Report by Anna Morton

Race date: 26 – 27 April 2025

The Fellsman is a 61 mile race and has been running for 61 years, but this year was the first year of the Fellsman Dart – a 30 mile race over the Yorkshire Dales fells and moorland. The start was in Redshaw with a gentle climb to Snaizeholme, followed by four main climbs up to Dodfell Hill, Yokenthwaite to Hell’s Gap, up Buckton Pike and up Great Whernside.

By 22 miles, the big climbs are all out of the way and it felt like you could really race the last 8 miles down to Grassington and then onto the finish in Threshfield.

It’s advertised as a climb of over 4,200 ft but my watch only clocked a measley 3,953 ft. But a whopping 4,980 ft of descent.

The route itself is one that you plan yourself with a few waymarked points that you have to follow. So, there was a really nice atmosphere of people working together to figure out the ‘correct’ path. I made my biggest errors when I was on my own following my own route planning.

There were 13 checkpoints along the way and any roadside checkpoints were food stations, complete with portaloos and some were even rigged up with disco lights for partying at when the sun went down.

The kit list was extensive to accommodate those going through the night and in case of adverse weather. My favourite piece of kit was the goggles but unfortunately (fortunately) I didn’t get to use them!

As it was the first Dart there were a few teething issues with timings and logistics which led to being on a coach for longer than we would have liked but it wasn’t something that could be helped and hopefully will be fixed for future years! My aim was to complete the run in 8 hours and get back before dark, so I was extremely pleased to finish before both of these things! The weather could not have been better and there was a lovely atmosphere of comradery!

92 runners took part in the first Fellsman Dart. The race was won by Kate Archer in a time of 05:10:51. First male was Ted Leahy in a time of 05:27:20.  Anna finished in an incredible time of 07:33:01, well inside her target of sub-8 hours.

Striders Results: