British Fell Relays Saturday 21st October

British Fell Relays Saturday 21st October

Race report Stephen Boddy

Appletreewick was the venue for this year’s British Fell Relays which is as close to home as any of us can remember. It was a much smaller affair this year with half the number of teams as usual and we were pleased to get two teams in through the ballot. As with all relays, neither of the final line-ups bore much resemblance to their original versions and we were very grateful to Ollie, Liz, Eddie, Chris and Andy for jumping into the two teams in the last couple of weeks. The two line ups were as follows; Leg 1 Liz/Jim, Leg 2 Debs and Emma/ Rogan and Ollie, Leg 3 Laura and Vicky/ Me and Andy K, Leg 4 Chris and Eddie.

Leg 1 was a tough start with all teams being unleashed up a vertiginous slope straight out of the farm, there was pressure to attempt to run up this hill as it was surrounded by spectators. The 5-mile solo opening leg takes runners along the Dalesway up Burnsall Fell and back. Jim and Liz had differing experiences, Jim suffered stomach issues after Burnsall which stopped him in his tracks for a bit whereas Liz, despite her pre-race worries about coming in after the mass start, was delighted with her leg and comfortably inside the mass start, handing the baton over to Debs and Emma for leg 2. Leg 2 is the longest leg with the most climbing, out to Simons Seat and back. Debs and Emma had a strong run and held our Women’s position well. Following Jim for the men were Ollie and Rogan who had a storming run, picking up 20 places on their leg. Here are some thoughts from them both; Ollie first.

“I drove myself over on the morning of the race and managed to park in the village and avoid the £5 parking. Wondering down to the field where the start was opposite Ted Mason’s farm I realised the scale of the event with bright colourful tents everywhere (some heavy-looking and some not). 

Runners up and down the fells warming up in the morning sunshine. After meeting Rogan at the extremely heavy looking Otley AC tent, we discussed the route and pinned are numbers on and headed to the mandatory kit check and then into the holding pen for bit of a warm up and a good social chat with other runners we knew. 

As the crowd of Leg 2 runners started to thin out, we spotted Jim on the horizon and it was our turn to high five and head up the instant hill. After a 30 second excited run it was the usual hands-on knees and grind it out to the top, this was a short-lived climb and after a brief bit of rest bight over the top it was a downhill, led by Rogan down to the river and along up the valley of desolation to the summit of Simon’s Seat which is a tough old climb and in glorious sun. From the summit it was straight over down the slippy paving and through the bracken towards Dalehead farm and up Trollers Gill which is a short punchy climb that it followed by a steep decent back down into a valley bottom across a stream and up another equally tough short and punchy climb, at this point we had started to get past some of the other teams of runners and as I took the lead down a track following two competitors, I realised they looked lost! We had missed a flag for the turn and now found ourselves cutting back up across a very rough over grown field back towards a gated wall where we could see runners crossing. From here we had another up and down to contend and dig at Check point 3, then it was final push up to the last dibbing point at the final gate, before throwing ourselves down the hill towards the finish and around to high five Andy and Bods for nav leg 3. 

After finishing the race, heading over the road into the farm where the magic of this event was revealed, not only a bowl of chilli and a pot of tea, but the biggest selection of cakes ever amassed for an event, a barbecue, bar area with pool table and some of the country’s finest Fell runners chatting away and enjoying the fun family day it was. I decided to take my chilli and go and enjoy the child free day in the sunshine on the slopes of Appletreewick and cheer on my fellow racers. Cracking race and well done to Ted Mason and family, young farmers and friends for showing the world how Yorkshire folk do fell running and partying.”

And now Rogan…

“There should be an apt gap between reading the above: and this: Rogan’s reflections: given the need for Ollie to wait (for me!) throughout:

My review: it was tough and if I ever get to do something similar again… don’t; but if I do, get fitter and get shoes that you can confidently stand/ run on wet rock!!!”

Rogan handed over to myself and Andy Keay for leg 3 which is the navigation Leg; here are some thoughts from the latter…

“Leg three – the nav leg – was handled by Steve Boddy and, fell race debutant, Andy Keay. Bods shouldered the responsibility for navigation, confidence high from completing a nav course just two days beforehand. Andy was responsible for ‘vibes’ (unsure what this meant, he packed Kendal mint cake and vowed to not grumble). The duo were well-prepped. Bods warmed up single-handedly carrying the OAC tent from the car, past the Craven Arms (a challenge in itself) before discovering its wheels just yards from pitching. Andy had run a recce of an entirely different leg. 

The brutal climb to start led to the checkpoint where marshalls gave out the maps. Bods got straight to work, Andy put his away and didn’t touch it again. 

