The Wasdale Fell Race (sometimes known as the Wasdale Horseshoe) is an annual Lake District fell race held in July, starting and finishing at Brackenclose in Wasdale. The course is approximately twenty-one miles long with around 9,000 feet of ascent and takes in checkpoints at Whin Rigg, Seatallan, Pillar, Great Gable, Esk Hause shelter, Scafell Pike and Lingmell nose wall. The route between Pillar and Lingmell is very rough, with steep technical ground and boulder fields. Among long fell races, Wasdale has one of the highest ratios of feet of ascent per mile, and it is often considered to be the toughest of the British races. [1]
The race, organised by the Cumberland Fell Runners Association, was first held in 1972 when it took place during a heat wave. The descent from Scafell Pike that year was routed via Lingmell Col, Brown Tongue and Lingmell Gill, but from the following year, a new checkpoint at a wall crossing on Lingmell was included to give spectators a better view of the final descent. In 1978, the route across the valley from Whin Rigg to Seatallan was altered, slightly increasing the distance. A ladies’ race called the Burnmoor Chase was run in 1977 in conjunction with the Wasdale Race. This went from Brackenclose up onto Illgill Head, around Burnmoor Tarn and back down. This was also run in 1978 and 1979 but in 1980 there were insufficient entries and the women competed over the full men's course instead. In 1981, the ladies’ race followed the men's course to Pillar, from where it descended to the finish. [2] From 1982 onwards, women competed over the same course as the men. [3] There has also been a junior fell race held on the same day at Wasdale initially over a course up to Burnmoor Tarn and back (Burnmoor Chase) and later a short dash up to Lingmell Nose and down (one and a half miles with 1,000 feet of ascent).
In 2001, the trend of decreasing numbers of runners entering long category A fell races, including Wasdale, was discussed. [4] The following year, Brian Martin and Selwyn Wright developed the Lakeland Classics Trophy series to raise the profile of the long Lakeland fell races, to encourage runners to compete in them and to recognise the achievements of runners who perform well in such events. Subsequent years saw the entry numbers recover. [5]
Although it is held in July, the race has on many occasions been affected by inclement weather. Navigational problems in poor visibility have often caused runners to go off course. In 1985 even Billy Bland, the course record holder and winner on several occasions, went the wrong way in the mist after Seatallan, finding himself on the wrong side of Haycock and having to go over Haycock and Scoat Fell to get back on course. [6]
Wasdale has frequently been one of the counting races in the British and English Fell Running Championships. [7]
The men's course record is 3:25:21, set by Billy Bland in 1982. Bland considers the record to be one of his best performances along with the Borrowdale Fell Race record, and better than his Bob Graham Round record which he had set three weeks before the 1982 Wasdale Race. [8] No other runner has run within five minutes of Bland's Wasdale record.
The women's record is 4:12:17, set jointly by Jackie Lee and Janet McIver in 2008. [9]
Billy Bland has the most wins, with nine between 1980 and 1988. Jasmin Paris has won the women's race seven times between 2012 and 2021.
The winners have been as follows. [10]
Year | Men | Time | Women | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Jeff Norman and Harry Walker | 4:25:10 | ||
1973 | Joss Naylor | 3:48:55 | ||
1974 | Andy Churchill | 3:53:12 | ||
1975 | Joss Naylor | 3:41:49 | ||
1976 | Ian Roberts | 3:38:35 | ||
1977 | Mike Short | 3:53:15 | Joan Lancaster | 1:10:10[Note 1] |
1978 | Andy Styan | 3:39:15 | Sue Parkin | 0:58:22[Note 1] |
1979 | Andy Styan | 3:30:51 | Jean Lochhead | 0:54:22[Note 1] |
1980 | Billy Bland | 3:37:51 | Pauline Haworth | 4:51:20 |
1981 | Billy Bland | 3:35:10 | Ros Coats | 3:16:23[Note 2] |
1982 | Billy Bland | 3:25:21 | Sue Parkin | 4:45:39 |
1983 | Billy Bland | 3:49:50 | Bridget Hogge | 5:35:45 |
1984 | Billy Bland | 3:42:27 | Bridget Hogge | 5:08:28 |
1985 | Billy Bland | 3:55:29 | Angela Carson | 5:00:31 |
1986 | Billy Bland | 3:42:31 | Angela Carson | 4:36:47 |
1987 | Billy Bland | 3:33:07 | Nicola Lavery | 4:50:23 |
1988 | Billy Bland | 3:34:33 | Clare Crofts | 4:45:20 |
1989 | Colin Donnelly | 3:41:33 | Ruth Pickvance | 4:42:57 |
1990 | Mark Rigby | 3:37:08 | Helene Diamantides | 4:28:35 |
1991 | James Bulman | 4:20:18 | Sue Ratcliffe | 5:14:32 |
1992 | Phil Clark | 3:57:18 | Wendy Dodds | 5:20:51 |
