Burnsall 10 Mile and Classic Fell Race Report

To celebrate Alistair’s birthday a few of us headed to the Dales this weekend. This included a visit to the Burnsall Feast Sports which hosts a full day of races and activities ranging from the entertaining wheelbarrow and egg and spoon racing to the serious business of the Classic Fell Race.

In the 10 Mile race YKH had three entrants for the hilly course from Burnsall through Grassington and back on the opposite side of the river. Stef Durkin was first home in 41st in 68:52 followed by Rich Ashcroft in 76:21 and bringing up the rear was Alistair McQueen in 86:29. Also taking part was former Ladies Captain Sarah Douglas who set a new PB of 68:13 and finished 3rd Lady.

After the junior fell races took place it was time for the classic fell race. The course is a very short 1.5 mile route consisting of a climb to the top of the nearest hill and then a headlong rush back down to the start. I was aiming to beat my time from last year and after some pre race recceing decided to take the classic steeper route down after last year opting for the slightly longer but more runnable route. Once the initial sprint from the line was over I settled into a steady rhythm up through the fields before we got onto the open fell. Once on the fell the path became steeper so the running gave way in favour of power walking. I felt at this point I was being held up in the line behind a few runners and attempted to overtake but this was quickly aborted as my legs were in fact on the limit.

After 12 minutes 31 seconds I rounded the flag on the summit and took a deep breath as the steep technical decent was about to begin. I slipped and slided my way over a few rocks and through the heather as everyone was searching for the best line down. I found a decent line at one point which allowed me to catch a couple of runners before I had to move back onto the path after a couple of big rocks blocked my path. Finally I reached the stone wall and after a quick bit of climbing I was into the long grassed field to begin the breakneck speed decent down to the finish. My lungs were on fire and my arms were flailing as I tried to keep up with my legs, I could see a couple of runners in front as I shot out onto the road for the final sprint but alas they were just out of reach.

After a couple of minutes lie down at the finish I looked at my watch and found I had beaten my time for last year by 3 seconds and finished 17th in 18:25. I had been 11 seconds quicker to the top but 8 seconds slower on the descent so next year I will be back to my alternative quicker descending route. Next to finish for YKH was Andy Bell in 25:17 followed by Ian Bithell in 26:57 and then Stef Durkin who impressively doubled up to finish in 28:03. Stef later commented that Fell Runners are the “Lunatic Fringe” of the runner community after completing his first Fell Race.

10 Mile Results
Classic Fell Race Results

Photos courtesey of WoodenTops and Keiren Johnson Photography

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