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Thanks to Angela for this report from a recent Trunce fell race. I don’t do mud, I’m not particularly keen on hills and the idea of three river crossings with my little legs was a scary prospect so I can only put it down to guilt on Dom’s birthday that I found myself being driven to the little village of Oxspring about an hour away to take part in one of his favourite events, The Trunce. The Trunce is a series of off road races that takes place throughout the year. Each season there are 9 races. The race route is just over 4 miles and involves three river crossings and about 400ft of climb and descent. You get points if you finish in the top 20 of your age category and points for beating your previous PB. Six of us made the journey to the third race of the season on a sunny, but not particularly warm evening. There’s plenty of parking in a field which is well marshalled. Upon arrival you need to register, which is to just give your race number and £3 cash to the guys and make your race number with a marker pen. You register once and keep the same number forever more which was quite cool as a number of participants have had special shirts made with their numbers printed on them (an idea for Dom’s birthday next year perhaps…) Dom told me that it’s great fun, but there is a really hard hill. If Dom is describing a hill in anything remotely negative then it must be bad! Lauren and I took our ‘party at the back’ positions declaring that there was no benefit in going too fast as you get points for beating your PB next time. We decided that less than an hour would be a good target. My new running mantra that is currently serving me quite well is ‘Don’t die, don’t cry’, I’ll admit that it’s quite a low bar, but it takes the pressure off and, to be honest, I just want to get to the end of my runs and be happy rather than hating life which has been the case on many events over the last couple of years! As is usually the case with being at the back you only hear a mumble when the officials are talking, there’s often an applause that we have no idea what it’s for and a few sentence fragments that float our way. Yesterday all I heard was “we gave them some money too so that’s nice”. The juniors get set off first and then when they are a safe distance away they unleash the adults, the juniors complete a shorter course without the wet feet. The start is uphill for a bit before going to a narrow track where we almost walked to the familiar photo gate where we enjoyed the respite of an orderly queue. The ground was very uneven with narrow paths, tree roots, wonky cambers, rocks and stiles made for longer legs than mine. The first river crossing is quite early in the route and is erm “refreshing”, its’ really shallow though and although the banks are muddy they aren’t particularly steep. The second river crossing was the one I was worried about with the friendly advice of “if you get stuck in the middle of the river just shout and someone will help you”, Dom said it’s above his knee so I reckoned that was mid-thigh for me. Again, the trickiest bit was getting in with some big rocks there to navigate as you walk through. I’m not sure if the photographer here was to double up as a lifeguard or was just waiting for someone to take a dunk? I can’t remember the route particularly well and auto stop on my watch wrecked it a bit but it was just a mix of all sorts. The final climb back up seemed relentless, we had already said we were walking the two big hills, but it felt more like crawling at times with some cheeky false summits. Lauren was right behind me though, whispering sweet nothings in the form of positive comments to keep us going. It was reminiscent of my Bestwood sub 30 with Jay being the mental coach. She was right though, “we are amazing!”. The wall at the top of the hill was more of a challenge on my jelly legs that it should have been and I declared enthusiastically to the marshal that I loved him when he told us it was genuinely all downhill now! The last kilometre and a bit was all downhill as promised and in true KADS style, Lauren and I were met by Coach Sam to run us in, with the rest of the gang cheering us in just before the finish. Lauren’s positive mantras clearly worked as she left me in her dust at the end, we were in the same age category as we discovered earlier, so fair play! There’s no mercy when the funnel is in sight, I just couldn’t keep up! 247 adults and 26 juniors took part last night with the first adult finisher coming in at 25:30 and the final finisher being 1:07:16 Our team on the night finished as follows- Ryan 26th place in 31:41, 10th in VM, 11 points Dom 54th place in 35:19, 22nd in SM, 0 points Sam 146th place in 44:21, 9th in VF, 12 points Bev 167th place in 47:17, 3rd VF60, 18 points Lauren 229th place in 56:48, 30th VF, 0 points Angela 232nd place in 56:58, 31st VF, 0 points So how was it? It was blooming tough! I finished 232nd out of 247 runners in 56:58 so I’m happy. As the path narrows so quickly, we definitely lost some time by starting right at the back, we did overtake a fair few people when it got wider. It also didn’t feel like we were slow in finishing or holding anyone up, which has been the case on some events where I’ve had marshals packing away signs before people have gone past on the second lap. I do absolutely think it’s suitable for anyone who can run a league race, it’s not at all easy but you’ll feel really proud of yourself afterwards! After changing into dry shoes and socks and layering up we went to the pub for a well-earned drink. The pub opens specially for the Trunce so it’s nice to say thanks in that way as they let us use their toilets before the start. The verdict- Did I enjoy it? A teeny bit I guess, it was really hard. Am I glad I went? Absolutely, you have to give it a go. Do I recommend it? Yes, it’s something really different and a great personal challenge for anyone. Would I do it again? Well, I got a cup of tea and chocolate at the end so that’s a strong maybe. Blue water gently lapping against the shoreline, blue sky but lots of hills and sharp winds. Not quite a gentle run along a beach but Carsington 7.5 (used to be known as 7+ but they now declare the last 0.5 mile)
