Dave and Eileen Woodhead are two of fell running’s great enthusiasts and their events at Penistone Hill near Haworth are always eagerly anticipated and well received.

The emphasis is on fun as well as the sport, so when a company called Precision Pest Management came forward to sponsor the junior races at the Withins Skyline, for Dave especially it was a godsend.

The Curly Wurly Quarry Runs were rapidly renamed the Curly Wurly Rat Runs and Mike Ayers, a director of the sponsors, was somehow persuaded to dress as the King Rat complete with King’s robe, rat crown, giant rat staff and even with a rat chewing on his brains.

To kick off the races, Karen Ballantine dressed as the Penistone Hill Pied Piper led the competitors into the quarry, before the fancy dress winners, most dressed appropriately as rodents, were picked.

As ever, the racing was serious enough with 50 Under 8s running just half a mile and another 63 completing a full mile in the U10, U12s and U14s classes.

The Woodheads were among the first to allow U8s to race and several travelled from our area to take the rare opportunity.

Jack Galloway from Todmorden was ninth, Rossendale’s George Sumner took 11th while Blackburn’s Thomas Passco came in 12th.

Zara Preedy was fifth girl for Rossendale and her brother Marcus ran in the longer race finishing as our local’s highest placed competitor in sixth.

He was closely pursued by another U12, Jake Broughton of Blackburn, and David Wilson from Pendle competing in the U14s class.

Lucy Alderman, also from Pendle, missed a top three finish in the U14s girls’ class by a single second.

The U16s race took place simultaneously, but there was an added mile and a total ascent of 300 feet.

Sean Carey from Todmorden Harriers took it easily in his stride to win by two minutes in 12m 12s. Sam Richards gave Pendle second with Daniel Furmingo of Todmorden crossing the line third.

Emma Spencer, appropriately dressed as her nickname Minnie Mouse, was the runner up for Pendle in the girls’ division.

For most, the challenge was just to get round this year’s senior race with the mucky underfoot conditions and gale force winds along with near horizontal falling rain.

However, 18-year-old junior international Tom Addison and his family first had to get out of a grid locked Kendal after the terrible weather had closed all the roads due to flooding.

Somehow they managed to find a back road with no rising waters, although on the dual carriageway they had throw caution to the wind and brave flood waters.

Managing to put it out of mind, Addison powered his way up to the Oxenhope Stoop checkpoint but on the skyline turned off too soon for Top Withins ruin, ending up in the knee high tussocks and boggy terrain.

Having dropped to third, he finally overtook Todmorden’s Andrew Wrench to regain the lead above Bronte Bridge, and from there used his speed to good effect to win by a minute.

In second Wrench won the Over-40 award as Lee Passco and John Sutton from Blackburn followed in seventh and 11th with Tim Edward of Clayton sandwiched in ninth.

Todmorden were also second in the women’s race with the 34-year old Leeds University student Lauren Jeska and third was the effervescent Maureen Laney, the former World Masters champion from Clayton, who also won the Over-50s title.

Tod’s Kath Brierley won the Over-40 award with Jan Atkins, Chorley Harriers, first Over 60.