IT’S A HILL – GET OVER IT
Joss was born at Middle Row Farm, at Wasdale Head in Cumbria (known as Cumberland at the time). His family owned the farm. Joss was the third of four children and was known for being accident prone.
By the age of seven, he was out helping his father with the farm. He milked cows, repaired walls and rounded up sheep. Joss recalled, “You’d set off into the fells on only a basin of porridge and walk all day. This got me used to travelling long distances with little food.”
Dry stone walling remained his hobby throughout his life.
His mother was extremely strict. He recalled, if you didn’t finish your jobs, you didn’t get fed.
Joss went to school in Gosforth, leaving at the age of fifteen to work permanently on the farm.
The work was hard, and it contributed to him having two serious injuries. Aged nineteen, Joss had a cartilage removed from his right knee (initially caused when wrestling a friend), and at twenty two, he had two damaged discs taken from his back, after he vaulted a fence, slipped and landed on some cobbles.
In 1960, at the age of twenty-four, Joss decided to take up fell running, to help him recover from the injuries. His parents weren’t very supportive. They told him not to be a, “Silly bugger – don’t waste your time.”
His mother told him he was an embarrassment – nobody else went running.
His first race was a Lake District mountain trial. He was not entirely prepared for what it entailed.
“I’d just had my breakfast. I had no running shoes or nowt. They said ‘You’ll be alright’. I went in my bloody big boots and cut the legs off my trousers.”
Nevertheless, up to the halfway point, Joss was leading.
Then, severe cramp kicked in. He had to beg salt from two ladies who were having a picnic. He downed the whole of their salt cellar.
Joss finished halfway down the field (not literally), beating many well-equipped athletes and decided fell running was for him.
In 1963, Joss married Mary. They would have two daughters and a son.
By now, he was running the family farm.
Joss got his first victory in a race in 1966. This was the ‘Mountain Trail’. After that, many more successes were forthcoming.
In 1971, Joss completed the ‘Bob Graham Round’. At the time, he was only the sixth person ever to do it.
Bob Graham was a guest-house owner. In 1932, he climbed 42 Lake District fells in 24 hours, starting and finishing at Keswick Moot Hall. The ‘Round’ is 66 miles long and encompasses 26,900 feet of ascent.
Joss went on to have many achievements and break many fell running records and in the 70s and 80s.
A rival described Joss as, “A real stick insect, with a gangly leaning-forward style.”
His achievements included doing the National Three Peaks Challenge (1971) in 11 hours and 54 minutes, including driving time.
Next year, Joss completed the 72-peak ‘Lakeland Circuit’ in 23 hours and 20 minutes. This is over 100 miles long. Joss always considered this his greatest ever achievement (and he went on to do it twice more).
In 1973, he completed the ‘Welsh 3000’, running the 14 peaks of Snowdonia in four hours and 46 minutes. This record stood until 1988.
The following year, Joss ran the Pennine Way in three days, four hours and 36 minutes – a record at the time.
He once ran up and down Scafell Pike, the tallest mountain in England, in just 47 minutes.
His running achievements led to him being given an MBE in 1976. Asked what the Queen had said to him he replied, “She said ‘You come from a nice part of the world, don’t you?”
Extreme running was having a toll on his body. By 1978, Joss was given medical advice about his deteriorating back. It was suggested he give up both the farm and his running.
Joss told his wife he would only give one of them up. He said he couldn’t give up the sport – it was the farm that would have to go.
He promptly sold all his cattle, although he did keep the sheep.
Joss was regarded as one of the best sheep farmers in the area. It was claimed he knew every single sheep. Once, out on a run with a friend, he saw a ewe with her new-born male lamb. He went over to the lamb and said, “Eeh, you’re the spitting image of your father.”
To enable him to continue running, Joss went to a nearby town to be fitted with a corset. After the fitting, he went for a Fish and Chip supper with Mary. “ I ordered a great big Arctic cod. The corset was so tight I couldn’t swallow. I took the bloody thing off, threw it in the back of the car and never touched it again.”
As soon as his son, Paul, was old enough, Joss handed over the running of the farm to him. Joss then took a job training apprentices at Windscale.
He also began to spend as much time as he could in Spain during the winter months as the cold weather exacerbated his injuries.
Despite his problems, Joss kept running. Whilst on a run, he seemed oblivious to pain and would run in any weather, no matter how extreme.
Somebody asked him how long a training run was. He replied, “Ten to twelve.” The next question was, “Kilometres or miles?”
Joss replied, “Hours.”
He was also asked if he had a special diet.
“Lots of pints of Guinness” was his response. He always took a cheese and jam sandwich with him on a fell run.
He only had two spells when he couldn’t run. One was when he had a severe case of pneumonia and the other time was when he was poisoned with sheep dip. “It cleared my head, but my legs went all wobbly.”
