Junior Fellrunners Training Weekend 29-30 April

Matthew bagged the last place on this oversubscribed course and joined Andrew Harrison at an outdoor education centre on Penistone Hill near Keighley – up on the moors. The weather wasn’t great but what a time they had!

Fell running is clearly NOT just for the oldies. Last year 25 juniors were present but this year there were 58 on the course and others turned away. Their ages ranged from 9-18, plus coaches and parent helpers.

It was run by Dave and Eileen Woodhead whose motto is “if it ain’t fun, it ain’t worth doing”. They had already impressed Matthew and Chris with their attitude and chocolate prizes at the Championship race on Pendle before Easter. Matthew knew it was going to be good when Dave announced to all assembled in the kitchen “this is all yours, all of it, come and eat what you want when you are hungry”. (that was on top of a main evening meal).

The whole 2 days were varied and action packed. We started with some simple orienteering to break the ice and make friends, then a question and answer session with a physio, a practical on speed training, a talk on nutrition, up and down hill training in a quarry, a long run on the moor through several bogs, a display of stunt mountain biking with a chance to ride the bikes and more….

Saturday evening saw a loosely organized Lancashire V Yorkshire football match. Followed by mud throwing and then at the adults organization raw egg catching. By then they were hyper. Two hours of quizzes and bingo did little to calm them down and sleep seemed unlikely. I eventually fell asleep after 2am. Unfortunately heavy rain forced the pre-breakfast run to be cancelled but by the afternoon it was dry and sunny for the relays. Due to 3 sprained ankles I even got to run in a team.

Matthew slept all the way home but has not stopped talking about it since he woke up. He definitely wants to go next year and Chris wants to go with him!

Karen Nash (parent helper)

Matthew being chased by a 4x4 looks pretty exciting.

A good time was had by all. We already know that Matt is A1, but Andrew K1? What's that mean then?

Thanks to Karen for the report & the pictures.

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