Bods’ pinpoint accurate nav saw the pair confidently traversing seemingly endless boggy-tussocky sections. They made good progress despite Bods plunging into a water-filled trench so deep that only his cap was visible. 

The latter checkpoints involved a series of descents from hilltop to riverside and back up again. This followed Bods kindly translating the instructions of the marshalls for Andy who’s yet to become fluent in Fellsman-Yorkshire. 

The course ended with one last leg-breaking and spirit-threatening climb, before a welcome track section, descent to the finish and welcome encouragement of teammates. Andy and Bods were still smiling at the end and were proud of the 11 places they gained on the way round.”

Laura and Vicky were on the nav leg for the women and agreed that it was a tricky and convoluted course. Despite this difficulty of course and a ‘wall error’ near the end, they had a strong run making up 7 places on the field. It was quite a re-introduction to fell running for Vicky but both ladies were smiling as they came in to pass the imaginary baton on to Chris to bring the team home. Here are Chris’ thoughts on the final leg…

“After the stunning performances of Leg 1 with runners collapsing like exhausted gazelles and celebrities like Wendy Dodds coming in it was a long wait to the start of Leg 4. The mass start for Leg 4 was a real mass start with many more runners than for the earlier legs. 3.25pm and we were off up the impossibly steep hill that only the best could actually run up! Then across the top to the farm for the outward leg in the direction of Skyreholme and Parceval Hall across rough pasture with views to Earls Seat and Ilkley Moor in the distance. Descending to Trollers Ghyll, following the river for a short spell and then up to the right on all fours up a super steep slope you don’t get the joy of usually, as it’s not a footpath. Next plunge back down and up the other side of the Ghyll back to the top of the moor, with one more steep up and down where I really did need fingernails to get dirty to make it to the top!! I would describe this leg as a Tour of Pendle in miniature, but a great test and fun to be part of a team representing the club at such an iconic event.” 

The women finished in a fantastic 138th position out of 159 which showed the commitment that all gave to the cause, both our teams finished above Totley AC which is always our main goal.

The men were brought home in style by Eddie Lines who had this to say about the last leg…

“Having previously run only a small number of low-key fell races, I approached the British Fell Relays (as a last-minute substitute) with a little trepidation and a lingering sense of being somewhat of an interloper. However, recent repeats up and down the Chevin gave me a little cause for optimism. I spent a very pleasant day on the sun-kissed slopes of Appletreewick chatting to Otley runners, taking in the awesome scenery and lounging about in the grass. In fact, I had so much time on my hands I was able to eat not only my packed lunch but also the chilli provided by the event. (You need fuel, right?) 3.30 pm eventually rolled around and it was time to join in the mass start for the final leg four of the event. Having had the day to observe other runners, I concluded that it was acceptable to walk (hands on thighs, don’t really know why!) most of the monstrously long and steep hill that kicked off my five-mile stretch. (Probably the easiest leg, Andrew R reassured me.) I used short bursts of running to overtake quite a few people on the way up, before the slope became less steep and it was time to really start running. At the top there followed a stretch of quite run-able terrain. It was at this point that the heavy churning in my stomach made me question my choice of two lunches. Apparently though, these were not the most severe stomach woes experienced by an Otley runner that day… The route descended into the stunning Troller’s Gill and there followed a frankly ridiculous series of steep ups and downs – real scrambling-on-your-hands-and-knees terrain. I became very familiar with a pack of ten or so other similarly-paced runners. They would repeatedly overtake me on my overly-cautious descents (must work on my technique here) only for me to overtake them all again on the ascents. Knowing that the race ended on a long and steep downhill, this did not bode well for my placing amongst this particular grouping. Into mile four, the route entered a longer and gentler uphill and I sensed that this was my chance to get ahead of the pack, so I went for it. Reaching the top of this section, all that was left was the long, grassy dive down to the finish line. Daring not to glance back, I made it there before my pursuers.  A victory! (Of sorts.) Perhaps it was the double lunch that did it. Thanks to Stephen for the organizing and tent-lugging, and the rest of the team for making me feel so welcome.”

The men finished in a very credible 106th position out of the 159 teams that started the race.

Dark Peak on the overall race coming ahead of Scottish club Carnethy and local team Ilkley Harriers.

Dark Peak also won the women’s race ahead of Lakes clubs Ambleside and Helm Hill.

One thought on “British Fell Relays Saturday 21st October

  1. I enjoyed reading the brilliant reports from Appletreewick by Stephen B. The men crossed the finish line with several splendid performances in 106th place and the women crossed the finish line of this British Relays with various superb runs in 139th place . Well done both team .

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