Seven KADS donned the maroon and silver at Carsington 7.5 miles on a cold May morning. Reluctantly shedding hoodies after a warm up, walking up to the start line. I was questioning what time I'd written in the predicted time box which had meant I were in the first wave (so was Sam). It started fairly smoothly, until Zoe and I observed runner go down screaming within the first mile. Runners around him were quick to help. It was a reminder of how a misfooting can lead to serious injury. The route spans the circumference of the reservoir, the many uphills and, what seems to be, not that many downhills. With it being a sunny day, the exposed parts of the route were hard. The trees provided welcome comfort. Those familiar course from the Carsington DRL will know it finishes on a hill. Whilst it's tempting to speed up at Millfield car park, its still 2km to the visitors centre. Those 2kms involve a long stretch across the dam. Today the wind was high, battering those trying to run against it. Many with magnetic number clips having to hold them on, my race number felt like a sail. Personally I struggled to get my breathe, I felt like it was 1 stride forward, 9 strides back. Eventually that 400m sign appeared in a tree line giving a respite from the wind and the opportunity to finish strong albeit battered from the wind. It was a great day for KADS. All seven crossing that finish line, even if a little wind swept with Matt achieving 7th place overall. Emma Ryan Stocks, KADS Chair, ran the 2026 London Marathon under the club's ballot place. This is his race report.  The build up to London had gone pretty well. I was on a training plan since January. Admittedly I wanted to start in December however a calf injury prior to Derby 10 put me back a few weeks. But the plan went pretty well, I stuck to about 90% of it and missed maybe 7-10 days back in February due to a shin injury. Again, I tried to run through it at Holmebrook XC and thankfully the repercussions weren’t too bad. I was probably in the best shape I’ll ever be in going into a marathon. But as I said in a previous post, I still had no idea what was going to happen at London. On the day I felt alright. I was pretty relaxed walking up to the start line. We stayed in Greenwich to be nearer the start and not have to worry about travel. I acquainted myself with the inside of a portaloo for 20 mins contemplating life. Then just sat around dynamic stretching, drinking, frequent visits to the urinals and just general relaxing. The time flies and before long I was in the start pen with the smell of deep heat lingering in the air. I chose to wear a cap and sunglasses so that nobody could see me falling apart. But it really helped me switch off and I’ll be using them again. I also wrote ‘D.LY/K.D’ on my arm which got a few enquiries from people near me. Don’t let yourself/Kads down. Whenever I felt I was struggling during the race just have a read of that. I said a little prayer to the running Gods and a few relatives who’ve passed and got my head in the game. The first 15 miles or so I felt good. I was in control, bounding along and it felt effortless. Did I fall into the trap of the ‘false economy’ of feeling too good? Very likely. I made a decision at the start to follow the 3:05 pacer. But through the first 6-7 miles he was yo-yoing a bit with pace so I thought if I stayed in/around/just ahead of him I’ll be fine. And I worked it well to be fair. I took gels at the start/5/10/15 and in between mixed it up with a salt tablet or a piece of Kendal Mint Cake. I also went to as many water stations as possible. Small sips, moisten the neck, face and legs constantly. It seemed to work well and a part of me at halfway was making enquiries mentally about sub 3. But we hadn’t trained for that so I had to fight off those feelings. Between mile 15-20 is when I started to hit a few snags. I thought I’d stood in sticky Lucozade as my trainer kept sticking to the floor. But something didn’t feel right so I took the chance to stop briefly (10-15 seconds) and peeled off a part of my trainer grip which was very disappointing given I had done about 50 miles in them and they cost a packet. *Graphic talk incoming* About mile 18 I was dying for a slash and I was really annoyed with the split time around 7:42, it felt quicker than that. I try not to pee during long runs too much as it’s caused issues previously and resulted in emitting claret urine. Yes I’ve had checks, being poked/prodded etc and had cancer tests in the last 2 years. Apparently it’s called Marching Haematuria and it is something I am keeping an eye on. But I couldn’t hold on here so at mile 20 I stopped for about 90 seconds. The issue after was my legs had seized up in such a small amount of time I was worried. I took a gel and just decided that given I’d had such a good run to just relax and coast it home. A part of me constantly wanted to stop and walk but I fought off the demons which I was pleased with. I had to switch into the reset every mile mode and it worked. I felt a bit more rejuvenated after the last tunnel and heading towards Big Ben I tried to feed off the crowd. All through the race I was also constantly trying to run along the blue line which to be fair never felt crowded. Coming around the last corner and knowing 3:05 was in the bag felt great albeit there was also that bittersweet feeling. Losing 90 seconds for stops and being on track for sub 3 will always linger in the mind. But I trained for 3:05 and I got what I trained for. Can’t have many complaints with that. I wish you guys had seen me salute the camera and kiss the badge but alas as ever I went too quick and it was missed! It did feel like a small monkey off my back that I had done what I set out to do. I owe a lot of thanks. Despite the fact I didn’t use them for a training plan, Micheal and Sam (KADS coaches) still gave me a lot of advice. In fact Micheal was the last person who messaged me on the day with advice and encouragement. As I always say to people get on a plan with them or any questions step into their office. And to all the Kads who helped me along the way whether it be training, support or messages over the last few days. So much love knocking about and it was so good to be sat there in the pub on Sunday afternoon with my first pint(s) and several cocktails in 4 months reading all the messages. I can't thank you all enough. Finally do I feel I did the Kads place justice? Just about! Was I more Mike Bassett than Ian Beale last night in the pub? Yep!  The Fellsman isn’t just another long run—it’s a proper test of endurance, navigation, and stubbornness. Held every spring in the Yorkshire Dales, the route stretches roughly 62 miles (100 km) from Ingleton to Threshfield. On paper, that’s already serious. In reality, it’s tougher: around 11,000 feet of climbing, rough fell terrain, bogs that swallow shoes, and weather that can flip from sunshine to full-on survival mode in a few hours. This year at the Fellsman:
