Run the Dales

KILNSEY CRAG RACE

www.kilnseyshow.co.uk

With the spectacle of the fell race up the western side of the dramatic crag being a feature from the very first Kilnsey Show in 1897, the short, sharp, near vertical Kilnsey Crag Race has become the high octane pinnacle of the Yorkshire Dales fell running scene.

As one of the largest one day country shows in the north of England, Kilnsey Show and Sports is a big day out. Set between Kilnsey’s magnificent limestone crag and the River Wharfe, the show is like a travelling circus, agricultural fair and mini Olympics all rolled into one.

Excerpt from Studs & Crooks by Victoria Benn

“The Crag Race is a thrilling spectacle for the crowd at Kilnsey Show. If you think it looks steep from the show field, then it’s twice as bad up there looking down. What makes it special for spectators is that they can see most of the course all the way round. In this race you can see them slipping and scraping up the scree slops, which is like running on a shifting treadmill of rocks, then as little dots on the skyline, and then the moment when the runners first come off the top is always a sight to behold.

“The Crag Race is explosive pace wise, you need to be in pole position half way up because it’s hard to pass on the scree – and its fearsome coming down! You don’t see the runners in the infamous ‘chimney’ which is a forty foot vertical drop, but you can tell by the length of time they’re in there that it’s like a factory chimney – a sheer descent.

“I remember in 1957 I saw the great Bill Teasdale run for the very first time, he’d still another win in him at Kilnsey and two or three at Grasmere Sports, but that year the new kid on the block, Reg Harrison beat him and equalled the record of 8 minutes, 17 seconds, which was a fantastic time even today. Reg Harrison came off the top like a rocket when he’d never been round the course in his life, which just took my breath away.” Roger Ingham MBE

“I remember first time I went to Kilnsey, looking up at it I thought phew…and there was a barbed wire fence coming down which you’d to hang onto to get over and which would cut your hands to pieces. Kilnsey’s a hard run because everyone’s with you nearly at the top. Because it’s a short run they stick to you and if you slip on them screes they’ll get by you.”

Reg Harrison who equalled the course record in 1957, going on to win the race a further four times.
“I got joy out of it! I got beat at Kilnsey a few times... We ran it in queer old conditions, like running in a bloody river! I’d say to them ‘another drop and we’ll be swimming home…!’ I went to quite a lot [of races] down in Yorkshire. You’ve got to say Kilnsey is the best. It was the hardest really, it was just too bloody short for me…”

Bill Teasdale MBE, seven times winner of the Crag Race.

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“Kilnsey was always my favourite. I used to train up it. I won the juniors and the mile and the Crag Race three times. You can’t run up that scree you’ve got to walk but I knew it like the back of my hand. I knew where I could run and where I had to walk…”

Norman Beck, three times Crag Race winner

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“Whoever comes in first gets an ovation like an Olympic champion coming up the home straight – and if it’s an exciting battle to the wire then the commentator will be going up another crescendo with it! Two of the best show-downs I can remember as commentator were between John Atkinson and Steve Carr in 1987 and Mick Hawkins and Andy Peace in 1995 – but of course there have been others, including the Reeves-Sedgewick battles which thrilled the crowds in the years when I was competing. Great classics and a bit more besides!”

Roger Ingham MBE, former coach and athlete and commentator of the sports at Kilnsey Show.

“The Kilnsey Crag Race is iconic because of the crowds. There’s not many races where the crowd are on top of you like that. Back in the 1970s and 1980s there were crowds of 18 – 20 thousand – so it was really inspirational! I ended up running for England and Great Britain 27 times and it all started with Kilnsey Crag Race – it did seriously…”

Michael Hawkins, Kilnsey Crag Race record holder

Listen to Michael’s story below:

“I first ran the senior crag as a 17 year old in 1996. It took 10 minutes and I finished 19th overall and I remember vomiting straight after. Since then I have focused every single running season around that Tuesday afternoon at the end of August…”

Ted Mason, two times winner of Kilnsey Crag Race

Listen to Ted’s story below: