Orca 100 by feet and bike

Emelia, Di, Gill and Kate ready for the off

Last Saturday several Calder Valley Fell Runners set off on The Orca 100. It’s an off-road ultra-run aimed at raising funds and awareness towards Whale and Dolphin Conservation.  

The challenge was a team attempt to run 100 continuous miles in 24hrs, whereby recreating the distance an orca might swim in a day.  The route is split into 3 legs of just over 33 miles, all of them starting from Stubbs Field in Mytholmroyd.  Each running pod was made up of mixed ability runners who completed a full leg or half a leg each.  Several cyclists also joined in forming two pods who both cycled 100 miles from Hebden Bridge marina towards the west coast and back again.

Helen in the blue who’s idea that run came from with her support Catherine

The Orca 100 was inspired after pod member Helen Curtis watched the documentary ‘Blackfish’, which highlights the plight of Orca’s in captivity. Deeply moved by what she had seen, Helen decided she had to help these beautiful marine mammals.
After discovering that Orca whales can swim up to 100 miles in a day, she hatched the idea of running 100 miles as a human ‘pod’ and approached fellow runners in her local fell running club. Whales, marine life and the ocean environment fall deep into people’s psyche, and the response was swift and enthusiastic. Within hours a 13 person running pod was complete.  

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