The Three Peaks Race

The Three Peaks Race, often called the 'marathon with mountains', is the longest standing 'long' fell race in the UK. At a length of over 23 miles, and with over 5,000 feet of ascent, it is an iconic part of the fell and mountain running calendar. From a field of just 6 entrants in 1954 it has grown to the point that there are entry requirements to be met, and it now attracts up to 1,000 entries each year. This is a history of the event from its early foundations, through two cancellations (once due to foot and mouth and once Covid), encompassing being chosen as the venue for the World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge and lately being nominated as a qualifying race for UTMB World Series. The Three Peaks Race is THE mountain race that UK runners, at all levels, want to compete in, in a similar way that marathon runners want to run in the London Marathon. Some want to do it just the once, others strive to do it enough times get the 15/21 completions award, and a crazy few keep doing it until they are no longer fit enough to make the cut-off times. In parallel with the detailed history of the race, the stories of many characters from the seven decades that the event has been held in are explored in some depth. Historical accounts and contemporary interviews with the author tell of the individual approaches and also differing success levels of many participants in the race. The many interviewees include six-time winner Jeff Norman and five-time winner Victoria Wilkinson, but also extend to runners throughout the field, and also members of the organising team, past and present. As well as the triumphs of race winners, accounts of perennial second-placers, and of iconic running champions who never managed to win this race, there are stories of runners getting lost while in the lead, of being knocked over at a stream crossing, of stepping on a rock that turned out to a dead sheep, and of stopping because they couldn't take it anymore. This is the history of the race and the many characters that have stood on the start line.