Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association
www.nimra.org.uk

 

Skiddaw - Bryson one race away from Championship title

Tue 8 July 2003 - Simon Taylor

On Sunday Newcastle AC made a sortie to the Lake District for the Skiddaw Race, the fifth round of the 2003 British Fell Running Championship. The race is a classic, with 2,700 feet of climb from Fitz Park in Keswick to the top of one of England?s four 3,000 feet mountains and straight back down again.

Robbie Bryson, currently World Masters Champion following his victory last year in the uphill only race near Innsbruck in Austria, has faced fierce competition this year, losing the first race of the season on home ground in the Mournes in April to the awesome descender Mark Rigby from Scotland. Rigby also won race two of the Series on home ground at Stuc a Chroin in the Trossachs in May.

Then came Moel Eilio in Snowdonia later in May when Bryson turned the tables to score a first victory with Rigby out of sorts in 5th. A couple of weeks later and it was race four in the Yorkshire Dales, Pen Y Ghent. This time Borrowdale?s Mark Roberts not only came home first veteran but also first overall in the race to blow the Series wide open.

The Skiddaw race is not unlike the Snowdon race with much of it on track with some very steep sections offset by some faster running sections. The weather was fine with barely a breeze and not overly hot conditions. Bryson had a steady start towards the front of the 350 strong field. The race climbed steadily out of the park and over the town bypass before a steep climb towards the bottom of the mountain proper itself.

Once onto the mountain Bryson worked his way quickly through to the top ten. Behind him he was ably supported by club mates Dermot McGonigle, who was around 40th, Damien Brannigan climbing strongly in about 70th, Richard Rodgers, Mark Kendall, evergreen Jim Patterson and John Curran, running despite a serious problem with his knee.

The race climbs steeply up Jenkins Hill and then contours around the southerly ?small man of Skiddaw? top before climbing steeply onto the summit ridge. Bryson was now 6th and demonstrating once again his amazing climbing ability. Descending is not one of his strengths, but that?s not to say he?s slow, it?s just that some of his main competitors are fast, extremely fast. However, this time Bryson was intent on limiting the damage. Behind him Roberts and Rigby had turned at the top a bit over 30 seconds down, maybe not enough for Bryson to hold on to.

Bryson?s summit time of around 43 minutes and 30 seconds for the 2,700 feet climb and the 4.5 miles was turned into a 22 minutes descent (that?s an average of less than 5 minutes per mile over ground which is devastating to fall on and all after a climb that leaves the legs trashed). Bryson, intent on the title, held on to finish 8th overall, one place ahead of Roberts in 9th and Rigby in 11th.

Bryson now has two wins, as has Rigby with Roberts one win. It?s all down to the final race of the Championship, the Brecon Beacons in South Wales on 16th August, a monster of a race, 19 miles and 4,500 feet of climbing with a winning time of two and a half hours expected with upwards of three hours for the mere mortals.

In the veteran team championship, Newcastle still lie first after winning the first three races of the Series, but Horwich has now won the last two and so it?s all down to the Brecon Beacons race. Victory for Horwich will see them winners on count back, so the boys from Newcastle will be going for broke against what is now looking like a very classy side.

BOGBOY

Results

1st	Simon Bailey	Staffs Moorlands	63 minutes 11 seconds
2nd	Ian Holmes	Bingley	63 minutes 34 seconds
3rd	Nick Sharpe	Ambleside	63 minutes 39 seconds
8th (1st Veteran)	Robbie Bryson	Newcastle	65 minutes 40 seconds
53rd	Dermot McGonigle	Newcastle	73 minutes 48 seconds
65th	Damien Brannigan	Newcastle	75 minutes 07 seconds
94th	Richard Rodgers	Newcastle	77 minutes 56 seconds
124th	Jim Patterson	Newcastle	80 minutes 54 seconds
128th	Mark Kendall	Newcastle	81 minutes 16 seconds
260th	John Curran	Newcastle	94 minutes 13 seconds