Race date: 6 July 2025

Race distance: 10km

TL;DR This is a smashing race.

I decided after some very enjoyable but not felly recent races that I really needed to do some off-roading, and Great Hucklow ticked all the Sunday-morning-fell-race boxes: medium distance, medium climb, not too far away and not done it before. I signed up.

Sunday morning arrived and I headed out into a light drizzle with a matching light hangover (Marple beer run and associated peripheral beer the day before), feeling quite excited to be doing a new and unknown race. Parking was a challenge, but I squeezed in near the pub and headed up the hill to the primary school and registration.

The fact that I’d failed to bring cash to order a sausage sandwich for afterward did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm, and I was soon pleased to discover this was one of those surprisingly frequent races where Ian Stinson and I have been the only Striders.

Soon enough the race was on, and we belted down the lane and through the village before dashing down another lane to the bottom of a hill, where we found a big puddle of suspicious brown to splosh through. That being done, and us all grubby and feeling like proper fell runners, we set about climbing something tall. In this case, it was Durham Edge (new Ethel, tick!).

A gradual descent followed, across a range of terrain and some excellent adverse camber that reminded me of parts of the Salt Cellar route, ending up in a wooded valley with a rather cleaner water hazard than the first one. I was feeling OK at this point, and managed to overtake a few runners in the mid section of the race.

The next few km is a tough but largely runnable climb back up to the Edge, a bit further South, before the race rewards you with a joyous hurtle down the trail that leads to the school and the finish line

The happiness was rounded off by one of the nicest bits of flapjack I have ever eaten, and then by a massive flock of chickens just wandering about the village as I headed back to the car. A win all round (except in the race, which was won by Jake Fearn (Buxton AC, 48:22) and Katie Lowles (Chorlton Runners, 54:39)). 142 runners got round.

It’s not the hardest fell race in the world, but it’s one you can really get your teeth into and enjoy for an hour or so. Recommended.

Striders results