From Jane McCarthy…
The UKA and Fell Runner Association National fell and hill running relay Championships 2025 were held in the beautiful Welsh mountains around Dinas Mawddwy: featuring STEEP climbs, pathless moorland, rocks and challenging underfoot. In the spirit of the event “Rhedeg ym mynyddoedd Cymru – Ile mae’r enaid yn hedfan” OR “Running in the Welsh mountains – where the soul takes flight” (apparently) seems appropriate for the vertiginous ascents and descents tackled in the short but hard legs 1 and 4, and the tussocks, climbs and bogs of Legs 2 and 3. The format of the race is mixing solo, pairs and navigational legs – teams needing endurance, speed, team tactics and navigational abilities. The weather was kind to us and spirits high on a rewarding day out.
Ilkley Harriers were proud to field four teams at this prestigious event – the Men’s Open Team secured a fantastic 16th place with outstanding performances from Sam Bentham (a close 2nd place just 4 seconds behind the winner) on Leg 1 and from English Fell Champion Ben Rothery bringing the team home on Leg 4 with the second fastest time (28:16) of the day. In the Mixed Open team a special mention for Leg 3 runners Simon Richardson and Nick Helliwell who excelled at the Nav leg (where there seemed minimal Nav opportunities they found all of them). There were consistently strong performances from a high placing Men’s Vet 40 Team – brought home by Gawain Moore in a fantastic leg time of 34:45 and many thanks to Nea Weston stepping in to anchor the Mixed Open into a brilliant 7th place. The Ladies Vet 40 Team couldn’t retain their title from 2024 but were delighted to podium in 3rd place with all round strong performances. Next year a more local venue – Todmorden – should be a great event!
Category Position Time Cat. result
Open Men 16th 03:22:24 16th
Vet 40 Men 54th 03:55:27 13th
Mixed Open 105th 04:27:48 7th
Vet 40 Women 112th 04:30:53 3rd