The route profile of short fell races typically resembles a bell shaped curve: you start low, run up a hill and come back down again. Our own Eldwick Gala race is an exception to the rule with the descent to the Glen followed by the main climb, and the topography of Heptonstall means that it is very similar. But as an “A” category race Heptonstall Festival could be regarded as “Eldwick Gala on steroids”.
Heptonstall is an attractive former weavers’ village located on a spur high above Hebden Bridge. It ticks a lot of boxes: cobbled main street, nice pub and tea shop, glorious views to surrounding hills and Stoodley Pike monument, an impressive church built alongside the skeletal remains of the original church and literary connections via Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Heptonstall Harriers stage a very good AL race in March and this shorter summer option is part of the village festival with live bands, food and craft stalls etc. Race registration was in the church with organ music providing good atmosphere.
Onto the race itself which began in bright sunshine with 5 Bingleys on the start line, heavily outnumbered by Calder Valley who had also chosen it for a club championship. We began on the main street and after an opening jaunt through fields we plunged down the steep wooded valley side on a stony track. I’d got in a good position initially, but due to my rubbish descending about 20 people (including Nick) came flying past before we crossed the River Hebble at Midgehole near the NT car park for Hardcastle Crags. I realised I was going to have to work very hard on the main climb of the day to recover the lost ground and so set about the task.
The first bit of steep climbing will be familiar to those who have run leg 4 of the Calderdale Way Relay, but then we veered left to pass a mini-Stoodley Pike war memorial and climbed on up through fields towards the road crossing at Pecket Well. From Pecket Well the climb keeps coming at you through increasingly rough fields until finally hitting the open moorland. Fortunately underfoot conditions were probably as good as they could be given the tussocky nature of the moor and we duly climbed on up to the trig at High Brown Knoll. On this moorland section I could see Yasmin’s Bingley vest about a minute ahead of me; the last I’d seen of Nick was when I passed him somewhere near the war memorial.
There was a short exhilarating section of flat running on the plateau before we were directed to begin the long descent, initially via a different route. Thankfully it was a good grassy descent and there was somebody just ahead of me so I concentrated on not losing too much ground to him. To my surprise I actually managed to overtake him just before Pecket Well and nobody else came past me. Eventually we got back down to the bridge at Midgehole before the final grinding climb back up through the woods to the plateau, and still a bit more ascent through fields to the finish. At this point I could again see Yaz up ahead and sadly the bright sun of earlier had turned to rain as we crossed the line.
I quickly compared notes with Yaz and congratulated her on a convincing win in the ladies race and soon Nick finished with blood pouring from both his knees after some unplanned encounters with the terrain but otherwise fine. As the rain was coming down quite heavily at this point I headed back to the car to get changed which meant I missed seeing Becky and Cheryl finishing. On the way to the car I detected an unexpected 1980s West Coast vibe, by which I don’t mean Workington in the miners’ strike but rather a local lady singing some Stevie Nicks numbers.
After changing I tucked into an artisan hot dog from one of the food stalls and collected my free pint of “Lost in IKEA” beer for finishing, followed by tea and cakes in the church accompanied by folk music. I managed to catch up with Becky who’d had a good run and persuaded me to write a race report, sorry it’s so long! Overall a highly recommended race. The important facts and figures are as follows:
18 Yasmin Small 59:03 1st lady
19 Steve Webb 60:07 1st V60
25 Nick Chapman 63:08
75 Becky Weight 76:55 2nd LV60
103 Cheryl Jepson 96:59

109 finishers. Winner Joe Baxter P&B 46:41

Author : Steve Webb . Photos : Woodentops and Alex Small. More in the team App Gallery.
Thankyou All.