Holmfirth Harriers Fell Page

Welcome to the fell running section. If you’re pining after bogs and wet Walshes this is the next best thing. Holmfirth Harriers has a long and glorious history or running on the fells. Recent achievements include 4th place for Andy Hauser in the 2006 English championships (V50) and 5th place in the V40’s for Julian Rank the year before, a couple of Bob Graham successes and several race wins. In the relay events the women were 4th in both the Ian Hodgson and the FRA relays last year and the men performed solidly.

If you’ve anything of interest for this section of the site e-mail it in to Tom Brunt tom.brunt1@btinternet.com or directly to Jacqueline.

Near-perfect weather conditions for my debut Lakes fell race. Clear skies (so no lost-in-mist worries) and not too hot. Most runners didn’t carry water and most wore just vests. I know that I get cold and thirsty more than most, so put a long-sleeve Dryflo top under my Harriers vest and carried a half-full bottle of very, very dilute energy drink. I didn’t regret either decision.

Kentmere is a great race (in theory). Really logical. A true horseshoe course taking in the peaks of Ill Bell, High Street and Kentmere Pike, and one of my favourite Lakes walks. Hence the decision to do the race. Oh yes, and a counter for the Harriers fell champs this year. The race was also a counter in the Fell Runners Association (FRA) 2008 English championship series, which again meant more runners (~400).

At 11.9 miles long, with 3300 feet of climbing, this is the longest “medium” in the FRA calendar. I have to say, it felt pretty “long” to me. The last descent seemed to go on forever. Just when your legs want to give up and plod on home, you have to concentrate on a ceaseless, rock-strewn descent through bracken. The recent rain had made the ground extremely muddy which didn’t help. Yes, I ended up sitting down at one point, but no damage (it was a soft landing).

First Harrier home was Tom, who finished 34th in 1:40:12. This time would have secured a top 10 placing in 2007, but that just goes to show how the quality of the field changes for English champs races.

Our newly-crowned club captain continued his good run of fell form to complete the course in 1:47:07. Gavin B. similarly secured a sub-two hour time, finishing in 1:56:46.

Helen led the Harriers’ ladies contingent home in 1:57:16, finishing just outside the prize line-up as 8th woman. I’ve been told she was still suffering from massive blisters after Holme Moss. Hopefully these extra mountain miles haven’t added too much to the damage.

Once again, Bill Wade finished the course looking as fresh a daisy, probably ready to run round again. Bill went into the race leading the over-65 category in the English championship series. He was beaten on the day by two other V65 runners, but should have gained sufficient points to retain his top slot (at least according to my maths).

34 Tom Brunt (1:40:12), 83 John Ewart (1:47:07), 149 Gavin Baxter (1:56:46), 155 Helen Berry (1:57:16), 224 Ian Shuttleworth (2:05:29), 264 Ian Arnold (2:11:01), 300 Bill Wade (2:16:51); 313 Christine Couch (2:19:57), 332 Paula Gould (2:23:55), 336 Jim Sommerville (2:25:13), 351 Robert Halstead (2:28:23), 355 Bill Hunter (2:28:55), 364 Karen Sinkinson (2:34:25), 384 Sophie Barraclough (2:54:56).

Weather was good , bit of sun , cool breeze but you could see the tops of the hills – Bonus !

Quite a few familiar faces from the last few weeks – quite a few were even laughing and joking ….

It’s a pleasant route to start with .. over Illgill Head to Whin Rigg - time out at 60 minutes .. so no pressure - drop right down again , meander through the woods into Greendale. Said hello to Joss Naylor as he handed out the drinks then up Greendalebeck and then up the grassy, boggy, featureless climb that is Seatallan . From here , you can see some serious looking hills – they’re next! Drop down again – more bogs to trudge across , followed some experts on a good low line round Scoat Fell onto the rocky path that goes up to Pillar - this is where the race starts to hurt ! From Pillar you can see where you have to go next … a bridge would be nice …No , down Pillar to Wind Gap , mince down and round Kirk Fell and the wonderful site of Great Gable looms down at you … and that is the next climb .Ouch ! Once you’ve dragged yourself up Great Gable you can see what’s next …. a steep , rocky descent .. followed by a long , rocky ascent to Esk Hause a turn right and a long, rocky , bouldery , slippy , steep hop, skip and a jump ( Ha!) up to Scafell Pike. High pointof the race .. all down hill from here . Have you ever walked – let alone run down from Scafell Pike down Lingmell nose ? The feeling in your legs is unbelievable – you cannot go any slower or any faster – they just move ..on their own and hurt .. badly …then ,half way down just for fun - is the last checkpoint – and a stile to cross ! Over that and down again – eventually it levels out and you wobble past the stream to the finishing line . As your brain starts to function again and you have regained control of your legs – you realize that you have achieved something special – and it feels quite good really – even if the winner was nearly 2 hours ahead of you - all I have for those elite runners is respect!!

125 finishers . Winner : Pete Vale – 3hr 51 . Joint Ladies winners – 7th= – hand in hand finish – Janet McIver , Jackie Lee .4hr 17 - New record .Ian Shuttleworth– 5hr 40 mins .82nd

A good day for Holmfirth Harriers’ ladies at British Fell Championship in Lancashire.

Blackstone Edge near Littleborough, Lancashire, was the venue of the third race in both the English and British Fell Running Championships on Saturday and Holmfirth Ladies’ team did the club very great credit by taking third place in the English Championship event and fourth in the British. A relative newcomer to the fell-running scene, Sophie Barraclough gave stalwart support to her more established colleagues, Lisa Lacon, Helen Berry and Jean Shotter.

Despite suffering from a bad attack of stomach cramp, Sophie kept going determined not to let down her team mates, being the fourth counter, although she was not sure whether it would be three or four runners to count in this race.

Fell specialist Lisa Lacon finished in a splendid 17th place (36 min 17 sec,), but on this occasion had to concede the club top spot to all-rounder Helen Berry (35:44), who delighted herself and club supporters with her superb run for 11th position overall and 6th place in the English Championship event. Always to be relied upon to put in a good performance, Jean Shotter ran well as third team counter in 57th place (42:41). Then it was down to Sophie to round off a good team performance when she finished the tough Blackstone Edge course in 83rd place (53:47).

Reigning British champion, Angela Mudge, from Scottish club, Carnethy, led the race from start to finish and in the process lowered the course record of 34:03, set by former international Claire Crofts in 1989, by 1 minute 25 seconds, finishing in 32:38.

Regrettably, a team result from Holmfirth Men was never on the cards. New club captain John Ewart, was disappointed to find that he and John Adair were the club’s only representatives. Most unfortunately for Adair, he was brought crashing to the ground in the crowded and fast start to the race. Despite severe lacerations to his thigh and hand he bravely picked himself up and resumed the race. But as the effects of shock wore off it became apparent to him that he was in no state to continue and he pulled out of the race after about a mile. It was desperately bad luck for this to happen in such an important race.

Meanwhile John Ewart, competing as a veteran V50, was running to his consistent good form and finished 5th in his category and 86th overall (33:86).

Not quite the balmy June evening that had been hoped for. And definitely not the type of evening to just be wearing a running vest and shorts - which of course I was, having made a last-minute decision to take off a long-sleeved top because hardly anyone else was wearing one. Doh! Halfway up the hill, drenched in rain and running into a stiff northerly, I was fairly sure my arms were going to lose all feeling (my fingers had already gone white). A valuable lesson learned.

