2019 Fell Race goes grand

Another great running of the Great Hucklow fell race. As usual, local residents turned out in their dozens to marshal, register, refresh, time and more for the 135 runners. The primary school playing field turned into an event centre once again, for what is now a fixture in the village calendar. Accelerate attended again, with the race well established as part of the Gritstone Series.

The race ran as smoothly as ever it has. Stuart Bond (Matlock AC) won for a second year in a row, and we are confident Stuart has won more of Great Hucklow’s races than anyone. This year he was over the line more than 4 minutes ahead of second place Ian Phillips (also Matlock AC), with Jake Lane (3rd, Totley AC) close behind. Sarah Lilleman (Dark Peak) was first female over the line, followed by Emma Weston (2nd, Congleton Harriers) and Claire Aspinall (3rd, Pennine Fell Runners). 1st and 2nd M40 and W40 were amongst the top three for both women and men, so prizes went to respective 3rd category places, Julie Wilson (Hallamshire Harriers) and Austin Frost (Dark Peak). First M50 was Andrew Wainwright, and F50 was Sue Barker – both unattached. Fastest M60 was Dave Allen (Dark Peak) and M70 was Jeremy Brayshaw (Totley AC). This year for the first time we had bespoke fell race mugs as prizes.

Winning a round of drinks apiece at the Queen Anne, fastest male team was Matlock AC, while Barrow Runners took the female team crown. It was great to see a large contingent from Barrow, the club having chosen Great Hucklow as part of their championship series.

Villagers surpassed themselves with flapjack production. Despite voracious competitor appetites being satiated, surplus flapjack distributed at the end of the event. Happily, Derbyshire Cave Rescue had another quiet year providing first aid and emergency response, with just one plaster dispensed.