classification of fell / climbs

I'm just about to enter the i.o.w. fell run championships and the 3 races are

class as - 3 miles
class bm - 10 miles
class cl - 13 miles

does anyone know what the as, bm, cl actually mean. I've searched the F.R.A. website but can't find anything.

cheers

First of all welcome to the world of fell running. Much more fun than roads!

The s, m, l stands for short, medium, long
Short S: Under 6 miles.
Medium M: 6 miles or over, but under 12 miles.
Long L: 12 miles or over.

A,B,C - difficulty:
Cat A: More than 250ft of climb per mile, not more than 20% on road, at least 1 mile in length.
Cat B: More than 125ft of climb per mile, not more than 30% on road.
Cat C: More than 100ft of climb per mile, not more than 40% on road, with some genuine hill terrain.


The classification does have a purpose. All AL or AM races require you to carry some kit i.e. waterproofs, hat, food etc.

brillinat cheers! It'll be my first fell race so i'll be taking it easy. really looking forward to it should ge a good weekend away.

Unusual to have short+hard and long+easy, usually twin longs with hards - guess it gives you a choice.

Well i'm all entered up. nervous already!