English & British Fell Running Championship races 2018. Pre-entry dates and web-links.

Below are the fixtures for the 2018 English & British Fell Running Championships. Most of these races require pre entry, usually online and some fill up very fast, so check the entry dates for the races below and make a note in your diary.

English Championships

Edale Skyline - March 11th ...online entries open Feb 1st via this page.

Clough Head - May 6th ...entries open Feb 1st, check this page for info.

Buttermere Horseshoe - June 23rd ...entries open March 1st via SiEntries. Further info here.

Sea To Summit - July 14th ...online entries open Feb 1st on this website.

Turner Landscape - August 8th ...entries would appear to be open NOW. Info here.

Cautley Horseshoe - September 15th ...entries via Howgill Harriers website.

British Championships

Mourne Highline - April 14th ...entries opened Jan 1st, race now full! Race website here.

Tal y Mignedd - June 9th ...online entry opens March 1st via Fabian4 website.  

Buttermere Horseshoe - June 23rd ...entries open March 1st via SiEntries. Further info here.

Ben Nevis - September 1st ...FRA Fixtures list says "see race website for entry information".

There is some further information about the English & the British Championships, including last year's results on the FRA website here.

English & British Fell Running Championship races 2017, with entry details

Below is a list of the English & British Fell Running Championship races for 2017 including information on how to enter each race, when online entry opens, closing dates, etc.

English Fell Running Champs

Long Mynd Valleys (M) - Sat 25th March. Entries via SI Entries, open on Monday 9th Jan 2017.
Weets English Champs (S) - Sat 27th May. No entry details yet, keep an eye on www.barlickfellrunners.org.uk
Tebay Fell Race (M) - Sat 17th June. Enter via website from 1st March.  Limit 800.
Wasdale (L) - Sat 8th July. Pre-entry on form from CFRA website. Pre-entries to be submitted only between March 31st & June 30th. Limit 250.
Castle Carr (L) - Sat 3rd Sept. Entries open in July. See CVFR website for details, including entry limit.
Great Whernside (S) - Sat 23rd Sept. Entry on day only available if race not full. Entries open 1st August, limit 500. See race website for more information.

British Fell Running Champs

Donard Challenge (S) - Sat 8th April. Entries will close online on the 26th March 2017 at www.nimra.org.uk
Tebay Fell Race (M) - Sat 17th June. Enter via website from 1st March.  Limit 800.
Stuc A' Chroin (L) - Sat 6th May. Entry link on race website from 1st April. Limit 500.
Maesgwm Muddle (M) - Sat 12th August. Entry form on race website from 8th April. Limit 250.

Relays

Northern 12 Stage Road Relays - Sun 26th March, Haigh Hall, Wigan
Northern 6 Stage Road Relays - Sept 2017
Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relay - Sun 1st Oct
British Fell Relay Championships - Sun 15th Oct, North Wales

XC fixtures

Cumbria County Championships - Sat 7th Jan, Rickerby Park, Carlisle, Entry on day available.
Northern XC Championships - Sat 28th Jan, Knowsley. Must pre-enter by 13/1/17 here.

Keswick Ladies' Billy Bland Challenge

No one can quite remember when the excitement started, but it was certainly well back in the rainy months of winter, when Julie Carter, a Keswick AC member and Bob Graham Round completer, mooted the idea of attempting a Bob Graham Round Relay, the Billy Bland Challenge, with a Keswick AC Ladies team. Everyone was inspired!

Here is a description of the challenge from the website http://www.billyblandchallenge.org.uk/:

The Billy Bland Challenge relay is based on the five legs of the Bob Graham Round, starting and finishing at the Moot Hall in Keswick. It covers about 66 miles, 28,000 feet of climbing and 42 peaks. The challenge is open to all teams of 10, split into five pairs. Each of the pairs is designated one of the five legs and a baton is passed from one team to the next. The relay is to be completed at any time in the month of June. Entry costs in the true spirit of the BGR, are free.

The Keswick ladies took on the challenge with a few aims: to have a great day out on the fells, to try and beat the Ladies team record of 16.04 hours, and to get as close as possible to Billy Bland’s times for each of the legs of his record breaking solo Bob Graham Round. The first one was definitely achieved, the second one has inspired us to have another go (55 minutes off the record), and the third one showed just how incredible Billy Bland’s solo Bob Graham Round record is!

So on Saturday 4th June, at 4am, the Leg 1 pair of Hannah Horsburgh and Catherine Spurden, our fastest runners, set off from Moot Hall. Unfortunately the cloud was very low between 4 am and 11 am. However, this did not bother Catherine and Hannah, and they set a new Ladies team Leg 1 record of 3.03 hours, smashing the previous record of 3.27. But how did Billy Bland do it in 2.16 hours?!

