About

About Us

Ambleside AC is a grass roots fell running club based in Ambleside in the heart of the English Lake District. We are an informal and friendly club who enjoy training, racing and socialising together. We have various training sessions throughout the week and our members can be found racing every weekend in the Lakes and further afield. As a club, we organise some of the most iconic races in fell running – check out the AAC races page here. We have a very active social scene and organise day and weekend trips away to races and evening socials throughout the year.

History

Ambleside AC was formed in 1983 by a few keen local runners – many are still members.  We now have a senior membership of over 300 Seniors and 80 Juniors, but still strive to retain our small, informal and friendly club ethos.

We have a proud history of racing at the highest level. AAC men won the British Championships in 1991, 1992 and 1993 and again in 2003. More recently the Men have won the Hodgson Mountain Relay in 2023 and were placed 3rd in the British fell relays the same year. Individual success has seen numerous AAC race wins, several International vests being gained, Matt Elkington being crowned English fell running champion in 2022, and Tom Simpson recently being placed 3rd in the 2024 British Champs at Pike o’ Blisco. Proving that age is no barrier Ambleside AC Vets have several championship wins amongst their members, were the 2023 British relay MV40 winners, and Paul Cornforth was recently crowned 2024 MV60 British & English fell running Champion.

The Women’s team were crowned British and English Champions in 2013, 2014 and 2015, then in July 2024 regained the English championship team prize. The women have had numerous successes in recent relays, including in 2022 winning both the Hodgson relay and British fell relays, then finishing 2nd in the same races in 2023. This year 2024 has seen further individual success, most notably with Scout Adkin winning several International races, Eve Pannone being crowned 2024 British Champion at Pike o’ Blisco, Lex Whitaker being crowned British & English U23 Champion, and Lou Osborn winning both British & English FV50 championships.

Ambleside AC have always upheld and will continue to uphold the traditional values unique to fell running. Some of our founder members were involved in the formation of the Fell Runners Association and resolving the pro – amateur debate of the 1980s. More recently, the club campaigned to get GPS disallowed as a tool for navigation in fell races.

As a club we organise as many as 12 fell races each year, some of them amongst the most iconic in the Lake District. Volunteering at races, and helping to keep these races going, is part of being a member of our club. See a list of the races we organise here

Juniors

The junior section of the club was started in 2011 and has grown, with over 80 active members currently. AAC juniors were crowned English Champions in 2019. The juniors train weekly on a Thursday evening and race throughout the year. See the junior pages here.

Training

There are various club training sessions each week. They vary depending on the time of year. See the training pages here.