May brought warmer weather, bluebells, fresh green leaves, and underfoot drying out a little, so no better time to be out on local fells at the Bunny Relays, Coiners (Calderdale), and a little further afield at the Three Peaks and Pendle Cloughs – the next Club Fell Championship Race.

Sat 9 May Pendle Cloughs AL 22.5km 1250m : Bingley Harriers Fell Champs (BFC) No 4
A tough, long Spring race, with navigation so if you are not ready for the distance (14 miles) and climb (4000’), or not comfortable on your own in the cloud in a path free area of Pendle then maybe this wasn’t the race for you. I (Becky Weight) have done the race a couple of times before so knew what was in store. For Rob Thomas it was his second fell outing. With 9 checkpoints to find, we ‘chatted’ about navigation hints like adding compass bearings on your map so you can easily check the rough direction to head off from the check point and, as many runners will be out 3-4 hours, talked about fuelling and hydration on the move. If you know you are going to be running for longer than 2 hours then think about eating after about 90 mins, so you don’t run low on energy. With an 11am start, a good breakfast and maybe a little top up in the hour or two prior to the race. It’s good to try out different eating strategies and ‘eating on the move’ in your longer training runs, to find out what suits you. Rob had a few gels, a banana and 500 ml re-hydration drink on the move. I ate half a peanut butter sandwich with some drink about 40 mins before the start, a cereal and nut bar half way round while walking up one of the climbs, drank most of my 500ml re-hydration drink (had a few cramps recently), and took some jelly babies at CP5 (jelly babies are great, very portable, durable and easy to get down). The weather was a bit grey with a few spots of rain, temperatures 8-10C, and a breeze made it feel cooler, so we both pulled extra layers on later in the race even on the climbs – by that time the legs are often too shot to work hard enough to generate enough heat to keep you warm.
Enjoy Rob’s ‘reality’ :
Having enjoyed every second of my debut at Blackstone Edge last month, yesterday fell running had it's revenge as I tackled Pendle Cloughs, or should I say they tackled me!
Starting in the quaint village of Downham and armed with some good fuelling advice from Becky, the quirks came thick and fast as the race started 2 minutes early (that never happens, right?), and with an unconventional "1... 2... 3!" we were off!
An easy 2k and we arrived at the first climb up to Ogden Clough. To the many Harriers that have conquered Bob Grahams and Spines etc. I give you full permission to roll your eyes ("Tis but a scratch!") but to me that climb was ludicrous, and left my quads screaming for mercy! Never before have I had to think about the angle of my lean - like doing a handstand - too far forward I was on my knees, too far back and I started to topple - what an amateur...
So this run became a tale of two halves, the first was everything I hoped it would be, challenging on the ups but clipping along nicely on the flats, and at 7k a breath-taking moment when you reach the top of Pendle Hill and a vast sprawling panorama opens up to the right, yawning over towards Colne. The adrenaline from that and the three runners ahead dragged me nicely to half way in 90 minutes where I foolishly allowed myself to imagine a respectable 3 hour finish. So of course that was when the wheels fell off.
First warning sign was a brief wrong turn, only 200m but I realised I'd stopped concentrating and it was enough to rock the confidence and sap the legs. Then around 14k my quads handed in their notice and I suddenly found myself walking bits that were essentially flat. Worry started creeping in too as I noticed I had lost sight of anyone in front, no one behind, and on cue the mist rolled in and things got cold and I started feeling lightheaded (I think I'd been breathing "double speed" for far too long). I decided now was the time to get sensible so I took a 2 minute rest, inhaled a banana, got my jacket, gloves and buff on, reset my goals and pushed on, immediately warmer and happier. I've never had to use a map and compass before, and I honestly bellowed "Yes!" in relief at 17k when I spotted the unmarshalled checkpoint 8 peering out of the bracken, I couldn't believe I'd found it!
A couple of muscles I didn't know I had started to cramp as flags guided me the final 3km downhill to the finish where crowds of locals carried me aloft and showered me with laurel wreaths. Or it could have been 3 blokes in tabards saying "well done, can I have your number", I can't quite remember, but it felt great whatever it was. I finished in 3:32, 33rd out of 48, shattered but satisfied, and rounded the day off with a spectacular chilli beef pudding from the local cafe. Onwards and (very steeply) upwards...
Thanks Rob – I really enjoyed that, and my race too, keeping my map handy to make sure I didn’t miss any of the 9 checkpoints, spending quite a lot of time on my own, calling a couple of people back who were heading off in the wrong direction, smiling at CP5 when the three of us who arrived at a similar time all headed away in different directions, and being very happy to be 1F60 in 3:49:25, even if it was courtesy of others making navigation mistakes 😊.
And a final sting in the tail for Rob who had to get back straight after; he would have won a £100 spot prize if he stayed for the presentation but it was re-drawn.

