ALMOST 300 runners competed in three gruelling races over the high ground above Ventnor and Wroxall during the annual Isle of Wight Fell Running Series last weekend.
Runners who competed in all three would have covered 24 miles of off-road running, with more than 4,300ft of ascent.
This year, the series attracted 148 runners, with 294 finishing all the races.
The event also encompassed the 24th annual SEAA Fell Running Championships, which again saw quality entries from of the mainland's top clubs, with Island club, Ryde Harriers, well represented.
The men’s series winner and SEAA men's and women's champions were Matthieu Marshall (Headington Road Runners) and Hazel Norton-Hale (Victoria Park), who both won all three races.
The first Island woman and SEAA senior women’s gold medal winner was Leah Williams (Ryde Harriers), while senior clubmate Natalie Rose won bronze.
The first Island man across the series was Joe Wade (Ryde Harriers), who, with clubmates Stuart McDonald and Graham Gardner, came second in the men’s team section.
The opening event, the St Boniface Fell — a straight 4km dash from Ventnor seafront to the top of the Island's highest point and back — kicked off the series on Saturday on one of the event's hottest-ever days.
After a short break, runners then took on the 12kmVentnor Horseshoe around Ventnor and Wroxall.
A soggy Sunday morning saw aching runners line up for the Wroxall Round, the longest race, covering 21km and 2,000ft of ascent, from La Falaise Park, Ventnor, before pounding the hills both sides of Wroxall.
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