Old Man of Coniston.

Andrew Styan is a British fell runner who was the national champion in 1979.

Pauline Stuart is a former pioneer female fell runner, being the first woman to win many of the classic fell races in the late 1970s and early 1980s, some as soon as they allowed women to enter.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Steve Chilton, "Gavin Bland in Profile (Part 1)", The Fellrunner, Spring 2021, 45-48.
  2. ↑ Bill Smith, "Profile: Gavin and Jonathan Bland", The Fellrunner, Feb 1993, 14-15.
  3. ↑ WMRA: World Mountain Running Trophy 1991.
  4. ↑ WMRA: World Mountain Running Trophy 1992.
  5. ↑ Steve Chilton, It's a Hill, Get Over It (Dingwall, 2013), 165-66, 329-32.
  6. ↑ Graham Breeze, "Classic Fell Races Part 1: Il Campionissimo", The Fellrunner Magazine, Jun 2001, 8-11; Graham Breeze, “Equi ad Circos (Classic Fell Races Part 3)”, The Fellrunner Magazine, Feb 2003, 24-26.
  7. ↑ The Fellrunner Magazine, Feb 2004, 42, 70.
  8. ↑ NIMRA: Silent Valley.
  9. ↑ Three Shires Race.
  10. ↑ "Peris Horseshoe". Archived from the original on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Carnethy 5 Hill Race.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.