 The Fellsman 2026 – Race Report - Luke Jones Ingleton to Threshfield – 62 miles through the Yorkshire Dales A game of two halves I had a relaxed start to the day. Woke up naturally at 5:15, got ready, and made the short five-minute walk from the B&B to the coach at Threshfield. The drive over to Ingleton was scenic, but you could feel the tension on board—plenty of experienced runners swapping stories. For many, this wasn’t their first Fellsman. I tucked into an egg and bacon sandwich and a flapjack kindly prepared by the B&B hosts—solid start. At Ingleton, I queued for my tracker, race number, and tally card, then found a bit of sun and had a cup of tea while chatting to other runners. Calm before the chaos. The start was exactly that—chaotic. People heading off in all directions. I stuck to what I knew from my recce, jogging steadily up the road before hitting the climb to Ingleborough. Early on, Barney Plummer cruised past—he’d go on to win by over two hours. Poles out, head down, and into the climb. I was sweating early and already thinking about the heat, making a conscious effort to keep sipping fluids. Over the summit, first of 25 tally punches done, then a controlled descent towards Hill Inn. Felt comfortable.  After refilling water, I pushed on towards Whernside. Another steady climb with the poles, passing a few runners, even spotting Ben Rothery mid hill reps with his top off—different game altogether. Summit, punch, and back down. Still moving well, holding back slightly. The descent into Kingsdale was boggy, but the shoes held up well—good call in the end.  Then the climb to Gragareth. The heat really started to bite here. I passed a few struggling runners and was glad to reach the top where it felt slightly cooler. From there, a long runnable section towards Great Coum—I moved well here, passing quite a few people. In hindsight, maybe a bit too well. After Great Coum, the descent into Flinter Gill delivered the usual—straight into a bog. Then a steep, rocky section where I settled into a rhythm with a small group. Fatigue was creeping in, and I was ready for Dent checkpoint. Dent checkpoint: kit check, food, fluids. Took a few minutes to reset—Tailwind, a bit of soup, and a breather. Left with another runner and we stuck together for a while, chatting as we climbed towards Blea Moor. Eventually pulled away and enjoyed the more runnable sections into Stone House. Stone House was a big lift—Anna and Chester were there waiting. Ate some pasta, topped up bottles, and headed out. Then came the climb to Great Knoutberry. This is where things turned. The heat peaked, and the nausea hit, dipping my hat in every stream I could find. Whether it was the temperature, the sugar, or electrolytes—I couldn’t get much down from this point on. Reached the summit, punched, and started descending, but the legs had gone flat.  At Redshaw, seeing Anna and Chester again gave me a boost, but I was struggling. The climb to Dodd Fell was a low point. Another runner came past strong after earlier struggles. I reminded myself of my coach’s advice about the bogs, tried to stay patient, and waited for a second wind that didn’t quite arrive. Passed a runner heading out with a groin injury—puts things into perspective. I was still moving.  At Fleet Moss, I made the call to stop properly and try to eat. Anna and Chester were there again—Chester even helping fill bottles. That lifted me. Temperature was dropping, so I layered up and headed out. The next section was strangely quiet. Woodland, river noise, no one around. After a longer stop, I expected to be swallowed up, but no one came. It felt odd—I thought I was moving slowly, but apparently not that slow. At Marsett, even the volunteers were surprised by the gaps. From there to Stake Moss, it was run-walk. Another runner caught me, I let him go—long game now. The 16-hour target was slipping. Then, out of nowhere—two camping chairs in the distance. Anna and Chester again, eating pizza, watching the sunset. Honestly thought I was hallucinating. Unreal boost.  Pushed on to Cray—technical descent, getting dark, getting cold. At the checkpoint, I saw some strong runners retiring. That was never on the table for me. Layered up, got the headtorch on, forced down some food. Just as I was leaving—Anna and Chester again. One last boost before heading into the night. Buckden Pike in the dark was a different world. I’d recced it, but it didn’t matter—visibility was minimal with mist reflecting the headtorch. Still, the nausea eased and I found a rhythm climbing. Completely alone now, but it felt peaceful. Eventually spotted the red beacon at Park Rash and made my way down. Rice pudding. The highlight. Finally something I could eat properly. A few salted potatoes too. “10 miles to go,” the volunteer said. Mentally tough at that point. Climbed Great Whernside, got disoriented in the mist, and ended up in another bog—this time freezing cold. Slight panic, but pushed on. Kicked a rock hard—toe in bits. Not ideal. Navigation was tricky with multiple beacons not matching up to my GPS — I made a few wrong turns before another runner came through. Reached Yanbury eventually, expecting relief… but it still felt like a slog. From there, it was about getting it done. Long road descent, run-walking, passing runners from the shorter Dart race. One final climb out of Grassington, then over the bridge towards the finish. Just before the end, Anna and Chester pulled up alongside me in the car and followed me in. 16 hours 24 minutes finishing in 27th I couldn’t believe how close I got to the 16-hour target, especially after how rough the second half felt. Absolutely buzzing. 🦋 The Butterfly Effect – Birdwing Race Report Four of us myself, Emma, Sarah and Zoe, ventured out for The Butterfly Effect – Birdwing by Rasselbock, setting off on what started as a wet and drizzly morning… and very quickly escalated into full-blown torrential downpours.
The rain caused flooding around sections of the course and turned the woodland trails into what can only be described as a full-on muddy slip and slide. Despite best efforts to stay upright, gravity eventually won for one of us and no, it wasn’t me! Poor Sarah decided to inspect the mud a little more closely than planned. Thankfully there were no injuries; she bounced straight back up and carried on like the absolute superwoman she is. Between the four of us, we turned up looking like we were heading off-grid for a long weekend. Enough food, medication, spare clothes, and kit to survive several days in the wild we even brought a tent and a flag! These stayed firmly packed away though, mainly because the field was completely waterlogged and the bag drop room was absolutely brilliant. A huge shout out goes to David, our fantastic support crew for the day, although he did briefly disappear for a cheeky Weatherspoons breakfast (can you blame him?). We didn’t necessarily run together throughout the day, but some of us crossed paths. Each of us had our own personal goals and targets in mind. Some of us hit them; some of us may have slightly overdone them (no names mentioned… Emma), and some of us weren’t quite where we wanted to be fitness-wise, but overall, it was excellent training for what’s ahead.
