2022 Championship Report

This week we have a report from Jon Coe on the 2022 Junior Championships – Thank you so much Jon!

Up coming club runs

FRA Junior Championships – 2022 participation and results

The last race in the championship series was at the start of July, but the Junior Championship season has only really just ended with the junior awards ceremony in Sedbergh on 10th September, and the long-awaited arrival of the English Junior Championship hoodies and t-shirts which are provided free by the FRA to all series completionists. For our two boys, the draw of getting those coveted hoodies was the initial prime motivating factor for taking part.

So far as I can see, there were just three Dark Peak Juniors who scored a hoodie for completing all five races – Jonah & Iolanthe (Cooper) and Stanley (Coe). Stanley’s brother Ralph had to miss one race, so was awarded a tee shirt for running in four – as was Izzy-Mai (Wilson).

Olivia (Watkins) and Finlay (Mackenzie) were both regulars also, with three races apiece in which they were both placing well. Several DP Junior’s made one-off guest appearances – these were Summer Taylor, Spike Fullwood, Beau Elliot, and the swift Dickson brothers (Jack, Tom and Ben). I hope I haven’t missed anyone.

At season’s end, the final Junior Championship placings are based on a runner’s best 4 races (from a total of 5 races this year, but usually 6). The latest Fellrunner mag lists all those who placed top ten in their category – a massive well done to both Jonah (5^th U17 Boy) and Izzy-Mai (7^th U15 Girl)! The full results for all Championship runners are at www.felljunior.org.uk/EnglishJunior/

Overall results aren’t listed for the Under 9 and Under 11 categories as these are technically the FRA Challenge, with ‘Championship’ results and overall standings only commencing from U13 upwards. Challenge race results are published individually, but thankfully the Challenge completionists still qualify for the same hoodies and tee shirts – otherwise slightly reluctant U11 racer Ralph might not have forgiven me for having him run under false pretences. All Challenge race completions are again listed at the link above, and there’s downloadable certificates for anyone who ran in any of the races.

At different stages in the season we had representations in most categories, though not in U15 Boys or U17 Girls, and none in the U19 category.

Dark Peak just sneaked in to the top 10 junior clubs this year (10^th). Club position is according to a cumulative score based on the three best individual scores in each race category at each race. All five races count in this (6 usually). So this year, with 3 being the most runners we had in any category in any given race, every single personal race result contributed towards Dark Peak achieving that 10^th place. Given that in many categories we often had only one runner or none, it’s easy to see how we could move up the ranking of junior clubs without having to take it too seriously – important to keep the emphasis on club fun rather than club placings I think.

The FRA Championship (and Challenge) experience

So, that’s a few stats on participation, placings and hoodie distribution. Thought I’d reflect on how the Junior Championship experience is generally, and how it was this year. Told mostly from the experience at the U11 and U13 end of the field, as that was our experience. Seasoned junior pros will mostly know this already – it’s aimed more at those who might be thinking of having a go for the first time.

Usually there are six races across northern England. Last year two were in the Peak (Bradwell and Ilam). This year, having committed to the quest, we realised when the FRA calendar came out that it would be a bit more of a major effort. Firstly, the five races that ran were all in the Lakes, Yorkshire Dales or North York Moors (a 6^th race in Lancashire was cancelled). Secondly, scheduling was definitely sub-optimal. That’s been fully recognised, but the organisers have a lot to contend with – what with trying to avoid nesting birds, school exams and peak school holidays. Plus of course needing willing race organisers. As it was, there was one race in late-April, three races during a 4-week period in May, and the final race at the start of July. May was quite tough! Chief driver was pretty tired at the end, but no regrets as it was great to capitalise on our kids’ unexpected motivation for racing. It was rather costly on fuel, but thankfully the races are cheap (from £2 to £5 for entry).

The kids run in 2-year age categories, from Under 9 through to Under 19. Boys and girls run together, but the results are separated out of course. In the U11 category there were typically 30 to 50 runners, depending on venue. In the U13s it was more like 50 to 80, and U15 was a similarly busy category. There were just slightly fewer in the older categories. Thankfully for our two, they weren’t running against a field packed full of superhumans. There’s certainly some of those, but there’s also very much the full array of abilities. The general vibe is great and hugely welcoming of course, and our two didn’t find the ‘championship’ aspect made it any more intimidating (perhaps because they weren’t chasing podium finishes!).

Race distances are all roughly the same length within their category. Starting with maximum 1km for the youngest, it goes up to roughly 2 km for the U11s, 3 km for the U13s, and increases all the way to around 10 km for U19s. Plus of course the obligatory up-and-down that makes it a fell race. It seemed to me that the U13s averaged around 500 feet of height gain (varying according to venue) with the U11s being a bit less. In the upper age categories the distance and climb is often akin to a classic adult AS fell race – this year the U19 category ran in the adult races at Black Combe and at Great Whernside (these were the only two events that had adult races this year).