The beaming pair then passed the ‘baton’, a tracking device, to Katy Moore and Trudy Beetham, our Leg 2 runners. Clough Head, which usually looms intimidatingly, was concealed by thick cloud, so the Leg 2 pair soon disappeared, and they stayed in clag all the way. Quite a lot of compass work was required, but after 3.43 hours Trudy and Katy emerged, smiling happily as they descended to a sun-bathed Dunmail Raise.

At Dunmail Raise the mobile Keswick AC nail-painting unit had come out in force, with Jo Gillyon and Catherine Evans showing off their freshly painted green and yellow nails as they received the tracker from Katy and Trudy. However, Cat and Jo immediately set their focus on Steel Fell, striding away with great purpose. They maintained a fantastic pace, despite the rising heat, and they whizzed up Broad Stand with the help of Julie Carter and Mandy Glanville. Julie and Mandy had attracted some incredulous looks as they carried the ladder up from Wasdale, with Moss their dog in a Keswick AC vest too! Cat and Jo then flew down to Wasdale, coming within 8 minutes of the Ladies Leg 3 record, but very happy with their time of 4.30 hours.

The Leg 4 runners, Rachel Findlay Robinson and Victoria Haworth, had been waiting nervously, trying to keep cool in the hottest part of the day, but they soon established a composed stride, making good progress up Yewbarrow and topping out before Cat and Jo had even finished their well-deserved ice creams.

Rachel and Vic did an excellent job of ensuring they visited every possible summit of the indistinct summit areas on Leg 4, and they came hurtling down to Honister in beautiful evening light, setting an excellent time of 3.51 hours.

Then it was time for the Leg 5 pair, Annabel Holmes and Sam Ayers to have a go, having waited patiently all day and avidly following the tracker on-line. Annabel and Sam had prepared extremely well for Leg 5, practising their route off Robinson meticulously, and even practising the final sprint to Moot Hall, so it is wonderful that they were rewarded with a time of 1.52 hours, the only pair on the team to beat Billy Bland’s leg time. However, the fact that Billy Bland ran nearly as fast as their fresh legs, after 60-odd miles of fell-running, is quite extraordinary.

In the gorgeous light of 20.59 on Saturday evening, Sam and Annabel touched the green door of Moot Hall, cheered on by several Keswick AC friends and family. The overall time was 16.59 hours, and we all agreed that it had been a great day out on the fells.

Thank you to everyone who helped the team: driving, reccying legs, nail-painting, supporting at Broad Stand, and cheering us on.

The numbers bit:

Start Saturday 4th June 2016: 4am

Splits (taken from time incoming runners arrive (so Leg 2 includes Leg 1/2 handover etc)

Leg 1 (Catherine Spurden and Hannah Horsburgh): 3.03

Leg 2 (Katy Moore and Trudy Beetham): 3.43

Leg 3 (Jo Gillyon and Catherine Evans): 4.30

Leg 4 (Rachel Findlay Robinson and Victoria Haworth): 3.51

Leg 5 (Sam Ayers and Annabel Holmes): 1.52

Total: 16.59

Keswick AC smash record in 'Billy Bland Challenge'

A team of runners from Keswick AC wiped a massive 50 minutes off the record in the 'Billy Bland Challenge' Bob Graham Relay on Sunday, setting a time of 12 hours 24 minutes to beat the previous mark held by local club Ellenborough AC.

(L-R) Phil Winskill, Mark Lamb, Lee Newton, Dave Birch, Carl Bell, Sam Stead, Peter George, John Battrick, James Appleton, Steve Hebblethwaite (photo athletesinaction.co.uk)

The Billy Bland Challenge is a team relay over the route of the Bob Graham Round, a 66 mile loop over 42 Lakeland fells with over 27,000ft of ascent. The route is split into the 5 traditional 'legs', with a different pair of runners tackling each leg in an attempt to equal Billy Bland's legendary time of 13:53 from 1982.

Keswick's attempt was spearheaded by Steve Hebblethwaite and Mark Lamb. Setting off at 8am from the Moot Hall in Keswick, they stormed round the leg 1 peaks of Skiddaw, Great Calva and Blencathra before arriving at the changeover at Threlkeld in just 2 hours and 10 minutes, a new record for the leg. One of the intricacies of the Billy Bland Challenge is deciding the parings and which leg to place them on. It was clear that these two were well matched, pushing each other the whole way.

