Coniston Fell Race

The Coniston Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in April or May, starting and finishing in the village of Coniston. The route is approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) in length with 1,065 metres (3,494 ft) of ascent[1] and takes in checkpoints on the summits of Wetherlam, Swirl How and the Old Man of Coniston.[2]

History

The race was first run in 1982 and quickly became popular, attracting some of the best fell runners.[3] In 1985, a bottleneck at the start of the route with 560 runners caused an entry limit of 400 to be introduced for future editions.[4]

In 2016, inclement weather in the days leading up to the race resulted in a shorter route being used, avoiding some of the higher ground.[5]

Coniston has been one of the counting races in the British or English Fell Running Championships on several occasions.[6]

Results

The men’s record is held by Ian Holmes with a time of 1:03:29, set in 1996. Coniston was an English and British championship race that year and despite Mark Kinch running what he described as "the perfect race", he was overtaken by Holmes on the final descent.[7]

The women’s record of 1:17:11 was set in 2014 by Victoria Wilkinson.[8]

Holmes has the most victories, with ten between 1993 and 2018.

The winners have been as follows.[9]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Year Men Time Women Time
1982 Billy Bland 1:12:02
1983 Bob Whitfield 1:09:07 Carol Walkington 1:42:58
1984 Kenny Stuart 1:06:23 Pauline Haworth 1:25:18
1985 Kenny Stuart 1:05:46 Pauline Haworth 1:26:33
1986 Rod Pilbeam 1:09:11 Diane Ellerton 1:29:01
1987 Billy Bland 1:16:05 Vanessa Brindle 1:35:16
1988 Malcolm Patterson 1:10:41 Sue Parkin 1:26:27
1989 Colin Valentine 1:13:40 Fiona Cole 1:35:36
1990 Sean Livesey 1:10:59 Sarah Rowell 1:26:56
1991 Malcolm Patterson 1:07:24 Amanda Isdale 1:31:49
1992 Keith Anderson 1:05:22 Clare Crofts 1:24:49
1993 Ian Holmes 1:08:39 Beverley Redfern 1:25:33
1994 Gavin Bland 1:09:07 Andrea Priestley 1:28:18
1995 Dave Truman 1:13:04 Vanessa Peacock 1:29:17
1996 Ian Holmes 1:03:29 Menna Angharad 1:20:51
1997 John Hooson and Mark Horrocks 1:18:10 Kate Beaty 1:37:33
1998 Rob Jebb 1:11:56 Lyn Thompson 1:32:42
1999 Simon Stainer 1:14:03 Kate Beaty 1:36:50
2000 Stephen Savage 1:14:59 Louise Sharp 1:39:01[A]
2001 Cancelled due to foot-and-mouth outbreak
2002 Ian Holmes 1:06:02 Andrea Priestley 1:21:01
2003 Ted Mason 1:17:04 Vanessa Peacock 1:33:35
2004 Ian Holmes 1:08:44 Sally Newman 1:28:01
2005 Rob Jebb 1:11:07 Sharon Taylor 1:28:19
2006 Ian Holmes 1:10:35 Sharon Taylor 1:26:29
2007 Ian Holmes 1:08:37 Jackie Lee 1:24:15
2008 Ian Holmes 1:11:43 Natalie White 1:25:04
2009 Ian Holmes 1:09:41 Kirstin Bailey 1:33:09
2010 Ian Holmes 1:08:39 Emma Clayton 1:21:47
2011 Rob Hope 1:10:55 Lou Roberts 1:30:27
2012 Rob Hope 1:09:31 Lizzie Adams 1:23:21
2013 Darren Kay 1:11:32 Victoria Wilkinson 1:21:07
2014 Tom Addison 1:07:57 Victoria Wilkinson 1:17:11
2015 Tom Addison 1:12:32 Caitlin Rice 1:29:44
2016[B] Carl Bell 1:00:08 Heidi Dent 1:07:19
2017 Tom Addison 1:08:13 Lou Roberts 1:25:47
2018 Ian Holmes 1:15:22 Sarah Pyke 1:38:22
2019 Rob Jebb 1:13:11 Sharon Taylor 1:29:03
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

A The race report in The Fellrunner, Jun 2000, suggests that Louise Sharp was the winner in 1:39:01, but the 2001 championships preview in The Fellrunner Magazine, Feb 2001, indicates that the first woman in 2000 had been Nicola Davies in 1:31:28.

B Short course.

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References
  1. Fellrunner.org.uk: Coniston 2019.
  2. The Fellrunner Magazine, Feb 2001, 17.
  3. Steve Chilton, It's a Hill, Get Over It (Dingwall, 2013), 96.
  4. Up & Down, Jul/Aug 1991, 14.
  5. Coniston Fell Race on Facebook; "Lord and Lady of the Forest crowned", Cumberland & Westmorland Herald, 6 May 2016.
  6. Graham Breeze, "All Over in 13 Minutes (Classic Fell Races Part 4)", The Fellrunner Magazine, Jun 2004, 59-62.
  7. The Fellrunner, Jun 1996, results section, 8.
  8. Inov-8: 2014 English Fell Running Championship Review.
  9. Coniston Fell Race: Past Winners; Bill Smith, Stud Marks on the Summits (Preston, 1985), 528; Fellrunner.org.uk: Results; Graham Breeze, "All Over in 13 Minutes (Classic Fell Races Part 4)", The Fellrunner Magazine, Jun 2004, 59-62; The Fellrunner Magazine, Jun 2006, 50; "Running - Holmes Shades Coniston Classic", The Westmorland Gazette, 8 May 2007.
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