The Rainow village fete fell race (AKA ‘The Kerridge Climb’) is basically a run straight up a bloody big hill, then along the ridge at the top then straight back down again on another very steep bit. It’s probably a mile at the most, which means that it’s a particularly painful one. After paying my 2 quid (a special price for non-locals – it’s only a pound for locals!), I lined up with about 40 other people ranging from little kids to older runners; some taking it seriously, some less so. We SPRINTED across the field and immediately started the ascent which reminded me of the first climb in the 3 Peaks – comically steep in other words.

There’s no room to get past anyone unless you want to run through some thorny bushes so it’s a bit of a procession. Near the top the path widens so I got past a couple of people and was then running behind a young lad about 12 years old as we got to the top. BAM. He accelerated away from me so I gave chase, not wanting to be dropped on my ass by a little kid. I was chasing after him like he’d nicked a packet of Toffo’s from my papershop and I just couldn’t catch him. Once we got to the final descent, he accelerated away again – the little sod has been practicing! He then beat me to finish 5th. I then had a sprint finish with this other bloke who decided to shoulder me into a spectator just before the finish line.

They’re a bit competitive, these village fetes.