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Huge congratulations to the 9 junior athletes (and parents) who travelled to Lancaster to represent their county in the UK junior fell running championships in June .

We saw great strength up the steep inclines, tumbles down the technical downhills and huge determination to do their very best against the UKs top fell runners. I was very happy I was only watching and cheering on and I am immensely proud of the performances of our runners .

Over 4k the U15 Devon girls were 8th team with great runs from Olivia Clarke 23rd and Flora Mee Langmead 30th.

Despite nursing foot injuries Marlow Kirby 16th and Charlie Moore 28th had strong runs to take 7th team spot for Devon.

None of these athletes had competed in a UK championship race before and showed great strength against such strong fields.

Devon’s only u17 lady Grace Gokhale finished an impressive 19th over their 5k course – the extra km for this age group included an exceptionally brutal climb up followed by a severe technical decent made extremely slippery from the light rain that fell before the race started.

Eldon Young – well known in our local events but also new to UK fell championship races produced an amazing run to take 6th place . Team mate Tim Falle was an impressive 9th and Aiden Spinney battled hard for 22nd. Despite great team placing they were unlucky to miss out on a team medal, but were very proud with Devon’s 4th team place in this very competitive age group.

The U19s ran in an 8k race which was part of an adult event which took on the same course as the U17s with an additional ridge climb to Clougha Pike . Chloe Clarke representing Cornwall showed she has returned to the fells in style after a forced break . Chloe came home a superb 7th U19 lady. And Devon’s Luke Stannus continued his impressive form this season to finish 6th U19 man.

Congratulations to our runners and thank you for representing your county in this very prestigious UK championship race . We hope our group of junior fell runners can continue to grow in strength and numbers so we can continue to make our mark on events that have been predominantly dominated by Northern counties !

Belstone loop including Devon champs

Late excuses…please sir….but

Well you may ask why has it taken so long. My first excuse is 6 weeks of fabulous weather. When you spend lots of the day travelling or on a computer- sometimes it just hard to sit and type .

But i was really invigorated by my first race for a long time at the Oke Croak this weekend. Felt it a shame that we have not shared the feel of the races as we are building the series- I apologise for lateness but aim to catch up in next 2 weeks. That’s of course as long as the dog does not eat my homework…

Challenging new course

We were gifted a fine days weather for the first race on march 30th. With the village hall as base we had planned for the worse. Some very kind volunteer marshals and tail runners there to watch and offer support. This was a seniors only race and also the qualifier for the Devon team to compete in the intercounties.

Route

Familiar start by Belstone stocks a reminder for those that dare to to be short of kit or your own pins. So down across the river but taking lower path than the Cosdon fell race heading towards standing stone and east side of Cosdon and then following the ridge track. then down to little hound and cutting right into a ditch you can run along before dropping down to the ford and the nice east slope of Steeperton. Heading directly north a superb trod takes you to the valley floor on a descent with epic views , which you have to gamble to enjoy and you have to be careful with feet. A little suntrap nestled in the valley before a short zigzag takes you up to a marker pole and a straight line trod to Oke tor. The ridge back to windy gate is well run and technical in places , still one of the most stunning ridges on Dartmoor.

From there a steep and unforgiving slap of tarmac on your feet for the 400yds to the village hall. done.

So nearly 13k and 540m of ascent, a nice test.

Results

A superb win by in form Sam Deller ( Ilfracombe / 2nd claim TAC) clear of all by 2 mins. Closely followed by 2 runners ( who had a slight deviation adding more distance but less height gain) which after stewards enquiry and grace of 4th runner Stephen Hughes , also in great form – the results stood. ( Exeter harriers)

A big mention for Luke Stannus ORC- feeling a bit under the weather and still came 5th in 1:03:57

First lady home was Katie Littejohn-Riches for ORC in a very creditable 1:15:57.

