Report by Steve Lomas.
The Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relays; I had always been envious that our elite Harriers should take part in this annual relay event, its fame growing year by year.
The relays began in 1986, started by the Hodgson family as a memorial to very sad circumstances. It is known that the Harriers took part in this invitation only event in some years in the 2000’s decade. It is unclear if the Club had teams in the relay before then.
Before 2021, the last appearance by the Harriers was in 2011. From 2021, the Club have fielded a single team each year since. Mark has compiled a summary of how our Club has fared over the years we have been there since 2021.
But for 2026, and at very late notice, the Club received an invite for a second team place, after another club’s team had been forced to pull out.
Mark immediately put out the appeal to the Harriers’ Fell Group members. Another eight members were required within 48 hours, so that the Club could confirm this second team. Nathanael and Mark, most appropriately, decided that a mixed team would be most inclusive.
I tentatively put my name forward, just on the off chance, that there wouldn’t be many takers from the many members who are quicker than me.
In the end, through such mass unavailability, I was delighted to be informed I had gained a place and it meant I joined the three other males, that of Rob, Andy and Chris. We formed a fairly experienced foursome of male fell runners.
In the background, moves were made to form the ladies’ section of the team. The four selected are all formidable, super-fast athletes; Cesca, Fiona, Jenna and Ruth, all with outstanding prize-winning and representative histories.
There are four legs at these relays with each leg run in pairs. Any combination of pairings from the eight designated runners can be chosen.
In the end, it was decided that the running order for the Mixed team should be;
Leg 1; Fiona and Ruth
Leg 2; Cesca and Jenna
Leg 3; Andy and Rob
Leg 4; Chris and Steve
So this was the mixed team but not mentioned yet, is our Open Team, all men and, just like our women in the Mixed Team, this was a stellar eight chosen as;
Leg 1; Andy and Matt
Leg 2; Mark and Will
Leg 3; Jon and Nathanael
Leg 4; Billy and Joe
The relay headquarters is at Patterdale Cricket Club and where the relays begin and end and where all the officials and competitors’ vehicles can be parked. For the day, it was a beautiful and still autumn morning, with dew heavy on the cricket ground turf.
I had stayed in the Lakes all week, straight after the Club’s weekend away which was based at Langdale. I arrived at the ground quite early.
There was a quiet buzz of preparation from the officials and an air of excitement, anticipation and nerves from the steadily increasing number of fellies turning up. It had rained heavily during the night. Would that be a factor on our shoe choice?
All runners were gazing up at their job to do, to the surrounding sun-streaked hills/mountains. I located most of my team-mates.
For the Mixed Team, there was only Rob who had taken part in the Relays before. The other seven of us were all wide-eyed at the task confronting us. We were all reassured and calmed by the fine weather we had been dealt.
Fiona and Ruth became all primed and ready, Fiona being helped and encouraged by her two travelling assistants, Ellie and Rowan. They were the same twosome who were also advising and helping Nathanael…….perhaps those two might be running in these relays in twenty years’ time.
Andy and Matt, from the Open Team, were on the blocks, too. Every pair for Leg 1 was given an electronic dibber to touch in with at each checkpoint.
The rest of us watched all the runners on Leg 1 usher off, on the flat across the village at first but then soon encountering the first climb, up to Boredale Hause, before they would pass the beautiful and shimmering Angle Tarn. Nathanael had worked through all the logistics. The First Leg would end at Low Hartsop hamlet. As soon as the Leg 1 runners had set off, I was to drive Cesca and Jenna to Low Hartsop, ready for the second leg. We arrived in good time.
The changeover the for the 1st and 2nd legs is by the sheepdog pens at the hamlet, at the top end of the houses. It’s the same location as the start and finish of the Hartsop Hop Fell Race. It’s such a lovely, hidden, sheltered and quite dramatic spot and, because of the sheepdog pens, reminds me of the Hole in the Wall compound from Butch Cassidy and Sundance. That was filmed in Zion Canyon but the fells around this spot are equally as cavernous. It’s like a secret runners’ rendezvous but we were only smuggling the dibber from one set of runners to the other, here.
The very bright sun was becoming stronger and as we waited for all the runners from the first leg to arrive, there was loud chatter and noise. All the second leg runners were awaiting and there were many spectators and chauffeurs.
Andy and Matt were very soon to appear. That was a good sign for the Open Team’s prospects. Before they were dismissed, they were forced to go through the kit check. This is unusual that the check happens after the run, and not before. Mark and Will sped off.
Not long after, Fiona and Ruth came hurtling down the track and then Cesca and Jenna were off, to tackle The Knott, the Roman Road (path) along High Street, Thornthwaite Crag and Caudale Moor. The finished Leg 1 runners described their descent off the main fell, beside Calfgate Gill, a steepness that even Mikaela Shiffrin and Franz Klammer would have baulked at. Ruth talked about needing more bum sliding practice!
