The last event in the Bingley Harriers 2025 Fell Champs is our very own Harriers vs Cyclists on Sat 8th Nov. Your last chance to score points or simply be ‘in the results’. Over 50 Bingley Harriers have joined in the Fell Champs so far, plus a dozen or so Juniors in the Short races trying out a Senior event and giving the Seniors a run for their money. Enter now : https://bingleyharriers.teamapp.com/events/29456710?_detail=v1. See you there.

Club Fell Championship 2025 – Your best 5 (two distances) from 10 races
The first two races, Edale Skyline and the Bunny Runs were covered in an earlier report https://bingleyharriers.teamapp.com/clubs/567035/articles/9078835 . The next 3 were all local.
Coiners (No 3, BM, 10.2km, 295m, 5 May) near Mytholmroyd was on the early May bank holiday, with Junior races in the Bingley Junior Fell Championship too. It’s not always easy to line dates up so Junior and Senior Champs can be at the same event, and then, especially if the weather is not great, the Juniors and supporters won’t necessarily want or be able to stay ‘all day’. But a few did for this one so a couple of fell running Junior parents, Greg Hull and Mark Chatterton, were able to run. An open invite to call in on Sue & Jon Cordingley (always good cakes!) who live near the start, encouraged a few more to go too.
An initial steep climb, followed by a long steady pull up to Stoodley Pike, before heading east over the top, finding some bogs above Cragg Vale, then zig-zagging up & down north back towards Mytholmroyd. Winning times were Men 43.30 and Ladies 49.45. Bingley results :
12 64 Tom Cooper OSEN 00:56:45
15 2 Greg Hull O50 00:58:12
30 106 Ruth Thackray F50 1st 01:02:24
41 4 Mark Chatterton O50 01:04:04
50 91 Simon Butterfield O40 01:06:47
54 90 Laura Firth FSEN 01:07:50
60 49 Paul Spencer O50 01:08:45
74 46 Joanne Henry F40 01:12:39
85 93 Becky Weight F60 01:14:33
112 9 Harry Atkinson O70 01:23:27

Kettlewell Anniversary (No 4, AS, 8km 550m, 22 Jun) was also an English Fell Championship (EFC) Race, so early pre-entry a must, and strong competition. Bingley had 13 entries. On the day 8 ran.
Winning times for Men and Ladies were approx. 34 and 41 mins. Bingley results were :
49 240 Ian Holmes M55 00:41:24 2nd M55
66 78 Andrew Peace M55 00:43:24
112 46 Mathew Bloomfield M40 00:46:53
135 103 Ruth Thackray F50 00:49:28 3rd F50
149 241 Steve Webb M60 00:51:03
163 143 Becky Jane FSEN 00:52:10
215 79 Amicia Lee FSEN 00:56:18
252 96 Joanne Henry F45 01:00:43

Great to see Andy Peace out on the fells again, in an age group tussle with Ian Holmes and, newer to the fells, Matt Bloomfield and Becky Jane trying their fell legs out. Well done.
The English Fell Champs also have a team result – Bingley were 7th M40 (4 IH, AP, MB & SW), 5th M50 (3, IH, AP & SW) and 10th WOpen (4, RT, BJ, AL & JH).

The Eldwick & Gilstead Gala Fell Race (No 5, BS, 4.8km, 168m, Sat 28 Jun) came next. Hosted by Bingley Harriers with me (Becky Weight) as Race Organiser, with a ‘three line whip’ to run or help. A fantastic 26 Senior Bingley Harriers ran, and 12 Juniors, as it is Short. The results and a separate report went out on Team App shortly after the event.

Tebay (No 6, AM 13km 914m, 12 Jul) next, another EFC race. The description runs along the lines of : Classic Howgills terrain, not as harsh as most Lakes races, plenty of good running, mostly runnable, some bog, some path, lot of climb including final haul up Blease Fell, before a long runnable descent back to Tebay. A good number of runners were tempted. It was a hot day and that ‘final haul’ was especially challenging; I think Denise sat down for a while :-). Bingley results :
36 175 Ian Holmes M55 01:28:14 2nd M55
97 25 Andrew Peace M55 01:45:06
121 233 Ian Ferguson M65 01:49:48 1st M65
149 149 Ruth Thackray F50 01:55:45
170 71 Tom Cooper MSEN 02:00:32
194 52 Amicia Lee FSEN 02:06:30
228 288 Steve Webb M60 02:15:17
232 6 Denise Wright F50 02:17:24
256 23 Joanne Henry F45 02:32:19
276 70 Simon Butterfield M40 02:44:43
285 229 Cheryl Jepson FSEN 02:58:38

Winning times were 1:13:11 (Finlay Grant, Dark Peak) and 1:33:25 (Sarah Willhoit, Mercia).
For Bingley EFC team placings were MOpen 12th (5, IH, AP, IF, TC, SW), M40 8th (4, IH, AP, IF, SW), M50 4th (3, IH, AP, IF), FOpen (3, RT, AL, DW), F40 (3, RT, DW, JH).

For me another race entered in hope but not run as I nursed a torn calf back to running.