Full results here

https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=384936

57 runners completed the course with only 1 dnf; general comments very positive as although tough in parts was all very runnable. well done all.

thanks

thanks to cricket club for parking; Dartmoor national Park Authority; Belstone village hall and marshals- but mostly to the good humour of the runners. fab

Watch out for news of Devon teams in next 2 weekends

On June the 14th it will be a pleasure to be Devon team manager and see our men’s team of 5 and ladies team of three( first time ever for ladies team) compete at Horton in Ribblesdale in the Pen-y Ghent fell race. then the week after we have a great contingent of juniors under the watchful eye of Hayley Ratcliffe. Good luck

PS- the best way to experience this series is to come and join in ; or come and marshal.

see you on the hills

Richard , Tim and Colin

Happy runners

Despite a cold early start there were a lot of happy faces at the finish line following Saturday’s second pairs race. For those not familiar with the format – this is a staggered start navigational running race, in pairs for company and safety, but also with kit. Also thanks to Tim Mockford we also had lead runner phone tracking.

Time is ticking

First team was away from Postbridge at 8:20 am and last team away at 9:45. Start times calculated from previous finish times – so fastest teams last. Route-cards for punching on the course given at start time – so any route prep in done in competitors time. there were lots of positive comments about how this made a really nice feature. Meant that in latter stages lots of team movement and interaction.

Route

A challenging 18.3k with about 600m of climb with not too many really difficult terrain spots. No doubt for those stalking the runners Strava feed then you will have seen the route. But for those that haven’t map below it was in good nick with many peaty bogs dried up- so faster than we anticipated.

Results

For results combined time for both races was used. well done to all the runners in both races. from feedback received we will repeat this format again from Nov 25 to Feb 26.

Second race results are at page https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=383282&did=505937

Fastest Overall

Jamie Parkinson and partner- 192mins both races!

Tim Lenton and Patrick Devine Wright (Axe valley) – 209mins both races

plus some very competitive teams on their heels

Fastest female team

Becky Prall (EVH) and partners – 347 mins

Sarah Holland and Caroline Stevens (TAC)- 376 mins

Fastest mixed pair ( very close)

Katie MCCullagh and partners (Haldon trail runners)- 273 mins

James and Helen Arding- 284 mins

Big thanks you’s

Firstly to all the runners the helpful camaraderie and Nav support to fellows was great to listen to. A special well done to ORC who turned out in force. To both the pubs for hosting us- Fox and Hounds and East dart Inn- a special thank you for donated beer! A big thank you to our 2 intrepid tails runners for both races ( below)- and our amazing Tim Mockford.

A donation will be made to NDSART following race with any proceeds.

hopefully see some of you at Belstone loop on sun 30th mar- no i didn’t realise this was mothers day ( dogh) – but it should be all done by 12.00.

See you on the hills

Tim, Richard and Colin

Wasn’t this clear on the day – many routes around were found

Race 1 – testy mist start

Well what a difference 12 hrs can make- an amazing weather window. The course was a real challenge to set up in Friday’s blowy deluge- but 8 markers did go out to test the navigation. A little challenge in the river below Kitty was impassable unless your wanted some grade 4 slalom canoeing- so a big diversion to essentially run the course twice 🙁 also yours truly should have taken a head torch as was out until 7pm. ( kit lessons!)

A cracking spring day..

We were fully booked with 24 pairs who were due to set off from 8:30 am for a challenging 10miles and 850m of climb. All teams had kit check which mostly was spot on. I can reiterate that it is only for your own safety if stuck or stranded when your petite shorts and skimpy top is not going to keep you warm. We ran staggered starts with slower estimates first and fastest last just to add some edge. Some early dense mist played a few tricks on the navigation with a few extending their course by 2k-4k. As we were tracking we could see some interesting route selection between Arms tor and the foot of Lints. Some great team running though with everyone staying friends.

results

Results are https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=381313…

Three pairs getting under 2 hours – very tough in these conditions. Jamie Parkinson and Ben Perry taking the honours , followed by Patrick Devine-Wright and Tim for Axe Valley Runners; then and an Okehampton Running Club (ORC) pairing. First mixed pair to Haldon Trial runners; first female team to Becky Prall and Louise from Chagford Runners. Some great Tavistock Athletic Club (TAC) performances with Rob Jinman paired with Joe Lane ; Heather Fell and partner; and the indefeatable pairing of Sarah Holland and Caroline Steven.

the vibe

There was some great running and some interesting and at times humourous navigation. But the post race cameraderie was fab choices of footwear, biggest bum slides, deepest bog dip, and route selection and all were being enthusiastically discussed.