Leg 2 saw Sam Stead and Phil Winskill cover 12 peaks on the Helvellyn Range. They enjoyed the best of the day's challenging conditions and arrived at the next changeover at Dunmail Raise in 2 hrs 27 minutes, 17 minutes faster than the previous leg record. 

Leg 3 is arguably the most arduous leg of them all with 13 of the highest tops including Scafell Pike to cover between Dunmail Raise and Wasdale Head. Carl Bell and James Appleton had clearly taken note of the forecast as they sprinted up Steel Fell attempting to beat the incoming rain.

Carl and James sprint up Steel Fell (photo athletesinaction.co.uk)

 They carried this speed all the way to Sca Fell, the final summit of their leg before a small mistake led them on the wrong path on the descent. The team's supporters, who were able to track the runners' progress online via a GPS tracker, watched on helplessly as Carl and James sped towards Burnmoor Tarn. Luckily they noticed their mistake and only 10 minutes were lost and they still managed to hand over at Wasdale Head in 3 hours 10 minutes, another leg record.

When Keswick AC held its breath

By this time, the weather had deteriorated dramatically with heavy rain accompanying low cloud. Fortunately, two of the teams best navigators were up next and Dave Birch and Lee Newton expertly found their way across Leg 4 in atrocious conditions, arriving at Honister in 3hrs 12 minutes in what was undoubtedly the performance of the day.

Thanks to their team-mates efforts, leg 5 runners Peter George and John Battrick had the luxury of 2 hours in which to break the overall record, but they only needed 1 hour 25 minutes to finish the team off in style to rapturous applause at the Moot Hall, with another leg record to boot. Despite the  team's amazing performance, all involved had a new found appreciation for Billy Bland's incredible solo effort of 13:53.

Peter powers towards the Moot Hall (photo athletesinaction.co.uk)

The Billy Bland Challenge; a true test of stamina, navigation, tactics and teamwork. A fitting tribute to a legendary athlete.

Pennine 39

Result: Pennine 39: 39 mile trail race with 1,500 metre of climb, 18^th June 2016

Neil Ford 2^nd out of 51 in 6.31 hours.

 

The Pennine 39 race is a fairly new event, organised by the same company that runs the Tour de Helvellyn. Run entirely on the Pennine Way, it starts in Bowlees in the upper Tees Valley and heads past Cow Green Reservoir, before passing the spectacular High Cup Nick and descending into the Cumbrian village of Dufton. The next section starts with a big climb to four tops, including Cross Fell, at 890 metres the highest point in the race and the highest top in England outside the Lake District. The route then traverses moors via an old miners track before dropping down to the pretty village of Garigill for the final riverside run into the finish in Alston.

 

Although the weather can be testing on Cross Fell, it was very calm on the day of the race, with a lot of sunshine and no wind or rain. Most of the race route was attractive but the old miners track was hard and stony, wearing both the patience and the feet of runners. My own experience of the race was marred by the lack of a checkpoint and feeding station at Garrigill, as the organisers had been let down by a volunteer and the replacement had not turned up when I came through the village.

 

I’d been banking on getting some supplies at Garrigill for the final four mile section but the lack of anything to eat and drink caused me to stagger for a mile or two. I eventually resorted to drinking from the River North Tyne (not recommended!) and then knocking on a farm door for some food. Thank you to the kind lady who provided me with bananas and an apple! I had expected to be overtaken by a horde of other runners by the time I reached the finish line but must have had a big lead on the chasing pack. I was very happy to end up in second place, albeit a long way behind the winner. There was a fairly small field despite the race being part of the Runfurther British Ultra championship.

Neil Ford

English & British Fell Running Championships 2016 - details and pre-entries

Here is a list of all the 2016 English and British Fell Running Championship races and their entry procedure...you can click on the races, for a link to details of each race.

English Fell Running Championships

Black Combe (M) - March 12th (pre-entry is nearly full! Enter online here)

Up the Nab (S) - May 7th (Entry by post on universal entry form to organiser, by 30th April)

Sedbergh Sports (S) - July 9th (Entry available via Howgill website from April 1st)

Borrowdale (L) - August 6th (On official form on website only obtainable after May 31st, limit 500)

Pendle 3 Peaks (M) - August 20th (Entries open 10th January via website, limit 600)

Langdale (L) - October 8th (Enter online on the SportIdent website from 1st August)

British Fell Running Championships

Donard Commedagh, N. Ireland (M) - April 9th (Entries on line via NIMRA website by 26th March, no limit on numbers)

Pedol Cwm Pennant, N. Wales (L) - June 11th (Online entries open on 1st February, limit 300)

Sedbergh Sports (S) - July 9th (Entry available via Howgill website from April 1st)

Merrick, Scotland (M) - September 17th (Entry £4. See website for entry details. There may be entries on the day if the race isn't full)

Relays

Northern 12 & 6 Stage Road Relays - Sat April 2nd
National 12 & 6 Stage Road Relays - Sat April 16th

Calderdale Way Relay - Sun May 15th

Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relay - Sun October 2nd
British Fell Relay Championships, Scotland - Sat October 15th

The Best Injury Advice I Wasn't Given

I wrote this as advice to my future self, but figured I’d share it in case it could help anyone else out.

