Читать книгу Trail and Fell Running in the Yorkshire Dales. 40 runs in the National Park, including the Three Peaks онлайн

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Crossing the Dales are several long distance trails; the most well known of which are the Pennine Way and the Dales Way. The Pennine Way runs from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish borders. The Spine Race, which is held each January, runs the length of the Pennine Way, the completion of which is a fantastic achievement. The Dales Way, which runs through the Dales, traverses Wharfedale from Ilkley before crossing the Cam High Road into Dentdale, finishing at a point overlooking Lake Windermere at Bowness. At 81 miles, this route makes a good multi-day running (otherwise known as ‘fastpacking’) trip.

Signpost: ‘Hawes’

Three Peaks race

The most famous long race in the Dales is the Three Peaks Race. Held annually in April, the race comprises the Yorkshire Three Peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, starting and finishing in Horton in Ribblesdale. In common with most races, the winners complete the course in superhuman times. The current women’s record stands at 3hr 9min (Victoria Wilkinson, 2017), while the men’s record is 2hr 46min (Andy Peace, 1996). The mid-pack usually takes between four to five hours to reach the finish. Route 4 in the South-West Dales and Three Peaks section of this book describes a route that takes in these three famous peaks. Be aware it does not describe the classic Three Peaks race route. Sometimes criticised as more of a trail race by fell runners, the Three Peaks Race is a hard route with fast running on good tracks, many of which have recently been improved, between each of the peaks. The final run-off, from the summit of Ingleborough, seems much longer than normal, even though from early on the finish marquee can be seen in the distance. The final run-in, across the field, under the railway, around someone’s garden, across the road and over the final few metres of grass, is accompanied by cheers from the large crowd and the announcement of your name over the tannoy system. This is markedly different to other fell races. As a local runner, the support you receive throughout the race is unbelievable and well worth all the hard miles of training.