CONTENTS
Map key
Introduction
Welcome to the world of fastpacking
How fit do I need to be?
How do I train for fastpacking?
The different styles of fastpacking
Where to stay
Where should I go fastpacking?
Key considerations when choosing a route
Safety
How to get started
What to take
Clothing
Footwear
Food
Tips for staying happy and healthy
Inspiration: Stories from the world of multi-day running
A Pennine passage
Solo in the Sierras
Fishermen’s friends
To the lighthouse
Hut-to-hut on high, wild trails
Roman run
The fastpack journals
A great British adventure
In the Land of the Thunder Dragon
Following in the footsteps of spring
On the way
Seven go running
Routes: Twelve tried-and-tested fastpacking routes
United Kingdom
Route 1 Brecon Beacons
Route 2 Snowdonia
Route 3 South Downs Way
Route 4 Dartmoor
Route 5 Cumbria Way
Route 6 Wainwright’s Coast to Coast
Route 7 West Highland Way
Route 8 Knoydart
Europe
Route 9 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc
Route 10 Dolomites Alta Via 1
Route 11 Alpine Pass Route
Asia
Route 12 Manaslu Mountain Trail Race
Appendix A Further information and reading
Appendix B Gear list
A superbly written book by experts who clearly know what the reader needs. Not for nothing Cicerone leads the way in this market
A book after our own heart, Fastpacking is devoted to the most amazing long distance trails here in the UK or further afield.
The running style of fastpacking is all about covering distance at speed, carrying everything you need for such an adventure. The runs in this book have all been run by pretty handy trail runners, so all you need to worry about is the weather. There's everything you need to know from where to find local Eccles cakes to perfect campsites or the best mountain huts.
Published by Cicerone, this is a superbly written book by experts who clearly know what the reader needs. Not for nothing Cicerone leads the way in this market, and is regarded as the authority to turn to when it comes to adventure guidebooks for everything from walking and climbing to running anywhere in the world.
The great new book on fastpacking from Cicerone Press is jammed packed full of useful tips and techniques on ultralight multiway running/hiking adventures.
This week we're featuring dreams - yes dreams. OK it's a book of dreams but hey dreams come first and planning second! The great new book on fastpacking from Cicerone Press is jammed packed full of useful tips and techniques on ultralight multiway running/hiking adventures.
In short Fastpacking is what you get if you cross ultralight backpacking with a mountain marathon approach to speed - but without the finish line or technical orienteering! So if you've been wondering what to do with that sexy mountain marathon kit that only gets used 2 or 3 times a year or if you fancy combining trail/fell running with ultralight backpacking here is your answer.
The guide gives you tips on training, equipment and the different styles or flavours of Fastpacking. Rest assured you don't have to be a superwoman/man and the author Lily Dyu emphasises that you will probably spend a fair amount of time walking given the extra weight you're packing even if you are a runner. lt then details some great 'case studies' before giving you a variety of route ideas that include 8 in the UK, 3 in Europe and 1 in Asia. These routes vary from short 47km affairs to things like the UTMB route at 168km so there should be something for everyone. The route ideas include an elevation profile and description as well as an overview map but you would need to supplement the latter with more detailed OS or Harvey's etc. mapping in most instances. Overall a great practical introduction with some inspiring stories and route ideas.
Well priced at £12.95 GBP and currently having 10% off with free p+p makes this an absolute bargain.
'Fastpacking' is a great place to start for 'everyday' runners who fancy trying their hand at a multi-day journey
Like most forms of running, 'fastpacking'- multi-day running trips carrying the bare essentials -has increased its popularity massively in recent years. This book by Lily Dyu pulls together a selection of route ideas in the UK and overseas, fastpacking stories from around the world (featuring Jez Bragg, Anna Frost and Jasmin Paris), and tips and tricks to help you prepare for your own running adventure. A summary of each route idea is provided, together with mapping and a gradient profile, as well as highlights of the trail.
Invaluable practical information is also included, covering everything you need to know to prepare and plan for a trip: training, accommodation options, safety, equipment, apparel, nutrition, hydration and more. The route ideas range from mountain hut hopping trips, to bothy discovery tours and wild camping expeditions.
'Fastpacking' is a great place to start for 'everyday' runners who fancy trying their hand at a multi-day journey, be it in the Brecon Beacons, Bhutan or beyond.
Trek & Mountain magazine
The ultimate guide for beginners, with advice on training, where to stay, routes and what to pack and eat
A fast-growing niche in the world of trail running, fastpacking is the art moving fast and light on multiday trail running journeys. It's the hybrid of running, hiking and backpacking. Author Lily Dyu has created the ultimate guide for beginners, with advice on training, where to stay, routes and what to pack and eat. She then offers 12 tried and tested fastpacking routes, eight in the UK, three in Europe and a final adventurous one in Nepal. A summary of each route is provided, with mapping and a gradient profile, as well as top tips and a tale from that trail. it also has a section with fastpacking stories from across the globe, which will inspire you to slip on your running shoes and explore a new place.
A great guidebook for trail runners wanting to kickstart their fastpacking addiction.
Chantelle Kelly, Outdoor Enthusiast
Go on, make a start!