So far, myself, Emma and Zoe have already booked onto the August edition of the event. Sadly, it clashes with Sarah’s son’s birthday, so she may not be able to join us, but if anyone else fancies coming along, we can’t recommend it enough. It’s a fantastic event by Rasselbock, a genuinely great day out and hopefully next time it’ll be a lot warmer with significantly less mud! Coach Sam  Thanks to Chair Ryan for this report from Mallory Park: I can't imagine the cashier at Morrisons had the first customer through the door at 8am on a Sunday morning buying only 'bananas and Vaseline' on her bingo card yet there I was, awkwardly buying them together. For clarity the bananas were for eating and the Vaseline to ward off chafing. Take your minds out of the gutter. The drive down was wet and foggy and I was regretting my decision to enter this event. Thankfully I managed to avoid the crash that held up the Myers clan and I was there in good time, unlike them. We did manage a quick pre-race brief when they eventually arrived just before the start. Two things I've never been very good at in my running life, lapped events and pacing myself. Those that know me know I go out too fast and tend to capitulate on lapped events, succumbing to giving up. So today I had to contend with pacing myself at marathon pace (6:57-7:05) and doing 8 laps of the same course (approx 1.6 miles). The plan was to run at least 10 miles at marathon pace and pick up for the final 3. How did it go? Surprisingly ok. The stats will say barring mile 1 I was slightly quicker than marathon pace (I imagine a lot of people had money on that). But I felt comfortable, never really feeling like I was working too hard and mostly switched off. I made a mental decision to reset every mile. Being part of the 'competitive d**kheads union' it was a real battle to not go after people. Rich was pepper potting past me now and again doing his own plan and I really appreciated his encouragement at the switch back point. Super Kev Roughton was also on course and gave us a lot of encouragement. Being a lapped event the leaders (including former KAD Bruce) came past us around lap 6/7. Around that time the 5/10k had started and it was a bit of carnage maneuvering through the start/finish point which did result in a few disagreements between people. The organisers really didn't make the turn wide enough to be honest. The last 3 miles I was supposed to kick. In the confusion of laps I kicked at mile 9. But it felt great actually having energy at the end of a race instead of feeling sluggish. The plan worked quite well, negative splits over the last few miles was such a good feeling and I finished strong. For 8 laps it wasn't too bad mentally, the weather held out, the wind died down and it was good conditions. Plenty of work still to do, we are only early in the plan and sustaining this pace between 6:50-7:00 will feel difficult but it's a target. On a side note, it was great and such a lift to see other KADS at an event. Whenever I go to a race nowadays and don't see any KADS, it feels like your first day at big school, all alone with no one to talk too! Thanks to Sarah Neilson for the photos/video, Mrs Myers for the support and Rich and Chris for the encouragement.   Thanks to our men's captain Dom Devlin for this report from his time on the Pennine Way last weekend: This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. After having an amazing time and doing well on the Spine Sprint last year I was excited to take it to the next level with this race and was once again blessed with perfect winter conditions, which was what I wanted. These are supposed to be ‘Britian’s most brutal’ races and this has definitely lived up to that. I had never done a race of 100+ miles before but my mantra for years has been ‘go harder or go home’ so picking the most difficult one I could find seems like a good idea. Training Anyone who has spoke to me at all in the last few months is probably sick hearing about my plantar issues so I won’t go into too much detail here but I didn’t get to do anything like the amount of training for this race that I wanted to. I was running around 50 miles a week including a hill session and doing two strength sessions in the gym. Trying to balance training for something like this with recovering from injury was difficult and while I definitely was undertrained going in, I had been feeling positive about my running for the few weeks before. I did manage to get a few days out on the course including recces of everything after Hebden, which meant that I had seen the entire course at least once before the day. Build up to the race In the week before the race it became clear that we were going to get the winter conditions, great for the race rubbish for getting to the start line, my train and all others into Edale cancelled for Thursday and Friday. After a bit of scrambling around I manged to get a lift to Edale from Kerstine on the Friday afternoon, thanks so much to her for getting me there. No issues with kit check, I was using mostly the same gear as last year so was comfortable with everything. I go with 20l bag for most of my kit then 3l waist bag on the front for my food. The start of the race was delayed until 10 on Saturday morning which then meant I had time for a normal wake up time and a good breakfast. Edale to Hebden (48 miles) I really enjoy the first section of this race and was really having to hold myself back running across from Edale to Jacob’s ladder on a beautiful snowy morning, up Jacob’s and off over Kinder. The snow was pretty deep over the top and was tough going but good fun. Out over Bleaklow is hard going in the snow, but probably preferable to Bleaklow without snow. I refilled my water at the mountain rescue CP at Torside and was moving pretty well in the section after that over Laddow rocks and Black Hill, couple of nice climbs with some good running in between, even if it was through snow and pretty sapping. After this the path down by the reservoirs was quick, followed by the sharp decent to the river crossing and immediate climb back up and across Marsden Moor. By the time I made it to the mountain rescue CP at Brun Clough I was cold and tired and very glad of the tea and rocky road they provided. I paused for long enough to drink it then pushed on to Nicky’s food bar. I hadn’t planned to stop here but was very glad I did since having some actual hot food made me feel and lot better, plus I also got a couple of chocolate bars to add to my food bag, which were a welcome change. It seemed to take a long time to get to Stoodley Pike, I always think this because you can see it in the distance for ages. It then seemed to take a long time to get from there to the checkpoint