Running Hard: The Story of a Rivalry

by Steve Chilton

For one brilliant season in 1983 the sport of fell running was dominated by the two huge talents of John Wild and Kenny Stuart. Wild was an incomer to the sport from road running and track. Stuart was born to the fells, but an outcast because of his move from amateur to professional and back again. Together they destroyed the record book, only determining who was top by a few seconds in the last race of the season. Running Hard is the story of that season, and an inside, intimate look at the two men by the author of It's a Hill, Get Over It and The Round.

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 16, 2017

About the author

Steve Chilton is a committed runner and qualified athletics coach with considerable experience of fell running and a marathon personal best of 2-34-53. He is a long-time member of the Fell Runners Association (FRA). In a long running career he has run in many of the classic fell races, as well as mountain marathons and has also completed the Cuillin Traverse. He worked for 42 years at Middlesex University where he was Lead Academic Developer.

Steve's work has been published extensively, particularly in his roles as Chair of the Society of Cartographers and Chair of the ICA Commission in Neocartography. He is heavily involved in the OpenStreetMap project (osm.org), having co-authored OpenStreetMap:Using and Enhancing the Free Map of the World. https://itsahill.wordpress.com/curric...

Reviews

[Joseph Bull · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating account of two legends’ rivalry and the world of running, with a special focus on fell running.

[Dom Dorris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had been busy, so it took longer than it should have to finish this book. A tale of "rivalry" between two extraordinary athletes, and the other exceptional runners who participated in fell running's heyday. Fell running never gets the credit it deserves for the calibre of athletes that partake in it. Maybe it's not cool or commercial enough for corporate greed to get its grimy claws into, and therefore don't get publicity or plaudits it should. It is conversely then portrayed as a bit of closed shop to outsiders. Sometimes though to protect the simplicity, honesty and integrity of something, it is necessary to make it seems as such. That's no bad thing in my book.

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read