Diagnosis: Impacted stress fracture of 2^nd metatarsal, left foot. 6 weeks off running completely and a further 3 of rehab.

Background: Running for 3 years, built up to 65 miles/week. A road/trail runner that dabbles on the fell, 32mins-ish for 10k, 15.50 PB for 5k.

Advice to my future injured self:

            1. STOP RUNNING. STOP. NOW. STOP!!!! I had never been injured before, and am ashamed to have said on numerous occasions ‘I don’t really get injured’. B*llocks. There are two types of runner: Those that are injured and those that will be injured. My naivety contributed to my downfall. If it feels wrong, stop and seek medical advice.

2    2.‘Trust me, I’m a Doctor’ Get the right diagnosis, see a real Doctor. When you’re injured, everyone else seems to suddenly become an expert. Ignore them and seek professional advice. Not a physio, not your mate on Strava who ‘once had a dodgy toe so knows how it feels’ (guilty as charged). Go to your GP. This is nothing against your mates (or my mates) or physios, but that’s what GPs receive 7 years of training for and why they are there. I was lucky enough to be diagnosed quickly by my GP and my timetable for recovery was subsequently confirmed by MRI scan.

3.       3. Get back into your routine. As soon as your Doctor allows, get back into a cross-training routine that mirrors your pre-injury running routine as closely as possible. For me this was 2 ‘sessions’ a week plus a ‘long run’ on the elliptical trainer, plus steady cycling/aqua running in between. This has two benefits: It helps your mental state by removing the ‘lost’ feeling from your routine being disrupted, and it also means you hit the ground running (no pun intended) when you’re ready to stride again.

4.       4. It’s an opportunity. Take the opportunity to work on the parts of your fitness that are often neglected. I’m a better climber now than before my injury, and I put this down to weight training and elliptical work. This gives another mental boost to your rehab knowing that you can come out of the other side stronger in at least one way.  I include training your ‘running IQ’ in this, research why you got injured, plan your rehab, plan your future training and your racing goals.

A combination of the above other advice received has helped me recover well and today I capped my recovery with 2^nd place at Orton Fell Race, 9 weeks and 4 days after breaking down.

That’s my few pence, hopefully it will help a few people out.

Hardmoors 60 race report – 19 September 2015

Hardmoors 60 race report – 19 September 2015

 

A beautiful day welcomed runners to the start of the Hardmoors 60 on Saturday 19^th September. The race is 62 miles long with 3,500 metres of ascent and mainly follows the route of the second half of the Cleveland Way. It starts in Guisborough and goes up to Saltburn before running down the coast of the North York Moors National Park to end in Filey. There are no particularly high points on the route but many smaller hills, including lots of alternating cliff tops and bays, so lots of steps up and steps down.

 

The camaraderie in the Hardmoors ultras is great. Runners help each other out with route finding, food and drink; the marshalls are really upbeat and helpful; and the support teams that some runners have are also often kind. I didn’t use a support team in the race but, as I’m vegan and have a dodgy heart that can play up if my blood sugar drops, race organizer Jon Steele had kindly arranged to have my food and sports drink transported to each of the checkpoints. I was strong over the first part of the course but struggled badly from about mile 30 to mile 42 because of dehydration that triggered cramp. This affected quite a few people on the day: although 20C is not that warm by most standards, it was warm enough to have an impact on a long day of running.

 

However, I was able to turn things around fairly well and finished just before dark in 11 hours 27 minutes in 11^th place out of 195. It was my first race since May 2014 because of plantar fasciitis, so I was pleased to finish with my foot intact. Hopefully I’ve also – finally! – learnt two lessons on how to deal with hydration on warm days in ultras in the future: drink enough that you need to go to the toilet during the course of the run; and wear a wet cap to keep your head cool. Still, the result was good enough to put a smile on my face during the hard winter runs to come.

