Max’s Silent Night

Calder Valley Fell Runners  – 25 December 2023

Silent Night running: Max Wilkinson follows the light to secure his second 3rd place victory of the week

Whilst most of the fell running world paused for Christmas, club newcomer Max took one for the CVFR team on Monday 18 December, being the only racer this side of Christmas and coming third in the Silent Night Fell Race in Co. Durham.

Think like a moth

With no flagging and only the distant glow of the occasional head torch, Silent Night is a demanding night-time race. Max sheds light on his epic adventure below:

Billed as the ‘dark festive cousin’ of the Chapelfell Top race in Weardale Co. Durham (featured in the English Champs this year), Silent Night is organised by Durham Fell Runners. The route is identical to the summer edition as an out and back to the summit of Chapelfell at 703 m elevation from the village of St. John’s Chapel (6.6km, 370m), with the crucial difference of being run after dark in mid-winter. The route isn’t flagged at any point and the second half is on open fell with very much a DIY approach to finding the summit, defined by a very small cairn on a broad top with a network of eroded peat haggs – especially tricky to navigate to in the clag and the dark.

‘Don’t die’ pre-race briefing from RD Andy Blackett!

I’ve run this race 4 times now and numerous reccies at night and there’s always a bit of doubt about finding the summit cairn. I’ve never failed on race day but I have aborted on two separate reccies only to review my GPS trace and find I’ve been within 20 metres off the summit. The kit list is extensive for a short out and back – full FRA kit, plus: extra headtorch, extra tights and warm baselayer in a drybag, emergency foil bag, mobile phone with race director number. Navigation is by map and compass, no GPS. 13 runners turned up to start. We had a stern briefing by race diretor Andy Blackett of Durham Fell Runners – essentially, this is a nerve-wracking race for the RD – “you’ve all been vetted prior to entry and should have all your kit, but it’s sound mountain judgement that’ll keep you safe, so please make sensible choices”. Well said and fair enough! Conditions were mild, breezy with some clag forecast on the top. On to the race start, which was announced simply as ‘go’!

I headed out in 3rd place on the rocky climb out of the village behind Durham Fell Runners local Chris Alborough and teammate John Woodhouse. Both very strong runners, Chris knows this fell like the back of his hand (or at least he should, living just down the road.) John is coming back from a calf injury and a bit of an unknown here. They both paired up on the climb and I worked hard to keep them just ahead in the headtorch beam. My plan was to make things as easy for myself as possible by following Chris step for step – he knew the most efficient line up the rocky and boggy path on to the fell, swapping from one side to the other to find the best running, so I stuck to his line and that made me good time. Then through the gate about 15 seconds behind Chris and John and out on to the open fell where the fun really starts!

I hadn’t run the English Champs race in summer, or reccied the route after this race, but had heard there was now a direct and well-defined trod. In previous years I’ve stuck to a quad track to make the first half of the fell climb, but Chris and John had headed on what felt like a direct bearing to the summit, through the rushes and sphagnum, so I had faith in their decision and pressed on and this paid off. I cut through to a bit of a trod, clearly having grown back from the English Champs, this took me direct for the first half of the climb across featureless fell to my second marker, a wall corner. From here I followed another trod about 60 seconds behind Chris and John now, still running as a pair. I pressed on hard to keep them in sight, now a small pool of light ahead. I climbed further and hit a few small features in memory from last years’ race – a collection of small boulders and a trod up the side of a peat hagg. That was the climb mostly out of the way, Chris and John had now disappeared over the crest of the hill but weren’t far ahead. But now on to the crucial bit, finding the summit cairn, this is such a short and fast race that doing any proper map and compass work will put you out of the running, so it was very much pigeon-sense navigation. I knew there’d be a marshal on the summit cairn, with a headtorch, so I dipped my own lamp and focussed on the dark horizon ahead to spot any slight glow of light. The first I spotted was over to my left, clearly not at the top of the hill. I couldn’t possibly be another runner that far over at this point in the race, so I chose to ignore it (turns out it was one of the marshals still on their way up to the summit!) and pushed on in the general direction of the ‘top.’

The going got really sloppy as I crossed in and out of peak haggs, then I spotted a dim glow and soon after two headtorches coming the other way – must be the summit and Chris and John coming back. I headed over and was relieved to find Rory Woods at the summit cairn and exchange a quick grunt of encouragement with Chris and John as they passed me to make the descent – turns out that Rory had to ditch his pack on the climb and sprint to make the summit just seconds before Chris and John arrived!

Having made the summit in a thin swirl of clag I made a 180 and headed back down the way I came. This is the second tricky part of the race, descending at speed over rough fell in the dark and trying to stay on course for a direct line back to the wall corner. Chris and John had disappeared, but there was now a stream of headtorches from runners on the climb, so it was easy enough to backtrack for part of the descent. I lost the trod just before the wall corner and made a small error that cost me 15-20 seconds, but I was relieved to be back at a well-known point and still running well in third place, although I could sense others were on the descent some way up the slope behind me. I hit the quad track and found the line on to the direct English Champs trod and was running strong on the slower part of the descent, then through the gate and back on to the track. This is the bit where I’ve always lost time in the past, not having the quick leg turnover to keep pace on the harder surface, but since I’ve been doing loads of road running at CVFR on a Tuesday night I found I had a better pace here and descended well.