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

Sat 25 April Three Peaks Fell Race AL 39km 1596m
Always popular for Bingley Harriers Seniors and, from last year’s 70th Anniversary, for the Juniors too. Bingley Harriers are also important in the organisation – with Dave & Barbara Weatherhead on the Three Peaks organising Committee, and many others helping and marshalling on the day. It makes a great day out.
15 runners on the start line, but with a surprise warm day, missing preparation, and the distance finding niggles that other runs don’t find, 5 dropped out part way, and some Three Peaks regulars had a hard time finishing. There was high general drop out as many found their winter work hadn’t prepared them for heat and de-hydration.
92 58 Robin Lawrence MV50 04:19:56
114 858 Victoria Wilkinson WV40 04:26:41
207 51 Tom Cooper M 04:45:19
308 55 Ian Ferguson MV60 05:02:45
319 758 Chris Newell M 05:06:20
354 61 Daryl Foster M 05:13:40
371 853 Laura Firth W 05:16:44
432 854 Joanne Henry WV40 05:31:25
491 52 Paul Crabtree MV50 05:45:55
529 60 Dave Stephenson MV60 05:55:28

Well done to first timer Chris and great to see Robin back in good action.

Tue 28 April Bunny Relays 2.4km 60m
33 Bingley runners headed to Penistone Hill for the pleasure of getting a fresh egg around the relay. So we had 10 teams out of 61 making up various Junior, Family, Ladies and Mixed teams, plus Sarah Pickering running all three legs, and Josh Bloomfield and Jenni Boocock in other teams.
1 Bingley Ants BU16 Robert Carter 2 9:57 Jack Mitchell 1 10:48 Ralph Elmsley 10:51 31:36 41
7 Eggcellent Runners BU14 Malachy Aston 8 10:56 Leyton Hudson 9 11:53 Benjamin O'Mahoney 10:50 33:39 17
13 Bingley Bunnies GU16 Harriett Carter 12 11:07 Charlotte Pedley 10 12:10 Ella Simpson 11:28 34:45 19
15 2 Fast, 1 Fat Family Ambrose Griffiths 31 12:44 Brody Griffiths 19 11:40 Tyler Griffiths 10:28 34:52 27
17 Bingley Smurfettes GU16 Hannah Dennis 20 11:37 Florence Chatterton 13 11:55 Penny Pinker-Hull 12:06 35:38 58
26 Baildon Bingley Boys BU12 Sid Bowles 29 12:36 Joby Pinker-Hull 22 12:44 Oliver Ling 12:16 37:36 15
30 Bingley Hares Mix Jnr Kai Sands-Yun 22 11:58 Ailsa Coulton 25 13:56 Sophie Edwards 12:52 38:46 16
32 Chapman Family Isabelle Chapman 40 13:46 Dylan Chapman 37 14:18 Nick Chapman 11:37 39:41 52
37 The Better Half Lady Sarah Pickering 36 12:58 Sarah Pickering 32 14:02 Sarah Pickering 14:22 41:22 s2
44 Bingley Bunnies GU12 Libby Cooper 42 14:23 Phoebe Sonley 40 14:24 Elsie Henry 13:39 42:26 2
48 Spice Up Your Life Lady Caroline Francis 48 15:19 Sarah Jones 52 15:28 Olivia Francis 12:22 43:09 59
Bingley BU16 team were first home. Well done Robert C, Jack M and Ralph E, and other Junior teams did well. Robert C, Harriet C, Hannah D, Jack M, Florence C, and Tyler G, all Juniors, featured in the Fastest Legs tables. Well done all.

Thanks to Woodentops for the photos (in header). Many more on their site.

Mon 4 May Coiners BM 11km 396m
From just above Mytholmroyd in Calderdale and including a visit to Stoodley Pike.
27 87 Ian Fergoson O60 01:03:56
30 25 Jo Buckley F50 01:04:17
65 40 Paul Spencer O50 01:15:40

Ian 3rd O60 and Jo 4th Lady and 2nd F40 & 50

What’s coming up ?
Mon 25 May Austwick Amble BM 13km 365, BFC No 5. Yorks Dales, limestone, grassy paths and the Austwick Street Fair – good family day out.
Sun 7 Jun Bradford Millenium Way Relay. Five teams in. If you are not in and you are interested contact the Team Mgrs (see Team App Event). Reserves always needed with a fair chance you will run.
Sat 27 Jun Eldwick Gala Fell Race – Bingley Harriers very own short sharp dash. Run, help, marshal, cheer, support, and a fabulous gala to enjoy. See Team App Event
Sat 25 Jul Alderman’s Ascent AS – Entries open 10am on May 22 for FRA and 29th for everyone else. Club and English Fell Champs.
The rest of the Club Fell Champs are in Disciplines on Bingley Harriers Team App. Please note Howtown (Sun 7th Jun) has been dropped as it clashes with the BMWay Relay.
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.