April brought bright weather but chilly and windy at times, and enough rain to keep the bogs topped up, especially the ‘Bog of Doom’ at Blackstone Edge. Some great individual performances and team results, despite the mud, at the likes of the Bunny Runs, Arant Haw, Rivington Pike and Guiseley Gallop. Run out of time to include the Baildon Boundary Way – so if anyone would like to pen something that would be great.

Sat 18 Apr Blackstone Edge AS 5.6km 366m : BFC No 3
An old, short ‘gem’ of a race in the FRA 50 @ 50, including ‘The bog of Doom’, serious tussocks and Pennine rocks. How ‘bogs’ can be on a 1 in 4 hill always amazes me! It was also an English Fell Championship race so separate Ladies and Men’s races and big competitive fields. Some Bingley runners have penned some great views of this tough little race.
Jenni Boocock
We had a chilly and fast start to the race along field tracks, before descending down through tussocks to the aptly named 'Bog of Doom' which meant by a mile into the race, the mud was already up to your knees! A boggy and steep climb at first meant there was little chance of getting past anyone for a while, before the ground became a bit more forgiving.
Reaching the summit and 1st dibber on Blackstone Edge brought some light relief and the start of a shower and breeze, as we weaved along a tussocky, rocky, moorland top to the 2nd dibber just before the descent.
A trod descent to begin with leading to a leap over a conduit and a softer steep bracken path which meant you could really let the legs go! Before once again reaching another 'Bog of Doom' and turning the corner to climb the first descent!
Battling with the bog, a surge of energy and effort was tempting with not far to go! But motivation will only get you so far when your feet are sinking deep into slop! 😅
Finally through the top gate and out onto the farm/moorland track with a slight downhill, meant a strong leg stretching push to the race finish field.
Great Club and Eng Champs gathering, loads of support and cheering on! Wonderful selection of cake!!!
Loved being back out with the Bingley Harriers, thanks team!
Cheryl Jepson
Consistency is key - even when it feels for weeks it isn't . I used to just do any race or craziness to push myself to see what I'm capable off - enjoy that aspect of life. Recently I have been trying to get a little faster with a plan in place. Running is not easy for me.
This weekend was a short, steep boggy fell race (swamp monster style) love bogs . Then Sunday, I hit a pb on a half marathon (2 hours 11 mins) on a training session. For ages I felt I was going backwards, so this weekend I saw a bit of positivety for once . Just need to stop bringing myself down. The three peaks fell race will be what it will be. Oohhh and some weighted pbs at the gym
Just need to remember my kids are always watching and learning from us. I hope me being a bit mental escaping the drama of life, showing up, trying to be fit and healthy, chasing crazy dreams inspires them to do the same . I'll get there eventually and it's only me who can make it happen. For now I'll keep loving and smiling
Emma Moran
Ste reliably informed us this wasn’t Emma’s favourite race and there wouldn’t be much of Emma’s commentary fit for publication . [Thanks for being there Emma – always appreciated]
Rob Thomas
I’ve been running for 40 years on and off - more on than off thankfully - I’ve done track races, road races, marathons and cross country, but last Saturday was my first ever bona fide fell race. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long - we moved to West Yorkshire 8 years ago! Maybe I was intimidated by the mandatory kit requirements and deciphering my CSs from my ALs, or as a recent sufferer of endless hamstring issues maybe I felt me and the hills just weren’t going to get on (“it’s not you, it’s me”). However on Saturday I drove with Tom to Littleborough and took the plunge (how apt) at Blackstone Edge. The ladies had finished when we arrived, so they gave us their briefing notes - “horrible” “boggy” and “did I mention the bog”. Duly chastened, I got my kit checked and collected my debut dibber, headed to the start and after the most nonchalant “3, 2, 1 go” I have heard in my life, we were off!
Spoiler alert - I loved it, every second, and I can’t wait to do more. The 366m climb felt more like 600 as each step sunk 6 inches deeper than expected, and I quickly found myself doing the hands-on-quads hokey-cokey wondering if it helps physically, psychologically or not in the slightest! At times the race reminded me of very slow Formula 1 as passing opportunities were few and far between. Cutting-in etiquette seemed to be more Senna than Button as I found myself on multiple occasions up close and personal with rival singlets. Once at the Edge I found a bit of speed and skipped along like a boggy Bambi, reeling a dozen or so in and dibbed my dibber - utterly failing to appreciate the presumably marvellous view - a common fell runners folly, I learned later. On the way down I tried my best to let loose despite being buffeted by tussocks like a kind of violent parkour pinball.
There’s a cruel twist with a mile or so to go where you turn back uphill through the worst of the bog, a few people squelched past me here before we turned back down again to power home over more familiar terrain. Big cheers from the Bingley ladies who’d kindly stayed to support and there was the finish, a sprint, a final dib and a cup of strong squash. I loved the thick Todmorden accent telling me “don’t forget your QR code”, a printout delivering instant splits and results - something I’d never seen before - and jolting me back into the digital world I’d left behind.
I know enough from the books, the videos and this experience to know that other fell races are going to be very different, each no doubt with their own personalities, and that’s why I can’t wait - in every sense of the phrase - to get stuck into the next one!
Results : 371 runners, including 119W. First home Finlay Grant MSEN Dark Peak in 26:46 and Emily Cowper-Coles FSEN Dark Peak in 33:40.
42 223 Ian Holmes M60 00:32:28 3rd M45, 50 & 55, 1st M60
105 56 Emma Moran FSEN 00:36:02 9th Lady
121 360 Tom Cooper MSEN 00:36:40
207 356 Rob Thomas M50 00:41:30
227 291 Steve Webb M60 00:42:29
293 137 Jenni Boocock FSEN 00:46:16
313 70 Becky Weight F65 00:48:33 3rd F65
331 71 Joanne Henry F45 00:51:21
356 139 Cheryl Jepson FSEN 00:58:03