There were a few oh s**t moments on slimy grass and rocks, but I careered on down mostly in control. A headlight up ahead and I could see from the running style it was John and I closed in further towards the final run in to the finish, 27 seconds behind John to take my second third place of the weekend and a massive PB by over 7 minutes (only just short of my current PB in the summer edition of the race). A decent result, clearly all that road running is paying off, hate to say that as a fell runner! Chris came first with a storming run another 2-half minutes ahead of John, he must have pulled away strong on the descent.

A huge pile of mince pies and mulled wine were waiting at the finish and was good fun cheering the rest of the field back in. We headed to The Golden Lion, well placed meters from the finish for a Christmas pint. Plenty of chat about safety procedures in fell races and how different it is racing at night and how few night fell races there are, in fact ‘Mr Sparkles Dark-un’* was the only other night race we could name at the time. Racing at night makes for such a different challenge, I wouldn’t want to do every race like this but it’s a great experience.

*If you fancy trying a night fell race Mr Sparkle’s Dark ‘un happens to be the first CVFR club champs short race of 2024!

On behalf of the CVFR press team we hope you have a wonderful festive time, whether you’re having a good rest for a winning 2024 full of adventures, partaking in some of the festive fell races or simply getting out and enjoying the moors.

CALDER VALLEY NEWS REPORTER: ailsa nicholson

Twas the week before Christmas…

Calder Valley Fell Runners – 18th December 2023

‘Twas the week before Christmas and out on the moors
Fell-runners were racing, from ultras to scores
With stamina, speed and map-reading nous –  
One of them even dressed up as a mouse!
The Juniors partied (Jayde won the Stoop too!)
Happy Christmas to all of our red and white crew.

Cragg Vale Christmas Score

The Cragg Vale Christmas Score took place on Saturday 16th December, in milder conditions than many years but with the usual dose of festive atmosphere.

Starting from the aptly named St John the Baptist-in-the-Wilderness church, competitors have 90 minutes to roam the wilds of Coiners country collecting as many points as they can by visiting controls marked on their maps.

Festive fun and chocolate galore at the score

At the elite end of the contest, only two points separated the top three solo men. CVFR’s James Williams outsprinted club-mate Mark O’Connor by a few seconds to claim 2nd place, but neither could catch the overall winner, Todmorden’s Duncan Cannon.

Tamsin Cooke put her navigational expertise to good use, taking the prize for 2nd solo woman. Rachel Johnston missed the start of the event due to a timing mix-up, but despite this self-inflicted handicap still managed to take 3rd place.

Thomas, Trudi and Isaac team up

Lots of CVFR juniors and parents also took part, including Trudi Entwistle with son Thomas and friend Isaac, who came 2nd of the nine family teams.

Presiding over the prize-giving from the pulpit, co-organiser Phil Scarf ensured that the map-reading efforts of many other competitors were rewarded with chocolate goodies.

The Stoop  

The Stoop event, held in Haworth’s Penistone Hill Country Park on Sunday 17th December, offered yet more festive racing and chocolate-eating for both juniors and seniors.

The older juniors do two laps of the moor, past the edge of the pond and back round by the trig, each time dropping back into the quarry. CVFR’s Jayde McGregor won the U17 Girls’ race in 15:59. Ishbel Symington completed the single-lap U11s course in 9:51.

Jayde on course for the U17 win. Credit Woodentops

In the 5-mile senior race, George Kettlewell was the first CVFR finisher. Pleased with his performance, coming 30th in a time of 41:27, George said: “There was block headwind all the way to top of the hill and I was trying to draft as much as possible but it’s not as easy for a tall lad. On the way back it certainly gave some assistance as it seemed to push you to the finish and the Curly Wurly which awaited every competitor.”

CVFR at the Stoop. Credit Woodentops

George was joined by fellow CVFR runners Stephen Smithies, Mark Wharton, Phil Scarf and new club member Tony Moran.

Juniors celebrate 2023 achievements

There was a room full of happy faces as junior members of CVFR got together for their Christmas party and awards presentation on Sunday 17th December.

Juniors celebrate their hard work on the fells

The evening burst into a frenzy of fun, with the party balloon game being a firm favourite.  A balloon is tied to one of each of the child’s legs with a long bit of string. Others then try to step on and burst the balloons while protecting their own. The last balloon standing wins the game.  (Seniors take note: this game could be the secret of these youngsters’ nimble footwork on the fells. Colin Duffield will be asked to include this in future warm-up drills.)

Fun at the balloon game. Credit Trudi Entwistle

This vigorous exercise also guarantees a healthy appetite, so the buffet was attacked with gusto, after which the awards were introduced by juniors coordinator Andy Clarke and presented by CVFR and England runner Charlie Pickens.

