STRONG winds did not deter Pickering Running Club aces from giving it their all at Glaisdale Rigg fell race - and taking podium positions.

Part of the Esk Valley winter fell series – and a club league counter this year – the eight-mile race climbed into a strong headwind for the first three miles before giving runners respite and dropping down into the valley below Glaisdale. Boggy fields, heather-lined sheep trods and some super steep descents made for a thrilling chase.

After four months off following ankle surgery, Jayson Cavill came back with a bang, winning the race for the third year in a row.

With initial intentions to be conservative, Cavill found himself in a battle with Knavesmire Harriers’ Chris Roberts and dug in to come out on top in 60 minutes 56 seconds.

Simon Jones ran a different race, enjoying the scenery after a 20-mile run the day before and finishing in 69-42.

Taking her highest place in a fell race, Kim England was pleased to finish as second lady in 78-21, slightly slower than last year after finding the wind sapping.

Road runner Paul Smith found himself in a battle for the line, climbing to the finish looking very strong after a difficult race. He completed in 71-50 despite not being comfortable in boggy conditions, with Peter Winter next in 87-20.

Veteran Mike Hetherton (93-29) and Serena Partridge (99-26) were first in their respective categories, the latter returning from a break from the fells.

Mike Punchard, a relative newcomer to the fell series, clocked 106-15, while Sally Brown, Hilary Turner and Marion Bets, having run 20 miles the day before, ran together until the final descent separated them, with Brown and Turner finishing first in their categories in two hours 13 minutes and 2-16, Bets completing in 2-18.

Hetherton also travelled to Edinburgh to take on the Carnethy 5, a six-mile fell race over five summits, comprising 2,500 feet of ascent. In a competitive field, he broke his own record by five minutes, finishing in one hour 23 minutes 41 seconds.

• In a correction to last week’s report, Nicola Wise, not Karen Farmer Scott, ran the Snake Lane race.