Some readers will take up the art of moving fast and light on multi-day running adventures; some will just reflect on what's possible; others may even be exponents of the craft. The skills encouraged here revolve around packing techniques and clothing requirements; pacing for the gradients involved; appreciation of landscape; picking the stimulating routes in the UK and beyond. Go on, make a start!
Scottish Islands Explorer
An accessible introduction to an activity that’s a lot less intimidating than I’d previously assumed.
The West Highland Way, South Downs Way, Alpine Pass Route – you may think you know these classic long-distance trails, but in this slim volume, packed with spectacular photos and tales from the trail, runner Lily Dyu introduces the concept of fastpacking.
The idea is simple: if you’re a backpacker, go faster. If you’re a runner, go further.
It sits somewhere on the nebulous spectrum that also includes ultramarathons and ultralight backpacking, but I think the benefit of the ‘fastpacking’ label is that it’s a bit less intimidating than something with ‘ultra’ in the title. As the author writes in the book’s introduction: ‘Put simply, fastpacking is the hybrid of running, hiking and backpacking. It’s the art of moving fast and light on multi-day trail running journeys.’
If you often find yourself relishing the big miles when backpacking then a multi-day running trip could be for you. This author does a fantastic job of stripping away concerns and preconceptions, offering no-nonsense practical advice. For example, the introduction includes a wealth of information covering most of the questions newbies are likely to have, such as how to train, how fit you need to be (‘slowing down is the secret to multi-day running’), where to sleep, the difference between supported and unsupported fastpacking, and much more. There’s a decent chunk of info about bothies, which are invaluable for fastpacking in the Highlights. Also included are useful tips on how to find routes suitable for fastpacking, and a big section on gear (which has much in common with lightweight backpacking gear, with a few important differences).
The other two sections are all about inspiration and route ideas. The inspiration section includes twelve stories from the world of multi-day running. Collectively they do a great job of weaving a realistic picture of fastpacking for the reader – both the highs and the lows! I particularly enjoyed ‘Solo in the Sierras’, a story of fastpacking the John Muir Trail by Olly Stephenson. And the routes section is great too. There are twelve mapped routes along with key info, top tips, and mini ‘tales from the trail’ that help to ground each route with a story. These are great little vignettes that provide an insight into the pleasures and perils of long-distance running.
Fastpacking by Lily Dyu is an accessible introduction to an activity that’s a lot less intimidating than I’d previously assumed. Highly recommended if you’ve ever felt the pull of bigger miles and a lighter load.
Alex Roddie, TGO magazine
An excellent introduction to Fastpacking
What-packing? Fast who? You may well ask. What started life as a niche within the already-niche ultralight US backpacking scene has blossomed in recent years into an activity in its own right. The love child of trail running and overnight backpacking, it's all about adventurous runners going fast, light and self-sufficient on multi-day mountain journeys. We're not talking races here - fastpacking is nothing to do with competition but all about the experience.
This attractive little pocket guide from Brecon Beacons-based runner Lily Dyu is an excellent introduction to the discipline. Kicking off with tips on gear and general approach, it then launches into a series of stories from the trail which aim to inspire as much as inform. Jasmin Paris and Konrad Rawlik take on the Pennine Way in winter, just for laughs; Jez Bragg goes hut-to-hut around Monte Rosa; Anna Frost leads a running group through Bhutan. It's interesting stuff, and sure to give you itchy feet. By way of scratching that itch, the book concludes with 12 largely UK-based fastpacking route ideas, each of which gets quality mapping, a detailed description and its own 'tale from the trail', a short narrative account that gives a good idea of the experience to be had. These mostly seem a suitable length and difficulty to be run over the allotted timeframe with overnight gear on your back, though a 15km 2-dayer in Dartmoor did stand out as slightly unambitious (it's a route I'd expect to slow-walk in about 5 hours).
Whether you're a backpacker looking to up your pace (and fast doesn't imply running all of it!) or a runner in search of bigger adventures, Fastpacking is a great place to start.
UK Hillwalking: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/...
A book trail runners will love - Trail Running magazine
A book after our own heart here at Trail Running. It’s devoted to inspiring you to run some of the most amazing long distance trails here in the UK or further afield in amazing locations in the Alps.
Fastpacking is all about covering distance at speed, carrying everything you need for such an adventure. The runs have all completed by some pretty handy trail runners, so all you need to worry about is the weather! There’s everything you need to know from where to find local Eccles cakes to perfect campsites or mountain huts to set up camp in on your journey.
Produced by Cicerone, this is superbly written book by great experts who know what the reader needs. Not for nothing Cicerone leads the way in this market and is regarded as the authority to turn to in when it comes to mapping out adventure runs and inspiring walks worldwide.
https://www.trailrunningmag.co...
Great little introduction to Fastpacking...
...spells out what gear you need, where and how to do it and most importantly, why you'd do it. Some excellent suggestions for fastpacking adventures, and nice little vignette stories from past adventures.
Mark Rainsley, Amazon review
A great gift for any adventurous runners.
Exactly the mid-autumn motivation boost I was hoping for! Part guidebook, part adventure stories this little book will give anybody who likes long running journeys a pile of inspiration. The stories are brief but give you enough to make you want to head there yourself, the route suggestions give accurate route descriptions, distances and tips. Would be a great gift for any adventurous runners.
Clare, by email
