Runners brave the snow for Longer Leg trial

Kinder Trial is described as a low-key fell orienteering event and covers around 11 miles of tough terrain over Kinder Scout. The conditions this year made the race especially challenging, as the snow was waste-deep in places.

However, this didn’t deter 104 hardy runners from taking part, including five from Buxton AC. First of the quintet to finish was Nigel Jeff, in 11th place overall, followed by Nick Jones in 17th, Bryan McKenna in 62nd, Pete Bailey in 63rd and Buxton’s sole female representative, Jo Bednall in 64th.

The following day, in driving snow, McKenna and Bailey joined four other Buxton runners at Lamb’s Longer Leg; a 3.1 mile race around South Head. Alasdair Campbell finished third overall in 32:00, with McKenna 11th and Richard Bouglas 17th. Completing the Buxton line up were Tania Wilson in 30th, Pete Bailey in 35th and David Forshaw in 46th.

In equally inclement conditions, but over on the roads of Cheshire, two Buxton AC ladies raced in the 4 Villages Half Marathon. Emma Wentworth and Caroline Newton Phillips are both in training for this year’s London Marathon and choose this race as an early season test of fitness.

Wentworth finished in 1:45.10, but Newton-Phillips stepped into a pot-hole and twisted her knee at mile eight. So as not to risk further injury and jeopardise her training for London, she made the tough decision to pull out of the race at mile 10.

Newton-Phillips will get another chance to race a half marathon when she joins over 40 other Buxton AC club members at the Village Bakery Half Marathon in Wrexham next month.