 

Neil Ford

Borrowdale 2015

Possibly the most prestigious individual race in the fell running calendar, the Borrowdale Fell Race took place yesterday and saw some excellent performances from the 21 Keswick AC athletes taking park

Such is the prestige attached to the event, The Borrowdale Trophies are awarded to the first Keswick athletes to finish. These honours will this year be presented to Mark Lamb (13th, 3:15.22) and Hannah Horsburgh (2nd Lady, 3:42.59), who were both competing in the event for the first time.

Hannah was joined by Catherine Spurden (3:45.45) and Rachel Findlay-Robinson (4:27.15) to win the Ladies team prize.

Other notable performances included Steve Angus (3:32.55) taking over 10 minutes from his personal best and Kirsten Ogden smashing her 5 hour target with 4:51.06.

The race was won in dominant fashion by Ricky Lightfoot (2:54.14). Jasmin Paris (3:15.33) recorded an equally dominant win in the Ladies race and missed the record by only 15 seconds.

Other Keswick Results:
31st David Birch M45 03:32:37
36th Lee Newton M 03:36:43
39th Sam Ware M 03:37:11
93rd Donald Ferguson M50 04:02:04
106th Craig Smith M45 04:09:59
122nd Tom Loan M 04:16:13
127th Robert Jones M 04:21:02
158th Damian Kimmins M40 04:38:11
164th Keith Loan M55 04:40:42
167th Ivan Holroyd M40 04:42:20
172nd Sarah Massey F40 04:44:11
174th Adrian Bacon M40 04:45:04
179th Annabel Holmes F45 04:47:37
183rd Angela Wakefield F 04:48:34
188th Kirsten Ogden F40 04:51:06
208th Lesley Malarkey F65 05:00:23

FRA 'Do'

The annual FRA Dinner & Dance is this year being held at the Daffodil Hotel, Grasmere on 21st November. This is a great opportunity for a unique social event with other club members and fell runners from across the country, plus a chance to congratulate those who win medals in the English & British Championships (there will be some!)

We are hoping to block book at least a couple of tables for Keswick AC, and to arrange transport between Keswick and Grasmere for club members.

The 'Badger Bar Blast' Fell Race is being organised on the same day and is in the club championships.

Further details: http://www.amblesideac.org.uk/…/uplo…/2015/07/FRA-Do2015.jpg

Please register your interest by emailing me at secretary@keswickac.org.uk with the number of places you would like - please do not book directly with the organisers as I will be looking to negotiate a bulk discount.

Run ABC North Article

The club are featured in the September issue of Run ABC North Magazine. A taster is posted below, I will bring my copy to training for people to have a browse. Sam.

Club training on Thursday 2nd July

Meet at the village hall opposite Mill Inn at 6.30pm

Run starts from telephone box in Mungrisedale.

A choice of various routes depending on what people feel like doing

and weather conditions. We can do Bowscale Tarn and Bowscale Fell,

Souther Fell or Bannerdale Crags or up to Blencathra itself. Or all

of the above for the really keen!
If anyone wants to stay for a drink and/or something to eat in the pub 
after it would be good to do that too.

Please email me at george.peter@sky.com to let me know if you are coming

so I can look out for you. Also if you require any further information.

Cheers

Peter 

Keswick runners set for record-breaking 'Billy Bland Challenge'

This weekend sees a team of 10 Keswick AC Vets take on the 'Billy Bland Challenge', a 5-stage paired relay over the route of the Bob Graham Round.

Starting and finishing at the Moot Hall in Keswick, the challenge covers 66 miles, 28,000 feet of climbing and 42 peaks and is split into the 5 traditional 'legs' of the BG.

The team are aiming to break the over-40 record of 17 hours 16 minutes, and have set themselves a schedule of 16:50. Team captain Nick Ogden said: 'We've all been reccying our respective legs and so we know that we're setting ourselves a very tough challenge. We'd welcome support along the way if anyone wants a run out, or just join us in the pub afterwards'.

Here's the team:
Leg 1 (Moot Hall to Threlkeld): Nick Ogden & Donald Ferguson
Leg 2 (Threlkeld to Dunmail Raise): Chris Brewer & Dave Prosser
Leg 3 (Dunmail Raise to Wasdale): Andrew Slattery & Steve Angus
Leg 4 (Wasdale to Honister): Dave Birch & Dave Troman
Leg 5 (Honister to Moot Hall): Mark McGlincy & Craig Smith

The boys will start at 3am this Saturday (27th) and are due to finish at the Moot Hall at 7:50pm. You will be able to follow them on a live tracker (link below) as well as getting updates here and on our twitter @KeswickAC.