at Hebden Hey. I was running with another couple of guys and we were all feeling a little rough by this stage, I had already decided that my pre-race plan of get in and out of Hebden as quick as possible was going to need to change because I needed some rest. The climb out of Hebden Bridge before even get to the checkpoint is really difficult, it’s a steep path that winds through some nice houses. Looking back and seeing the headtorches on the other side of the valley was pretty cool. The checkpoint itself was down another steep path that was covered with ice, similar to much of what was to come the next day. Hebden Checkpoint The fire was lit in the drop bag room in Hebden and it was nice to be in the warm for a minute. I had decided that I was going to have an hour of sleep after I’d changed and eaten. On opening my drop bag I discovered that a fork that was in my food bag had pierced the side of an iron bru can and it had gone over all my food and some other stuff, fortunately my clothes were in a dry bag so didn’t get soaked and I had another can to drink. Still took over 20 minutes to get everything out, dried and sorted, food replenished for the next stage (sticky but mostly fine). I had two bowls of chicken broth with rice and got into bed with my alarm set for one hour later. Bed was a top bunk in colder room with a few people already sleeping and I only managed twenty minutes of sleep in that hour. Kit check, bottles filled and off into the night. After climbing back up the hill and through the little town I stopped to take off my fleece layer since I was warmer than expected and when closing my bag the zip burst. Impossible to repair by the trail side I had to improvise by stuffing everything into my bivy bag and wedging it in so nothing could fall out, it was sticking out the side of my bag for the rest of the race. Hebden to Gargrave (78 miles) As we went into the early hours of Sunday the rain started and since the ground was still frozen there was a lot of sheet ice to deal with throughout the day and the rest of the course. There are some nice flat reservoirs to run past here and the climbs are some of the less taxing ones but the whole section was made harder by the cold and ice. Everything seemed to be taking a long time to get done and I was certainly hampered by being more runner than hiker because there was not a lot of running and I am not as fast when I drop to a walk as I would like to be, probably need to do more of this in training for mega races. I was also misremembering the order in which things came and always seemed to think I was closer to the next milestone than I actually was. The weather on Sunday was miserable and the day is a bit of a blur, I had started to develop a chesty cough overnight which got worse through the day and my left elbow was starting to hurt from using trekking poles more than I usually do, luckily my existing foot injury was giving me no trouble at all. At what felt like lunchtime, but may have been later, I stopped in the Hare and Hounds in Lothersdale and had a cup of tea and some chips. It’s a great pub that I previously stopped in on a recce day and lots of spine runners were using it as a pit stop. I put my fleece layer back on at this stage and kept all my layers from here until the end. The course around here is undulating and through quite a few farmers’ fields some rough track and a couple of road sections, again with a lot of ice. I saw some red squirrels as well. When I finally got to Gargrave I had a couple of minutes in the public toilets to change my socks then got a meal deal from Co-op and headed on towards Malham. Gargrave to Malham Tarn (87 miles) After Gargrave there are more farmers’ fields to cross and some beautiful scenery, that I seen none of because it was dark by this point. I know checkpoint 1.5 is at Malham Tarn, I know where that is, I have ran past before and marked where it was and yet on the day of the run I had convinced myself it was in Malham itself, 4 miles earlier, which in the tired state I was in felt like a massive blow. It felt like I was running in circles through the fields at this point and I kept thinking I’d made nav errors when I hadn’t and doubting myself and was glad when the runner behind caught up and I ran with her for the next couple of miles. There was a barn owl sitting in a tree too which was pretty cool. After 10 minutes rest in the toilets in Malham we set off for the cove. I had to put my yaktraks on here to get over the ice in the next section and thankfully after the massive stair climb at the cove, we were diverted away from the limestone rocks and to the other side for safety reasons. The climb after Malham Cove was a real slog, I was flagging badly and really needed the checkpoint. Hallucinations started here, rocks were becoming sheep, cows, bits of discarded gear, people, all of them were just rocks. The weirdest one was a guy in full workman’s clothing leaning on a wall that turned out to just be the wall. Even the run around the lake to the visitor centre seemed to take an age and the half hour sit down at the checkpoint was badly needed. I put my socks on a radiator, wishing I brought another spare pair so I could have had clean ones, and taped up my blistered feet. Malham Tarn to Horton (94ish miles) Pretty soon after Malham Tarn comes Fountains Fell, a slog of a climb into a headwind. I really like this hill and the challenge it presents, you keep thinking you are at the top and then there is another climb. As I said to the safety team I met part of the way up ‘fountains fell at 3 in the morning in the dead of winter, where else would I rather be?’ On the way back down there was no respite from the wind, straight into my face and the footing was terrible with the ice, a very difficult section, my right knee had started to play up and my cough getting worse. In the valley between there and Pen-y-gent there were lights in the distance everywhere (except there weren’t), people camping out in tents all over the place (except there weren’t) and a creature that may have been a dog and may have been a bear jumped out from the side of the trial at me (except it didn’t). All of these things were just tufts of long grass by the side of the trails, again the hallucinations were mad. As is usually the case when it is windy and icy we were diverted off Pen-y-gent and given how I was feeling at that point I wasn’t unhappy about this so instead the route followed the slabbed path down into Horton, with my knee now really starting to hurt. Horton to Hawes (Finish) Horton is a lovely little village, the carpark has a public toilet, there’s a train station and a couple of nice pubs. There is however nowhere to get a cup of coffee early on