Ps some interest in Dartmoor Trail & Fell Running Services nav courses expressed!

A special thanks to our trio of marshals Helen Perry-Smith; Bev and Iain. plus superb Tim Mockford the tech genius who enabled .tracking the whole way through. hansk to the runners for some superb results and banter.

Coming up

Next race is Mar 15th – still looking for a half way marshal – winter pairs part 2 – starts Ppostbridge.

next race for summer series is Mar30th ( yes march! also Devon seniors selection- can we get a female team this year for intercounties?)- open for entries tonight

see you on the hills

Richard Best Tim Mockford and Colin Kirk Potter

Lead runner listed only please ensure you are at kit check 5 mins before.

This is for use once you have registered for the event via entry central – not before. However, do this before Saturday!

For this race we are using Webscorer’s option to both track and time runners via the GPS in the phones.

1. Got to Webscorer and register both for a Webscorer account and for the event, here – https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=380610
2. Enter the pair details on the Webscorer page as directed. Male pairs choose male as gender, female choose female and mixed choose male / female
3. Each pair needs to carry at least one phone, switched on, for the tracking and timing to work. The phone will need to have both mobile data and GPS switched on.
4. On the phone which is going to be carried, go the app store and download the Webscorer app. It is free.
5. Sign in with the Webscorer account created in step 1.
6. On the app, you will now be able to go to GPS self -tracking, my upcoming races and see the race there.

It is really important you do not run up and down the track to the moor to warm up before starting with your phone. The GPS timing kicks in from 50m to the moor gate, any time from 8am onwards.

FAQs

• Will I be charged for this? No
• How much mobile phone data will this use? Less than loading the BBC homepage
• Will this drain my phone’s battery? No – we have set the app to send you location once a minute
• Do I have to do this? Yes
• What happens if I don’t have signal all the way around the course? You won’t have signal all the way around the course. The app will store the location data and transmit it when it can.
• Can I see where I’ve been afterwards? Yes, this will be published alongside the results.
• I’m stuck and need help! Email Tim Mockford

We hope to provide a brilliant Dartmoor Series again for 2025, so we have provisionally set the dates for the following races. ( links and details will follow). Remember to get the Dartmoor Series diary dates for 2025 in your planner! More info on general fell running can be found on FRA site https://www.fellrunner.org.uk/faq/frequently-asked-questions

• Sun March 30th 10am – Belstone loop and Devon AA senior only Champs – RB R/O
• April – Junior only series race and Devon AA champs – Venue TBC R/O CKP/TM.
• All other races have juniors and seniors unless stated
• Sat May 17th Meldon Race _ ORC R/O
• Sat May 24th Langstone Fell race (Peter Tavy) TRP R/O
• Weds Even 18th June _ Solstice Fell race Merrivale CKP R/O
• Sat 21st June – 27th Burrator Horseshoe Classic – Meavy RB R/O
• Sun 6th July – Cosdon fell race and village fair – Belstone ORC R/O
• Weds even 6th August – Ivybridge 3 tops – EVH R/O
• Weds Even 20th August – Great links tor Flyer- Bridestowe RB R/O
• Sat even 6th Sept Haytor Heller _ classic – TT R/O ( seniors only)
• Sat 13th Sourton fell race – Sourton series finale – ORC R/O
• Presentation and talks evening Fri 26th Sept Meavy village Hall ( TBC)
• Check out last years results if you want to compare https://swfellrunners.uk/results/ but remember to get the Dartmoor Series diary dates for 2025 into your planner.

Mini winter pairs series!

We are hoping to hold three races as a Mini winter pairs series for limited entries only ie 25 pairs of runners.

These will be longer races , with kit requirement and experience required. Firm dates now set ; Sat 22nd Feb- fox and hounds start , Sun Mar 16th east dart hotel start..

A new format which will offer distance and navigational challenge with defined start times based on handicap start ( based on estimated times) .

Minimum kit will be full body cover plus spare top, plus hat, gloves, full water proofs, survival bag ( each), small first aid kit, whistle ,compass ,map, headtorch , phone ( as we will enable tracking), plus 500ml water and small emergency rations. Same for everyone _ not kit no start – it will be checked.

See you on the hills

Richard, Tim and Colin