Kentmere Horseshoe (No 7, AM 19.8km 1006m Sun 20 Jul). Described as ‘the longest medium Lakeland race, …a stunning 12.3-mile route with 3300 feet ascent, …fantastic ridge running on grassy Eastern fells, …iconic peaks like - Ill Bell, High Street, and Kentmere Pike’. I wish I could have been there but neither body (calf trouble) or family (wedding party) allowed. At least I didn’t enter this one! Only Sarah Pickering made this and was 155/203, F30/52 in 2hrs 42mins. Well done Sarah, I hope you had a fabulous run, I am jealous 😊.

Pilgrim’s Cross (No 8, BM 10.7km 390m Wed 13 Aug) Trying a mid-week evening race an hour’s drive over the border in Rossendale. A new event for Bingley but not too far and familiar Pennine moorlands.
Three of our guys made the trip over, on a warm, sunny summer evening to join 150 others on the start line. All enjoyed the event and the route.
18 Tom Cooper Bingley Harriers & AC M:18 MSEN:13 00:52:53
39 Steve Webb Bingley Harriers & AC M:39 M60:3 00:58:29
72 Simon Butterfield Bingley Harriers & AC M:71 M40:7 01:07:56

I enjoy running new races, and having a specific reason to go to a new race or area, is the only nudge I need. Let me know what stopped you going to this, even if it is that you simply missed it, and would have gone if you had realised it was on or had an extra reminder.

Groovy Kinder Love (No 9, AL 24.5, 1270m, Sat 6 Sep)
Another new race for Bingley. One of the ‘Long’ options and described as a ‘good’ beginners Long. Again I would have loved to get there but my calf wasn’t ready for that distance, and no one from Bingley ran. I guess the popular Yorkshireman Half and Full (both Long fell races) the following weekend had something to do with that – 16 members ran and it is likely a more were entered but didn’t get there; local, familiar, run with mates, don’t need to recce, entries open and booked in 2024, already recced, better time target, a position to hold, etc. If there is any other reason you didn’t make GKL then let me know. Are you interested in new races, or are they too much to fit in?

Harriers vs Cyclists (No 10, BM 8.5km, 288m, Sat 8 Nov) The last race in the series – more points or just be in the results. You can still enter. Don’t miss out.

What’s next on the Fells and Off-road?
Not an exhaustive list. Various local fell races throughout the winter. See the Fell Runners Association race calendar. Want some help? See contacts below.

October was (and always is) Fell Relay month. Dates for 2026 are Sat 3 Oct for the Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relay and Sat 17 Oct for the British Fell Relay, Todmorden (super local). Put the dates in your diary now. For 2025 Storm Amy saw the HBMR get cancelled to avoid the 80 mph winds and -10C chill factor on the tops in the Lakes. There is a separate report on the British Fell Relay.

The Cross Country season is with us. Great for your winter speed work – no excuse not to run. The West Yorkshire XC series of 4 has started but you can still enter the remaining 3 (enter by 12 Nov) to compete individually, and support the club team result. Details and entry link http://www.westyorkshireathletics.org.uk/wyxcl25index.htm.

For Team outings The Gathering Winter Fools relay is on Sat 6th December – Bingley Ladies (contact Ruth Thackray) and Gents teams will be running so get in touch if you are interested. We do our best to get everyone who is interested in a team – from the competitive to the social trot.

Sat 13 Dec is our very own Christmas Handicap – always a great pre-Christmas run and a handicap so everyone has the chance of being first. See the Team App Event to book in to get your handicap. Based at The Glen, Gilstead this year so good social location.

Sun 21 Dec for our Christmas Trip and Dinner – full day out, coach to Burnsall, various off-road runs and walk options, followed by a Christmas meal at the Red Lion in Burnsall. Fabulous day out. See event on Team App to book in. If you are not sure what it’s all about just contact me to chat about it.

Popular events over Christmas are Chevin Chase (Boxing Day Fri 26 Dec) and Auld Lang Syne (New Year’s Eve, Wed 31 Dec). Entries open now. Don’t miss out if you want some running ‘fun’ over Christmas, with fancy dress options.

2026 is already in mind. I have mentioned the Fell Relays in October, and am thinking about races for the Club Fell Championship. If you have any suggestions let me know. I try to avoid too much overlap with the Cross Country season (Nov – Feb) and, for events that are popular with Bingley Harriers, I either try to include or avoid them. Like the Three Peaks Fell race on Sat 25th April 2026 – entries opened recently, there are already a good number of Bingley runners in, and it is now full, so it wouldn’t be fair to include in a Fell Championship. There is now a Relay option for the Three Peaks (run one Peak, in pairs) so we are looking at the possibility of teams (of 6); if you are interested, let me know.

If you have any queries about fell running or perhaps you are new to the fells and would like to give it a go, just let us (Fell Team Managers) know and we can help get you going.
Becky Weight beckyweight@btinternet.com
Andy Jebb andrewjebb2@gmail.com
Photos by Becky Weight, Woodentops, Stephen Wilson and Becky Willoughby. Thankyou.