Bailey's Irish Cream

Simon Bailey leading Morgan Donnelly on the final descent of the Lad's Leap fell race on Saturday -
pic by Flaming Photography

'Bailey's Irish Cream' is the best way to describe what happened this St Patrick's Day, at the opening race of the English Championship. Not even 2011 British Champion, Morgan Donnelly, with all the luck that his Irish ancestors could muster for him, could stop Simon Bailey's rampage to victory.

And they're off! - pic thanks to Mark Sunderland

The race started with a lot of pushing and shoving as over 300 men jostled for position in the fairly narrow track. But as the route climbed through the fields towards the fell it was Donnelly, Bailey, Ilkley's Tom Adams, Helm Hill's Tom Addison and Dark Peak's Rob Baker, who were leading the men out.

Rob Jebb, who had to have been one of the pre-race favourites, had suffered with a chest infection in the week running up to Saturday's race and as soon as he hit the climb he said he knew he couldn't give it his best. Rob finished the race in 93rd place, handing out bragging rights to about 90 competitors that wouldn't normally finish within sight of him, showing what a great sportsman he is.

Near to top of the second climb - pic by Shaun

Morgz told us 

"I tailed Simon right across the moor up until the first short descent where I scared myself a bit, sliding across big slab of rock. I decided to finish that descent at my own pace and by the bottom Lloyd (Taggart) had caught me up. By the time I had got to the top of the long forrest track, I had closed right in on Simon again."

The FRB team were about 300 metres from the finish line with a clear sight of the whole final descent. It was amazing seeing the speed the men descended that fell side. Simon and Morgz seemed to have quite a lead, but then Lloyd appeared from nowhere and then the trio of Graham Pearce, Tom Adams and Ben Abdelnoor tore up any 'Downhill Skills' book Simon and Morgz had started to draft. All six finishing within a minute of each other.

1 Simon Bailey - Mercia - 44:16

2. Morgan Donnelly - Borrowdale - 44:27

3. Lloyd Taggart - Dark Peak - 44:48

4. Graham Pearce - Pudsey and Bramley - 44:59

5. Tom Adams - Ilkley - 45:02

6. Ben Abdelnoor - Ambleside - 45:13

It was a really exciting start to the Championships, Dark Peak won the team prize with lots of the 'Dark Peak Lite' runners that featured in the winning team at the FRA relays. Let's hope these guys continue with the season.

Results
Ladies / Men
Teams
Men's Team / Men's V40 Team / Men's V50 Team / Ladies Team / Ladies Vets Team

St Patrick's Day Parade? Chris Birchill, Ted Mason, Gavin Bland and Fred Slemeck - picture by Bryan Mills

The friends/families/fans of the runners (or injured runners themselves!) did a fabulous job of reporting the action too, with dozens of photographers and film makers right around the course. We've tried to provide a link to all of them here.
Photos

• Photos from the start and finish area by Ian Oates
• Photos from near the top of the moor by Flaming Photography
• Photos from near the moor top by Dan Sims
• Photos from near Lad's Leap by Geoff B
• Photos from the flat bit in the middle of the first descent by Bryan Mills
• Photos from near the top of the second climb by Shaun - men and ladies
• The finish line (ladies only)

Ladies Winner Emma Clayton with Leeds City's Adam Osborne (28th today)

Videos

• A Super Trouper video by Noel of the ladies climbing, Emma and Lauren descending and Simon and Morgz descending.
• The Ladies Race by Will Neill
• Richard A's video of the ladies up and down.
• But award for "Best Comedy" goes to Richard A's 'Straw Bale or Wooden Stile' performances by the Lads of Lad's Leap 2012, found here from 3 mins and 26 seconds onwards.

And the sun shone - must be a good sign for a great new fell season!

2012 Season - Fellrunners 'Leap' into Action

Latest news from Lad's Leap

Simon Bailey today's winner in 44:16

We'll bring you more tomorrow but in the meantime, here is a picture of Men's winner Simon Bailey and a link to a pdf copy of the results kindly given to us by the organisers. At the time these were printed the organisers were unsure where one Bingley runner (James Senior) came. We're sure they will rectify this as soon as they can.

Men's Results

Ladies Results

Emma Clayton, ladies winner collecting her prize

The 2012 FRA English Championships season gets a jump start this Saturday with the Lad's Leap Fell Race in the Peak District.

Lad's Leap - The Race
The Race is 5.9miles and 1700 ft. It starts from the campsite at Crowden on the Woodhead Pass. For a couple of miles, as the route climbs up on to the moor, it is very runnable. A noteworthy attraction at this stage of the race is a tall post which marks the site of an aircraft wreck.  Shortly after crossing Lad's Leap, the cleft in the moorland the race is named after, the route reduces to a stretch of unnavigable heathery hell (that has a mission to untie as many shoe laces as it possibly can) that we know the more traditional fellrunner will relish.

"Triple tie your shoe laces or I will destroy you!"

After a short (but not exactly sweet) descent, the runners will need to climb a cruel fire track for 'a good while' back to the Lad's Leap and then prove their worth, racing back, reversing the route they took on the climb to the moor, past the aircraft wreckage post, trying not to lose the places they gained in the heather or on the climb (depending where their fellrunning fortes lie).

The Lads

Rob Jebb at Lad's Leap 2003 - photo by Steve Bateson

The entry list is interesting reading.....It includes;

• Bingley's Rob Jebb, who was forced to drop out of the Championships last year when he dislocated his shoulder
• Borrowdale's Morgan Donnelly, the 2011 British Champion
• Dark Peak's Lloyd Taggart, who went on to win the 2011 English Championship 
• Howgill Harrier Carl Bell, who's been cleaning up the vouchers all winter in the Lake District
• Pudsey and Bramley man Graham Pearce, who proved strongest at Winter Hill, the star studded 'Best of the North West' race in February
• Ilkley's Tom Adams who beat Graham Pearce at Ilkley Moor two weeks later
• The CVFR posse, Ben Mounsey, Karl Gray, Gavin Mullholland, Shaun Godsman, James Logue etc
• P&B's Rob and Danny Hope, will Rob be back on form and will Danny have been training? 
• Plus Ambleside's Ben Abdelnoor, Borrowdale's Chris Steele, the Helm Hill Addisons and many many more!

Here's the entry list so you can make your own predictions.

The Lasses
It's going to be an interesting race for the ladies too. The ladies set off separately to the men (at 12 noon) and the list includes Emma Clayton, Lauren Jeska, Jo Waites, Helen Fines, Sharon Taylor, Hazel Robinson and Lou Roberts who have all been running well all Winter. The ladies entry list is here 

Here's Lou at Lad's Leap in 2003 - photo by Steve Bateson

The Records 
Male: Lloyd Taggart – 00:41:36 – 2005
Female: Natalie White – 00:50:46 – 2005

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Mark Aspinall at Lad's Leap 2003 - by Steve Bateson

Lad's Leap was a Championship Race nine years ago on 16 March 2003 and that's when the photographs we've used above were taken.

Suzanne Budgett at Lad's Leap 2003 - by Steve Bateson

Why not take a trip down memory lane and look at the rest of Steve Bateson's photographs or even (if you dare) have a look at the times people ran nine years ago to see what the 2012 runners will have to beat, now they are nine years older.

Fell Running Briefs will be at Crowden on Saturday (17 March), bringing you the news as soon as we can. Follow us on twitter (@fellrunninbrief) for the earliest updates, which also appear at the top of this page. The ladies run at 12 noon and the men are due to set off at 1pm. See you Saturday!

Marvin's picture of the route from the FRA Forum