Castleton Fell Race was held a week last Friday, and Greg and I were there for a Friday-night jaunt.

The latest round in the Accelerate Gritstone Series was 6 miles in length and took in about 500m of ascent. We arrived in glorious sunshine, and discovered that the route took in Lose Hill and Mam Tor before returning to Castleton. A busy start (the field was 280 runners) and some narrow paths saw everyone bunched up before the first uphill. I made reasonable progress on the ascents, despite a bit of a steep slog to the summit of Lose Hill. Some places were lost on the subsequent descent, as it seems I’m not willing to subject myself to as much risk of headlong falls / death as the rest of the field! Recent training seemed to pay off as my pace was maintained to the top of Mam Tor, while lots of people seemed to drop off. From there it was knee-crushing descent all the way back to the car!

View photos on the Accelerate Facebook page

With the final results in, I came in 77th out of 280, putting me firmly in the top third and nearly in the top 25%. Despite the results sheet naming me as “Hayoh Williams”, that was definitely me! I was also only one second behind the first lady. I was quite pleased with this result, especially since I’d had a few late nights beforehand and was feeling pretty tired prior to starting. Greg had a good run too, coming in just a couple of minutes behind me. The great weather held throughout, and we were treated to a lovely sunset on the drive home.

Unfortunately I can’t make the final few events in the series, which is a shame because Castleton and Burbage Skyline have been well-organised and fun to compete in. Definitely one to keep an eye out for next year though.