Other Bingley Harriers out & about on the Fells Mar/Apr 26

Sun 22 Mar Arant Haw AS 7.5km 400m
Emma Moran was first Lady home in 47.14 in this seriously steep Howgill race from Sedbergh, in front of Millie Jebb. Emma also dropped off her 2025 Coledale Horseshoe trophy 😊.

Sat 4 Apr Rivington Pike BS 5.2km 213m
Emma Moran (FV35) was 1st Lady in 21:28 (29 / 353 overall) with the Men's (Finlay Grant, MSEN, Dark Peak) winning time of 17:11. A close race as Second was only a few seconds behind and the next 3 within the next 30 seconds. Well done Emma.

Sun 5 Apr Guiseley Gallop (Trail) 10km
Local trail race, great for some ‘fast’ off-road running, largely free from bogs and tussocks. Laura Firth F35 Overall / Gender 34/3, Sarah Pickering FS 38/4, Carla Goodey F40 43

Tue 7, 14 & 21 April Bunny Runs CS 4.8km 100m
Popular with Bingley Harriers Seniors and Juniors (U14+). The Juniors love being showing the Seniors a clean pair of heels. Some, like Kai, were trying their first ‘fell run’. Well done Kai. I have gathered all the Junior and Senior results (picture in Header, click on to see in full). It’s always interesting to see where everyone is. Lots of fabulous individual performances, age category, team and series results.
Especially good to see some Bingley team wins courtesy of our strong Juniors. BR1 saw both Men & Ladies go to Bingley :
Robert Carter, Charlie Porteous, Tyler Griffiths 3,6,7 = 16
Harriet Carter, Olivia Francis, Florence Chatterton 2,3,4 = 9
Then Harriet and Florence took the team hat-trick on BR2 & 3 with the support of Sarah Pickering (BR2) and Olivia Francis (BR3). Well done girls. Fabulous results.
For those who run all three there are Series prizes. The consistency of the Bingley Juniors paid good dividends 😊
Place / Name / Cat / Placings / Score
Men 1 Robert Carter BU16 3 4 3 10
4 Tyler Griffiths BU16 7 14 8 29
BU16 1 Robert Carter BU16 1 1 1 3
2 Tyler Griffiths BU16 3 3 2 8
BU14 1 Brody Griffiths BU14 2 3 1 6
2 Kai Sands-Yun BU14 3 4 2 9

Ladies 1 Harriet Carter GU14 2 2 1 5
3 Florence Chatterton GU14 4 7 2 13
9 Sophie Edwards GU16 9 17 13 39
LV40 3 Sarah Jones LV40 5 6 8 19
GU16 2 Sophie Edwards GU16 2 2 3 7
3 Ailsa Coulton GU16 3 5 4 12
GU14 1 Harriet Carter GU14 1 1 1 3
2 Florence Chatterton GU14 2 2 2 6

What’s coming up ?
Sat 25 Apr Three Peaks Fell Race (AL), Relay and Junior Races. 19 in the main race, more organising or marshalling, and many Bingley supporters around the course, so a great Bingley Day out.
Sat 9 May Pendle Cloughs AL 22.5km 1250m BFC No 4. A ‘short’ Long at 14miles exploring some of the far side of Pendle. Over 4000’ of ascent, some navigation and cut-offs, so a challenge, but times from 2-5 hrs show a wide range of runners are catered for.
Mon 25 May Austwick Amble BM 13km 365, BFC No 5. Yorkshire Dales, limestone, grassy paths and Austwick Street Fair – good family day out.
The rest of the Club Fell Champs are detailed under Disciplines on Bingley Harriers Team App. Please note Howtown (Sun 7th Jun) has been dropped as it clashes with the Bradford Mill Way
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.