Why We Run

Why do fell and trail-runners head into the toughest of landscapes on journeys of adventure, endurance, technical challenge and self-discovery?

In this visual celebration of two iconic mountain sports, photographer Danielle Ledbury talks with 28 athletes, from trailblazers like Joss Naylor and Steve Birkinshaw to those taking their first strides into the Cumbrian hills.

Their answers – often surprising, sometimes challenging, always candid – cover community, love, addiction, bereavement, passion, solitude, trauma, joy… and an abiding love of the Lake District.