THREE Ilkley Harriers took on the Ultimate Challenge in the Lake District on Saturday and produced determined performances.

The 110km ultra marathon course included some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the Lake District and is rated as one of the most picturesque ultra-marathons in the UK.

The route includes six mountain passes, five lakes and 14,00ft of ascent/descent.

Jane McCarthy and Dick Waddington finished in 16hours 19min 9sec and 16:19:10 respectively, with Andrew Merrick close behind in 16:35:22. They were placed 42nd, 43rd and 49th out of 211 finishers.

Each of them earned five entry credits towards the prestigious Ultra-trail du Mont-Blanc.

McCarthy was also third lady in the race, which was won by Andrew Horrobin of Cumbria who completed the course in 12:06:37

Several teams from the Harriers took part in the Saunders Mountain Marathon over the weekend which involves navigating to numerous control points over two days, starting from Pooley Bridge this year, with an overnight camp at Deepdale.

Kit needs to be carried for the two days including tent, sleeping bag, stove, food and spare clothes.

Sarah Edwards ran in the Wansfell class with her father – one week after he completed the Joss Naylor challenge – and came a very impressive third overall in 6:00:48.

Outi Kamarainen completed in the longer Kirkfell class with Edward Ingham and was 21st overall, they were the fourth mixed pair in 11:09:02.

Mary Gibbons completed her first-ever mountain marathon with Simon Freytag in 41st position. They were the seventh mixed team in 14:16:29.

Tom Adams was 17th overall and helped the Great Britain team take the bronze medal in the European Mountain Running Championships in Arco, situated at the heart of the northern Lake Garda region of Italy on Saturday.

The GB team consisted of Andrew Douglas (54:32) in fourth, Chris Smith (55:49) in 12th, Adams (57:25) in 17th and Ben Mounsey (58:07) in 26th.

The first Harrier in the Eccup 10 and second F40 runner with a time of 1:11:10 was Rachel Carter. She was followed by David Ibbotson 1:21:10, Caroline Howe 1:24:00, Donna Hattersley 1:28:53, Alex Stanley-Hyde 1:29:13 and Petra Bijsterveld 1:33:40 .

Alex Hirst was first in the park run at Hilly Fields Lewisham in 17:44 while junior Oscar Stapleton was third at Skipton in 18:24.