There was a very good entry of 86 athletes for the Manx Fell Runners-organised Carraghan Fell Race a week last Wednesday.

At only four kilometres in length the course is the shortest in the Callin Wild Manx Fell League, although it is extremely tough with a back-breaking 300 metres of ascent.

The race started on the plantation track at the northern end of the Baldwin Reservoir before proceeding through the Injebreck Plantation and on to the summit of Carraghan, then returning the same way in reverse.

The very steep and rapid return leg descent is arguably as tough as the climb as competitors’ legs take a real pounding over the testing terrain.

As in the recent Baldwin race, Oliver Chambers headed the field initially. As the runners emerged onto the fells after the difficult plantation section, Chambers still led but was closely followed by Harry Weatherill.

Close behind the leading duo came Lucas and Harry Stennett with fellow junior Harry Kneen in close order. The leading female out of the plantation was Alice Forster holding a top-20 position.

At the summit halfway point, Weatherill had taken a slender lead and then produced an outstanding display of descending, blasting his way down the tricky descent to open a winning gap of 78 seconds over top junior Lucas Stennett who again ran a tremendous race.

Early leader Chambers was a meagre one second behind in third, with Orran Smith also descending brilliantly to take fourth from Kneen. The consistent Joe Bond made up the top six.

It was particularly pleasing to see Harry Kneen back to form after a long lay-off through injury. Just outside the top six was the youngest runner in the race, Harry Stennett, who competed in the under-13 years category and finished a superb seventh overall.

In an impressive ninth place was another junior, Freddie Griffin, who is in the under-15 years class.

First woman home in 15th overall was Forster who is showing welcome signs of a return to top form. She had a two-minute advantage over the ever-improving duo of Hannah Moore and Rebecca Harding.

Fourth in this category was top junior Madison McMullan followed by Jessica Bryan and another talented junior, Lottie Stennett, completing the top six.

Other category winners for the females were Carol Brogan vet 40, Jan Gledhill vet 50 and local fell running legend Rose Hooton vet 60.

The male categories were taken by Orran Smith vet 40, Chris Cale vet 50, Shaun Hubbard vet 60 and Robb Webb vet 70.

An exceptional evening’s racing with good performances throughout the field, especially the juniors. The only downside to the event was the thousands of midges who made life unpleasant for everyone.

To organise a race like this requires a lot of help, therefore a big thank you goes to all the hard-working marshals and helpers, and to the Ardwhallan Outdoor Pursuit Centre for the use of their facilities.

Thanks also to Dan Creer, landowners, DEFA and Water Utilities for their cooperation in accessing the route.

There are a couple of good videos of the race at www.manxathletics.com