From Katie Poulter…
Photo credit Richard Bee
Sunday saw the English Fell Running Championship kicking off with the first counter race, which was a long one to start with. Edale Skyline is a 21 mile round with 4500 ft ascent, most off which is felt in tired legs on the pull up Win Hill. In fell running terms it is on quite civilized terrain, including some trail and flag stones, and a higher level of tourist traffic to negotiate, but still with plenty of opportunity to get muddy.
Our luck ran out with the recent glorious weather and the clag descended onto the summits, ensuring this competitive field got a bit of a mix up, with some taking unhelpful misty wanderings. It seems Ilkley Men did not have any navigational errors and they all had fantastic runs. Ben Rothery battled it out with Finlay Grant of Dark Peak, finally pulling ahead on the final descent to take a very well-deserved win. Oli Murphy had a brilliant run in what was a fast and furious field of runners to come in 6th place with Sam Bentham also in the top pack taking 3rd U23, ensuring them a 2nd Mens team position.
This was the first Edale for me, despite a frustrating navigational mishap early on, it went pretty well considering this is my longest race for some time and I was quite happy with my 04:18 time. Alison Weston used her years of endurance and navigational experience to get round the tough course in a great time, on a day that had a significant number of DNFs.
Well done everyone!
Ben Rothery – 02:36:01
Oli Murphy 02:41
Sam Bentham 02:57
Katie Poulter 04:18
Alison Weston 04:52