By: Darrel Porter

Race Date: 26^th April 2025.

My attention was first brought to this race by a Youtube video titled “The race that broke me”, the Youtuber was Ted Leahy (“Ted Offroad”), it’s a great video and his experience of the race is pretty apt! Anyway I watched his suffering and thought to myself, wow, that looks great! … Not sure what that says about me…

That was at some point in 2024, leap forward to late 2024 and I’ve signed up to the 70^th anniversary Yorkshire 3 Peaks “Marathon with Mountains”… perhaps I’d bitten off more that I could chew.

The race is 39km, so not quite a marathon, but the 1,600m of climbing more than makes up for the distance. The race climbs the three famous peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough; the three tallest peaks in Yorkshire.

Training began in earnest in the late autumn with regular track sessions and slowly increasing my weekly elevation gain, I’d also (perhaps foolishly) signed up for the 10 Res’s Marathon (over Saddleworth Moor) and the Edale Skyline (34km) which took place in the months before the 3 Peaks. The 10 Res’s went well and I felt pretty good, I still had some kinks to iron-out around pacing (especially with long climbs and descents) and hydration. I’d got my fuelling sorted, figuring out that I can stomach 90+ grams of carbs per hour with no issue, but I was cramping at 20-30km. Edale did not go so well, I over-hydrated (and was not well recovered) and cramped horribly in the final few kms. My confidence was blown, I even considered pulling out of the 3 Peaks, but my family persuaded me to stick with it.

Closing in on race date I’d run a few shorter races and felt strong, my long runs had felt good and I’d worked hard on my climbing, I discovered that it is often better for me to slowly run the hills (though walking was sometimes unavoidable) as the shift to and away from walking seemed to be the trigger for my leg cramps. I also realised that I’d probably been over-hydrating for my long races, essentially diluting myself, so I worked with some stronger electrolyte solutions.

For the race I drove up the night before and stayed in a local bunkhouse (the 3 Peaks Bunkroom) which was about 5 mins walk from the race start and only £20 per night. The night before I drank 750ml bottle with strong electrolyte in and then tried to sleep, which typically, was not very forthcoming.

Waking up early I got chatting with some of the other runners that were staying in the bunk room, we all discussed our race plans and anxieties, my plan was to go out steady, take Pen-y-ghent easy and start picking up the pace from Whernside, I’d also decided to use the water bottle drops so I didn’t have to faff about refilling. I drank my 750ml of electrolyte before breakfast and had 4 x muffins with jam and Nutella (also had a cup of tea). Fuelling for the race was to be 6 x SIS Beta fuel orange, 3 x Hi5 berry, 2 x SIS Beta fuel caffeine (200mg of caffeine in these bad boys so need to be treated with respect), this was just the right about the right amount, though I forgot to have at 1 of the orange Beta fuels and one of the Hi 5s.

For hydration I used Precision Hydration 1500 tabs in 750ml bottles of water, I would take one to the start line with me and leave one in the bucket provided at registration for me to collect at the Ribbleshead checkpoint and one for the Hill in checkpoint.

Race registration was very easy, we walked over early from the bunkhouse and there were no queues, we had a quick nosy around the shops etc and then went back to the bunkhouse to use the toilets and rest for a few hours until race start.

The race started at 10 so we made our way to the start line, it had become very busy and it was quite a squeeze, everyone lined up in their expected finish times I lined up in the 4:30-5:00 area. After a briefing everyone was off. As usual the pace started quite fast, but I was able to hold back a little. After a short distance we found ourselves climbing on stony trail, I found myself having to stop and weave a lot to get past slower runners who had perhaps overestimated their finish times. The path got gradually steeper as it climbed Pen-y-ghent, and we got the humbling joy of seeing the lead runners come barrelling down to shouts of “lead runners, keep right!”. The pack was still quite thick as I made the final ascent of Pen-y-ghent, and I was still overtaking slower runners. At the summit we did a small loop and headed back down the way we came, this was a fast descent, and I did my best to hold back, fully aware that I still had over 30km to run and two more mountains. Even so I found I was still overtaking people, but by now the pack had spread out considerably.

As the trail flattened-out I settled in behind another runner (pink shirt I’ll call him as I can’t remember his name) who was running at about my perfect pace. The stretch from Pen-y-ghent to the Ribblehead checkpoint (and first cut-off) was relatively flat with some undulations and made for fast running, we were maintaining a pace of around 4:45 per km here and slowly picking-off runners. Eventually we hit a road section, this was not particularly welcome to me as my chosen trail shoes were not very well cushioned and I soon felt the hammering of the tarmac!

We turned off the road at the Ribblehead checkpoint, pink shirt ran through, but I stopped briefly to grab the water bottle that had been helpfully delivered to the checkpoint for me.