I drove Fiona and Ruth back to base at Patterdale. Several of us chatted back at the ground, before Jon and Nathanael, and then Andy and Rob were escorted up to the Kirkstone Pass summit, where they would take on Red Screes and Dove Crag on Leg 3.
Mark and Will appeared back at the ground in a flash, and it wasn’t too long before Cesca and Jenna magically appeared, too. Unfortunately, Cesca, had suffered an ankle roll, not far from the finish of Leg 2. She was so brave to carry on and complete the leg, and she made so light of it.
But their time was still remarkable. What a women’s quartet we have there, part of a big squad of very fast women, some of whom were unavailable on the day.
Soon, it was Chris and I’s turn for Leg 4. Despite her injured ankle, Cesca would kindly take the two of us to Sykes Campsite, from where we would jog across the site, to get to Hartsop Hall, where Leg 4 would begin. The plan had been that Cesca would wait there, to take Andy and Rob back to Patterdale after they had finished Leg 3. Unfortunately, there was no space to park and the official advised that Cesca would have to leave the site. So it was just a drop-off zone but at least there was no fee. As a consequence, once Andy and Rob had finished their leg, they were briefly left stranded but it was soon arranged for them to be picked up and driven back to Patterdale.
When Chris and I arrived at the Hall, Jon and Nathanael from the Open Team, had already finished Leg 3, and Billy and Joe were well on their Leg 4 way. Just like at the first changeover, here was another race hub, with all the arrivals and departures and spectators shouting the runners in and then off. By this time, the sun had retreated a little but we were sheltered and warm enough at this spot by the hall, which is just by the lovely Brothers Water.
We didn’t have to wait long before Andy and Rob rushed in. Then we were off on the final leg. Chris made a great start across the rough and stony, diagonal climb up and across the Wainwright of Hartsop above How. I striving to keep up at that stage, Chris was making this section seem easy. We eventually made it to the steps approaching Hart Crag. I was finding this hard at this stage and Chris was holding back for me. The steps dictated our stride and were energy sapping. We finally acquired the summit of Hart Crag and the first checkpoint. I recovered and felt much stronger as we scurried across the Fairfield plateau.
The Fairfield summit area is a familiar area for many fell racing Harriers but it seemed strange to reach the peak from the east rather than by the classic route from Rydal, as part of the Fairfield Horseshoe Fell Race course. After my recce on the Monday prior, where I trialled two ways of passing by Cofa Pike which is the small peak to pass after Fairfield, I persuaded Chris that the ridge traverse was best, despite Chris saying that his footwork wouldn’t be good across there. Well, as it turned out, he was a lot quicker than me over that section.
We then both did quite well on our ascent to St. Sunday Crag summit and the second checkpoint. All our climbing was done. We just had the long descent back to the glory of the finish (meaning that I always think of the finish of any race I run as ‘glory’, whether I’ve run well or not).
But, before we were done, I heard an anguished cry from Chris. He had stumbled. His injury, as he described it, was a dead leg, after banging it on multiple rocks. That’s more like a football injury. He never mentioned, then, also about his cut knee, and abrasions on his shoulder, arm, forehead and fingers. Like Cesca, he didn’t let it affect him, and he ran the rest of the descent quicker than me.
We came on to the ground where we were cheered on by the rest of the Harriers. That was such an uplifting feeling to be supported like that.
We dibbed in and received our till roll with the results. At that stage of our leg, we weren’t required to go through a kit check! Appropriate to the sports’ ground we were on, we didn’t trouble the scorers in that sense but our Mixed Team had done fine, even with the injuries incurred.
We had finished in 59th place. It’s a reasonably high standard of event, with thresholds, and we played a part in the whole competition.
We soon learnt the spectacular result from the Open Team. They had finished in a best ever 10th place. That was Premier League fell running and a European qualification type achievement.
Hopefully next year there will be two teams granted to us again, probably with an Open Team and a Mixed Team. It’s such an atmospheric, exciting and prestigious event for us Harriers to involved in. Our thanks go to Nathanael, Mark, Fiona and others for organising, advising and guiding us rookies.
The British Fell Relays are soon to be with us, at Todmorden this year. The location of those relays rotates each year, just like the British Open Golf. They are most fun to be at and are a stern test for clubs up and down the UK.
The Hodgson’s are more like Augusta, remaining at the same location each year. There’s not much manicuring at the Hodgson’s, but there’s plenty of rough, and hazards, and masters of local Lake District fell clubs revere this annual demanding and challenging race.
Us Harriers share their respect and we contributed to the high standard. I, for one, have savoured the experience of taking part in the relays and to explore all its nooks and crannies.
Here are the full results which can be dissected in any number of ways: https://www.sportident.co.uk/results/HBMR/2026/HBMR/
This is the Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relay official website which contains further information about the history and ethos of the event;
https://hbmr.org.uk/