Skipton battlers put on good show in relay championships at Kettlewell (From Craven Herald)

Skipton battlers put on good show in relay championships at Kettlewell

11:09am Thursday 20th October 2011 in Athletics

Kettlewell proved a stunning venue for the biggest fell racing event ever to be held in Craven – the United Kingdom Fell Relay Championships.

There were 182 teams of six tackling two legs of varying distances run solo, and two in pairs.

Despite the wealth of talent all around, Skipton Athletics Club’s young and entirely homespun men's team – all aged between 18 and 24 – finished in a splendid 11th place .

The first leg runner for Skipton was former England junior champion, Luke Maude, who has only recently returned to action. He was horrified to discover.that despite training over the expected route, part of it had been changed and he lost time and places as a result.

James Mountain and Jonny Pawson took over on leg two and produced a fine stint when the race headed out on the East side of the river over Cam Head above Starbotton and out towards Buckden Pike.

Leg three then saw an absolute blinder from Joe Mercer and Billy Pinder – sixth fastest on that leg – and gave Skipton a flicker of a chance of a coveted top ten finish.

Skipton’s World Off-Road Triathlon champion Harry Coates – Maude’s cousin – also figured in the very top bracket on the anchor leg.

Ironically the Edinburgh-based Hunter Bog Trotters had the fastest runner of all on that leg, and it proved vital in the final analysis.

Eleventh though, out of all that multitude of talent was no mean achievement. especially as they were just 50 yards behind the tenth place finishers.

Meanwhile, Skipton women’s team – without their international star Rebecca Lambson, due to her university studies – also produced a gutsy effort.

An 11th-hour withdrawal resulted in Barbara Robinson being pulled almost out of bed to compete.

To add to Skipton’s problems, Sarah Dugdale was injured on the first leg but pluckily made it in to the change-over.

Their four team mates Sarah King, Karen Chown, Jane Butterworth and Claire Pearson – running a particularly fine anchor leg – took 37th place.

The women’s title went to Bingley Harriers whose team included Great Preston’s Mary Wilkinson and Hebden’s Victoria Wilkinson.

Hunter Bog Trotters and Calder Valley were second and third. Top honours in men’s race went to Derbyshire's Dark Peak Harriers, Borrowdale and Strathclyde’s Shettleston Harr- iers.

It proved to be a great event held in an excellent setting.