Fortunately, the race wasn’t long enough for things to become really grim (5 miles, 1600 ft ascent), though the wet weather did mean that underfoot conditions were pretty darn slippery. The one good kit decision I made that evening was to abandon my trusty Montrails in favour of some little-worn Inov8 mudclaws. A bit clip-cloppy on the road section, but the added confidence for the downhill sections was worth it.

Good turnout from Harriers – 13 runners out of a total race field of 55. We did pretty well at the prize table too. Tom took first place (33:59), Julian first V40 (35:05) and John E. first V50 (36:33). Tom, Julian and John were also first men’s team.

For the women, Helen Berry took second place (39:29) behind Bingley’s Natalie White (36:41). Karen Sinkinson and Christine Couch took veteran category prizes for first female V40 and V50 respectively. First women’s team went to Helen, me and Chris.

All prizes were pieces of miscellaneous sportswear or vouchers, as seems to be the case with races organised by Des Gibbons. Sizes and style seemed to be better judged for the men than the women, but after a bit of haggling amongst us ladies, I think we all ended up with something wearable…

1 Tom Brunt (33:59), 4 Julian Rank (35:05), 10 John Ewart (36:33), 12 Gavin Baxter (36:50), 18 Helen Berry (39:29), 26 Jan Danilo-Garbacki (41:30), 27 Ian Shuttleworth (41:45), 30 Paul Shaw (42:19), 37 Andy Haigh (44:19), 43 Paula Gould (46:29), 45 Christine Couch (46:42), 46 Karen Sinkinson (48:16), 53 Sophie Barraclough (56:35).

Yet another counter in the Harriers fell champs, and only three days after the previous one. Weather fairly rubbish for this one too. Still, that didn’t seem to alter the turnout. In fact, we had two more runners than in 2007, when conditions were fine and dry.

This is billed as a three mile race with either 900 feet or 600 feet of ascent (depending on which piece of publicity info you read). It begins with a circuit of the trials field – emptied temporarily of sheep and dogs – then a bit of climbing over a drystone wall to reach a track. The next section (downhill through woods and fields) contains some fairly treacherous stiles, then there’s a short section of road before a tedious uphill slog back to the showground. Getting back into that field over the wall is a bit of an effort the second time around, but by that stage, with the end in sight, anything is possible!

Holmfirth may have dominated the field, but the fastest times all went to visiting runners. The race was won by Paul Stevenson (Pudsey and Bramley) in 22:07. He was followed home by Rob Jackson (Horwich Harriers) in 22:26 and Netherthong-based Dan Stewart (Spenborough) in 22:51.

Supervet John E. was the first Holmfirth runner, and first V50, finishing in fourth place overall with a time of 23:00. Helen Berry led home a stronger-than-usual ladies field to collect the prize for the first female runner in 25:07. Oliver Futrell was first junior, completing the course in an impressive 24:32, and Tim Cock first V60 (32:21).

Team prizes were awarded to Holmfirth ‘A’ (John Ewart, Andy Shaw, Nigel Moran) and the more unusually-composed Holmfirth ‘B’ (Oliver Futrell, Chris Beadle, Helen Berry).

4 John Ewart (23:06), 5 Andy Shaw (23:13), 6 Nigel Moran (23:57), 8 Oliver Futrell (24:32), 9 Chris Beadle (24:54), 10 Helen Berry (25:07), 11 Katie Walshaw (25:19), 14 Ian Shuttleworth (26:00), 15 Paul Shaw (26:01), 16 Jan Danilo-Garbacki (26:07), 17 Phil Hobbs (26:23), 19 Andrew Keast (27:02), 20 Dave Knight (27:15), 21 Lucy Griffiths (28:15), 22 Paula Gould (29:33), 23 Rob Halstead (29:46), 24 Karen Sinkinson (30:19), 25 Dayn Wilkins (30:30), 26 Rebecca Halstead (31:54), 27 Tim Cock (32:21), 28 Richard Whale (32:28), 29 Debbie Hall (32:39), 31 Steve Wight (35:58).

What a good time we had at the Edale Fell Race. This has to be one of my favorite short races. An exhilarating 4.7m race with 1328’ of climbing and starts about 10 mins walk up the valley from Edale village and Country Day. It’s a tight fast horseshoe course around Grindsbrook Valley including a long climb to the top of Golden Clough via The Nab, a run around the head of Grindsbrook and a very steep descent of Grindslow Knoll back into Edale Village and the Show. Well marshaled and being a clear sunny day you weren’t required to carry kit. My preparation involved - making sure I’d drunk plenty of water the day before - adding a little salt to my rice on my evening meal and wearing sun cream.

It was a baking hot day and with the sun beating down on my head I was more inclined to feel like a siesta than a warm-up. Initially everyone seemed to set off too fast up the steep grassy hillside, quickly finding themselves unable to run. The climbing was relentless - on to a track that turned to squeeze through a gate, continuing to meander up until it petered into a tough stony climb with hands on knees, then almost at the top a rocky stream crossing and a short scramble to the relief of the ridge path.

The serene views from the top were so tempting but with already tired legs the boulder strewn winding path demanded full concentration. It was a beautiful run along the ridge whilst still ascending gently.

I noticed ahead a group of men who veered off the ridge path and across the open moorland. Amongst them a guy wearing Dark Peak vest (the race organizers). With this knowledge I followed and though my feet were grateful for this soft forgiving ground my legs soon began to regret the magic carpet of undulating peat and I began to slip back. Soon, returning to the ridge path and a rocky stream crossing - with effort I caught them up again. Still a little more climbing and we reached the summit. I stopped briefly and turned 360° to see and feel the panorama. Wow! So beautiful.

Then over the top and a very sharp, short, grassy descent taking us towards a steep rocky, hard track. Downhill now all the way home. My previous experience of this track and the unsteady jolting landings had given me a bad stitch. The fast men ahead were again taking a different course and once more I went for another bite of the apple!

Initially I was pleased, we were definitely cutting across and taking the inside curve – but I started to become a little concerned that we weren’t descending. Still - the pace was fast, there was a girl ahead and I passed her. It wasn’t until the fast men ahead suddenly dropped from view and I came upon what seemed to me like a precipice, I realized I’d reached a point of no return. The view below felt like something I’d only seen from an aeroplane. It was the steepest longest descent I’d even done. But with the competition behind I’d no time to think and hurled myself downhill taking a straight line though turning my body slightly sideways with a galloping technique. This seemed to work but by half way down my thighs were really starting to burn and cramp. I could see the other runners hurtling down the track, just tiny specks in the distance below and tried to concentrate though wondering who’d really taken the fastest route. I finally staggered to the bottom and with legs like jelly I hauled myself over a style. The final run in should have been a pleasure and fast but my legs were so heavy I could barely lift them. I’d nothing left. Another runner caught me up and offered encouragement. He ran in with me - all the way along the road and finally when I stumbled, exhausted, on the muddy wooden steps into the Gala field he coaxed me back up, to finish ahead of him. Thanx! (5 seconds slower than last time and sunburn – forgot the cream)!

What a lovely race. I can’t think of anything I enjoy much more. It gives me such an incredible feeling of satisfaction and fun and I get to experience such wonderful places and the people.

Race subscription included entry into the Edale Show where I spent the next three hours recovering with my youngest daughter Eleanor. The show has a really good family feel to it with lots to entertain everyone from sheep shearing, lamas, sheep dogs rounding up ducks!! May pole dancing, local Silver Band, lots of stands and a beer tent! What more could you ask.

Results: 44 Jeremy Pattersen (44:36) 111 Karen Sinkinson (53:28) 176 Karen Bonman (1:08:35) 177 Gavin Baxter (1:08:52). 189 Starters and Finishers.