Monday morning, and I really wanted a cup of coffee. From here there are two climbs left and a long descent to the finish. The fist climb is smaller and I enjoyed it quite a bit while trying to work out a strategy with my remaining food because I was getting dangerously low on stuff. My knee was hurting on the short downhill between the two climbs and I really wanted to run but every time I picked up the pace I started coughing. I was seriously flagging on the second hill up the Cam High Road until I took a paracetamol with caffeine and it seemed to perk me up. I started to really enjoy myself running, more of a plod than a run but better than a walk, over the icy flat section at the top until finally I came to the 3 mile descent to the end. The rain was hammering down at this stage and the side of the fell and the last few fields were incredibly muddy, but then I love running in muddy fields and thought to myself if I’m going to run I may as well run fast, so I picked up the pace and ran hard through the fields with a smile on my face, then over the flagstones, out of the alley and up the road to the post box. Afterwards I was very well looked after at the finish with food and warm drinks. The medic took a look at my knee and said it should be ok in a couple of days and I rushed off to get a train to Leeds where Ryan was picking me up. I have no idea how I finished this race when around 44% dropped out, I’m not as fit as I could be but I do seem to have a mental edge for this stuff. I think being stubborn is a big part of it but so is being able to deal with discomfort and push on anyway. The biggest advice I would give anyone getting into ultrarunning is get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I wouldn’t advise anyone to do this race, if it’s something you should do you’ll already know. A massive thanks are due to Kerstine for driving me there, Ryan for picking me up, Angela for putting up with me though this whole thing and to everyone who watched my dot, sent me words of encouragement and supported me along the way. There were times where I could have quit this race and a big part of why I didn’t was my friends willing me on along the way. P.S. A couple of people have asked if I was raising money for charity, I wasn’t, I do running just for fun and the love of it. However if I have inspired anyone to donate to a charity any of the peak district mountain rescues would be appropriate, they do such an incredible job keeping us all safe in the hills. These are the messages sent to Dom through the race's messaging system during and after the event:
You bloody legend! Massive congrats Dom! So pleased for you! 👌🏻👏🏻🙌🏻😁 Shaun cooper12 Jan 26 18:37 Happy tears for you mate ! Huge congrats 👏 🙌 ❤️ 💖 💙 💕 👏 🙌 Zoe Furley12 Jan 26 16:21 Legend!!! So proud of you mate. ❤️💪❄️✊️ Jay12 Jan 26 16:14 Congratulations!!!! Amazing effort. Well done! Gill12 Jan 26 16:10 Well done Dom! We just managed to watch you over the finish line! What a cracking effort 👏👏 Claire H, Lisa D an Sam12 Jan 26 15:45 Woohoo awesome 🙌🏻 🥰 Brigid12 Jan 26 15:45 Congratulations Dom!! Smashed it!!! Sarah Hill12 Jan 26 15:44 Whey yes yes yes 🙌 👏 😍 Dad12 Jan 26 15:44 Congratulations! Can't wait to hear all about it in maths on Thursday! Tilly in year 912 Jan 26 15:43 Smashed it mate!!! Congratulations!! 💪🏻👏🏻 Stu12 Jan 26 15:42 We love you uncle Dom keep going! Eilish and Maria12 Jan 26 15:11 Come on Dom, that beautiful little village is literally in sight! 😁💪🙏🏼🍀 Katie N12 Jan 26 15:05 Nearly there Dom, keep pushing!! Eve12 Jan 26 15:05 Wow wow wow 😀 I've never done so much dot watching! You are absolutely amazing! Karen Layton12 Jan 26 14:59 Just a parkrun to go mate!!! Absolute legend!!! 👊🏻 Stu12 Jan 26 14:54 Just a map run with the boys left or a couple of laps of Bestwood. You got this!! can someone phone Heidi and get him an extra day off though or move his classroom? Angela12 Jan 26 13:28 Unreal Dominic, excellent stamina proud of you lad well done 👏 👏👏 Dad12 Jan 26 12:58 Home stretch! Phenomenal effort Dom 👏 Simon12 Jan 26 12:43 You are so close to the end. Just keep plodding on. You’re a super star Kerstine12 Jan 26 12:14 Almost there, you've got this! Helen12 Jan 26 12:12 Go on DOM ! Home stretch lad 💪💪💪 Zoe Furley12 Jan 26 12:09 My hero Paul12 Jan 26 11:41 Just incredible!! Bring it home my friend! Oli12 Jan 26 11:36 Doing amazing Dom! The last bit now! Keep focused 💪🏻💪🏻 Shaun cooper12 Jan 26 10:58 Can’t believe you’re still running!! Keeping you in my prayers x Granny12 Jan 26 10:24 Keep going Dom, last part now, you’re doing amazing. One foot in front of the other. Sam12 Jan 26 09:47 Nearly there now Dom, keep pushing! We are all so proud of you!! 👏 Sarah and David Hill12 Jan 26 09:10 Go on Dom! You can make it back for briefing at this rate Stash12 Jan 26 07:55 Go on Dom, you madman! Nearly there now keep pushing! Eilish and Maria12 Jan 26 06:35 Go on Dom, you’ve got this! Dodsleys12 Jan 26 06:10 Well done Dom. Amazing effort you’re putting in through the night!! Neil12 Jan 26 02:44 Proud of you Dom, you’ve got this. The Cassidys12 Jan 26 01:27 Cracking run so far. Chris12 Jan 26 00:24 Cracking effort out there Dom, absolutely tenacious Adam11 Jan 26 23:13 You’re doing an incredible job, Do , and as the night draws in, we are all still rooting for you. Full of admiration for your strength and tenacity! Keep digging deep. You’ve got this!👊👊🙌🙌🙌 Cath Agius.11 Jan 26 21:10 Keep ‘er lit lad … you are awesome 😘☘️ Brigid11 Jan 26 21:00 Keep going you are doing amazing and are such an inspiration 😀 Bev11 Jan 26 20:52 Keep it up Dom Dad11 Jan 26 20:43 In awe of you man. Keep putting one foot in front of the other Tony11 Jan 26 20:33 Last push Dom! All of BC is watching you in awe. Kat11 Jan 26 20:20 Brilliant job Dom, doing yourself and your club proud! Jason Buckley11 Jan 26 19:43 You’re doing amazing pal stick at it mate Adam Tomlinson11 Jan 26 19:12 Keep going Dom! You are doing so well and we are all willing you on! You’ve got this 💪 Claire H11 Jan 26 17:46 Get into the Co-op at Gargrave, Dom, and fuel up with some warm food (and maybe a coffee?). Can't believe you are going so well in such horrendous conditions. You've done too much to stop now - keep digging in and keep fuelling. Amazing achievement. Pete D11 Jan 26 17:32 I’m so amazed by your strength.. keep going Dom your bloody amazing xx Sarah Hill11 Jan 26 14:40 Legend. Keep going mate, you got this! X Helen11 Jan 26 14:23 Keep going Dom. We are thinking about you and dot watching. Keep going- this is what you have prepared for, you can do it. Love Team Crouch Dawn Crouch11 Jan 26 14:11 Dom, we are completely in awe. You are doing a Herculean task and you just keep going 🙌🙌 Incredible effort. All of the BC clan are rooting for you. Howay the lad!