Fellsman

Fellsman on Sat 29th Apr 2017

Looking through the archives it seems that Dark Peak have something of a pedigree at the Fellsman. In 1979 it was won by Doug Calder and Martin Hudson, in 1982 Jeff Coulson was the winner, in 1985 and 1987 it was Alan Jones and then Nicky Spinks was first lady for four consecutive years between 2010 and 2013. They are now joined by 2017 winner Chris Perry. The conditions were great for running, the sky was covered by white cloud all day, but it remained warm enough to run in a vest. It didn't rain at all, visibility was excellent throughout and underfoot it was incredibly dry. In the evening it got a bit colder, the wind picked up a bit on the tops and a number of runners were suffering from the drop in temperature. The race is deserving of its reputation as being a tough challenge, it certainly felt like good preparation for my Bob Graham, time will tell. It was a great route and with runners being presented with awards for 20, 30 & 40 races entered, it certainly entices people back year after year. I've included in the results those Dark Peak members that I spotted, however as the results on their website do not include the runners club there is a chance I may have missed someone.

Paul Walwyn

P.S. I am told that some running running magazine or other calculated that the Fellsman gave best value in terms of miles/pound of entry fee, thanks to Paul Fauset for that gem.