Legend of the fells – Joss Naylor MBE

Joss Naylor MBE, legend of the fells, is a man who needs little introduction in the world of Ultrarunning! With multiple records and lots of race wins under his belt, Joss Naylor is one of England’s most famous and inspirational fell runners. Spending the best part of fifty years competing at an elite level Joss has earned and secured his place in the halls of trail running greatness, but how did he become the man he is today?

Ultrarunner Magazine had the honour of speaking with Joss Naylor to discuss his life and running career!

Born in 1936 Joss Naylor grew up in Middle Row, Wasdale Head, where he worked a gruelling routine on the family sheep farm. Long, hard days meant that breakfast first thing was the only meal that Joss would eat until he made his way back home at six o’clock the same evening. Back then, Joss recalls, “taking picnics and water with you during a working day was unheard of”, the common practice was “marching on until the day was done”. The arduous lifestyle of a farmer back in those days may sound shocking to us today but Joss accredits this way of life to building the man he became. His journey to fame along the fells starting on that farm in Middle Row, a first-hand course in true endurance!

Joss tells of his childhood, which wasn’t always easy, the youngest sibling of four; “there were always jobs to be done, and if they weren’t done, then there would be problems!”, responsibilities included taking care of livestock, milking cows and managing heavy loads of wool. Growing up during the War, Joss remembers the family taking in a young evacuee from London, a cheeky child with whom Joss often got into mischief with!

Memories of youth “aren’t particularly happy” for Joss but it was his upbringing that built the incredible mental fortitude that he carries today. Joss speaks fondly of his mother, laughing as he remembers “gingerbread with charcoal edges”, a snack that his mum would make, which he “eventually developed a taste for”.

At just nine years old Joss “got a kick up the backside after being a bit of a lad”, the incident causing a serious back injury. “When I was at school, back in those days, you could have a knife sticking out of your leg, but you just couldn’t get any help for things like that, nothing good ever came out of it”, Joss said.

As Joss grew so did his back pain, the discomfort worsening as the years went on, by the time Joss reached 20 years of age he managed to get into a Manchester-based clinic where he secured an appointment to finally see a consultant.