Joss had various nicknames within the running community: ‘Iron Man’, ‘The Whippet’, ‘Bionic Shepherd’ and ‘The King of the Fells’. He liked none of them. Once a spectator told him he was ‘Like a mountain goat.’ Joss felt this would be a much more appropriate nickname.
He was also a champion cherry pit spitter. The secret to success in this ‘sport’ was, he claimed, “Take your teeth out first.”
Joss was not precious about winning and was always willing and able to pace other runners. A humble and generous man, he gave great encouragement to runners who were less talented than himself.
The only people who irritated Joss were those who tried to break records using scientific data to help them (“Just get out there and run”), or people who would only race when the weather was perfect.
Joss was once given the opportunity to race in an international competition. He turned the offer down as he didn’t have a suit to wear – just his work clothes and his running kit. Friends and family rallied around to get him a suit, so he could go – just the once!
He created the ‘Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge’. It was only open to runners over 50 years old and was a 48-mile trek from Pooley Bridge to Greendale Bridge, taking in over 30 summits. He tried to encourage each person who took up the challenge to get themselves sponsored for charity.
Joss was approached in 2007, by the charity ‘Brathay Trust’ who asked him if he could obtain sponsorship on one of his runs and raise some money for them. They support young, disadvantaged people.
He duly complied. When he visited the charity to present the cheque, Joss was so impressed by their work that he volunteered to be their patron.
After this, Joss raised money for the Brathay Trust on every run he did. In total, he raised over £40,000 for them.
Joss treated himself to a long run every birthday.
For his fiftieth birthday, he ran the Wainwrights – the 214 Lakeland peaks mentioned by Alfred Wainwright in his books. It is 300 miles in length and took Joss seven days, one hour and 25 minutes – a new record.
It would have been quicker but he stopped to rescue a lamb from a mud hole.
At the end of the run, Joss’ tongue and throat were so swollen that he could not speak or swallow water.
The record stood until 2014.
For his eightieth birthday, Joss ran from Caldbeck to Wasdale – a total of 50 miles.
In 2019, aged 83, Joss decided to complete the only run he had ever failed to finish – the 1962 Lake District Mountain Trail. On the original run, the weather had been so atrocious that only one runner had managed to finish the course. Later, he loved to tell the story of how it had taken him 57 years to successfully run the race.
Keith Richardson wrote a biography about Joss, but his exploits are also detailed in both Richard Askwith’s ‘Feet in the Clouds’ and Steve Chilton’s ‘It’s a Hill – Get Over it’.
Chris Brasher, founder of the London Marathon, labelled Joss as ‘The Greatest of them All’.
Years ago, Brasher tried to persuade Joss to turn professional, saying he could win any marathon he liked.
Consequently, Joss did a 24-hour run at Crystal Palace, but told Brasher it wasn’t for him – it was not like running the fells. “Anyway, I told him I had a farm to run.”
Joss finally had a book of his own published in 2021. It is called ‘Joss Naylor’s Lakes, Meres and Waters of the Lake District’. All proceeds went to his charity.
The book features Joss’ own photographs (and musings), taken during the ‘Lakes, Meres and Waters’ event of 1983.
That same year, Joss was interviewed by Matt Baker, for the BBC television programme ‘Countryfile’. He told him that he still did three runs a week over the Lake District fells – “The best views on this earth.”
Almost immediately afterwards, Joss had a stroke. In his wheelchair, he still insisted as a spectator, on attending the Welsh Peaks race. He presented the trophy to the winner.
Shortly afterwards, he moved into a care home in Gosforth. It was there that he died, “In the company of family and friends.”
Tributes to Joss poured in. His close friend and fellow runner, Terry Abraham, said he was, “A humble, down to earth man whose incredible athleticism was known and respected around the world, let alone within Cumbria.”
The Fell Runners Association said, “He inspired so many.”
The Welsh Peaks Race organisers said, “He leaves a legacy of excellence. The fell and mountain running community across the UK, will have been touched by his stalwart presence over the decades.”
The Brathay Trust said, “His wavering commitment to our mission and his passion for the outdoors, left an indelible mark on our organization – Joss’ legendary feats as a fell runner and his tireless advocacy for young people, resonated with all of us. His spirit of adventure, resilience and love for the Lake District, inspired countless individuals, both within and beyond our community.”
They added, “Let us remember Joss Naylor as a beacon of determination, kindness and camaraderie. His legacy will forever echo through the hills and valleys he traversed – and in the hearts of those he touched.”
The final words go to Joss himself. “I just want to be remembered as Joss Naylor. Nothing bloody fancy. Just a simple fella who likes to do a bit of good.”
RIP – Running’s Incredible Pensioner