Winners and runners-up in each age category of the junior club championships were recognised, as were others who have improved or shown particular commitment and enthusiasm throughout the year.

Charlie presents Clara with her award. Credit Trudi Entwistle

The Champion of Champions award was again won by Clara McKee – well deserved after her stellar season in the Yorkshire and English Championships, but maybe one of the other juniors will make a challenge for it next year?

Teddy and Jules looking rather pleased with their awards. Credit Trudi Entwistle

The Junior Coaches Awards are chosen by each of the club coaches for the junior who they feel deserves some recognition. The youngest joint winners were great friends Teddy Haigh and Jules Ciolino. Next up was Rowan Gardner, who has shown a marked improvement in his fell running this year. Thomas McKee and Ashleigh Dixon also took home awards, and a great fun night was had by all.

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Ding Dong Merrier on high … Ed and Susannah in the highest

Calder Valley Fell Runners – 11 December 2023

More Muddy Madness at ‘Moors the Merrier’

Challenging conditions faced the 187 runners who took on the Moors the Merrier Race on Saturday 9th December. A combination of recently melted snow, followed by heavy rain and mist meant that every inch of the 21-mile course was well and truly sodden. Starting and finishing at Hebden Bridge Golf Course the event is open to runners and walkers and follows a circular route that takes in Midgley Moor, Wadsworth Moor, Heptonstall Moor, Erringden Moor and finally challenges participants with a final climb out of the valley back to the Golf Club. Santa hats are part of the essential kit and no-one goes home empty handed as each person has to bring along a small gift for the end of race lucky dip.

Moors the Muddier. Credit Francis Wooff

CVFR’s Ed Hyland made short work of the testing conditions and took first place in the overall race in a time of 03:05:35, around 90 seconds ahead of his nearest competition. CVFR runners also picked up third and fourth places with James Logue crossing the line alongside Andy Ford.

CVFR’s Susannah Richardson excelled in the women’s race too. Her time of 03:59:29 secured second place, with Katherine Klunder of Chorley Athletic and Triathlon Club securing the top spot.

Paul & Susie enjoying the run. Credit Steve Foster

No fewer than 27 CVFR runners took part in the race – eight of whom finished in the top 20.

Andy Ford reflected on the small margins that saw him finish neck and neck with James Logue in 3rd and 4th place. Andy managed to stick close to the leaders on the exhilarating Trog reverse section as far as the first road crossing but started to lose contact going to Lumb falls – sharing that “due to using comfy shoes that had next to no grip left, I couldn’t really descend with any confidence. It meant a constant gap of about 200m until we hit Blackshaw Head and the wonderfully named Back of Behind.” A pit stop to remove a niggling stone from his shoes lost him some more time, not helped by frozen shoelaces and fingers. Andy found himself having to reel in a 500m gap which he achieved by checkpoint four. At this point Ed Hyland moved things up a gear and Andy and James had no option but to watch him stretch away. They both lost a place towards the end but were content to settle on a joint third place.

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Oh little town of Mytholmroyd …

How steep we see thee climbs

Calder Valley Fell Runners – 4 December 2024

Asher dashing through the snow. Credit Mark O’Connor

Mytholmroyd fell race looked like a Christmas card thanks to the first snows of the year. And the Christmas spirit was on show with fell shoes, t shirts and hats donated by Scarpa for the winners and a can of Vocation beer for all the runners. Merry Christmas!

The race start. Credit Frances Wooff

Good King Martin of Mytholmroyd

Martin Howard won CVFR’s most popular race Vocation Mytholmroyd on Sunday the third of December in a winning time of 44:16 which was 13 seconds shy of the record set by Karl Gray in 2016. Andy Worster finished 2nd with Shaun Godsman 4th and scooping first Male Vet 50. Charlotte Jackson came 3rd in the women’s race with Susannah Richardson 4th. Phil Scarf was 3rd Male V60.

Race winners Rachel and Martin with their Scarpa shoes. Not bad prizes for a £7 entry fee. Credit Dougie Zinis

Calder Valley Fell Runners scooped the team prize. Innovative race organiser and Scarpa Fell shoe tester Dougie Zinis awards 1 mixed team prize: Winners were: Martin Howard, Andy Worster, Charlotte Jackson and Suzannah Richardson. 

The race start is tough as it climbs up through the fields past Hill House Farm to Heights Road then continues to climb steeply to Wicken Hill.

Sam and Eric racing hard on Heights Road. Credit Andy Smith

Here a prehistoric enclosure lies buried under the heather. The route eases slightly as you cross an open section of Midgley Moor to a wall corner before following the track to the famous boundary marker Churn Milk Joan, which features in a Ted Hughes poem.

Fast dibber action. Credit Max Wilkinson

Next, climb Crow Hill, site of a stone circle, and descend across rough moorland and past the Nell Nook Lido to Wood Lane.  Avoid the temptation of Bob’s tearoom and follow the track along the beautiful Luddenden Valley to the Gate House at Castle Carr.

Shaun Godsman coming through the arch at Castle Carr. Credit Cass Chisholm

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