Good luck lads!

Billy Bland Challenge info: http://www.billyblandchallenge.org.uk/
Tracker link:http://maps.opentracking.co.uk/bg2015.cfm?n=29

Social

Friday 19th June

Keswick AC Social, Keswick Football Club

6pm Runners meet outside football club - choice of a Parlauf round Latrigg, or just go for a steady run.  Football club will be open from 6.30pm so runners can come back and get showered in the football club.

7pm Informal get together for members, partners and families.  A BBQ will be on the go, please bring your own food for that.  If anyone would like to bring or make side salads and nibbles, and cake/biscuits to share that would be great.   Pints on offer for £1 a pint.  Squash available, and then anything else you want to drink, just bring it along.

Club training this week

There is now a good variety of training sessions available for club members. Details of all the club training sessions can be found on the website www.keswickac.org.uk under the training sub-heading.

Training for the week beginning Mon 8th June:

Tues 9th...
Both sessions meet 6 for 6:15 in Fitz Park Pavillion
Grass session in Fitz Park (Steve Hebblethwaite) as follows: 5mins 'tempo-pace', 6 x 3mins off 90sec, 5mins 'tempo-pace'.
Intermediate session in Crow Park (with Lesley) up and down reps.

Weds 10th...

Midday session, meet 12 noon at Fitz Park Pavillion. All abilities catered for, including beginners.

Wednesday speed session: Warm up out on railway line. 6 x 2min efforts with 2min jog recovery along railway track. 3 out, turn & 3 back. Jog back recovery.

Ladies Social Run

Ladies Social Session ~ Mixed abilities, all welcome, meet 6:30pm at the Cenotaph, Penrith Road, Keswick.
 

Thurs 11th...
Fell run on High Rigg/Low Rigg
Meet 6.30pm at the carpark (grid ref 316194) on A591, just past the RH turning to cross Thirlmere Dam.

Last of the Bluebells Rannerdale social fell run. 

Thursday 21^st May  6:20PM Fish Hotel car park, Buttermere, CA13 9XA  GR174169

4 miles 45 mins ish via Rannerdale and back or 5.7 miles if we decide to include the summit of Whiteless Pike 70 mins ish.  Optional food and/or a drink afterwards in the Fish, last orders for food 9PM. 

Just turn up if you fancy it, gentle prelude to Helvellyn?

Any questions please contact  Rob Wynne  via robh.wynne@gmail.com.

Fish Inn main menu:

Prawn Salad    £11.50

Served with Marie Rose dressing & a bread roll.     

Ploughmans    £11.50

A selection of cheese, served with pickle & a bread roll.     

Ham Salad       £10.50

Home baked ham served with  a bread roll. 

Rump Steak     £14.40

Cooked to your preference. Accompanied  by  mushrooms & onion rings. Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or jacket potato.           

Grilled Gammon Steak            GF       £10.50

Accompanied by mushrooms & pineapple. Served with a salad garnish &  a choice of chips or jacket potato.     

Steak & Mushroom  Pot Pie    £9.50

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or jacket potato.   

Roasted Half Chicken  £9.20

Served with a salad garnish &  a choice of chips or jacket potato.  

Cumberland Sausage  £9.90

Served with apple sauce, a salad garnish &  a choice of chips or jacket potato.     

Chilli con Carne          £9.20

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or boiled rice.       

Lasagne           £9.50

Served with a salad garnish &  garlic bread.

Grilled Aberdeen Angus Cheese Burger         £7.60

Grilled burger topped with cheese served in a bun. Accompanied by a salad garnish, chips & relish.       

Deep Fried Scampi      £10.20

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or jacket potato.   

King Prawn Thai Curry   GF     £11.20

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or boiled rice.       

Salmon & Dill Fish Cakes       £9.40

Served with sweet  chilli dip  salad garnish &  choice of chips or jacket potato.     

 Grilled Local Rainbow Trout   GF       £12.50

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or jacket potato.   

Three Cheese & Broccoli, Pasta Bake            £9.75

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or jacket potato.   

Spicy Bean Chilli           GF      £9.20

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or boiled rice.       

Tandoori Vegetable Massala  £9.50

Served with a salad garnish & a choice of chips or boiled rice.        

Records Tumble at Keswick's 'Round the Houses' Race

All three records were broken at Keswick AC's annual 'Round the Houses' 10k road race on Wednesday night. The event also saw a near record turnout with nearly 200 runners turning out for a midweek classic.

The route starts and finishes in Fitz Park and includes a circuit of the town via the Hospital, Main St and the dreaded Manor Brow. On a balmy evening the entire route was lined with spectators enjoying the sunshine, making for a fantastic atmosphere.