👊👊🙌🙌 Cath Agius11 Jan 26 11:46 Keep going Dom, Amazing achievement. I'm in awe Rob Gibb11 Jan 26 10:00 Keep going Dom - absolutely brutal and brilliant what you are achieving - keep pushing through. 👍 David Hill11 Jan 26 08:49 Great work Dom! Incredible effort mate, on your way home now fella. ✊️ Jason Buckley11 Jan 26 08:48 Unbelievable stuff Dom, can’t quite believe it when I look at the map! Keep going mate, you really are a legend. X Katie Newton11 Jan 26 08:44 Dom you are doing so well! Good call to have a stop and a rest overnight- now you can push on in the daylight today. We’re all so in awe of what you’re achieving- just keep putting one foot in front of the other. You Got This! 💪 Lisa Deacon11 Jan 26 08:36 You’re my hero. Keep it going Dom your doing amazing The Iron bru man11 Jan 26 07:59 You’ve got this mate. Keep moving forward. You do it because you love it. Sending the biggest of ‘you crazy butter’ hugs. Kerstine xx Kerstine11 Jan 26 06:48 Half way is approaching mate, absolutely smashing it!!! 💪🏻 Stu11 Jan 26 04:22 Amazing stuff Sir Dom 👏, keep up the unbelievable work, you got this! Simon11 Jan 26 00:22 Go on Dom ! Thinking of you bud through this night section 🙌💙 you've got this mate Zoe Furley10 Jan 26 21:11 Keep going Dom! You’ve got this! Claire H10 Jan 26 20:55 Dom you got this! Thinking of you on this epic journey! Oli, Smara, Alina, Shaun and Tom10 Jan 26 20:52 Cracking effort pal. Good luck through the night. See you tomorrow babe x You can tell me all about it on the journey home. I’ll bring a beer for you. Ryan (no.1 fan)10 Jan 26 20:51 Hi Mr Devlin!!! You're doing great! You can do this! Keep going!!! Tilly in year 910 Jan 26 20:34 Keep going Dom, you're doing awesome. Hopefully you've got some food in you now and you're back on it 🤞 Olwen10 Jan 26 20:25 Tough going watching the dot ,keep er lit lad Dad10 Jan 26 20:19 Keep Going Dom!! You’ve got this 🤩 Eve10 Jan 26 20:18 You're amazing Dom! Keep going c: Kat10 Jan 26 20:09 Phenomenal effort, Dom. I know it's hard going into the night but you have trained hard for this and I know you are stubborn as hell. Relentless Forward Progress - Pain is temporary, glory is forever!! You're a legend!! Best of luck, Pete D10 Jan 26 19:56 Smashing it Dom! Doing awesome Pal! 💪🏻💪🏻 Shaun cooper10 Jan 26 19:50 Well done Dom!!! Keep going!! Sarah Hill10 Jan 26 19:45 You are doing so well Dom - keep going! #Slay king Huma Saeed10 Jan 26 18:34 Keep going Dom, keep strong through the night, rest when you need too. Sam10 Jan 26 18:22 You’re doing brilliantly, Dom. We are in awe! Keep on running 👊👊👊 Cath & the Agius clan. Cath Agius10 Jan 26 17:53 Looking at the ice here and thinking of you. Keep going!! Good luck Gill10 Jan 26 17:33 Hey Dom!! Looking strong, keep going!! You have got this!! Your my inspiration 😊 Sarah Hill10 Jan 26 17:10 Keep going you are doing amazing 👍🏼 Bev Barnes10 Jan 26 17:10 Keep going strong Dom! 💪🏽 Dani10 Jan 26 16:55 hey sir, most people would have given up by now but don’t be people! (from your favs) amari and nell10 Jan 26 15:03 Tracking you 😊 amazing run. Karen Layton10 Jan 26 13:45 Keep going Dom, you can do it! Shell Shell10 Jan 26 13:02 Be awesome Dom even though I think you're nuts 😂 And most of all enjoy yourself! Helen10 Jan 26 12:39 Good luck Dom, take care Mick10 Jan 26 11:35 Go Dom go!!! Wow, you’re absolutely bonkers! I hope the snow and ice isn’t too bad, and the sun is shining for you. Go get those miles Superman! Clare x (KADS)10 Jan 26 10:47 Best of luck from your festival friends! Beril&Toni09 Jan 26 22:12 Good Luck mate…give it your best! Ben Betts09 Jan 26 21:20 Good luck Dom, go and be the best you can and enjoy! 💪🏃♂️😊 Sam09 Jan 26 20:57 Good luck Dom, go and be the best you can and enjoy! Sam09 Jan 26 20:57 Have a blast Dom Dad09 Jan 26 20:54 Be awesome, there is no try (or spiders) Send me your list of demands for your triumphant return meal on Monday. Love you lots you crazy hallion xx Angela & Pasco09 Jan 26 20:50 Go and have a fantastic run, Dom! Enjoy the adventure and looking forward to watching your dot heading up to Hawes 💪 Lisa Deacon09 Jan 26 19:06 Go Dom, go! We are sending you our best and willing you on, you mad fool! The Crouch family xx Dawn Crouch09 Jan 26 18:57 Have fun with it Dom! Or whatever you get instead of fun? Kat09 Jan 26 18:27 Hi, this is from your 3 favourite maths students, George, Dom and Josh, Hope you smash it👍 George09 Jan 26 17:06  Thanks to Coach Sam Garside for this roundup of the North Midlands Cross Country race series 2025-2026. Men’s The men’s team got their North Midland Cross Country League campaign underway back in October 2025, in surprisingly summer-like conditions! Race 1 – Markeaton Park The opening race of the league at Markeaton Park saw Ryan Stocks, Liam Johnson, and Nick Tennant representing KADS in the Masters category. Results on the day were:
Race 2 – Kettering Race 2 took place on a beautiful afternoon in Kettering. On this occasion, Ryan Stocks was the sole male KADS representative, finishing in a strong 97th place. Race 3 – Allestree Race 3 at Allestree delivered classic cross-country conditions, with muddy terrain, a cheeky hill, and drizzly weather throughout the afternoon. Unfortunately, Ryan was unable to participate due to injury, but he was still there on the day, providing full support to his teammates Liam Johnson and Dan Bailey. Results on the day were:
Race 4 – Bulwell The final race of the league took place at Bulwell Hall Park on a snowy afternoon, making for a challenging but exciting finale. Ryan returned to racing, joined by Kev Johnson. Results on the day were:
A fantastic league from the men’s team, showing real commitment, resilience, and team spirit throughout the season. Well done to all the lads who represented KADS across the months — a brilliant effort from start to finish. Ladies This year, the ladies joined the league with a delayed start, entering from Race 2. Race 2 – Kettering On a beautiful afternoon in Kettering, Sam Garside joined Ryan Stocks on the road trip and began the KADS ladies’ North Midland League debut. Sam finished in 79th place. Race 3 – Allestree Race 3 at Allestree delivered classic cross-country conditions, with muddy terrain, a cheeky hill, and drizzly weather throughout the afternoon. This race marked a big milestone for the KADS ladies, as we fielded our first ladies’ team, competing in the senior category. The team consisted of Lisa Deacon, Zoe Furley, and Sam Garside, with some fantastic performances:
Race 4 – Bulwell The final race of the league took place at Bulwell Hall Park on a snowy and icy afternoon, making conditions tough underfoot. Once again, we proudly fielded a ladies’ team of Lisa Deacon, Zoe Furley, and Sam Garside, with outstanding results:
