This year’s BOFRA Malham Charity Relays took on an extra poignancy as they were being run in memory of Stanley Clayton, who sadly lost his battle with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia on June 11 this year having been born less than 24 hours earlier.

Medical professionals did all they could, but sadly, little Stanley was too ill.

Showing true grit and determination, both his parents, Samantha and Kristian along with two of their children, Lily-Grace and Oscar, and Samantha’s sister Hayley Bullen ran in the relays.

Teams of three are selected on the day with all legs being run over the same route.

Starting on the bridge over Malham Beck, near the Lister Arms Pub, runners sprint up a section of Finkle St before leaving tarmac for the much preferable fell terrain.

Competitors now clamber up to the summit of Cawden and back the way they came.

The only real marshal point is the summit, so runners find their best route to the top and back.

This year, there were 10 teams lining up to compete with Samantha and Kristian running the same leg for their team together.

The winning team comprised Fayth Bowness, Harvey Shaw and Tony Duffy.

On the day £156 was raised for the charity CDH UK in memory of Stanley.

* Windy but otherwise perfect racing conditions set the stage for Wharfedale Harriers’ ladies and men’s athletes to reign supreme over some of the North’s leading fell runners at this year’s Great Whernside fell race.

The front pack tussled with each other and against the unforgiving headwind as they fought their way to Hag Dyke, over the famous bogs and eventual moonscape like summit.

The legendary bogs beyond Hag Dyke failed to slow these seasoned runners as they all negotiated the patchy nature of this year’s soggy landscape. Indeed, many of the front runners did fall victim to the man-eating marshes of myth and legend.

Once into the descent the final order was decided with Wharfedale Harriers’ Harry Coates taking the win (32.06) from Helm Hill’s Tom Addison, 2nd, (32.54) and Ilkley Harriers’ Jack Cummings, 3rd, (33.17).

Wharfedale’s Monica Padilla returned to avenge her 3rd place finish in 2018 and was not disappointed as she stormed home to win the ladies race (41.18) a clear 2 minutes ahead of 2nd placed Barlick’s Lorraine Slater (43.20) and Barlick clubmate Jaqueline Collins, 3rd, (44.02)

After the race many described it as a great race and many did find a dry route across the marshy flatlands between Hag Dyke and the hand over fist climb to the summit.

Route choices from the summit trig back to the bogs determined the final pecking order with local knowledge and a lack of fear in high demand.