I upped my pace a little to catch pink shirt, but this was proving quite challenging as the terrain had started to climb a little and he seemed to be moving better than me. After some winding, rolling trails we passed under the trainline and came to the base of Whernside. Here we went off trail on a route that is reserved for the 3 peaks race, the most direct route. Looking up at where we were about to climb it was pretty intimidating. We crossed a small stream and started slogging through reeds and heather, we were no longer passing anyone and the ground got gradually steeper. There were a few bogs here and I think I was the only person to go up to my waist in one. As I dragged myself out I lost sight of pink shirt and my legs started with pangs of all too familiar cramps. I slowed up my pace and people started passing me.

As the climb got steeper I found I was able to run and I started passing people again and caught up with pink shirt, we took pics and took in the view of the monstrous final climb of Whernside… I wouldn’t be running that!

Some mixed run/walking got me to the final climb. Looking directly up at it was awe-inspiring (and slightly terrifying),the only thing to do was swear, shrug and get to business pulling myself up on hands and feet, a quick look around confirmed that going 4 wheel drive here was probably the best option, nobody was upright! Finally at the top we dibbed in at the checkpoint, I downed a gel and looked around at the pile of human wreckage. The climb had taken its toll, people were stretching out cramps, sat down, laying down, at least one person was crying, but I’d made it and my legs felt okay!

I started the descent somewhat gingerly as I could feel some phantom cramps creeping in, but nothing that I couldn’t deal with and soon I was back up to pace. Sadly I parted ways with pink shirt here as he was help up by badly cramping legs. There were some moderately technical sections with steep limestone steps to navigate, I was thankful that it was dry, in the wet they would have been treacherous! The trail eventually levelled out and the terrain became easy and undulating.

I made it to the Hill in check point in good time and picked up my third and final water bottle. The initial climb to Ingleborough was steady, over rocky fields and raised wooden pathways, I was able to make decent time and caught up to a Hillsborough & Rivelin runner, John. We ran together for a while sharing in the wonders and miseries of the race so far. John eventually got away from me being stronger on the climbs. It was around here that I came to the final “wonder” of the race the stairs up Ingleborough or “Cirith Ungol” as Jim called it in his race report from 2023. The steps zig-zagged straight up what looked a near sheer cliff. With walkers making their way haltingly down the steps and runners struggling up it was a bit of a bottleneck. I joined the line and fought my way up. The walkers graciously let us runners past (I’m sure we looked quite a sight by this point), but there were few opportunities for overtaking other runners so I was stuck with the pace set by the line, this meant lingering on my calf muscles a bit longer than I like and I could tell that I was going to suffer later on.

The steps came to an end surprisingly quickly and then it was still a climb to the summit, but not so steep. There is a bit of a plateau at the top of Ingleborough made up of loose rocks, which can make running at speed on tired legs challenging. I did not have this problem, because as soon as I hit the plateau my calves cramped and the best I could manage was a stiff legged shuffle to the checkpoint. Here I stopped-off a moment and did my best to stretch out the cramps, I took a caffeine gel and started limping my way back down towards the descent. I was going slow, cramps kept stopping me and I was losing a lot of places as well as time. After a bit of a technical scramble off the plateau and another bout of leg locking cramp it was onto some steep steps down. I found I was able to run these quite effectively and started picking off places again.

A few minutes into the descent I found a pace and rolling gait that I could maintain and I began to move fast over the rocky ground, catching and overtaking a University of Sheffield Orienteering club runner who often beats me at local races. Now I felt like the race was on again, I kept pushing and clawing back places, I even caught glimpses of John (Hillsborough & Rivelin) in the distance. I drained the last of the soft flask I’d collected at the Hill Inn checkpoint and pulled out my 250ml emergency water bottle. The descent had levelled-off and become less technical by now and fatigue had really started to settle in, I was still moving well, but it hurt. The last 2k went by in a bit of a blur, I had to push through pain to keep up my pace and every little undulation had become a struggle, but the end was in sight, I could hear the crowds. I’d never experienced this in a race before, but the support and cheering kept me moving over the last few hundred meters and I was event able to pick the pace up again! The announcer at the finish line called out my name and club and encouraged me along to pip the 4:30:00 time. I crossed the line at 4:29:59 (still counts as sub 4:30!) in 196^th place overall. My guestimate finish time was between 4:45 and 5:00, so in the end I was very pleased with this result.

The race support was fantastic and there was free bean chilli and a drink for every runner after the race as well was a bar serving a special 3 peaks 70^th anniversary pale ale (which went down very well). I lay in the field after enjoying my beer, chilli and the sunshine, letting the cramps wash over my legs until I could get up and walk around again.

This really was a great race and my training had prepared me well, though I would have benefitted from more long runs at a tempo pace to condition my legs a bit more. This is definitely a bucket list race, a little more expensive than most fell races, but it really does feel like a special event and really is spectacular. As for the challenge level, it is hard, and the cut-offs don’t leave much time for dawdling in the first two thirds of the race, it’s also VERY steep in places with some technical sections, but with careful pacing and prep it’s certainly achievable. Now I wonder if I can go sub 4:00…

The race was won by Ben Rothery (Ilkley Harriers AC) in 3:00:00 and Nichola Jackson (Inov8 / Keswick AC) in 3:45:55. I was the only Strider, and finished in 4:29:59, 196^th overall and 65^th MV40.

Strider’s Result: