A massive well done to our Junior fell runners this year (and some breaking news later in this article).
A brilliant team of them set about the hills of: Duddon, Howgills, Shutlingsloe, Rossendale, Weaver Hills, Clwydian
They were competing in the Junior English Championships (The Junior Championship for under 13s to under 19s and the Junior Challenge (for under 9s and under 11s) and for the National Championships for Juniors in fell running in England. They are open to all Juniors regardless of ability….and they utterly toeNailed them, fellShoeing other contenders firmly away.
Macclesfield Harriers came third behind Helm Hill and Ambleside out of 50 clubs…a great achievement – our hills may be lower but our team are not slower.
In individual results, there were some formidable achievements….
Thomas Wood came 1st in the U15 age category and Jake Ireland came 1st in U17 category at the age of 14.
The team are really such a lovely crew and the warmth of their team spirit sends the Ready Brek Man firmly back into his shoebox. This team already has the oats – please read on to hear from the racing horse’s mouths – they are an inspiration to us all to have a go at whatever discipline in our wonderful club ‘wets your whistle’ – the knowledge, guidance and experience available to all, from pole vaulting to fell running, steeple chasing every stone :).
Now, over to hear from the runners in their own words …. junior members of the club headed off to the Lakes to take part in the British Junior Fell Champs and performed exceptionally well against strong competition. Here, in their own words, are their stories…
Jake Ireland:
This summer, a talented group of juniors tackled a variety of technical and complex routes in the Fell Runners Association Junior Fell Series. These courses are scattered across the span of England and Wales’ fells. Some notable races include the first event, Duddon Dash (Lake District), which saw our juniors face a tough muddy ascent and a river crossing. Race 3 was at Macc Harrier’s local venue, Shutlingsloe, where our team had a great turnout of runners in the glorious sunshine and took on the short but gruelling climb. The sixth and final race of the series was in the Clwydian Hills in north Wales and presented itself as a taxing course with multiple steep climbs and paths overgrown with bracken. Throughout the series, Macclesfield Harriers showed great presence across all age groups, and we had some amazing individual performances.
After finishing 1st in three of the fell races, and third in one, Jake Ireland managed to win the series in the U17 age group – even though he is still only 14 years old.
As a team, Macclesfield Harriers finished 3rd team overall in the series!
Fell running is a great way to run on new terrain while making new friends, and it would be great to see more juniors participating in this next year.
BREAKING NEWS: See the bottom of this article for news about Jake in the U17 team for the Mountain Running Home International 2024
Thomas Wood:
In 2021, I ran in the English junior fell running championships for the first time along with my older brother and younger sister. My brother raced in the under 15s age category, I ran in the under 13s age category and my sister ran in the under 11s age category. In this year I was youngest in my age category, and in the end of the series finished 6th. In 2022, I was determined to win it as I was now the oldest in my age category. In the end of the series I did end up winning it with three 1sts, one 2nd and one 3rd. Onto 2023 where I had a buddy run with me in the fell champs. In the end he finished second I and finished 7th, and in the inter counties we finished 2nd team!
Onto 2024, my fourth year of competing in the challenging fell champs. This time out I was ready to win the fell champs a second time. In the first race, Duddon Dash, I finished 2nd. This is definitely one of the most toughest ones I have raced in. Onto the second one at Sedbergh, where I took control and finished 1st. Then the third one was a very local one, Shuttlingsloe, I was now on a role as I won that one as well. The next one was at Rossendale, a wet, windy, grim day where I took a 2nd as this one was the inter counties, in my opinion thus was my best performance. Then onto another local one at Weaver hills in Ashbourne, where if I won I would win the fell champs for a second time. I did win at Weaver hills so this meant that I could go into Clwydian knowing I had won the series. Clwydian was a very steep, very hot and very brutal race, in the end of a close race I finished 2nd to complete the 2024 English junior fell running championships. Thomas Wood Macclesfield Harriers
George O’Donnell:
This was my first year doing the fell series and even though I’ve not done as well as the rest of the team in some of them I’ve really enjoyed it (especially ones like Shutlingsloe which weren’t too wet)! What shocked me most is how fast people can run downhill without falling over, which I did a total of four times and was still very slow! Fell is definitely one of my favourite running types and it’s really good to see how well the club is doing as a team for it.
BREAKING NEWS
The teams for the 2024 Mountain Running Home International have been announced and Jake Ireland has been picked to run in the U17 Team in County Wicklow, Ireland on 14th September 2024. The full press release from England Athletics can be found here: MOUNTAIN RUNNING TEAM SELECTION
