July 2026 – in need of some rain!
First up, it was a return to the Western Lakes on Saturday 18th July for the Eskdale Mixed Relay, hosted by Black Combe Runners. This was the 2nd running of this event, a pairs relay with a difference, split over 4 legs of differing length & climb and having the added attraction of being a Mixed team, comprising 4 men & 4 ladies from 4 different age categories (Open, V40, V50 & V60). The runners can be split any way you want, and there was quite a bit of variation in the pairings that the various clubs employed. After the favourable reports from last year’s event, we were able to field 2 teams this time around and they were pretty evenly matched, so the battle was on! The bracken was even higher than last year, which made for some interesting lines, particularly as the trods were few & far between! The Holmfirth Raiding Party comprised Julian Rank, Barbara Hinchliffe, Tommy Holroyd, Tim Brook, Helen Haigh, Adam Sunderland, Helena Croft & Annie Greenwood, whilst the Cote de Holme Moss was Jean Shotter, John Ewart, Patrick Needham, Katie Walshaw, Michael Sanderson, Bob Dickinson, Fran Whitworth & Sophie Cromwell. Bragging rights went to the Raiding Party, who finished 6th in 5.56.52, but it was a close-run thing, with the Holme Moss 8th in 6.12.41, having had a slender lead after Leg 3, thanks to some questionable route choices by the Raiding Party, but were overhauled on Leg 4! Results of the day include Julian & Barbara, who were 3rd fastest on Leg 1, whilst Tim & Tommy were 2nd fastest on Leg 2. What goes on tour, stays on tour, so there’ll be no mentions of extended warm-ups, botched changeovers, snapped dibbers or navigation errors resulting in checkpoints being approached from completely the wrong direction! It was a cracking day out once again & there was a suggestion that we should have this as our weekend away next year, where we can field as many compliant & non-compliant teams as we want. The pub is just across from the event field, serving decent food & beer, the YHA is 200 yards up the road & there are plenty of campsites close by as well. Could be fun!
The following weekend, on Saturday 25th, it was the latest English Champs race at the short, sharp AS Alderman’s Ascent from Greenfield, which was a Champs race as recently as 2021, so it clearly ticks all the boxes & gives us the added bonus of being able to race on our doorstep. There were separate races for the Men & Ladies, with the Men setting off first, 15 minutes before the Ladies, to avoid the serious bunching once you get past the bowling club! For the Men, Steve McCarron was first back, 61st & 9th MV50 in 45.02 – a great time for the 5 mile/1300ft race, whilst close behind (and packing well), we had Phil Hewitt (81st in 47.40), Adam Sunderland (87th & 8th MV55 in 48.09), Phil Hinchcliffe (90th in 48.32) & Tom Heap (123rd in 53.38), giving us the 9th team on the day. Mark Henderson is a veteran of this race & powered round to finish 257th in 67.44, taking the gnarly descent off Alderman’s Hill down towards the Holmfirth Road in his stride, whilst unfortunately Richard Anderson struggled with cramp in both legs & had to retire. Helen Haigh was our sole representative in the Ladies race, but had an absolute stormer, finishing 5th lady & 1st Vet in 45.05, some 4 minutes ahead of the nearest Lady Vet! Helen is currently 2nd in the FV50 table, so will need to complete the final race in the series, the AL Old Crown Round, to ensure she qualifies – no pressure! And in an incredibly stacked age category, Adam Sunderland is currently 15th MV55, and will have to join Helen at the Old Crown Round to qualify – I reckon it’ll be the longest race he’s ever done!
Sadly, the catastrophic moorland fires at Dovestones and Crowden/Tintwistle meant that we had to cancel the Holme Moss race on the advice of the Fire Service, Mountain Rescue and other interested parties, which was a real shame, particularly after all the planning that Jon and Ian had put in over the last 12 months. Here’s hoping for a calmer build-up in 2027!