I feel that if you can run cross-country then fell running can be for everyone. I’ve only been doing this for two years. There are plenty of short races in the Fell Running Calendar. The marshaled courses are always the safest routes but you can make the race as easy or as hard as you like by just going your own speed. Wearing the right shoes is important – ankles and knees etc all get stronger with practice and if you are prepared to take your time on a descent, it shouldn’t be a problem.

For the ladies who fancy giving it a go we have a Club Championship Race – James Blakely Fell Race - Harden Moss, Holmfirth on Saturday 21 st June. It’s only 3 miles and 900’ climbing and starts at 3.00 pm. It would be great to have a really good turn out in our Centenary Year.

The forecast was perfect so I packed some kit, pointed the car north and set off for Scotland. The main target was Tranter’s Round – a 40 mile circuit of 17 Munros around Glen Nevis with a daunting 21,000 feet of ascent. Although superceded by the longer Ramsey Round, there is a purity of line about Tranter’s which makes it a compelling challenge for aficionados of long distance challenges. It just leaps out at you from the map as the obvious objective. Well it does to me anyway.

I expected to get round in 14-15 hours and had deliberately discounted any thoughts of the record (12 hours 50 minutes). The legs still felt a little jaded from the Old County Tops race a week earlier, and on much of the Tranter’s Round I would be covering new ground.

Late spring snow patches covered the north and east faces of the mountains as I drove up on Saturday night. As usual before these ventures I endured a fitful night’s sleep at the Climbers’ Club hut in Roybridge and I was relieved to force down some breakfast at 5am and drive round to Glen Nevis for a 6am start.

I had chosen to start with the Mamores on the south side of the glen and then cross over onto the Grey Corries before culminating on Ben Nevis. I tried to put the punishing descent from the Ben to the back of my mind. Going in this direction the route started with a steady 900m climb to the first summit which took just under an hour. Running down from the summit I bumped into a Macclesfield Harriers Ramsey Round team heading for their last peak and arranged to meet them in the pub in the evening. They were the last people I saw for about 6 hours. The Mamores went well with superb running on good paths, a couple of exposed rocky ridges and glorious views to the bigger mountains on the north side of the glen.

Psychologically the most difficult part of the day was dropping down off the Mamores, crossing indistinct terrain at the head of Glen Nevis and slogging up to Stob Ban, the first of the Grey Corries. Once on this range of hills I tried to convince myself that the biggest climbs were out of the way which was only partially true. Still the sandwiches, flapjacks and cake were all going down well and there was plenty of water from snow melting in the high corries and gullies. The Grey Corries offered some fairly level running (a rarity for this route) on a spectacular narrow rocky ridge.

All good things come to an end though and I was soon faced with the 500m slog up to Aonach Beag up steep and exposed ground. The next mountain, Aonach Mor went easily before another steep rocky descent and long climb to Carn Mor Dearg, the penultimate peak. Another rocky ridge swept down and round to Ben Nevis in a graceful arc. To the right the north east face of the Ben was a scene of Alpine grandeur – with deep snow fields on the summit plateau and filling the gullies. Some 60 miles to the east I could pick out the snow-capped Cairngorms and a similar distance to the west was the jagged outline of the Cuillin ridge.

The only way was down – a long way down. My legs and feet were tired by now so I went for a steady trot downwards. The hard rocky ground was unrelenting and I kept checking the altimeter. Every 100m down was a minor victory. Familiar landmarks came and went and before long the bridge and youth hostel were in view. I savoured the warm summer air reflecting on one of Britain’s great mountain days. 14 hours and 10 minutes after setting out I got back to the car and headed for the pub and some much-needed rehydration.

The Old County Tops race does exactly what it says on the race entry form – it goes to the highest points in the old counties of Westmoreland, Cumberland and Lancashire. These are, of course, Helvellyn, Scafell Pike and Coniston Old Man. Starting and finishing in Langdale it weighs in at 37 miles with about 11,000 feet of climbing. But for some reason it doesn’t feel as bad as these raw statistics would suggest. Maybe it’s because it’s run in pairs so you have a partner to provide encouragement / food / moral support / abuse as required.

Once again I was with long term running, climbing and caving partner Martin Beale of Stroud, one of Gloucestershire’s leading fellrunners. (One of Gloucestershire’s only fellrunners actually.) In fairness Martin really excels at this long distance stuff – for him the Old County Tops is actually a relatively short race.

It was an 8am start from Langdale in perfect conditions – cool and overcast but with perfect visibility. Several pairs started off as though they meant business on the first few miles over to Grasmere and up the first big climb to Helvellyn. On the descent from Helvellyn the Ambleside pair of Simon Stainer and Dan Golding took the lead and afer grabbing some food from the Wythburn checkpoint we set off up the Wythburn valley in pursuit. After the recent good weather the ground was unusually dry making for faster running than the previous year. We closed down on our quarry near the top of the valley and then caught them taking a better line towards the top of Stake Pass. We were both feeling strong and carried on pushing the pace to Angle Tarn, eking out a small lead. This slender advantage didn’t increase much over Scafell Pike and down into upper Eskdale.

Once down into the valley we out our reccies to good use linking faint paths around the rocky knolls and small crags. We were pulling ahead and flew down Mosedale to the Cockley Beck checkpoint. Grabbing handfuls of food we barely paused before stomping up the last big the climb from Cockley Beck to the Grey Friar col. Looking back our lead was continuing to grow. No mistakes now, no injuries – a solid run from here should be enough. The Old Man came and went, and because it is an out-and-back it provided the ideal opportunity to check on our rivals’ progress. We worked out that our lead was about 15 minutes. A simple “Well done, lads” from the Lakes pair suggested they were settling for second place. We could enjoy the run in down grassy slopes to the Three Shires Stone and then back over to Langdale past Blea Tarn. We crossed the finish line in 6 hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds, which seems to be the second fastest time in the 20 years of the race. So I suppose we’ll be back for more next year.

Gloriously warm , sunny day – ideal for gardening or sitting outside a pub- not for 245 people to run a long fell race .

My first “Lakeland Long” – I thought I was the only Harrier until I met up with John Ewart ( or is it Elsart….) . I was a bit concerned for him as it was five minutes before the start and he asked if this was a Club Championship or a English one ? I told him it was neither - he seemed a little perturbed by this and questioned what the **** was he doing the race for ? I suggested “enjoyment” then thought it best to leave him to his own race and slipped towards the back of the field …. maybe just a “senior moment “ ….V50 and all ….

Back to the run .. steady up to Harter Fell .. slog to the top of the forementioned .. Easy lesson 1 – how to use a Dibber … Hard lesson 1 on the down to Hardknot.. tie shoe laces more tightly . Re-did the said laces then carried on with 2 blistered heals - marvelous !

Hardknot Fell - steady away , lucky line down to Mosedale – fine view of Little Stand …let others check the electric fence was turned off before crossing ..Little stand - well , it ain’t ****** Little !

Lovely hobble down to Three shires stone , ascended Swirl How , a couple of birds exploded in the sky above with the heat !

Good “mince” round Brim Fell and onto Dow Crag , past Walna Scar – it looked great - except for the looming sight of Caw Fell .. who put that there !!!

Followed the , by now , well worn path – no cramps , just tired – reached the summit , turned to head down and just let the legs go - they could sense the Pub at the bottom !!

John did a very commendable 3.49 – 72nd . winner was Simon Booth in 2.52 , I managed 4.17 133rd.

I ran the route of the Crowden Horseshoe fell race in reverse a few weeks ago on one of Ashley’s Sunday morning runs. It was one of those days when two thermal tops and a windproof would have been better than one, longs would have been preferable to shorts, and had I put a woolly hat in my bumbag, it would definitely have got worn. The clag was down, the peat was on a high squelch rating, and there was an absolutely nithering wind blowing across the top of Laddow Rocks. Nice.

