Wasdale Fell Race

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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]

Contents

History

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]

Results

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]

YearMenTimeWomenTime
1972 Jeff Norman and Harry Walker4:25:10
1973 Joss Naylor 3:48:55
1974Andy Churchill3:53:12
1975Joss Naylor3:41:49
1976Ian Roberts3:38:35
1977Mike Short3:53:15Joan Lancaster1:10:10[Note 1]
1978 Andy Styan 3:39:15Sue Parkin0:58:22[Note 1]
1979Andy Styan3:30:51Jean Lochhead0:54:22[Note 1]
1980 Billy Bland 3:37:51 Pauline Haworth 4:51:20
1981Billy Bland3:35:10 Ros Coats 3:16:23[Note 2]
1982Billy Bland3:25:21Sue Parkin4:45:39
1983Billy Bland3:49:50Bridget Hogge5:35:45
1984Billy Bland3:42:27Bridget Hogge5:08:28
1985Billy Bland3:55:29 Angela Carson 5:00:31
1986Billy Bland3:42:31Angela Carson4:36:47
1987Billy Bland3:33:07 Nicola Lavery 4:50:23
1988Billy Bland3:34:33Clare Crofts4:45:20
1989 Colin Donnelly 3:41:33Ruth Pickvance4:42:57
1990 Mark Rigby 3:37:08 Helene Diamantides 4:28:35
1991James Bulman4:20:18Sue Ratcliffe5:14:32
1992Phil Clark3:57:18Wendy Dodds5:20:51
1993Jonathan Bland3:57:31 Sarah Rowell 4:33:51
1994 Gavin Bland 3:53:56Ruth Pickvance4:31:12
1995Jonathan Bland3:51:15Emma Moody5:20:53
1996Gavin Bland4:11:55None
1997Jonathan Bland3:48:18Mari Todd4:22:10
1998Jim Davies3:46:07Liz Batt5:39:59
1999 Simon Booth 3:44:50Wendy Dodds5:28:19
2000Andy Trigg4:13:00Wendy Dodds5:29:57
2001Cancelled due to foot-and-mouth outbreak
2002Andrew Schofield3:59:29 Angela Brand-Barker 5:02:57
2003 Rob Jebb 3:46:48Jackie Lee5:19:51
2004Phil Davies3:53:55Nicola Davies5:08:35
2005Simon Booth3:44:56Sally Newman4:46:40
2006Lloyd Taggart3:48:51Jackie Lee4:19:08
2007 Ricky Lightfoot 3:45:20Helen Garrett5:05:31
2008Pete Vale3:51:07Jackie Lee and Janet McIver4:12:17
2009Rob Jebb3:46:39 Philippa Jackson 4:38:21
2010Ben Abdelnoor4:33:05Jane Reedy5:11:56
2011Ben Abdelnoor3:46:11Hazel Robinson5:11:09
2012Ricky Lightfoot3:44:44 Jasmin Paris 4:30:54
2013Ben Abdelnoor3:55:19Jasmin Paris4:35:28
2014Simon Harding4:09:38Jasmin Paris4:13:05
2015Ricky Lightfoot3:57:04Jasmin Paris4:14:33
2016Neil Talbott4:11:35Jasmin Paris4:50:40
2017Carl Bell3:40:53Anna Lupton4:41:26
2018Rhys Findlay-Robinson3:59:55Jasmin Paris4:29:48
2019Rob Jebb3:56:10Sharon Taylor4:42:26
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021Ricky Lightfoot4:05:44Jasmin Paris4:35:34
2022Philip Rutter3:56:38Victoria Thompson4:57:39
2023 Finlay Wild 3:46:33Victoria Thompson5:01:22
2024Finlay Wild3:37:42Nichola Jackson4:29:23

Note 1: Burnmoor Chase route.

Note 2: The women ran a shorter course than the men in 1981.

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References

  1. Angela Mudge, World’s Ultimate Running Races (Glasgow, 2011), 275; Steve Chilton, It's a Hill, Get Over It (Dingwall, 2013), 78-80.
  2. Bill Smith, Stud Marks on the Summits (Preston, 1985), 186, 353-58.
  3. Bill Smith, "An Early History of the Lakeland Long As: 1968-85".
  4. Graham Breeze, "Classic Fell Races Part 2: Will “Long A” Races Survive?", The Fellrunner Magazine, Oct 2001, 36-38.
  5. Lakeland Classics Trophy: History.
  6. Steve Chilton, It's a Hill, Get Over It (Dingwall, 2013), 80; CFRA: Wasdale 1993 Results; CFRA: Wasdale 1996 Results; CFRA: Wasdale 2010 Results.
  7. Angela Mudge, World’s Ultimate Running Races (Glasgow, 2011), 275.
  8. Steve Chilton, The Round: In Bob Graham's Footsteps (Dingwall, 2015).
  9. The Fellrunner, Autumn 2008, 159-60.
  10. Cumberland Fellrunners Association; Bill Smith, Stud Marks on the Summits (Preston, 1985), 186, 353-58; Graham Breeze, "Classic Fell Races Part 1: Il Campionissimo", The Fellrunner Magazine, Jun 2001, 8-11.