1993 | Jonathan Bland | 3:57:31 | Sarah Rowell | 4:33:51 |
1994 | Gavin Bland | 3:53:56 | Ruth Pickvance | 4:31:12 |
1995 | Jonathan Bland | 3:51:15 | Emma Moody | 5:20:53 |
1996 | Gavin Bland | 4:11:55 | None | |
1997 | Jonathan Bland | 3:48:18 | Mari Todd | 4:22:10 |
1998 | Jim Davies | 3:46:07 | Liz Batt | 5:39:59 |
1999 | Simon Booth | 3:44:50 | Wendy Dodds | 5:28:19 |
2000 | Andy Trigg | 4:13:00 | Wendy Dodds | 5:29:57 |
2001 | Cancelled due to foot-and-mouth outbreak | |||
2002 | Andrew Schofield | 3:59:29 | Angela Brand-Barker | 5:02:57 |
2003 | Rob Jebb | 3:46:48 | Jackie Lee | 5:19:51 |
2004 | Phil Davies | 3:53:55 | Nicola Davies | 5:08:35 |
2005 | Simon Booth | 3:44:56 | Sally Newman | 4:46:40 |
2006 | Lloyd Taggart | 3:48:51 | Jackie Lee | 4:19:08 |
2007 | Ricky Lightfoot | 3:45:20 | Helen Garrett | 5:05:31 |
2008 | Pete Vale | 3:51:07 | Jackie Lee and Janet McIver | 4:12:17 |
2009 | Rob Jebb | 3:46:39 | Philippa Jackson | 4:38:21 |
2010 | Ben Abdelnoor | 4:33:05 | Jane Reedy | 5:11:56 |
2011 | Ben Abdelnoor | 3:46:11 | Hazel Robinson | 5:11:09 |
2012 | Ricky Lightfoot | 3:44:44 | Jasmin Paris | 4:30:54 |
2013 | Ben Abdelnoor | 3:55:19 | Jasmin Paris | 4:35:28 |
2014 | Simon Harding | 4:09:38 | Jasmin Paris | 4:13:05 |
2015 | Ricky Lightfoot | 3:57:04 | Jasmin Paris | 4:14:33 |
2016 | Neil Talbott | 4:11:35 | Jasmin Paris | 4:50:40 |
2017 | Carl Bell | 3:40:53 | Anna Lupton | 4:41:26 |
2018 | Rhys Findlay-Robinson | 3:59:55 | Jasmin Paris | 4:29:48 |
2019 | Rob Jebb | 3:56:10 | Sharon Taylor | 4:42:26 |
2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
2021 | Ricky Lightfoot | 4:05:44 | Jasmin Paris | 4:35:34 |
2022 | Philip Rutter | 3:56:38 | Victoria Thompson | 4:57:39 |
2023 | Finlay Wild | 3:46:33 | Victoria Thompson | 5:01:22 |
2024 | Finlay Wild | 3:37:42 | Nichola Jackson | 4:29:23 |
Note 1: Burnmoor Chase route.
Note 2: The women ran a shorter course than the men in 1981.
Scafell Pike is a mountain in the Lake District region of Cumbria, England. It has an elevation of 978 metres (3,209 ft) above sea level, making it the highest and the most prominent mountain in England. The mountain is part of the Scafell massif, an inactive volcano, and is one of the Southern Fells.
Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are many different routes to the summit. Great Gable is linked by the high pass of Windy Gap to its smaller sister hill, Green Gable, and by the lower pass of Beck Head to its western neighbour, Kirk Fell.
Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport on the fells of northern Britain, especially those in the Lake District. It has elements of trail running, cross country and mountain running, but is also distinct from those disciplines.
Kirk Fell is a fell in the Western part of the English Lake District. It is situated between Great Gable and Pillar on the long ring of fells surrounding the valley of Ennerdale, and also stands over Wasdale to the south. However, it is separated from its two higher neighbours by the low passes of Black Sail and Beck Head, giving it a high relative height and making it a Marilyn, the thirteenth highest in the Lake District.
Seatallan is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. It is rounded, grassy and fairly unassuming, occupying a large amount of land. However, it is classed as a Marilyn because of the low elevation of the col connecting it to Haycock, its nearest higher neighbour to the north. The name Seatallan is believed to have a Cumbric origin, meaning "Aleyn's high pasture".
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Middle Fell is a hill or fell in the English Lake District. It is a satellite of Seatallan standing above the northern shore of Wastwater. Middle Fell can be climbed from Greendale near the foot of Wastwater, and a fine view of the lake backed by the Wastwater Screes is visible from the summit.
Billy Bland is a British former long-distance runner. He was one of the most prominent fell runners from the mid-1970s until the late 1980s, and is arguably the best long-distance fell runner in the history of the sport.
Boat How or Eskdale Moor is a hill in the English Lake District, near Boot, in the Borough of Copeland, Cumbria. It lies south of Burnmoor Tarn, between the River Mite to the west and the Whillan Beck tributary of Eskdale to the east.
Gavin Bland is a British fell runner who was a British and English champion and represented his country at the World Mountain Running Trophy.
Angela Brand-Barker is a British runner who was a national fell running champion and represented her country at the World Mountain Running Trophy.
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