The 2024 British Athletics Fell and Hill Relays will be held in Appletreewick – a small village in a comparatively quiet backwater in one of the most beautiful parts of Wharfedale within the Yorkshire Dales. The village sits 5 miles north of BoltonAbbey and 2 miles from Burnsall, the home of the Burnsall Classic fell race, one of the oldest fell races in the history books. Race HQ will be at Masons Farm, the home of the legendary Ted Mason, where you will be met by the community providing sustenance to all attending. Proceedings will continue after the race within the barn bar so make sure you book accommodation to avoid disappointment.
There will be no camping at the car park; however, there are campsites close to the venue – Masons campsite (no connection to Ted) being the closest almost opposite the starting field and will offer a runner discount for the weekend. Details of all sites will be available in due course.
For those that want to blow away the cobwebs on the Sunday morning, we will be holding the Charlesworth Chase (Simons Seat) fell race at 11am – be prepared for a surprise at the finish.
Due to the nature of the location, the event will be restricted to a maximum of 150 teams. Our entry system will be designed to ensure that teams are accepted for the 2024 Relays on the basis of ‘fairness’ whilst ensuring that the event is a ‘true’ British Championship event.
120 entries will be reserved in the championship categories, and
these will be allocated as follows:
Male Open – 40 places
Female Open – 40 places
Male Over 40 – 20 places
Female Over 40 – 20 places
The remaining 30 places will be reserved for non-championship categories; there will be three categories – Male & Female Over 50 and Open (ie Mixed) Over 60. 10 places will be allocated to each of these categories. Over 60 teams may include both male and female runners.
50% of teams in championship categories will be selected for pre-entry based on their performance in the 2023 relays – the first 20 teams in the open categories and the first 10 in over 40s. The first 3 in the Male & Female Over 50 categories will also be selected for pre-entry. A small number of places will also be reserved for teams which did not qualify by their 2023 results, but who feel that they could achieve a top 10 finish in the open categories/top 5 finish in over 40 categories. They would have to provide evidence that they have the potential to achieve a top 10/top 5 finish & this would be rigorously assessed by an independent panel before receiving an invitation.
After the pre-entry stage, the remaining places will be opened up. Clubs will only be allowed to enter one team in any category & clubs who have accepted a pre-entry place in a category cannot enter another team in that category. A ballot for each category will be held to fill the places in each category & teams will receive invitations based on the ballot. If there are not sufficient teams in a particular category, the places will be offered to teams in the same category of the opposite sex.
Further information will be posted on this website in due course, with race maps and accommodation details. Recces of the route will be allowed but may be slightly altered to avoid any private land to be used on the day.
We look forward to seeing you all in October and sharing a drink or two!
| Date | Saturday 19th October 2024 |
| Time | 11am |