RUNNING for Tamar Trails, Andy Houghton recently competed in the Coniston Country Fair Fell Race in the Lake District.

This is a short brutal race starting from the fairground – going straight to the top of the mountain named Coniston Old Man and back down.

Much of the race is visible from the fairground so fans can watch the runners through binoculars for a large part of the race unless the mountain is not in mist, which it was until just before the start. This was a relief for Andy because the direct route does not follow the normal paths up the mountain so he was able to follow runners with local knowledge — especially on the way down where Lake District fell races are often won or lost both by taking the best route and by daring to go down the steepest, almost vertical grass slopes at breakneck speed. Andy did superbly, winning the 70 plus category.