The mens race was won by some distance by James Douglas in 31.32, who also completed a hat-trick of victories and course records since the course was extended in 2013.

                                          James Douglas cruising to victory
Winning the ladies race was Keswick's very own Hannah Horsburgh in another record time of 38.39, and completing the trio of records was Sam Stead who set a new Keswick AC record of 33.32.

                                                       Hannah Horsburgh - new ladies record
Despite being weakened by providing a tremendous 37 volunteers to organise the event, Keswick also bagged the mens and ladies team prizes, providing the icing on the cake for what was already a hugely successful evening for the club.

Men:
1. J. Douglas (Border) - 31.32
2. S. Stead (Keswick) - 33.32
3. Mark Lamb (Keswick) - 34:07

Ladies:
19. Hannah Horsburgh (Keswick) - 38.39
48.  Karen Bridge (Eden) - 41.45
55. Viv Winter (Derwent) - 42.17

Keswick:
14. Jonny Hume 37.36
17. Adam Campion 38.18 (PB)
26. Steve Freeman 39.31 (1st V50)
27. Simon Jackson 39.40 (PB)
36. John Beetham 40.32
40. Rob Jones - 41.14
68. Stuart Edginton - 43.31
83. Louise Winter - 45.37
86. Craig Dring - 46.04
87. Keith Loan - 46.10
90. David Rice - 46.31
98. Lindsey Welch - 47.27
108. Louise Brown - 48.25
118. Joanne Kierney - 49.08
123. John Shaw - 49.40
139. Adrian Holme - 51.57
160. Suzanne Gilmore - 54.58
165. Linda Jubb - 55.44
169. Ella Scott - 56.20
179. Rachael Collins - 60.13

Keswick Take On Nation's Finest at National Championships

Keswick AC rose to the occasion of their first National 12 Stage Road Relays on Saturday, finishing 45th. The team were also the 14th highest placed Northern club - a superb result for a club with less than 200 first claim members.

The National 12 Stage Road Relay at Sutton Park is a classic event of the athletics calendar, and over the years has seen many of the greats of British distance running take part -Dave Moorcroft, Seb Coe, Brendan Foster, and Mo Farah to name just a few- and every year is of a high standard giving an opportunity  young runners to race against international athletes.

The event was again held at Road Running's equivalent of Wembley Stadium, Sutton Park in Birmingham. Despite the bright sunny day making for great spectating conditions the route was quite exposed and a brisk wind coupled with an undulating route made the challenge for the athletes all the more compelling. The spectators, many of whom consisted of runners waiting their turn, based themselves either side of the finishing straight. The Keswick boys made sure each of their compatriots were given an encouraging cheer as they slogged their way up the uphill finish.

The format of the 12-stage saw six runners having to tackle a long leg of 5.5 miles and the remaining sixmembers had to do a shorter 3.5 mile leg. 

Club captain Steve Hebblethwaite had selected a strong quartet of runners to tackle the longer legs.  Sam Stead kicked off the Keswick challenge on the first leg against an elite field headed by National XC Champion Charlie Hulson. Thriving off the electric atmosphere, he set Keswick's fastest long leg of the day in 29:13 to return the team in 34th place.  Pete George then ran a superb 3rd leg in 32.46 despite struggling with an achilles problem, but perhaps the gutsiest performance of the day went to Chris Brewer whose effort clear to see as he headed down the finishing straight of his leg of 32.56. Pat Malkinson followed with 33.20, and Keswick's strategy of placing stronger runners towards the end of the field paid off as Marc Brown (29:23) and captain Steve Hebblethwaite (29:41) clawed back 3 and 4 places respectively.

Interspersed with these runs were shorter legs run by Rob Wynne, Ian Davies, Rob Jones, Steve Jones, John Curran and Adam Campion, who demonstrated the strength in depth possessed by the club. Every runner is on their own personal journey and it is no different in this team - Rob W, Ian and John are all returning after injury, Steve Jones is training for an Ultra Marathon, Adam Campion for the Edinburgh Marathon and Rob Jones, competing in his first relay for the club, is chasing a long term target of a sub--40 10k. These individual journeys were set aside for a day and each athlete put their body on the line for their teammates, displaying some impressive times in the process. Of particular note was Ian Davies. who showed he is getting back to his best by setting the fastest short leg of the day for Keswick in 18:37. Adam Campion put the icing of the cake by finsihing the club in 44th place.

