Gavin Bland was born in 1971 in
Penrith, Cumbria, and grew up on his family's farm in
Borrowdale. He also represented England in senior races at the World Mountain Running Trophy in
1991 and
1992. In 1991, Bland won the
English Fell Running Championships and was second to
Keith Anderson in the
British Championships. In 1999, he won both the British and English Championships. This was despite being a self-acknowledged "lazy trainer", though his work as a
shepherd meant that he spent a lot of time on the fells in addition to his specific training. Throughout the 1990s, Bland was particularly successful at the most prestigious or "classic" long fell races. His wins included the
Ben Nevis Race,
Borrowdale, the
Ennerdale Horseshoe, the
Peris Horseshoe, the
Three Peaks,
Wasdale, the
Welsh 1000m Peaks, the Edale Skyline, Duddon Valley,
Holme Moss, the
Three Shires and the
Langdale Horseshoe. After the interruption of fell running by the
2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak, Bland featured less prominently in races but had occasional returns to good form, winning counters in the English or British Championships series at Langdale in 2003 and Silent Valley in 2013. He still holds the race records for the Three Shires, Peris Horseshoe and the
Carnethy 5. ==References==