The conditions for Sunday’s Crowden Horseshoe race were luckily far more amenable. High clouds (so no potential lost-on-the-moors issues) and much, much drier peat - more springy than squelchy. Once again, we were treated to the sort of breeze above Laddow Rocks that made it difficult to stand upright, let alone run (is this obligatory?) My outfit may have looked a little strange, but I was very glad to be wearing long-sleeves and something around my ears. Could have really done with some more ballast, though.

Running the Crowden Horseshoe the correct way round (clockwise) also seemed to make far more sense. Running up the stony path onto the Pennine Way is far less of a pain than running it downhill, as you do with the anticlockwise route. Ashley, if you’re reading this, please take note.

The Crowden Horseshoe race is listed in the FRA calendar as being eight miles long with 1700 feet of ascent. We had seven Harriers competing out of total field of 140, which seems to be about par for the course for local races not in the HHAC fell champs. I’d twisted Barbara’s arm a bit to turn out so was really pleased when she came in as first LV50. Bill was just outside the prizes in 7th.

Much scrutiny of the results board also revealed that Barbara, Karen and myself were the first three women runners home (ahead of teams from Saddleworth and Penistone) but horror of horrors – no ladies team was awarded! A polite query in the direction of the very nice organiser revealed he simply hadn’t considered that there might be three women from one club running. Let alone several teams. So the ladies team prize was duly, retrospectively awarded to us. And very smart socks they are too.

7 Bill Stewart (68:29), 50 Phil Hobbs (79:51), 84 Barbara Hinchliffe (90:03), 103 Rob Halstead (94:09), 104 Paula Gould (94:23), 106 Karen Sinkinson (95:06), 118 Jim Somerville (98:52).

As we were staying in close by Dufton for the weekend I suggested to Louise that a good way for her to celebrate our wedding anniversary would be to watch me at Fairfield.

Conditions were cool and dry as 290 runners set off along the narrow lanes and tracks from Rydal Hall. The initial climb up to Nab Scar is steep after which you turn north and head up Heron Pike, instead of following the main ridge path I followed a group that traversed along the western flank, this was grassy but not particularly fast and rejoined the main path below Great Rigg.

After approx 50 minutes running, I reached Fairfield summit, the clag was down and visibility was only a few yards. The route now turns back south eastwards to skirt around Cawk cove. The running was fast as we began descending, although the terrain is rocky around Hart crag which really seemed to slow me up and I lost ground on most runners around me.

As we came out of the mist beyond Dove crag the descent was unrelenting, this was my first Lakeland race of the year and my unconditioned quads were a tad painful. It was a relief to reach the track through Rydal Park although attempting to run quickly on the flat after such a long descent was not easy.

I staggered up to the finish disappointed not to break 90mins although my time was a little quicker than last year.

Louise commented on a very athletic finish by another Harrier, overtaking runners inside the tapes, I think this was Ian Shuttleworth.

I noted that Jim looked unreasonably sprightly after he finished, he’s obviously didn’t try hard enough.

1 st Nick Sharp (Ambleside) 80.50
23 rd Bill Stewart 91.09
101 st Ian Shuttleworth 107.34
114 th Ian Arnold 110.28
211 th Christine Couch
224 th Jim Sommerville

No times were posted for Christine or Jim due to a timing failure at the finish, I think they were around the 2 hrs mark.

It took about an hour to get to the race start – and we’re on the right side of the Holme Valley for venturing into the Peak District – but well worth the effort.

The event is described by the organiser as: “A 10km fell race over varied terrain on a beautiful route through the Goyt Valley with 1100ft of climb.” Can’t vouch for the distances or ascent (I don’t wear one of those nargy watches and haven’t measured the course on the map) but it is definitely a scenic route. Also well marshalled and taped.

The ground was fairly hard after the recent dry spell of weather, so probably better suited to trail shoes rather than studs. I’d been warned in advance to save some energy for the sting in the race tail – a mile-long upward slog after ~4.5 miles that is apparently “completely runable” – but of course that didn’t quite happen and my “running” was more of a desperate shuffle by that stage.

The final torture was the rocky track back down to the finish. A well-angled descent that should be ideal for a fast finish if it didn’t have such a tediously, knobbly surface. Absolutely horrible for running on!

Apart from that, really nice race (honest). And great post-race pizza, courtesy of Karen (VERY much appreciated).

8 Tom Brunt (48:35), 43 Jeremy Patterson (56:19), 69 Andy Smith (59:35), 98 Paula Gould (65:10), 103 Karen Sinkinson (66:06).

Amazing what a bit of sunshine can do – Holmfirth Harriers fielded an impressive 18 runners at the Burbage Skyline fell race last week.

Most definitely worth making the effort and enduring the rollercoaster ride over the Strines Road to get there. Quick running terrain on good paths, even for nervous novices like myself, who still dread stumbling on every rock. A few near-obligatory stream crossings too, but I’m getting a bit better at those (sort of). And perhaps most importantly, a highly convivial pub for the post-race prize-giving.

Our little raiding party were competing in a field of 270 plus runners, so we weren’t the only club to be out in force. Also worthy of note - we had six women Harriers competing. That has to be a record turn-out for a midweek fell race (not including the Dennis Stitt).

Tom was first Harrier home in 40:51 and 11th place (not quite good enough to sneak into the top ten this year) with Bill not too far behind in 41:35 (17th place).

John E. did us proud by finishing in 44:03 (29th place) and picking up the title of first V50. The Dark Peak race organisers were clearly so perturbed by this intruder at the prize table that they oddly managed to misread his surname. Thankfully John wasn’t fooled by this tactic and “Mr Elsart” soon put them right as to the correct pronunciation.

For the women, Helen Berry ran strongly to finish as fifth woman and 80th place overall (48:05). So another 10 points for the Holmfirth women’s fell championship. I’m going to have to tie her shoelaces together at the next race…

Lovely weather (at last!) so fortunately the peat had dried out considerably. The obvious downside was the lack of a drinks stand at the top of the steep climb onto Ravenstones brow, but apparently such luxuries are far rarer in fell races (darn – this self-sufficiency thing is not going to be as easy as I’d imagined).

Strong turn-out from Harriers menfolk, though prospects of a race win were quickly knocked on the head by the appearance of a certain John Brown from Salford - an international-standard runner, so I’m told.

Not all bad news for the pot-hunters. Tom took second place out of 115 (behind the predictably speedy Mr Brown) in 1:07:55, and Julian was fourth overall and first V40 ( 1:08:39). Together with Bill Stewart (8th; 1:10:00) and Jan Danilo-Garbacki (18th; 1:18:08), they also got the men’s team prize.

Karen and I were a little further down the field, finishing 79th ( 1:35:30) and 88th ( 1:37:24) respectively. That said, we still managed to end up with far more pictures on the race photo gallery than the men did… And unlike Kinder Downfall, I managed to stay upright for the entire race, and returned with no new battle scars (progress!!)

The weather was fortunately much better than had been forecast, and Saturday turned out to be a good day for spectating. At 24.5 miles long with over 5000 feet ascent, the Three Peaks Race is way out of my league as a runner – and is likely to remain so.

This year the race was also the annual World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge, and a counter in the English and British fell-running championships. The organisers also decided to trial an online-only entry system. The result? A real scramble for entries, with places disappearing faster than Glastonbury tickets.