The motivational benefit of doing a series like the championships – apart from free hoodies – is that you’re racing mostly the same faces on each occasion. Wherever you are in the field, there’s all the camaraderie of adult fell racing, and as the season progresses there’s the usual mini-contests that develop between runners and their nearest ‘rivals’. All with the great but low-key ambience that typifies fell racing. For me, spectating at the junior races was a 3-star sport in itself, they were all great occasions that made all the driving worthwhile. I’ve emphasised the fun aspect, as that’s largely how it was at our age categories and our parts of the field – there was very little stressing about the running. But there’s certainly plenty there who take their fun more seriously, and no doubt some of our DP runners’ excellent placings have only been achieved through some serious dedication.

The five 2022 races

I’ll finish with the kids’ and adult view of the five 2022 races. We did two as weekenders, and three as day trips due to May being such a busy month. Next time (if there is…) we might try to do more weekenders – there’s obviously great potential for this.

Black Combe. This 1^st race of the season was a great weekender. Stayed on a local campsite which had a home-made ice-cream parlour and a neighbouring bird reserve with Eiders and Terns. The boys met and played footy with some some other junior racers on the campsite the evening before. Racing on BC is great as it’s a quiet part of the Lakes with big views over the sea. It was a bright day but brutally windy. I made the mistake of telling Stanley there was just one climb, then down. In fact there was a second climb, so his view of this one was that it was the hardest of the races. Which may have been true, but those climbs were compensated for by superb, fast and grassy downhill running. The event was really well organised by Black Combe Fellrunners, especially considering that they don’t have a junior section themselves.

Todd Crag was great. It started from Rothay Park in Ambleside, with a playground and craggy rock mound for warming up on. Being central to the Lakes, it had a very large turn out. Apart from the very youngest, all the races shared the same tough start up the steep road to the fell. It was the road start that seemed to stick in our lads’ memory, though the bulk of the race is on superb undulating fell terrain with the backdrop of the Fairfield Horseshoe and Windermere. This was a day mission for us, softened with a post-race visit to Ambleside’s cinema for the final Harry Potter film.

The next weekend it was another day trip, this time to the heart of the Dales’ running scene at Kettlewell, for the Great Whernside race. On paper this one looked a bit boring, being straight up and down via the same route, with each race turning at a different point depending on age. In reality it was a great race, and our two reflected surprisingly well on it when asked. The downhill running was really fast and furious for those who wanted it that way, with a particularly frantic final plummet straight into the sudden finishing funnel. No long slog to that finish! Dark Peak’s Keith Holmes had been seen out marshalling and supporting at the Black Combe and Todd Crag races, and he was out again at Great Whernside in support and also racing. As Dark Peak’s fell guru to the Bradfield DP juniors, ‘Mr Holmes’ was loudly cheered into the finishing funnel as 3^rd Vet 60 in the adult race.

Guisborough Woods a fortnight later was the one race that our Ralph could not attend, but I ended up driving a super keen U13 trio of Stanley, Olivia, and Spike Fullwood. As the name suggests this one is on a densely wooded hillside, so for myself as spectator it wasn’t my favourite. The race squad all thought it was excellent though, with the highlight being the steep and technical single-track of the final descent. Olivia came 3^rd girl at this one, so we had a good vibe on the journey home.

After Guisborough it was five weeks until the final race which took place from Sedbergh in the Howgills, organised by Kendal’s Helm Hill club. We travelled up the afternoon before, and met up with Olivia and family at Holme Farm campsite. This was really nice, a quiet and spacious site with an on-site café that provided us with a pre-race pizza feast. We met Jonah and Iolanthe and dad on the campsite too. Next day, the running involved various loops on the side of Winder, with steep grassy running typical of the Howgills. While having a pre-race recce with the boys, I was treated to a view of a huge black storm cloud heading straight towards us from behind the fell, towards the blissfully unaware assembled masses on the other side. The deluge hit during the U11 race, but was even worse for the U13s who spent a half hour trying to stay warm on the exposed fellside while waiting for race start – all wearing vests of course, with their waterproofs safely stashed in bumbags throughout! I think the older races may have escaped the worst of the weather, but not sure as we didn’t hang around on the hill. Thankfully race HQ (10 mins away) was the Peoples Hall in Sedbergh, with lots of space to change out of wet stuff, and a hot snack van.

So that’s the FRA season as it was for us. Prior to this year, our two had only fell raced once or twice before. At the season’s end, with the Championship series under their belts, both are running better. More importantly, they now properly see themselves as fellrunners, which seems a pretty good outcome.

I had thought that whether we’d do the series again would depend a lot on venues and scheduling, but Stanley has just made clear that he assumes he’s doing them again next year (despite moving into the tougher U15 category). We’ll see if he stays that way, and perhaps wait and see the fixtures before committing. Maybe we’ll try and plan a few more weekenders around it next time.

It was always good bumping into other DP Juniors – perhaps there’ll be a few more next year? For those fancy it, and who don’t mind a bit of travelling to nice places, let’s hope for an amenable fixture list in 2023. Why not give it a go?