The weather in March was mixed but Black Combe (an English Fell Champs (EFC) race), Haworth Hobble (popular local 32 miler), and Beater Clough (second Club Fell Champs (CFC) race) were blessed with fine weather and fair temperatures
Entries still available for the next Club Fell Champs race, a short sharp at Blackstone Edge AS on Sat 18 Apr, so get yourself booked in.

Sat 21 Mar Beater Clough AM 10.9km 610m : Bingley Harriers Fell Champs No 2
Attendance at the second race in the Club Fell Champs suffered from being the week after the Haworth Hobble. If that was you, you missed a Calderdale gem. The steeps were steep, especially Beater Clough itself which you have to cross twice but once up there were some surprisingly runnable stretches. The route shares some of the Flower Scar route including the Scar itself; the marshall at the top encouragingly told us there was a downhill to come. Unfortunately it was a stretch of virtually unrunnable tussocks – probably the hardest bit of the race.
Three of us took advantage of the blue sky and warm sunshine to run this and even the darkest deepest parts of Calderdale looked springlike and inviting.
19 Steve Webb M60 1:17:25
35 Becky Weight W65 1:33:40
46 Cheryl Jepson FSEN 1:58:55

Doni Clarke (M40, Tod Harr’s, 55 mins) and Katie Walshaw (W40, Holmfirth, 68mins) were lined up for record breaking runs – Doni just missed pipping his own record by 30 seconds and the mud & bogs (yes there were some after our wet winter) stymied Katie’s attempt.

Other Bingley Harriers out & about on the Fells Mar 26

Sat 7 Mar Black Combe AM 13km 1000m
The second English Fell Championship (EFC) Race – and our Vet 50’s and 60’s guys were out in force over in the SW corner of the Lakes for a long climb with a sea view, so definitely an EFC team result. Finlay Grant of Dark Peak led the 430 runners home in 63:49. Bingley were led home by Ian Holmes a clear winner in the M60 category with Tim & Steve bringing the team home second out of 10 M60 teams. Well done guys.
70th Ian Holmes M60 01:22:09
216th Tim Lofthouse M60 01:40:34
246th Steve Webb M60 01:44:10
282nd Mark Chatterton M50 01:48:35
303rd Greg Hull M60 01:51:15

Sat 14 Mar Haworth Hobble BL 51km 1700m
Helder Goncalves did a fabulous ‘Long Distance Legs’ write up :
There were 12 Bingley Harriers running the Haworth Hobble fell race, on 14th March, with 11 finishing (Si had a strong start but had to retire due to an injury). The forecast was for sunny intervals, which after a fairly wet winter, was great and the overnight chill would climb to a “comfortable” one for a day out on the moors.
There were a few of us together at the start line, with Joanne Henry, a “veteran” on the Hobble, the first Bingley Harrier to cross the line with an impressive time of 6hr20 mins followed closely by Steve Broadbent (Welcome back Steve). Olivia and Hayley finished about 25 minutes later. Andrew, Ciaran, Robbie and Cheryl did it in less than 8 hours, and Helder, Caroline and Shona finished within 13 minutes of each other. For several of us, I believe maybe half, it was the first time running the Haworth Hobble and, for a handful, the furthest distance on a race. So well done!
Personally, it was a great experience, speaking with a few of the other runners throughout the course and enjoying the day on the moors. Most people I spoke with agreed that the weather was a welcome bonus and that the experience would have been completely different if it had been raining or even snowing. Doing a recce definitely helped, even to keep about a dozen fellow runners from taking the wrong turns around Todmorden (before the whisky so no excuse). No whisky for me, even though I was looking forward to one at CP4, as I was so focused on climbing Stoodley Pike that I forgot to look out for it, which was probably a good thing as I felt a bit dehydrated. I kept to a 2 minute stop at checkpoints, not planned just coincidently, enough to top up water and get a few snacks before continuing (not saying it was the best strategy, didn’t really have one, but kept me going on a decent rhythm). There was plenty of food and liquids at the checkpoints and the volunteers/marshals, throughout the course and at the checkpoints, were amazing and very supportive. At the end, at least when I finished, there were two fellow Bingley Harriers, Dave & Barbara Weatherhead, as finish line marshalls which was the cherry on top of an extraordinary day and experience.
Joanne Henry 06:20:08
Steve Broadbent 06:25:22
Olivia Francis 06:44:47
Hayley Norse 06:44:49
Andrew Coulton 07:07:44
Ciaran O’Neill 07:11:08
Robert Williams 07:20:13
Cheryl Jepson 07:56:55
Helder Goncalves 08:20:17
Caroline Francis 08:33:44
Shona Stone 08:33:46
Simon Butterfield retired at CP6

Caroline F added “that it’s probably one of the best organised races in terms of pre race info and on the day ; registration, bag drop , t-shirt collection , food, drink , physio, changing facilities etc . At every checkpoint the supplies were plentiful and the volunteers so friendly and helpful which all helped to make it a fab day out “
There may have been other Bingley Harriers helping out so apologies if you were missed – I think Jo Buckley definitely had something to do with the whisky stop 😊

Sun 22 Mar Heptonstall BL 24.8km 966m
A local, Calderdale Long so a few guys headed over for that ‘top of the hill’ start (and finish!) at Heptonstall. Another good weather day for 193 runners and winner Oliver Perratt (Mercia, 01:51:50)
80 Paul Crabtree Bingley Harriers & AC M50 02:48:31
113 Stewart Macdonald Bingley Harriers & AC M60 02:56:23
119 Ciaran O'Neill Bingley Harriers & AC MSEN 03:01:55
164 Paul Spencer Bingley Harriers & AC M50 03:27:40

Paul C was testing his knees out and had a good day; fingers crossed for the Three Peaks. Stewart needs to link up with the other V60 guys for some English Fell Champs races – get those team results. Paul Spencer got some good miles prep for the Manchester Marathon with Josh.

Sat 28 Mar Pendle Fell Race AS 4.5m 1500’
Ian Holmes was a top 10 finisher and 1st M60 in 35:55 , less than 4 minutes behind the M23 winner William Walker from Clayton Le Moors.

What’s coming up ?

Sat 18 Apr Blackstone Edge AS 5.6km 366m The next Club Fell Champs Race and an English Fell Championship Race. Separate Ladies and Men’s races so entries still available. A great opportunity to be in a competitive championship event. Entries still open to all fell runners so come and enjoy the buzz and see how it can be done 😊. Enter now :
https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=16579

Tue 7, 14, 21 & 28 – Bunny Runs 1-3 CS and Relay – Penistone Hill, Haworth. Fast & furious, popular, expect any weather

Sat 25 Apr Three Peaks Fell Race (AL), Junior Races and Relay . 17 Bingley Harriers are entered in the main race, a good number more are organising or marshalling, we are on the waiting list for a Relay team, and I am sure there will be many Bingley supporters around the course, so a good Bingley Day out all round. The event is full with waiting lists in operation.

Sat 9 May Pendle Cloughs AL 22.5km 1250m Bingley Fell Champs No 4. A ‘short’ Long exploring some of the far side of Pendle.

The rest of the Club Fell Champs are detailed under Disciplines on Bingley Harriers Team App. Please note that Howtown (Sun 7th Jun) has been dropped as it clashes with the Bradford Millenium Way (the BMW date wasn’t available when I chose Howtown); I don’t want myself or others to be tusseling over whether to support a Club team event or take part in the Club Fell Champs.

Any queries, want to know more or just try your feet out on the fells – let me know beckyweight@btinternet.com , Ladies Fell Team Mgr. See you out on the fells in 2026.