What a fantastic way to finish the league. We are so proud that we successfully had a ladies’ team representing KADS at two out of the four races in our debut year in the North Midland Cross Country League. Hopefully, next year we can build on this success and possibly field a couple of ladies’ teams? Huge thanks to all the KADS teammates who came together to make the season such a positive experience. Roll on 2026/27! Coach Sam      Thanks to Emma Makin for arranging this event and for the write-up below:  Not so much a race report, but an annual KADS tradition and one which I hope continues. On Monday 22nd December, 15 KADS took a trip up the motorway to Alfreton to run Alfreton Jogging Club (AJC)'s Reindeer. The 4.4 mile course creates a rather stunning strava reindeer. After a year out, the Reindeer was back for its 10th Birthday. Unlike previous years where we could just turn up, this year it required booking. This was purely for safety and one I think we can appreciate as there are no road closures (just a few bemused drivers).  We started at the Health Centre, making sure all of us started our watches/strava at the lamppost before making our way down Alfreton high street. Initially we started running as a large group at a steady pace, chatting away as we ran. About half way round, the group split into two (the organisers did this). The groups cheering each other along when our paths crossed. It certainly looked like there was a party at the back as they were singing their way around!  One mighty hill to finish, then the reindeer was complete (unless the GPS Gremlins have other ideas as Sarah-Jane found out). Medals could be purchased for £6, monies raised all going to Derbyshire Mountain Rescue. If you want a social, fun run, this is the run for you. It's also free. We need to say a massive thank-you for Alfreton Jogging Club who provide numerous run leaders for it. We also need to say well done to their two collies who ran up and down the group multiple times to check everyone was having a good time and most importantly was safe. Continuing another KADS tradition, we enjoyed a pub tea and a chat in the local Wetherspoons to finish up.   All photos courtesy of Craig Linacre Photography My last two races haven't been great - a DNF at Robin Hood (hamstring, pulled out at Wollaton) followed by a cracked elbow out in a 12 mile Menorca trail race (slipped on rock, but managed to finish). Since then the hamstring issue has shifted around to my hip and I’ve been living in the gym trying to keep some degree of fitness. This was my first time running the Bolsover 10k and these issues brought a bit of jeopardy to the show! My right hamstring, hip and calf were all vying for top spot of niggles, plus I was laid up with the man-flu all last week. This left me in a curious mood as we shuffled about in the start pen. Would I end up walking a few miles home? Or could I nurse myself around to the finish? Toss of a coin. Typing this out it’s clear I should have cried off. But I’m a runner, ya know, and I enjoy the atmosphere of being at a race. Among ‘my tribe’ if you like, other people who like the feeling of competing, of pushing themselves. I’d booked the race hoping to really go at it and try and get under 38 (possible, but only at my very peak). Fast forward a few months and the time had become irrelevant. I just wanted to be there, to complete the course and soak up the atmosphere. In terms of logistics, I was lucky to get a lift from Nick, our ever-positive and inspiring club secretary. We had a good chat on the 30 min drive up the M1 to Bolsover where Nick, having run this event many times, knew exactly where to park on the road in. There are car parks in the small town, but loads of folks parked on the entrance road too. Bibs had already been posted out with bag drop labels, so it was a short jog down to the historic castle with no pressure to collect them. Road closures were already in place, or about to be, and it was obvious where to go from all the other folks in running gear. It felt a bit like a mini-Ashby 20 atmosphere to me, and with no pressure on pace, I had no nerves for once and enjoyed the build-up. Over 1,000 people completed the race, so it's a decent-sized event. The castle is a 17th century rebuild on a medieval site and has magnificent views over the countryside (article about the castle here). The race village area inside the castle grounds had a good vibe as we stared at the rolling landscape under a crimson sky. Thankfully, Red Sky in the Morning, Shepherd's Warning was disproven yesterday. A headwind slowed us at times but it stayed dry and mild. Being managed by North Derbyshire Running Club, the organisation was slick. Bag drop and collection were smooth, lots of info was sent beforehand, the marshals were plentiful and encouraging and they even had a full set of pacers with backpack flags. A few other KADS had shown up and I found myself with Ed just in front of the 45 min pacer. I could see Dale a couple of rows ahead. Matt, who finished a fantastic 10th, was off in the far distance, somewhere unseen up ahead. Behind were Iyan (who passed me going very strong a mile or so in), Kerstine (who was pacing a friend) and Nick (who ran a great race after enduring a difficult year). The Bolsover course undulates through countryside lanes (it’s fast, but not as fast as pancake flat Wilne). Some are closed, some half-closed and some of the quieter ones left open to traffic. I didn’t have any issues with vehicles, there was lots of space. I’ve heard unthinking drivers can be an issue on this course, so I kept my wits about me just in case. My calf was my biggest concern, feeling tight and sore. I switched from forefoot to heel striking which seemed to help, and just nursed it round, slowing down on the inclines. I enjoyed the usual mini-battles with the runners around me, but was relieved to get back to the downhill track which heads to the finish arch. A cool place to finish a race, and a good opportunity to give it any remaining pace you might possess. Nick had another appointment afterwards so we didn’t hang around, just enough time to enquire with some of the other KADS and runners from other clubs. We all received a medal but the T shirt was optional. Useful for me as I can’t fit any more in my drawer. Nick picked his shirt up, just a short queue, and we headed off for the half hour trip home. Thanks again for the lift and the company Nick, much appreciated. Would I do Bolsover again? Definitely. Fingers crossed I’ll be match fit and be able to have a hard run at it in December 2026. Full set of KADS results below. Cheers, Jason Buckley  |
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