Photo: Felix WattsRace date: 29 July 2024

Race distance: 28.6km

Race report by Matt Broadhead

Some races are too long to remember all of. I did Holme Moss in 2022, but running it this year it kept poking me in the ribs and going “Bet you’d forgotten this bit, hadn’t you? Eh? Eh? Hadn’t you? Aaaah loser.” That included almost all of the section from Holme Moss to Crowden, which includes a stream crossing, a load of moorland and a fast technical descent. In fact, while writing this the day after I’ve had to look back at the map.

Holme Moss is an AL fell race, which in Yorkshire stands for “aah long?”. Race HQ is at the idyllic Cartworth Moor Cricket Club (make sure you get in the bog queue early, male runners) and takes in some of the most forbidding/dramatic scenery you can get to in less than three-quarters of an hour. It’s also a stinker.

After obligatory kit check, we were given our race numbers and a nice Holmfirth Harriers-branded collapsible cup each, which we were told to take with us. We then set off the half mile or so down the road to the start and awaited our fate.

The race is an out-and-back section followed by a loop. The majority of it was either flagged or on the Pennine Way, more so than last time I ran it I think, but there’s still a chunk coming down from White Low to Crowden, and then from Bareholme to the top of Laddow Rocks, where you’re on your own (or if you’re like me, you’re on the people in fronts’ own).

The run itself was very very long, and quite a lot like last time without the delicious cool rain. The descent to Ramsden Clough gradually cut off most of the friendly/nervous banter at my end of the field, and we gently spread out across the 4 miles or so of undulating grassland to Holme Moss mast and checkpoint 1.

From there, it’s into the section I’d forgotten about, which is odd because it does contain a climb of over 100m in about 700m and some monster intimidating views. There’s not a lot of time to think about it though, because soon we were over Westend Moss and on to a technical-if-you-do-it fast rocky narrow path down almost all the way to Crowden. By now I’d done that long race thing where you settled in among a group of people that you keep seeing across the distance. Someone who wasn’t having any of this was a hard-as-nails Dark Peak V70 called Keith Holmes, who sailed past me on the laborious way up Bareholme Moss and ended up finishing 20 places and 35 minutes ahead.

By now I was struggling with the heat, and I hadn’t really eaten enough (my new gels were thicker than I was used to and I’d managed to lose my High5 one at a checkpoint.) I was kind of enjoying myself though, and the giddy descent to the bottom of Laddow Rocks was fun. I soaked my hat in the stream, made my way slowly up the cliff past some picnicking climbers and thought “only the easy bit to go now”.

This was true, but it was still hot and this section of the Pennine Way isn’t exactly smooth or flat. The slog to the top of Black Hill was attritional, with runners just getting their heads down and gritting their teeth, waiting for the merciful flattish peaty bit before the return to Holme Moss itself.

Heading up to the last checkpoint I had 15 minutes before the cut-off, but my knee was starting to stiffen up, not helped by the fact my shoes are getting a bit baggy (think it might be time to retire them). A bit of chocolate from a marshal gave me a boost on my way out of the car park but once across the road and down the hill, it was pretty much game over as my knee started to hurt properly. I shuffled my way to the bottom of the climb that was now back up from Ramsden Clough and began the slowest race up it in history with two other runners. I came second, I think, but was soon overtaken as I limped back across the field.

Once on the road though, I remembered that I wasn’t allowed to walk, so I gritted my teeth, set my knee at a fixed angle and since I was on my own I began to practice my motivational swearing. I am very good at motivational swearing. I’d just got into the swing of it when someone shouted “Go on, you can make the cut-off”.

Hang on. Cut-off? There’s a cut-off at the end as well?* Suddenly, the pain became a distant throb and the sun beating down on me was just a gentle warmth. I’m not missing no bloody cut-off, I’ve been running for five-and-a-half hours!

A sprint finish materialised from nowhere, and I belted across the line, got told there was water inside and was promptly put into a chair next to a table, where a nice lady gave me a cup of tea and moved the sandwiches nearer to me so I didn’t get up. That last part will always be one of my favourite race memories.

So what went wrong, given I was an hour slower than last time? Nonsense heat and lack of training past half-marathon distance. On the plus side, that was well out of my heat comfort zone and I didn’t get cramp or bonk. I’m going to have to do it again, aren’t I?

The race was won by Henry Ruddell (Pudsey and Bramley AC) in an extraordinary 2:50:11, and by Emily Cowper-Coles (Dark Peak) in an also extraordinary 3:03:47. 111 finished, of whom I was 104th in 5:28:29. 22 dropped out or were timed out during the race.

Striders results