Sunday 14-Oct-2012, start 10am

The 2012 relays will be in Church Stretton in Shropshire, organised by Mercia Fell Runners.

For more information, go to the event web site.  At time of writing (January), there is very little information on the web site.

2011 relays on Sunday 15-Oct-2011, start 10am

Well done to everyone who represented the club at this years Fell Relays.

Particular thanks to Julian who spent many hours on the phone organising the teams.

Results

Full results are on the SPORTident web site.

Fastest leg times:

There were a total of 182 teams.

Split times

Leg 1 was flagged all of the way, legs 2 and 4 were partially flagged. 

Leg 3 was the navigation leg.  Approx the first mile & the last 1½ miles were flagged, the teams had to navigate the rest of the route.

There are also some photos available.

Race reports

Kenny Forster (Vet 40 Team leg 2 with Andy Garnett):

The Ballad of Wharfedale

The sun shone down on Kettlewell.
The mist lay in the dale.
It was 8.30 in the morning
And so began the tale.

Three teams of six assembled
And rallied round our flag.
We looked so keen and purposeful
With our selection of bumbags.

The announcer called the runners
To line up for leg one.
Neil Garnett set a cracking pace
Beneath the blazing sun.

Neil’s brother, Andy, and myself
Were down to run leg two.
Could we hold off Geoff and Mark,
And Alison and Lou?

We shuffled through the kit check
And joined the milling throng.
With compass, map and dibber
What could possibly go wrong?

We climbed the steep and stony track
That led in to the hills,
Then swooped down to Starbotton
With the usual thrills and spills.

We climbed back up on to the heights,
The next bit looked quite scary.
Andy simply pushed on through,
But I ran like a fairy.

We ploughed through tussock, bog and grass
Until we hit the track
That we had come up hours ago
That now would take us back.

A final weary stumble
Into the finishing field
Released the leg three runners
Who surely would not yield.

But leg three means navigation,
The scourge of every man.
Rob and Karon turned the tables
On Julian and Ran.

So the final showdown beckoned,
A shoot-out ‘neath the sun.
There was everything to play for
As Phil began his run.

Would he catch Neil Crompton?
We could only stand and guess.
Fifty minutes later
The answer was “Oh yes!”

Well done to all you Striders,
Give yourselves a cheer.
Remember that glorious Saturday
In October of this year.

Rob McHarry (Open Team A, pairs leg 3 with Karon Forster):

"This is my account of the UKA British Fell Relay Championships.  I am afraid that it misses out details of many of our runners, as I arrived after they ran.

As I ran down a long grassy descent in bright sunshine on a lovely Autumn day, desperately (a) trying to keep up with Karon (my partner in leg 3, the navigation leg) and (b) to keep in front of Julian and Ran Mackay (the ‘A’ team), I thought “this is why I love fell running”.  Then the hard ground turned to bog, my foot disappeared into the ground and I fell flat on my face.  That’s fell running for you.

On Saturday 15th October, 18 Spectrum Striders made the trip to Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales, to take part in the UKA British Fell and Hill Relay Championship.  About 1200 people in total took part.  It was a lovely day, with not a cloud in the sky.  A perfect day for a day on the hills.  For some of us though, the event had started a few weeks before.  Several of us had gone to Kettlewell for a “reccee”.  That is, we downloaded the map for leg 2 of the relay, and then tried to follow the course without getting lost.  This gave us a feel for the lie of the land, so that it wouldn’t be so much of a surprise on the day.  The cakes in the tea shop were good too !.

The day itself was as good as it gets, bright sunshine, without a cloud in the sky.  We arrived at different times.  The leg 1 runners got there first and put up the tent which we used as a base.  I arrived later with Ran and Karon.  The tent was up, I had a while to wait, so I visited the cake stall and improved my carbohydrate intake.  The tea was good too !.

We watched the Leg 1 runners come in, had another cup of tea, and then it was time for me and Karon to go into the transition area.  First we had to have our kit checked.  We had to prove that we had hat, gloves, whistle, and waterproof top and bottom.  After a bit of a wait, Geoff and Mark arrived after a great run.  Karon had the electronic “dibber” that is used to record your arrival at checkpoints, so she “dibbed” it.  We ran for about 1.5 miles following a flagged course, and then were given a map, marked with 7 checkpoints.  My tactic was to follow the runners in front, on the basis that they seemed to know where they were going.  I did check the map every now and then as well, just to make sure.

After a few checkpoints, we saw Julian and Ran a hundred yards away.  We managed to overtake them at checkpoint 5.  We were now on our way back.  I had been going well on the climbs, but now we had a long, wonderful descent.  Karon’s brakes seemed to have failed, and I was having problems keeping up with her.  Julian and Ran were also about 50m behind us and closing fast.  About a mile from the finish there was a last climb. 
Julian overtook us, but had to hang back for Ran.  Then there was a fast descent to the finish.