Eight lucky (plucky?) Harriers managed to get places. All finished the course. All were well and truly beaten by Jethro Lennox from Scottish club Shettlestone Harriers, who finished in 2:53:39, and Anna Pichrtova of the Czech Republic, who knocked more than a minute off the women’s record to finish in 3:14:43.

Tom was first Harrier home in 3:30:06. The fact that this only clinched 80th place shows the strength of the field. He was also almost 10 minutes slower than his personal best for the course (set in 2007). This drop in performance, he claimed, was due to having raced hard in the Point-to-Point the Thursday beforehand…

John Ewart also arrived with pre-prepared excuses, having injured his calf running upstairs at home. Some intensive pre-race massage seemed to do the trick, though, and he had a great run, finishing in 3:47:37. In fact, he was running so well that his all-female support team at the Ribblehead road crossing very nearly didn’t have his energy drink ready. Fortunately, Julia’s eagle eyes saved the day, and John was duly re-fuelled.

Gavin Baxter was the third Holmfirth finisher, sneaking just inside the four hour window in 3:58:52.

Special mention must also be made of Bill Wade, who at 66-years-old was one of the oldest runners in the competition. A true Three Peaks connoisseur, he finished ahead of many younger runners in 4:43:34. In fact, photos of Bill taken on the climb to Ingleborough show him looking remarkably sprightly. Bill, if you’re reading this, please share your secret!

Tom Brunt ( 3:30:06); John Ewart ( 3:47:37); Gavin Baxter ( 3:58:52); Andy Hauser ( 4:12:41); Jan Danilo-Garbacki ( 4:24:28); Bill Wade ( 4:43:34); Jean Shotter ( 4:45:36); Rod Futrell ( 4:51:36).

It might not feel like summer just yet but the evening fell races have started. This steep little affair from Glossop proved to be a fine Wednesday evening challenge for Nige, John, Lisa and myself. Up, down, up and down again before a well earned pint in the pub. Having the prize giving outside at 8.45pm tested the resolve of some of the less hardy competitors. On the way back we struggled through a rather unseasonal snowstorm on the Woodhead Pass.

‘Cracking route’ as Ashley would say. And on this (rare?) occasion, he wouldn’t be wrong.

The Kinder Downfall race route is really very logical. Starting from Hayfield, you run uphill for a few miles, you turn right and run along the moor for a few miles, then you veer right again and run back down into the village. A classic horseshoe with no sneaky ups and downs in the middle. My kind of race.

The official blurb claims the race covers 10 miles and 2500 feet of ascent, though the general consensus is that these figures are a bit on the high side. Even so, still much further and hillier than anything I’ve raced before.

My two aims were not to get lost on the Kinder plateau and to get round in one piece. I achieved the first of these goals and almost got the second – the slippery descent to Edale Cross combined with my downhill running incompetence resulted in a close encounter between my knee and a rock. Made a nice mess and I’ve got a lovely bruise, but thankfully no major damage.

A grand total of 13 Harriers on the starting line (15 on the entry list, but illness/injury prevailed). Obviously I’m not the only one targeting the fell championship races this year…

The race was – unusually – started by a pair of newlyweds dropping a piece of unidentified underwear from their window in the nearby Royal Hotel. I’ve yet to see that at a Holmfirth Harriers event.

Three of our contingent managed to finish with prizes: Tom Brunt (5th place overall, 3rd non-vet), Chris Couch (1st FV50) and John Ewart (2nd V50). Alas no team prizes. Those Dark Peak men and Calder Valley women are just too quick!

Richard Sharp opens his diary in an effort to
explain why pain equals pleasure for him
and his fellow fell guys.

taken from BOB issue 3

a sunday morning in winter. 9.30am. very cold.
Dark clouds skid menacingly over the satanic mills of Marsden in West Yorkshire. The damp in the air penetrates everything it touches. This is the start line of Tankeys Trog, a 23 Mile fell race along the Pennine Way to Edale. 150 runners shiver in waiting. A shabby rectangle
of wet cardboard hangs limply in a nearby tree. The words START written on it are now barely legible. An old man, bracing himself against the wind, shuffles by. He’s seen it all before. “You must all be bloody mad” he mutters with more than a hint of respect. The race starter leans out of his car window. “Off you go then he shouts.” We leave Marsden behind and climb six miles up the Wessenden Valley to Black Hill. By the time we get there the icy wind is screaming with banshee insanity across the bleak expanse of Saddleworth Moor. The wind chill factor feels like minus 1000 degrees. At least it’s not raining. From Black Hill it’s 5 miles of boggy descent to Crowden and the first checkpoint. And then it’s Bleaklow Hill. The climb is indescribable. Things are going well and that’s when my right calf explodes with a pain that brings me to my knees. Cramp! This can’t be happening. I’ve only done twelve miles. I try
to run. The cramp returns. That’s when the rain starts, although it feels more like an explosion of splintered glass. I hobble on pathetically. Then the left calf cramps. Bloody hell I’m in trouble now. I’m getting left behind. I keep climbing. A shuffling shadow. As I near the summit of Bleaklow I choose a route I know well. 60 seconds later I am lost, knee-deep in peat.
Things couldn’t get worse. I climb to the top of a mound to get my bearings. I can’t see anything through the mist and rain. Damn what next. A gust of wind blows me off my wasted legs. This drives me on. I stumble through the peat gullies hoping to see a recognisable feature. I feel sick. This is bad. My legs are in indescribable pain. The rain stops and the mist clears momentarily. I see a glimpse of red half a mile to my right. Mountain rescue. They point me in the right direction. I reach the final checkpoint on the Snake Pass. My wife Darlene is there and I can see from the look on her face that I’m looking bad. I consider retirement. She tells me lots of runners have dropped out. A small group of runners leave the checkpoint for the final five miles. Next thing I know I’m with them. The cramp has subsided and my legs are working again. We ascend the eastern point of Kinder Scout as the wintry weather squalls around us. We climb for eternity. This is hell. The cramp is back. The pain has become an old friend on a long journey. Suddenly we reach the ridge and see Edale. The sun
breaks through and lights the village. My spirit soars. My eyes well with tears. I wobble down to the finish. No cheering crowds and silver blankets. Just Darlene, two marshalls and one clipboard. Well done lad they say. It’s six hours since I left Marsden. I feel like death but grin
from ear to ear. This is fell running, the sport I love.

There are few records as to how fell running started. In the 1800s the railways started to bring tourism to the fells of Cumbria. The gentry flocked north and local shepherds became tour guides. Having the best guide became a point of pride and soon the tourists were organising races for their guides. Fell running was born. Things have moved on since then and
the Fell Runners Association is now the organising body. There is a full calendar for races across the fells of the UK, plus a British Championship with incredible athletes who sadly remain unrecognised outside of fell running. Races have something for anybody and range in length from just a few miles to challenges like the 24hr, 72 mile Bob Graham Round.
When entering a race a minimum amount of equipment is required. Full body cover. Map. Compass. Whistle. Food and drink advisable. Quality footwear is essential. Your Asics gels
might do the job in the Manchester 10K, but they’ll be little use to you in the fells. There are a range of specialist fell shoes available. The best bet is to buy them from somewhere that understands the sport. Running Bear in Alderley Edge has great knowledge and provides excellent advice. Many running clubs in Manchester do fell running and it’s advisable to enter the fells with runners who understand the environment before heading out on your own. That’s all there is to it. Its just running up and down hills. Just add in boulders, bogs, rough grass and tussocks, streams, bracken, and loose scree that can make every footfall a potential
sprained ankle or worse. And with climbs that go on for miles that are followed by death-defying descents in weather that can change in a moment from lovely to lethal, you can see why it’s a sport to be passionate about. So if running around the suburbs breathing the traffic fumes and dodging the dog s**t is your thing, then fair enough. But just twelve miles from Manchester are some of the finest landscapes in the world, where you can enjoy incredible running in complete freedom, in huge open spaces that will challenge you like nothing else.
If you have any questions or fancy your first fell run then get in touch at richard.sharp@tequilamanchester.com

Alistair Macdonald
Pule Hill Circuit.
Marsden. West Yorkshire.
6 miles, 1400 ft climbing
This one has everything you need. A gentle warm-up along a riverside, a tiring slog up a boggy hill and another county for half an hour. The gritstone edge has a cracking view over Manchester that you can’t look at as you’re too busy negotiating the rocks. Here the next hill is laughing at you: Pule Hill, back over the border and almost as high again but this time
taken direct. Then a mud-splattering descent along the ridge to the cooling tower, the railway chugging deep underground and a pint at the Tunnel End Inn.

