Arch rivals power up fells in Three Peaks Challenge
BRENNAN TOWNSHEND has become two-times winner of one of the UK’s most prestigious and gruelling fell races – Yorkshire’s Three Peaks Challenge.
The 2018 UK Skyrunning champion, who has worked as an endurance coach for seven years, was only nine minutes outside Andy Peace’s record time of 2hrs 46 mins 3secs, which dates from 1996.
Taking in Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, the race – known as “the Marathon with Mountains” – is a punishing 37.4k (23.3 miles) with 1,609 metres (5,279ft) of ascent and descent. Mr Townshend, 28, a Keswick Athletics Club member who used to be a professional road racing cyclist, finished in 2hrs 55mins 34secs.
He was five minutes slower than his 2019 time but an injury last July had forced him to stop running for six months. Mr Townshend tweeted that he was “absolutely over the moon” to have won the race which had been “tough” because of the heat.
He beat Billy Cartwright, 30, an ambassador for race sponsor Inov-8, by three minutes and nine seconds.
The Irish flag featured at the prizegiving to honour a firsttime Three Peaks runner, Sarah McCormack, 35, who finished in 3hrs 23mins 21secs to claim the women’s title, just 14 minutes outside the record achieved by Victoria Wilkson, of Bingley Harriers, in 2017.
The first race in 1954 started in Chapel-le-Dale with six starters and three finishers. Fred Bagley, of Preston Harriers, won in 3hrs 48 mins.
Usually run on the last Saturday in April, it starts and finishes on the playing field in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, near Settle – its home since 1975.
The highest of the three peaks is Whernside at 736m (2,415ft), while Ingleborough is 723m (2,372ft) and Pen-y-ghent (694m or 2,277ft).
The fells encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.