We handed over to leg 4.  Phil Daintith and Neil Crompton then had a mad dash up and down a hill, finishing within 38 seconds of each other.

In the meantime Carol had been in the “mass start” for leg 4 runners whose leg 3 runners hadn’t yet arrived.  Normally there are many runners in the mass start, but this year only 5.

Just before the prizes were handed out, we watched Les, Carol, and Anne arrive.

A great day out in the hills with your friends. What more could you want. (And did I say that we beat Julian ?)"

Geoff Hand (Open Team A, pairs leg 2 with Mark Latimer):

"You couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for this year's fell relays.  The weather was glorious sunshine, yet cool and the location inspiring - there were hills on three sides so you knew what was coming.

I was on second leg with Mark Latimer.  Ours was the longest leg which we were pleased about - more time in the hills!

We were climbing as soon as we left the outskirts of the village and Mark made excellent progress to the top with me clinging on quite comfortably.  Then came our first downhill which at one point felt almost vertical!  With 2300ft of climb it was inevitable that another climb would be just around the corner and sure enough there it was.  It went up and up relentlessly until the halfway point.  I was going as fast as possible but did hold Mark up a little.

At the halfway point the nature of the run changed dramatically.  We were bog hopping and splashing around in the mud and steadily losing height.  The pace was quick now and we scampered on trying to keep pace with the runners ahead.  Then we were running down the first climb we had ascended.  Mark had quickly got the idea of downhill and was leading the way home.

One more short but agonising climb brought us to back into the changeover field and Karen and Rob where off on their navigation leg.

It had been a brilliant leg and afterwards the atmosphere in the arena and surrounding area was excellent.  All too soon it was time to go.  Louise, Mark and myself drove home constantly chatting about the day and all things running!

A special thanks to Neil Garnett for doing a splendid job as team manager once he had finished his first leg."

Anne Hewitt (Open Team B, pairs leg 3 with Les Hewitt):

"It was my first FRA British Fell Relay and I thoroughly enjoyed it despite being definitely 'jelly-legged' at the end.  It was a lovely, warm clear day ideal for navigation and the course, as was to be expected in a British Championship, tough – Les' GPS measured it at 8 miles/2000ft climb and there were 7 checkpoints.

I have to say that because of an injury and therefore lack of training we had a 'value for money' run, 3hr 7min.  The physios did a grand job in the week before to get me ready to run at all and Les' route choices and pace helped too.

Thanks to the rest of the team for their support and to Julian for organising it."

Neville Griffiths (Open Team B, solo leg 1)

"The relays were based in the lovely little village of Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales.  The event field was on the outskirts of the village and all the changeovers took place there but to start proceedings the first leg started in the centre of the village.

Spectrum had three teams competing and we were soon on our way through the village and then onto a track along the base of the hill before turning up the hill on a long grassy climb to the check point on the summit.

The weather was glorious for the event and the views from the summit ridge, across Wharfedale were spectacular.  The descent, back to the track we had run out on, was steep but on good grass we then ran back through the village to where we had started and someone shouted only ½ a mile to the finish, which seemed a long way.  We soon found out why as we were turned up another steep climb onto the hillside above the event field and then had a long run in to the hand over."

Race information

The proper title of this event is the "23rd UKA British Fell and Hill Relay Championship".  This is not in the Striders Fell Championships.

The 2011 championships was hosted by Bingley Harriers & AC in the Kettlewell area of the Yorkshire Dales.

There are 4 relay legs for teams of 6 runners, two pairs and two solo.  Leg 3 is a navigational leg.

The championships are pre-entry only, via the Club.  Entry requirements have been relaxed a little from previous years but it does say that "team members will be required to have experience of fell running".

Further information is available on the Relay Championships web site.

Skills & experience: ER, PM, LK, NS

Compulsory kit requirements

Note for future years:  There was a kit check for every runner before they started, also random checks out on the course.  If you are missing any kit, you & your whole team was disqualified.

Another quote from the Information Pack:
"...each competitor must have and carry their own equipment at all times when competing... that means from start to finish..."

The compulsory kit is:

• Full body wind & waterproof cover (with hood)
• whistle
• map (provided on the day)

In addition for runners on legs 2, 3 and 4:

• compass (a decent compass, not keyring size!)
• hat and gloves

Timing & safety

The event used SPORTident Timing Cards (usually known as "dibbers").  These are the same as those used for Sandstone Trail Race.  They are small plastic sticks about the size of a finger which are attached to your wrist with a plastic band.

As well as for timing, these are a safety aid as the organisers know exactly who is out on the hill.  You must use these before the start, at each checkpoint during the race and at the finish.

Remember, you need to hand these in at the finish or you will be charged £25!

If you decide to retire, you must report to the nearest race official and to the finish tent.

2010 Championships

The championships were in the Lomond Hills in Scotland.  There weren't enough Spectrum runners interested to make a team.