On a brighter note, Helen Haigh made the long trip down to the Brecon Beacons for the first of this year’s British Championship races at Pen Y Fan on Saturday 11th July. With over 1900ft of climb in just 3.5 miles, this is a real quad-buster, but that didn’t phase Helen at all, as she flew round in 40.58, finishing 21st overall, 2nd lady & 1st Lady Vet, just 30 seconds behind Keswick AC’s Nicola Jackson. She was also first lady to the top, which is no mean feat – just needs to stop mincing downhill!
The juniors had the final English Champs races, on a new course up in the Whinlatter Forest, just outside Keswick, on Sunday 12th, where once again Noah Sutton was flying the flag for Holmfirth & had a great race, finishing 26th overall & 19th MU12, so well done to him. Noah has competed in 4 of the 6 English Champs races, which is an excellent achievement – see if you can do all 6 next year!
In terms of the senior Fell Champs, after 9 races, it’s a case of ‘as you were in June’, with Adam Sunderland leading the Mens competition on 201 points, ahead of Paddy Needham (142 points) & Phil Hinchcliffe (124 points), whilst Helen Haigh is steadily pulling away in the Ladies competition with 188 points, followed by Fran Whitworth & Sophie Cromwell (both on 161 points).
Next up for the seniors is Cracken Edge on Wednesday 5th August, followed by the Denis Stitt race on Thursday 13th August. Don’t forget if you can’t race at Denis Stitt, then Mark Wilson will be grateful for some assistance on the night, so please offer your services. I know it clashes with a YVAA Grand Prix event, but we need to support our own events wherever possible.
As previously trailed, I’ve entered 2 teams for the Hodgson Relay, which is on Saturday 3rd October, and as last year’s race was cancelled due to Storm Amy, they have held over the places to this year’s event, so we should be fine as long as we pay on time! The British Fell Relays on Saturday 17th October are being hosted by Todmorden Harriers & we’ll have at least one team at the event, as the Ladies pre-qualified thanks to their excellent performance at last year’s race, where they finished 13th Ladies team. Everyone else is in the ballot, so we’ll have to wait and see whether we also have the Men, MV40’s, MV50’s & V60’s keeping the Ladies company!
Elsewhere, great to see those out & about, including Annie Garside at Cragg Vale (where she was 1st lady), Bob Dickinson, Sophie Cromwell & Nick Helm at Heptonstall Festival, Dolcie Biggs & Noah Sutton at Lothersdale Show (where Dolcie was 1st FU13 & 2nd lady overall & Noah was 5th BU11), Tim Street at Great Hucklow (where he was 6th overall), Phil Martin (& Rebecca) at the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon, Richard Anderson at Stoodley Pike (where he was 2nd overall by just 2 seconds), Bill Hunter at Thurlstone Chase (where he was 1st MV75), Annie Garside finishing 8th lady at Wasdale (where the course was shortened due to the extreme heat), Katie Walshaw at Peak Forest (where she was 4th overall & 1st lady), Richard Anderson at Turnslack (where he was 2nd once again!), Nick Helm at Kentmere Horseshoe, Annie Garside with this year’s European adventure at the Trail des Gets Bleu (where she finished 25th lady & just about managed to avoid tripping over the ‘de rigeur’ French running poles!), Ben Kellett, Dave Milton & John Field at the Lakeland 100, Tim Brook, Matthew Rose, Ellie Rose, Conor Mockler & Sophie Clarson at the Lakeland 50 (where Tim was 19th overall, from nearly 1400 finishers and Ellie & Conor were taking on their first Lakeland Ultra) and Jared Watt, Diane Lee, Debbie Hall & Bill Hunter at Trunce 6.
Finally, some local(ish) races to have a go at:
Trunce 7 (BS) – Oxspring, nr. Penistone – Monday 3rd
Bradwell (BS) – Bradwell Sports Pavilion – Tuesday 4th
Crow Hill Reverse (BS) – Mytholmroyd – Tuesday 4th
Chip Chase (BS) – Cross Keys, Uppermill – Sunday 9th
Piethorne (BS) – Newhey, nr. Rochdale – Sunday 16th
Crowden Horseshoe (BM) – Crowden Campsite – Sunday 16th
Trunce 8 (BS) – Oxspring, nr.Penistone – Monday 24th
See you on a hill sometime.
Cheers,
Phil
