A Brief History of the Forest Burn Fell Race

(about 3.5 miles with 500 feet of ascent)

competitors in the 1997 race - photo: Bill Tomlinson

Adapted from a report written by Bill Tomlinson in 2005

The inaugural Forest Burn Fell Race took place in 1995. The race starts and finishes from a field behind the ‘Gate’ public house at Forestburn Gate, on the B6432 about four miles south of Rothbury. It is always held on the second Sunday in August as part of the Simonside Country Fair. The race is registered with the Fell Runners Association and is classed as a ‘B’ short race. The route is of a ‘cross-country’ nature but over rougher ground and involves two stream crossings which can be deep depending on the rainfall. There are two ascents on Wards Hill which can reduce runners to ‘power-walking’ rather than running. There is a steep and fast descent, and a long flat finish. About a third of the race is on footpaths or sheep trods, with the remainder on overgrown grass, bracken, and reeds.

The winners of the inaugural event were James Dickinson of Tynedale in 23m31s and S. Dickinson also of Tynedale in 27m16s. The current men’s record was set by Nick Swinburn of Northumberland Fell Runners in 2008 and stands at 19m25s. Prior to that it was held by Joe Blackett, of Mandale AC at the time, in 20m50s, set in 1999. The women’s record has been held by Karen Robertson, also of Northumberland Fell Runners, in 23m18s since 1999.

The number of runners for the inaugural race was 27, and in 2004 only 15. The largest number of runners occurred in 2007 when it was selected for the Northumberland Fell Runners club championship, and this attracted 66 entrants. It was also in the NFR club championship in 2000 with 50 entrants. The 2002 race was unusual in that a third of the entrants were female. The proportion of female runners is usually much smaller than this, for example on one occasion there was only a single female runner, being Ruth Fletcher who had cycled 50 miles to the race.

The race is part of the Simonside Country Fair, a local show emphasising ‘country matters’. There are several similar shows in the area such as those of Bellingham, Thropton, and Alwinton. The Simonside event is dedicated to raising money for local charities in which it is extremely successful. Activities include sheepdog trials, clay pigeon shooting, sheep judging, Cumberland wrestling, terrier racing, chain saw sculpture, other displays, and children’s activities. The fair started in 1985 and the organisers were always keen to have a race to compete with other local shows. However this was difficult due to the position of the show field. Although very close to the Simonside Hills which feature other fell races, this would require runners to cross the busy B6432 road. Additionally the organisers wanted the race to be visible from the show field for at least part of the route and for the race to be fairly short because of an already busy event programme. It is these factors that determined the route of the Forest Burn Fell Race.

The race has always been organised by members of Northumberland Fell Runners. The route was designed, and the race organised, by Bill Tomlinson of Forestburn Gate, from 1995 to 2006. The exception being 2003 when Peter Reed stood in for Bill. In 2007 Will Horsley took over organising the race.

Previously unpublished, here are the results from 2004 and 2005:

Forest Burn Fell Race Results – 2004

Forest Burn Fell Race Results – 2005

Position	Name	Club	Category	Time
1	Ken Maynard	Durham Fellrunners	O/40	22.33
2	John Woods	Morpeth Harriers	U/20	23.20
3	Ray Maynard	Durham Fellrunners	O/40	23.30
4	Phil Vincent	Tynedale		23.35
5	Brian Robson	Unattached		24.16
6	Geoff Scott	Unattached	O/40	24.25
7	Jack McWilliams	Wooler	U/20	24.51
8	John Storey	Sherborne XC		25.16
9	Tim Makin	Durham Fellrunners	O/40	25.18
10	Peter Graham	Tynedale	O/50	25.34
11	Billy Mackey	Jarrow & Hebburn AC	O/40	26.37
12	Glen McWilliams	NFR	O/40	26.48
13	Katherine Greenwood	Unattached	FO/40	28.53
14	Alan Clark	Low Fell	O/50	29.14
=15	Joe Prudham	Jarrow & Hebburn AC	O/60	30.12
=15	Gary McWilliams	Unattached	O/40	30.12
17	Andy Froggat	Durham Fellrunners		31.31
18	Joe Garbarino	NFR	O/60	32.00
=19	Wilf Hutchinson	Concordia	O/50	32.04
=19	Kyle Shaw	Concordia		32.04
21	Andrea Mitchell	Morpeth Harriers	FO/40	34.28
22	Daniel McWilliams	Unattached		34.33
23	Stephen Topham	Saltwell Harriers	O/50	37.55
24	Tony Gibson	Tynedale	DNF (injured)
25	Alastair Lines	Unattached	DNF
26	Craig Hurst	Unattached	DNF

 

Bill starts the runners off in 2002

Bill Tomlinson / Will Horsley

(Some more older Forest Burn photos from Bill in the archive here)