The North Face and The Fellsman Join Forces

Press Release / 21.03.2011

The North Face are proud to announce their collaboration with The Fellsman – one of the toughest endurance running events in the UK, taking place on 14th & 15th May, 2011 in the Yorkshire Dales.

The Fellsman will see 450 competitors set off from Ingleton at 9am on the grueling 60 mile (96km) route where they will climb over 11,000 feet (3350m), traversing very hard rugged moorland on their way to Threshfield. The route does not follow well defined footpaths so the entrants’ navigational skills with a map and compass are as important as their physical fitness. The faster runners will be striving to beat the current record, held by Mark Hartell, of 10 hours 15 minutes, but some competitors will take closer to the time limit of 30 hours to complete this difficult course.

As well as being a renowned event in it’s own right, the Fellsman is also recognized as a qualifier for The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, a 166km race which circumnavigates Mont Blanc in the French Alps with over 9500m of ascent. The North Face will be supporting the Fellsman by providing prizes for the winners in addition to clothing and tents for the marshals to protect them from the elements throughout their 30 hours on the courses various checkpoints.

Alex Beasley, Country Manager for The North Face UK, commented; “We have been looking for a link to a top-class grassroots running event in the UK that would support our commitment to our trail running product line. I supported some friends who took part in the Fellsman last year and felt that this event was the obvious choice. I was so impressed with the event that I just had to take part myself, so on the 14th May I will be on the start line with 3 other friends from The North Face”.