Catherine Crowther
Kinder Downfall. Hayfield.
10 miles, 2,500 ft climbing.
Starting in the picturesque village of Hayfield the route tests your legs with an uphill
start through fields and onto the main track. Then it’s a quick traverse and short
descent to the bottom of William Clough and the next big climb. Once you’re at the top, most of the climbing is now done and the track which winds its way for the next 3 miles provides excellent views, and if you’re lucky (i.e. the wind is blowing in a westerly direction) a welcome
shower from the Kinder downfall. The top of Kinder Low can easily be taken in and from here it’s downhill all the way on rocky tracks and grassy fields until you get to Hayfield.

Jan Danilo
Crowden Horseshoe.
Derbyshire.
8 miles, 1,800 ft climbing
Starting at the youth hostel in Crowden, you head up onto the Pennine Way and the most
strenuous climb of the route: Laddow Rocks. Then the terrain flattens out with peat
bogs, long grasses and the sweeping expanse of Saddleworth moors. The route then steadily winds its way up to the Black Hill trig point. There's a short tricky bit here, an undefined way for a hundred metres before the style to Tooleyshaw Moor is found. After that is a quick section with only a few gentle uphill bits. But the perils lie in the bogs - it's easy to get trapped up to your midsection. This homeward stretch offers the best views as you descend quickly
back towards Crowden.

December 3, Tanky’s Trog – difficult conditions battling against a strong headwind all the way

2nd Julian Rank 3 hours 17 minutes
7th Tom Brunt 3 hours 30 minutes
a bit later – just under 4 hours I seem to recall – Nigel Moran
2nd lady Catherine Crowther

39th Lisa Lacon 38.27 (3rd lady)
88th Jeremy Patterson 41.21
126th Lucy Griffiths 43.50 (10th lady)
232nd Bill Hunter 50.45
240th Jim Somerville 51.08
256th Karen Sinkinson 52.53

Strong winds made the outward run to Top Withens hard work, but luckily the rain held off until after the race. There were some solid performances – especially Lisa in third place. Ladies – get yourselves organised with a third runner and I’m sure there are plenty of team prizes there for the taking…As usual a big (450) and high quality field.

Tom Brunt 23 46.58
Andy Shaw 30 47.30
Julian Rank 34 47.52
Gavin Baxter 78 51.41
Lisa Lacon 87 [3rd lady] 52.14
Chris Beadle 112 53.43
Lucy Griffiths 140 [7th lady] 55.32
John Adair 235 60.32
Robert Halstead 325 65.26
Jim Somerville 384 70.53

On a damp and misty morning I trotted round the 8 miles of the Ovenden fell race in just under the hour for 9th place. This is a really good course – runnable moorland paths, grassy descents and a couple of steep hands-on-knees climbs. It is more like genuine fellrunning than, say, Auld Lang Syne. Pudsey and Bramley, Calder Valley and Todmorden were out in strength which made for a closely fought team prize. There was even the added spice of some controversy as the first two finishers were demoted to 3rd and 4th for taking the wrong route. Highly recommended – put it in your diary for next year.

AN intrepid flock of five owls assembled on a blustery evening at Binn Green near Dovestones reservoir. Given that the Woodhead had been closed after two lorries were blown over we kitted up anticipating wild and windy conditions on the hills. We were not to be disappointed.

John’s calf was giving him trouble so he had to reluctantly turn back. That left four of us slogging up the steep climb to Wimberry. Once on the moor edge we were blown eastwards to Chew reservoir with occasional soakings where waterfalls were being blown back up onto the moor. Across the dam we battled into the wind heading round to the top of the Dovestones. Alistair and Jan descended from Ashway Gap leaving Nige and myself to carry on, again with wind assistance, above the Ravenstones and down into Birchen Clough. The ravine was an impressive place, swollen by the recent rains, with the wind whistling up the valley whipping the water into a swirling spray. A couple of miles on better paths round the reservoirs saw us back at Binn Green.

Squally sheet showers over the Woodhead on the way to Hayfield suggested that this year’s event would indeed be a trial in all senses. This is one of my favourite races – it’s a navigational event with a different course every year, which you are given as you set off. Runners set off individually. I soon found myself heading up the Snake bridleway in the company of Alan Ward from Dark Peak, last year’s winner. We ended up running most of the race together which probably helped both of us. Not wanting to get into an out-and-out sprint finish I formulated a cunning plan… From the last checkpoint I thought that the obvious route was not going to be the quickest so I hung back a little and my adversary duly took the obvious option. I clipped the control and then headed back in the opposite direction to pick up a path and then a lane which lead directly to the finish. This plan worked to perfection and I ended up winning the race. It was satisfying to get one over the Dark Peak boys for once. Another thing that makes this one of the best races in the fellrunning calendar is the outstanding array of home-made soup and cakes on offer at the finish – just what you need after 2 hours running around Kinder in the snow and mist.

1st Tom Brunt Holmfirth 2 hours 4 minutes
2nd Alan Ward Dark Peak 2 hours 11 minutes
3rd Simon Patton Dark Peak 2 hours 13 minutes
4th Gavin Williams Dark Peak 2 hours 14 minutes
5th Tim Austin Dark Peak 2 hours 14 minutes

The flock was considerably enlarged for this outing up Black (or should that be White?) Hill. No doubt the excellent winter conditions with a covering of snow, clear sky and occasional flurries of fresh snow tempted a few “snowy” owls out of hibernation and onto the fells. And that was despites some notable absentees – namely Julian who had managed to fall off his bike and Nigel who lost his 100% attendance record because of a Kylie Minogue concert. The shame of it.

Anyway eight of us set off along a treacherous icy Issues Road and the first of many tumbles were taken. We dropped down to Blackpool Bridge and joined the Pennine Way near the Isle of Skye. The snow on the path made the climb feel grueling but we were rewarded with an excellent run through fresh snow across to the Holme Moss Road and then a superb plummet down to the woods a la Holme Moss race. This was, for most, the best part of the run. Strangely Rosie seemed to think that negotiating the fallen trees in the woods was the highlight. Surely no one relished skittering and teetering along the icy track beneath Yateholme? There were plenty of casualties along here, thankfully none serious.

Back in Holme Griff was clearly somewhat dismayed to notice that the Fleece was closed, but thankfully the Bridge in Holmbridge was able to offer the all-important post-run liquid refreshment.

Owls : Tom Brunt, John Ewart, Andy France, Jan Danilo, Lucy Griffiths, Andy Shaw, Bill Stewart, Rosie Taylor (plus walking owls Richard Griffiths and Jackie Graham)

January – Box Hill (I think this is somewhere down south, yes, that’s right fellrunning in the south). Andy Hauser 9th overall and I imagine 1st V50 although he was too modest to tell me.

