How we grade routes
Every route gets two independent scores: one for how hard your body works, one for the ground underfoot. The overall grade is the higher of the two.
The five grades
Achievable for most active people. Short distance, gentle terrain.
Effort: Moderate distance, manageable climb
Underfoot: Some uneven or off-path ground
E2·T2 — how we grade routesA decent challenge. Some hill and rough ground but nothing extreme.
A proper mountain run. Good fitness and trail experience needed.
Effort: Long day out, serious climb
Underfoot: Technical, navigation required
E4·T4 — how we grade routesDemanding on every level. Substantial training and mountain skills required.
Effort: Ultra distance and major ascent
Underfoot: Exposed, scrambling or very rough
E5·T5 — how we grade routesTop-end physical and technical challenge. Not for the uninitiated.
Effort score (E1–E5)
Calculated from the GPX file — distance and total ascent. Never hand-entered.
Easy effort
Under 10km and under 150m ascent. Fine for regular walkers stepping up to running.
Moderate effort
150–400m ascent or 10–21km. Up to a half marathon on gentle ground.
Hard effort
400–800m ascent or 21–35km. Half marathon up to marathon. Expect to work.
Very hard effort
800–1,500m ascent or 35–60km. Serious training required. Not to be underestimated.
Expert effort
Over 1,500m ascent or 60km+. An all-day or overnight run, or a mountain day. Multi-year running background assumed.
Terrain score (T1–T5)
Set by our editors based on what the ground is actually like underfoot, and how exposed it is.
Easy terrain
Maintained paths, clear waymarking, no route-finding. Trail shoes or good trainers fine.
Moderate terrain
Mostly clear paths with some rough sections. Trail shoes recommended.
Hard terrain
Rough paths, open fellside, stream crossings. Trail shoes essential.
Very hard terrain
Exposed ridgelines, scrambling sections, pathless ground. Mountain experience required.
Expert terrain
Serious mountain ground, genuine exposure, technical scrambling. Only for experienced mountain runners.
Navigation is not in here. It used to lift the terrain score a band, which meant a runnable reservoir ultra graded like rough fell just because the route was not marked — and most people now follow a GPX on a watch rather than a map and compass. Whether a race is marked, and whether you are expected to navigate, is listed on each race page in its own right.
Why two scales?
A short route can have serious terrain. A long route can have simple paths. Using just one number hides that.
Example: a 10km ridge run with 650m of climb and exposed scrambling comes out E3·T4 — not far, and the effort is only moderate, but technical enough to demand mountain experience. A 50km route on clear forest paths is E4·T2 — a long way on ground that asks nothing of you underfoot.
The overall grade label uses max(E, T) — whichever is higher sets the grade. But both scores are shown so you can read the full picture.
Questions about a specific route's grade? Get in touch.