 44  Keswick Aac                         5:03:15
Sam Stead        (34) 29:13
        Rob Wynne        (47) 19:07
        Peter George     (48) 32:43
        Ian Davies       (51) 18:37
        Chris Brewer     (51) 32:56
        Steve Jones      (53) 20:17
        Patrick Malkinso (54) 33:20
        Robert Jones     (54) 20:15
        Marc Brown       (51) 29:23
        John Curran      (50) 19:02
        S Hebblethwaite  (46) 29:41
        Adam Campion     (45) 18:41

At the head of the field, Morpeth Harriers took their first ever Men's 12 Stage title and Aldershot, Farnham & District continued their dominance of Women's running by winning the 6 Stage title. 

Northern 12-stage Road Relay

For the second successive year Keswick AC has entered the Northern Athletics Road Relay Championships.  Prior to 2014, the Club had never before entered the prestigious 12-stage relay but with an increasing interest in road running, and the emergence of some real road-running talent within the Club, 2014 was a landmark as Keswick sent a team to Heaton Park in Manchester.  It was to prove an enjoyable experience and the Club put in a sound performance, finishing 28^th and mixing it with some of the strongest running clubs from the North of England.  But with the top-25 clubs automatically qualifying for the National equivalent, there was a little disappointment that Keswick had narrowly missed out on making it to the illustrious English Championships.

So it was a resolute group of 12 Keswick AC runners who travelled down to Sefton Park in Liverpool determined to finish within the top-25 and guarantee a place at the National 12-stage in Birmingham.

Sefton Park was to prove an excellent venue for the 12-stage road relay.  The course designed was exclusively on paths which weaved their way around the leafy confines of the park and it was a picturesque venue for runners, marshals and spectators alike. The nature of the route made it perfect for spectators to watch the race unfold and also allowed runners to cheer on their club colleagues as they tackled their respective legs.

The format of the 12-stage saw four runners having to tackle a long leg of 4.9 miles and the remaining eight members had to do a shorter 2.4 mile leg.  Some strategy has to be employed in deciding the running order of the team; some clubs preferred to stack their stronger runners at the head of the field to establish a strong start whilst others looked to put their speed merchants towards the end with a view to making up valuable places towards the finale of the relay.

Club captain Steve Hebblethwaite had selected a strong quartet of runners to tackle the longer legs.  Marc Brown led the way on the fierce opening leg clocking an excellent time of 25:05.  Sam Stead, on the third leg, was to achieve the fastest long-leg time of the day for the Keswick runners, running a superb 24:36.  Peter George, despite feeling under the weather for most of the week, put in an excellent 27:12 for the fifth leg and Steve Hebblethwaite concluded the longer-legs with a strong 25:12 on the seventh leg.

Interspersed with these runs were shorter legs run by Patrick Malkinson (making his debut for Keswick AC), Christopher Edis, Adam Campion and Andrew Slattery.  For some of these runners, tarmac is an alien concept, as their focus is very much on fell-running.  But the performances on the day clearly demonstrated that these fell-runners possess some decent road speed as Patrick ran 13:40, Chris 13:39, Adam 14:03 and Andrew 14:05.

Keeping track of overall positions throughout the relay is a tricky business as clubs are perpetually lapping other teams and positions are continuously changing.  But with two-thirds of the race done the impression was that Keswick AC was hovering just within the top-25. 

So it was down to the final four runners to put in solid runs to cement that position and guarantee a place at the Nationals.  And they duly delivered with Ian Davies clocking 14:16, Steve Jones 14:52, Rob Wynne 14:08 and Chris Brewer 13:35 (the fastest short-leg from a Keswick AC runner).

The feeling was that this team performance was enough to secure Keswick AC a tremendous 20^th position.  But there was to be a dramatic turn of events on the final leg at the head of the field as both Liverpool Harriers teams went astray on their own stamping ground.  This led to disqualification and Keswick AC was promoted to 18^th place.  This was a fantastic result for such a small running club and they can now look forward to battling with the country’s elite when they travel down to Birmingham for the National 12-stage road relay.

The navigational error from Liverpool Harriers was to open the door for Leeds City Athletic Club.  The Yorkshire based club took advantage of Liverpool’s mistake and took the Northern title in a time of 3:11:10.  Taking the other podium positions were Morpeth Harriers (3:12:07) and Salford Harriers (3:12:42).

Leeds City were to make it a double victory as their ladies took victory in the equivalent women’s 6-stage.  It was to be a dominant performance as they went onto clock 1:47:20, over four minutes ahead of Stockport Harriers who finished second in 1:51:41 who were closely followed in by Rotherham Harriers (1:51:54).