King of the Fells

A short film about legendary fell runner Joss Naylor

A bit late with this one, but we spotted this short film on the Guardian’s YouTube and it was too good not to share. King of the Fells tells the story of legendary fell runner Joss Naylor, the Lake District shepherd and runner who set countless records throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. 

While it’s easy to reduce an athlete like Joss to a series of numbers and just reel off his records (like his 1971 record of the Three Peaks Challenge), his no-nonsense character and Cumbrian charisma is perhaps just as respected—he was fixture at races into old age and a keen advocate for the sport, often helping other runners with pacing while they attempted challenges. 

Anyway, the film does a better job of telling his story than we will. Watch it, then close your laptop for a while and run up the nearest hill.