Race date: Sunday 31 August 2025

Race category: BM – 8 miles/1700ft

Report by Will Leaning:

Crowden Horseshoe was the lesser of three evils for me, needing one more race for my entry into the club’s fell championship I opted for the shortest of the remaining races, the others being the Exterminator and Curbar Commotion, the latter I might do now the pressure is off.

Crowden is a BM (bloody marvellous) category fell race of approximately 13km and 500m of elevation. Starting and finishing at Crowden campsite, it traces the Pennine Way via Laddow Rocks to the summit of Black Hill, looping around the Soldier’s Lump trig point before a surprisingly fast and boggy descent.

130 runners toed the start line in anticipation of one of the best courses in the Peak (IMO). Fast singletrack, steep inclines, duelling lines for overtakes, rocky descents, spongy peat, big drops, weaving paths, long slogs, and deep, DEEP bogs (which Louis became very well acquainted with), what is not to love?

The first half of the course holds most of the climbing, but you are rewarded at the end of each climb with fast, rutted descents that want nothing more than to trip you up. And then when you think the climbing is done, you are rewarded with an ever-ramping climb up to Black Hill on the stone slabs.

Across the bleakness of the moor, you weave in and out of erosion gullies, following little yellow flags and hoping to avoid the all-consuming mud. A small sting in the tail climb just before the finish protects a harrowing rocky descent, where one misstep is not advisable!

Report by Louis Wood 

Crowden Horseshoe was the 10th counter in the 2025 Fell Race Championships. It’s a great route, that starts and finishes at Crowden campsite. From the start, runners sprint to over the bridge to get a good position at the first stile. This leads everyone on the long steady climb above Laddow Rocks and along the mainly flagged Pennine Way towards Black Hill. From there, is an undulating grassy route back to the campsite on the eastern side of the valley, before a final rocky path drops back into the campsite.

After the exceptionally dry summer, the vast majority of the course was clear of mud and bogs that can often cover this area of moorland. However, several runners, including one Strider, managed to find a chest deep puddle just off the main path near Black Hill. Weather was generally good, but there was a strong headwind following the turnaround.

The race was won by Dan Howarth (Matlock AC) in 1:04:42. First woman (7th overall) was Striders own Abbie Pearse in 1:14:37. There were 130 starters and 128 finishers.

Striders results