Cumberland Fell Runners

Blue skies and blustery winds awaited the 34 Cumberland Fellrunners juniors taking part in the recent Latterbarrow Loop.

They set off from Cold Fell Gate, between Ennerdale and Calderbridge, and all dug deep as they headed off on the lengthy climb into the hilltop wind. Things speeded up in the final section when the juniors came off the summit and flew downhill on the dry, runnable fellside.

Alisha Bond was the first under 8 girl home, in 5.51 minutes. She was followed by Ishbelle Greenbank (6.29) and Anne Mellor (7.10). There were four boys in the under 8s, all coming in within a minute of each other: Alex Rhodes (5.30) was first, then came Charlie Hedley (6.00), Jamie Branon (6.15) and Seb Mason (6.27).

A fantastic turnout of 58 runners were rewarded with bright sunny weather, albeit with a strong north-westerly. A great run by youngster Sam Johnson of Ellenborough saw him finish first just ahead of Darren Block (CFR) and Sam’s club mate Brian Taylor. We were expecting to see Carl Bell and Phil Winskill come over the last summit in the lead, however the marshal on the 3rd checkpoint led them astray losing crucial time whereas the local knowledge of the Ellenborough & CFR runners directed them to the correct checkpoint overtaking Carl and Phil in the process.

Other runs of note were from the two under 16s Joseph Smith and Philip Jennings coming in 6th and 11th respectively, proving this is definitely a course for young legs.