The second round of the English Junior Fell Championships saw Buxton AC juniors travelling to Kettlewell, in the idyllic Yorkshire Dales.
The Kong Kettlewell Kids Kaper was fell running at its best, with exciting routes offering tough uphill climbing and adrenaline-charged descents, all set in this most fantastic of location – a race to remember! Based on a ‘there and back’ route format the races saw the different age categories climbing higher and higher on to the beautiful slopes above Kettlewell covering limestone terrain and swooping grassy paths – the views far-reaching and the running exhilarating.
Buxton AC had 19 juniors turning out this round and came home with an impressive 4 podium positions! In the Under 17 category both Lucy Bednall and Will Longden took Silver, and in the Under 19’s Sam Soles also took Silver, while teammate Stu Diamond took Bronze. The Buxton AC team now sit 4th in the overall standings in the English Junior Fell Championships within striking distance of the top 3 with only a few points in it!
First to take on that brutal uphill start were the under 9’s. Led out by 6 year old Stanley Cook who came an impressive 11th boy with Jimmy Golden coming in 15th boy and Hannah Cudahy in 12th girl. The under 11’s race saw Jonty Brown finish 11th, with his sister Flo and Team mate Rachel Cudahy battling it out to finish 16th and 17th girls.
Jack Cook improved his position in the league to 8th overall, with a 13th placing in the under 13 boys category, and in the under 13 girls Lucy Whelan came 12th, Molly Golden 24th and Rebecca Cudahy 30th – all the girls either maintaining or improving their overall standing. In the under 15’s category Grace Longden and Sienna Philips ran strong races to come in 11th and 14th respectively.
The last race saw the U17 and U19 races starting together but the U19 having an extra sting in the tail repeating that brutal first climb before they could finish. Lucy led the girls home followed by Amy Whelan in 6th and Heather Wilshaw in 8th. Sam and Stu had a storming race that secures them overall positions that could lead to league titles if their amazing form continues through the next 4 races.
Team Manager Rachel Dowle said, “The English Junior Fell Championships represents the pinnacle of English Fell running, it showcases the best of the best and leads to selection for nation Mountain Running events. To have 9 juniors in the top 10 and 4 in medal winning positions is an outstanding achievement for a small running club from Derbyshire! To have so many youngsters travelled all over the country to take part in these iconic races and for our team to be 4th out of 44 clubs taking part nationally is truly amazing! I am in awe of the dedication, resilience and pure heart displayed by our awesome juniors. Every one of them makes us proud!”
Photo: Buxton Juniors U17 and U19 teams