Fell Series
The Chepstow Harriers 'Joc Dodd Fell Series' is a series of races in the calendar year that club members are encouraged to take part in. These races are chosen at the start of the year by the Fell Series Co-ordinator. Points are awarded in each race and an overall table of positions showing accumulated points is produced.
2024 Fell Series
Niki is the co-ordinator for 2024
There is a growing contingent that are drawn to the wild, wonderful mountains of south Wales. Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need to be gnarly, wizened, have quads of steel or a VO2 max of 92 to participate. I (Niki) have picked some nice ‘fluffy bunny’ races that everyone can have a go at. You can be old, navigationally-challenged, female (I am all 3) – as long as you like stunning views, undulations, camaraderie, cake, and cheap and chips entries (chips are often included – both electronic and edible), then this is the genre of trotting for you.
There are 8 races in the series. You only need to do 4 to score, and everyone who does the minimum will get a superb hand-made wooden sheep memento and mention at the awards bash. Obviously the people who actually win, will get stuff too.
The scoring system will be simplified for all (including me) to understand – first Harrier man or woman gets 100 points, second gets 99, etc. For the races which are a bit tougher, like Waun Fach, where you do need to know where you’re going as it’s not marked, then this scoring system will favour those that man/girl up accordingly.
Do remember to take full kit (link to what this includes below) regardless of what the weather is doing when you leave Chepstow. The race organiser may still insist on this even if conditions are good. The worst that can then happen is you took a few extra items that stayed in the car.
So, here are the races:
Craig y Allt - 3.91 miles/984ft - Saturday 20 Jan – pretty well marked and marshalled so no nav skills required. RESULTS
Pentyrch Hill race (7 miles/1340ft) – Tuesday 30 April – marked and marshalled course, no nav skills required.
Coppett Hill – 5.3 miles/1000ft) Saturday 22 June – marked and marshalled – really lovely route and extremely beginner friendly.
Sugarloaf summer evening race – 5.5 miles/1150ft - Tuesday 25 June - partly marked great course (same course as Night Sugar – but with visibility).
Waun Fach – 7miles/2000ft - Sunday 21 July, superb classic route, along the Dragon’s back – with sting in the tail at the finish. It’s not marked so you definitely need to do a recce or two, or need to navigate. I will probably organise a recce for it nearer the time.
Llanthony Show – 3.9 miles/1150ft Saturday 03 August – partly marked, but not very – makes for a genuine adventure.
Twmbarlon Terror – 7.27 miles/1489ft - sometime in November, organised by Fairwater – not really a fell race although has a fair amount of ascent/descent – fully marked and marshalled course – no nav skills required.
Skirrid – 3.2 miles/1078ft Saturday 21 December. Legendary fell race organised by our very own Andy Creber. It’s marked so no nav skills required – just follow the flagged route.
Remember that you only need to do 4, and at least five of the selected races are well marked and marshalled with no navigational skills required. I very much look forward to seeing lots of you on the fells in 2024. That cute sheep memento is waiting for you.
2023 Series
Denise and Paul are the co-ordinators for 2023.
There will hopefully be 10 or more races to choose from. Your best 5 to count.
The emphasis this year is very much on 'participation' and encouraging those who've not done many before to have a go. In South Wales, fell races are struggling to attract many female runners - with attendance being 20-30% generally. The idea this year is to provide more races that will encourage beginners generally and specifically female beginners.
In 2022 only 2 women (and 7 men) from the club did the required number of fell races to score. In 2023 we aim to increase this number.
Although in total there will be more beginner friendly events, there will be roughly the same amount of races (as in previous years) included that are aimed at the more experienced fell runners who may prefer both challenging terrain and routes that requite some navigation skill - these include Cwm nant y Groes, Pen Y Fan, Fan Brycheiniog, Llyn y Fan.
Denise and Paul will outline the requirements of each race so that you can be aware of what to expect before you turn up. In most cases we will organize a recce (particularly of the beginner friendly events) of the route beforehand.
The first few in the series will be:
1. Cwm Nant Y Groes. Saturday January 28th - a recce recommended, navigation can be tricky in poor visibility
2. PenTir Drop. Sunday February 12th - suitable for beginners. All fell races present more of a challenge in poor weather conditions.
3. Tor Y Foel Fell Race Sunday 19th March.
4. Cwmyoy Fell Race (also club champs). Sunday 29th April.
5. Sirhowy Challenge. Sunday May 7th ( a trail race)
6. Magic Roundabout (also club champs). Sunday 18th June. Not licensed by WFRA but all on open fell.
7. Pen Y Fan. Sunday 9th July (experience recommended)
8. Crook Peak Cake Race. Wed 16th August. Midweek and beginner friendly.
9. Fan Brycheiniog. Saturday 2nd September (experience required)
10. Fan Fawr. Saturday 7th October (short but some challenging terrain and nav not easy in poor conditions - now day before late arranged club champs race so problem with clash - but some have already made decisions on doing it, so it will remain)
11. Llyn Y Fan. Sat 11th November (experience required)
Scoring in 2023:
The WFRA use a scoring system based on the average time of runners for each race **
It's fairer in many ways - the main benefit is that the scores are based on your performance in the race rather than based on who from the Harriers turns up.
In 2023 we will try this system out for the club fell series - we will need to keep an eye on it though as occasionally the scores can be hugely skewed in races that are very popular or easier trail races that attract lots of road runners. Apologies if we need to change half way through the year to another system.
** your score = 100 multiplied by [arithmetic average of all runner's times] divided by [your time]
If you had the exact time of the average time for the race your score would be 100. So, above 100 means faster than average and below 100 means slower than the average.
INDIVIDUAL RACE RESULTS:
Cwm Nant Y Groes Club Results
Pen Tir Club Results
Tor Y Foel Club Results
Cwmyoy Club Results
Sirhowy Club Results
Magic Roundabout
Pen Y Fan
Crook Peak Cake Race
Fan Brycheiniog
Fan Fawr
Llyn Y Fan
OVERALL SERIES POSITIONS AND POINTS
Fell Races are all categorised in terms of length and difficulty:
Length - S (short), M (medium), L (long).
Difficulty A, B, C.
These are combined to denote the severity of the race. Eg: Pen Tir Drop BS (moderate difficulty and short)
Myth busting
Any club member can do a fell race. Many people assume that fell racers are slightly mad and hard as nails. Well, some are, but like all running genres, the races contain runners with a wide range of speed, age, experience and skills.
Anyone can do fell races - running in the hills can be a truly amazing experience and some might say almost spiritual.
You do not need to be a brilliant navigator as some races are well marked or follow easy paths or ridges.
You do not need to run up the hills - there is often a fair bit of walking to be done.
See www.fellrace.com for some general guidance.
Arhived Results
2012 Results here
2011 results here
2010 results here
2009 results here.