January 28 – Stanbury Splash (7 miles, 1200 feet)
Julian Rank 7th (2nd V40) 49.39
Andy Shaw 13th (4th V40) 50.34
Jim Somerville 192nd 72.01

February 4 – Long Mynd Valleys (11.5 miles, 5000 feet) – a real classic race…
Andy Hauser 11th (1st V50) 1.53.44
Jean Shotter 89th (4th LV40) 2.24.50

This was an evening for the hardiest of the Owls. Even getting to Langsett proved somewhat troublesome with fairly treacherous road conditions. There was a covering of snow on the ground and it was still snowing gently as we set off through the woods and up along the Cut Gate track.

The fun and games really started when we reached the top of Cut Gate and headed off into the featureless wilderness aiming for Outer Edge trig point. With snow on the ground, snow in the air and enveloped in a thick mist, the visibility was appalling. We lost the path and relied on the compass. Heading through deep heather and even deeper groughs just keeping on the bearing was somewhat desperate. I sensed a certain amount of disquiet among the troops and it was with relief that we gained a path. Unfortunately, it was not the right path. Time to consult the map. Good local knowledge and navigational skills came to the rescue – we worked out that we were at Crow Stones. We struck eastwards and climbed back up to Outer Edge although the trig point remained elusive. At least we were back on the main path.

The descent down Harden Clough was pretty grim on a narrow path of frozen peat and snow. Once down into the valley we could relax and enjoy the paths back along the river and through the woods; the conclusion to a fine adventure. Thankfully, the services of Woodhead mountain rescue team were not required.

The cancellation of the Wadsworth Trog due to snow meant that I headed over to God’s own county ( Lancashire, in case you were wondering) for the aptly named Winter Hill race. This is a fine event despite, or perhaps because of, the rather bizarre route which means that you climb the aforementioned hill about six times (or so it seems). This enables the race to pack 2800 feet of climbing into its 11 miles. It is classic Pennine terrain with narrow trods, bogs, tussocks and the occasional faster firmer tracks.

We set off in gloomy drizzle and climbing up onto the hill we were soon enveloped by the clag. There were people all over the moor but everyone seemed to end up at the right checkpoint, more by luck than accurate navigation. Gradually the clag lifted and the frozen ground made for fast running with only a few patches of snow remaining.

At the sharp end Rob Hope won in about 1:33, breaking the course record despite a slight increase in both distance and climb due to a route change. Not quite so impressively, I pottered round in 1:51:23 for 12th place. Where were the rest of you?

You could have been forgiven for thinking that spring had well and truly arrived judging by the number of runners in shorts and vests lined up for the Mickleden Straddle. Bright sunshine and a blue sky promised ideal conditions for the field of nearly 150 gathered on the day, including no less than 13 Holmfirth Harriers. Unlike many other fell races, the 13.8 mile route of Mickleden is fast paced and all runnable, providing conditions were right. I'd been on a recce of the route just the weekend before and experienced high winds and driving rain.

The first mile winds through the woods at Langsett Barn before a wee climb onto the exposed fells and the start of the long 3 mile plod up to the top of the ridge and Cut Gate. On this section I found myself accompanied by a handful of runners from other clubs and it wasn't too long before we found ourselves at Cut Gate (Ashley was there to cheer all Harriers on). I had a very brief moment to enjoy the view - smashing views of the back of Bleaklow, Margery Hill and across to the peaks of the Edale valley - then the long drop down to the aptly named Slippery Stones.

The route then picks up a flatish section of bridle way alongside Howden reservoir. At the next checkpoint things are going well as I reach it after an hour. Now it's up through the trees and along Howden Clough and the welcome return of true Peak District terrain - peaty bog. This is the stiffest climb of the race, some 200 metres of ascent along a meandering trail across the moorland.

Back at Cut Gate (Ashley still there to cheer Harriers on the homeward leg) and the knowledge that it's all downhill but there are still 4 miles to go. Unfortunately, I started to run out of steam on this stretch, even though I managed to overtake a few runners who appeared to be feeling worse than I was.

Finally home and refreshments laid on by the organisers, Denby Dale Travellers. Personally, an improved time on last year and a place well within the top half of the race field so I'm happy with that.

1st - Esmond Tresidder of Carnethy in 1.45.03
1st Harrier - Dave Watson in 1.53.08 (9th place)

Tonight the Owls were to leave their natural habitat of the high moors and head instead for the wilds of Holmfirth, Scholes and even the uncharted wilderness that is Hade Edge. Yes, this was the evening they had all been waiting for, salivating over, the evening that was causing some of Holmfirth’s hard men to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

My main worry as organiser was that no-one should get hopelessly lost and that there was sufficient food and beer. I was only partially successful. The idea was to visit as many controls as possible and answer the question at each control within a 70 minute time limit. Simple, in theory.

As the maps were handed out an aura of steely determination descended over 22, Cinderhills Road, as some of the Holme Valley’s leading nocturnal navigators plotted their routes. The runners started at 2 minute intervals; some as solitary owls, others flying as pairs. With the last runners off I applied myself to sorting out the refreshments.

First back Messrs. Ewart and Griffiths, keen no doubt to get first crack at the food and beer. A few minutes later in came Andy Shaw who took the lead, but he was soon equalled by Julian. Only a minute later Andy and Jackie France crossed the finish line with a perfect set of 12 answers and only the smallest of time penalties for an unbeatable score of 260. We were, however, growing a little concerned about the whereabouts of Al and Lucy who should have been back some time earlier. Putting these concerns to the back of our minds we tucked into the refreshments, but still there was no sign. Fifteen minutes overdue and covered in mud and sweat (and quite possibly blood and tears too) Al and Lucy made it back. They had, for some unaccountable reason, scrambled up a stream from Holme Styes, got hopelessly lost above Cartworth Moor and ended up asking a farmer to tell them where they were. All very odd. Suffice it to say that Al might need to find a new partner for future events.

Anyway most importantly everyone enjoyed the evening and even though Alwyn would perhaps disapprove of these unconventional training methods, they certainly worked well for Jax who ran a PB a couple of days later at Snake Lane.

Holmfirth Harriers were represented by a small but select group of fellrunners at Sunday’s New Chew race. It is actually three races within one event – Long Score, Short Score and Scoreless (or should that be clueless in the case of one of our runners???). In the score events you have a fixed length of time in which to amass as many points as possible. In the scoreless category the checkpoints that you have to visit are fixed, but you can visit them in any order which makes this an event for runners who can also navigate.

With uncharacteristic wisdom all the Holmfirth contingent opted for the Scoreless category – wise because with rapidly deteriorating weather conditions a quick(ish) blast round was clearly going to be a better option than a four and half hour slog.

There was no shortage of bog and tussocks, and, as is usually the case in this part of the world, the going was heavy. Fortunately, clear conditions (at least to begin with) made finding the checkpoints relatively straightforward. I ran individually whereas Julian and Andy ran as a pair. We ended up choosing the same route around the checkpoints but ran in opposite directions.

Meanwhile Al and his partner were having a far more eventful time. Following on from his navigational success the previous Thursday night, Al started off with a certain confusion as to which controls they had to visit, and then compounded this error by visiting the first control but forgetting to clip it. After this rather calamitous start they got their act together and successfully negotiated the rest of the course. Ex- Harrier Matt Davis performed well, coming second in the Long Score.

All in all this is a good local event, which is highly recommended if you know how to use that funny thing with the red needle which spins round and round. Paula seemed particularly pleased with my prize which consisted of Wensleydale cheese and pickled onions tastefully packaged in a wicker basket. Cracking race, Gromit.

