Simon Booth makes it number 12!
Saturday saw the running of the annual Borrowdale Fell Race which starts in Rosthwaite and covers 17 miles and 6500ft of ascent visiting Bessyboot, Esk Hause, Scafell Pike, Styhead Tarn, Great Gable and Dalehead.
It was Borrowdales Ben Bardsley who led the field of over 350 runners up towards the very misty summit of Bessyboot with Simon Booth, Ian Holmes, Pete Vale and Chris Steele in tow. A moment of indecision by the chasing group meant Ben quickly opened a gap as he set off towards Esk Hause. Simon and Chris gave chase and caught Ben on the very boggy trods behind Glaramara. The trio stuck together through to Esk Hause knowing Simon would be choosing optimum lines in what were very difficult conditions.
The conditions and visibility was causing problems throughout the field with many tales of runners going astray and taking unfamiliar routes.
Once through the Esk Hause checkpoint Simon started to apply pressure to Chris and Ben over the slippery and rocky ground towards Scafell Pike. It was from here that Simon and Chris managed to breakaway but Chris was having to run hard over tough terrain to stay with Simon who is well known for his technical ability over rough ground. Chris managed to stay in touch with the leader to the summit of Scafell Pike but as they entered the steep drop into the Corridor route Simons descending ability was too much for Chris and a gap started to open up on the chasers.
Once at Styhead Tarn Simon was beginning to open a comfortable lead but Chris was still pushing hard to try and keep Simon in sight. Unfortunately for Chris, Simons strength on the climb to Great Gable meant he got out of sight and Chris was then having to rely on his own navigational skills. It didn’t take long for things to go wrong he went astray and was out of the race shortly after Green Gable.
As the field weakened Simon was getting stronger and stronger and pushed on to win his 12th Borrowdale fell race in a time of 2hrs 52mins by a very comfortable 11 minutes. Congratulations to Simon who has dominated this event for over a decade.
Following Simon, and making it a Borrowdale one-two, was Ben Bardsley followed by Ian Holmes of Bingley Harriers. Steve Hebblethwaite of Keswick AC had an excellent run to finish in fourth and was closely followed in by Ben Abdelnoor of Ambleside AC.
Borrowdales Paul Cornforth had a fantastic run to finish 10th overall and 2nd Male Vet 45 overhauling team-mate Jim Davies who finished in 13th. Paul reported feeling very strong throughout the race and was passing people at the crucial time in the race, the climb and descent of Dalehead. This shows he ran a well balanced and thought out race and shows good form before the next round of the British Championships, The Black Mountains Fell Race, at the end of September.
Plenty of the Borrowdale team turned out for the event: Martin Holroyd (28th), Martin Mikkelson-Barron (35th), Gavin Bland (47th), Dave Ward (49th), Marek Patecki (88th), Paul Barnes (97th), Adrian Carroll (247th), Andrew Callcott (269th)
In the Ladies race Pippa Maddams (Keswick AC) continued her fantastic run of form showing her strength across the long courses. She posted an excellent time of 3hrs 19mins to take the victory. This is a time that was quite close to a long standing record in conditions that were far from ideal. Karen Davidson of DPFR was second. Kerry Cornforth was out with for the purple vests and she finished 18th lady, 221st overall.
Scoffer and his team did a fantastic job as usual and the day was enjoyed by everyone. Thanks also must go to the race sponsors and all involved that helped.
Photo courtesy of Sport Sunday