The English championships got off to a grueling start at Edale this weekend with the Skyline race run in appalling conditions. Runners were blasted by gale force winds, snow and fierce hail storms. Four seasoned Harriers did battle with the elements and came through just about unscathed.

This is a tough undertaking at the best of times – 21 miles and 4500 feet of ascent with a particularly grueling section across Brown Knoll coming just when you don’t want it i.e. near the end. Yesterday the run from Lose Hill to Brown Knoll was utterly desperate – the wind was so strong that even walking was difficult. I saw runners blown to ground coming off Mam Tor. The combination of wind, snow and hail was doing funny things to my eyesight (and sanity) at times and in the end it became a battle just to get round.

There were plenty of did-not-starts and even more did-not-finishes which is hardly surprising. Dark Peak did a great job with the organization and marshalling which must have been really grim.

34th (and 2nd V45) Andy Shaw (3.22.05)
43rd Julian Rank (3.24.16)
58th Tom Brunt (3.29.44)
111th Andy Hauser (3.45.24)

After a somewhat disappointing start to his English Championships V50 campaign in the snow and gales of Edale, Andy Hauser found the spring-like conditions and steep hills of the Mourne Mountains more to his liking in the first round of the British Championships. In the 6.8 mile race over Slieve Donard ( Northern Ireland’s highest peak) and Slieve Commedagh Andy ended up 2nd V50 behind Mike Egner of Dark Peak. Good work!

It sounds like a pub crawl and the Four Inns certainly is a test of stamina. Starting on our doorstep in Holmbridge it visits the site of the Isle of Skye, the Snake Inn, the Nag’s Head in Edale and the Cat and Fiddle between Buxton and Macclesfield. Pints in the pubs are not compulsory. After 45 miles the route eventually finishes on the outskirts of Buxton. En route it traverses the high moors of Black Hill, Bleaklow and Kinder Scout – uncompromising terrain.

Last year Holmfirth 3 Dark Peak 1 (consisting of Andy Shaw, Julian Rank, Tom Brunt and Dark Peak exile Matt Davis) finished second. This year we were aiming to go one better, but we were without Matt so it was a “pure” Holmfirth team that assembled at the ungodly hour of 6.20am for a rigourous kit inspection.

Having just survived the attentions of the kit scrutinizers we were off at 7.22am heading up the lanes to Digley. We entered the mist and jogged along the Pennine Way to Black Hill. A slight navigational error here on our local turf saw us heading too far east and a few minutes were frittered away. Ashley would not have been impressed... Down into Crowden and then up onto Bleaklow where our meticulously reccied new route worked perfectly. Then a couple of tedious miles of tarmac down the Snake Pass before the crossing of Kinder and a steep drop down into a sunny Edale. All rather different from two weeks previously...

From Edale the running changes – the high moors are left behind and most of the route is now on roads or tracks. By now we had passed all the teams that had set off before us, and we made steady progress over Rushup Edge, down into Chapel-en-le-Frith and across into the Goyt Valley. The last climb up to the Cat and Fiddle was hard work, as were the final few miles along the road to the rather uninspiring finish – a partially abandoned educational establishment which feels like a film set from a low budget 1970’s science fiction film. However, the drinks, food and organization at the finish could not be faulted. There were even volunteers on hand offering to take off our muddy Walshes for us???

As the first team to finish I think we all felt quietly confident of victory. A few minutes later a combined Glossopdale/Pennine team crossed the finish line, but they were 6 minutes behind us. Victory seemed assured. But it was not to be as the Macclesfield Harriers team, one of the last to start, pipped us by 2 minutes. 2 minutes in a total time of almost 8 hours. How costly that mistake up on Black Hill seemed now. We did however have the consolation of picking up the veterans’ prize for the first team with a combined age of over 120, although that is more down to Julian and Andy than me... Third time lucky next year?

Also running from Holmfirth was Catherine Crowther in the all ladies “Team Run like a Girl”. Ironically they too made a costly error on Black Hill which probably denied them the first ladies’ prize. They too picked up a consolation prize – first novice team.

1st Macclesfield Harriers (7 hours 56 mins)
2nd Holmfirth Harriers (7 hours 58 mins)
3rd Gloosopdale / Pennine (8 hours 4 mins)

Team Run Like a Girl (Catherine Crowther, Karen McDonald, Alex Langdon) (11 hours 46 mins)

As luck would have it, I found myself in Blaenau Ffestiniogg on Sat 21st April for the annual Moewyn Three Peaks race. A look at the other runners showed that it would be a tough and experienced field - most of them were from local welsh clubs that probably run on these mountains before breakfast. A quick look at the map showed that the race has a relatively flat/steady first couple of miles at either end which left the bulk of the 2800 ascent to take place over the middle six miles.

Perfect conditons saw some 120 runners set off in warm sunshine and good visibility. The first couple of miles of the route is on good rocky track and takes the race up the valley to the old slate quarry workings of Rhosydd. Bit looser underfoot here - lots of slate - before the steep ascent to the first peak, Moelwyn Mawr, at some 770 metres. I'm sure I wasn't alone in thinking "oh no, we're not going up there are we?" when the peak came into view and I could see the leading runners as dots on the summit.

From the cairn at the top there's a super panorama of western Snowdonia but there's no time to pause - it's off for the tricky descent to the ridge that spans Moelwyn Mawr and Moelwyn Bach. This second Moelwyn is slightly lower than the first but a good stiff 'walk'(!) none the less over the exposed rocks. I managed to replenish my energy levels with some jelly babies and I've a vague recollection of touching the Moelwyn Bach cairn and the marshalls noting my number before being told the route down. A couple of experienced Clywd club runners had overtaken me at this summit and I followed them down the steep chimney descent down to the Llyn Stwiar reservoir as they obviously knew the way.

Bit of peaty bog and tussocky grass to remind me of Yorkshire and then crossing the dam to the base of the last peak, the 'wee' 500 metre Moel-Yr-Hydd. From here it's matter of making the way down to rejoin the original quarry track for the last couple of miles to the finish.

A short and sharp report for a short and sharp race. The English Championship circus assembled in God’s own county beneath the Bowland Hills for the second race of the series. It was fast and furious from the start with a steep climb before good running terrain was reached on the tops of these fine LANCASTRIAN hills.

I went well on the climb before losing places on the flat section. Fortunately I had enough in reserve to hold off a fast-finishing Julian.

The best performances of the day came from Lisa (6 th in the Ladies race), and Andy Hauser (5 th V50).

Good to see a sizeable Harriers turnout for this local evening race. Some lambing issues resulted in a complete change of route. From Tanner’s Mill we went up and out to the Chew Valley, climbed steeply to Bramley’s Cot, along the edge to Fox Stone and then plummeted down to the sailing club, finishing with a mile or so flattish run in. I found the steep climb and descent to my liking and overhauled the other contenders winning in 34.33. Andrea completed a fine Holmfirth double and also taking prizes back home over the Pennines were Jeremy, Karen and Nige.

Conditions could not have been better for this classic Yorkshire race – warm and sunny, but with a gentle cooling breeze on the hills. Combined with the firm ground after the recent dry spell everything seemed ideal for fast times. So it proved with Rob Jebb winning in 2:51:49.

Running rather more sedately I made a steady start and then gained places going over Whernside, ending up a respectable 18 th. Not far behind was Andy Hauser defending his V50 crown with aplomb in his 93 rd Three Peaks race.

One of the best aspects of the Three Peaks is the excellent crowd support and the Holmfirth Support team did a fine job. Well done and many thanks to Griff, Jackie, Rod, Elizabeth, Norman and Bill. The water, jelly babies and well chosen words of encouragement were all much appreciated.