Three Peaks Race facts for kids

The Three Peaks Race is a super tough running race that happens every year in the Yorkshire Dales in England. It's held on the last weekend of April. The race starts and finishes in a small village called Horton in Ribblesdale.

Runners have to climb over the three famous mountains of Yorkshire Three Peaks: Pen-y-ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough. The whole race is about 23 miles (37 kilometers) long!

The Race Story

Early Adventures

Before it was an official race, some brave athletes tried to run the route. The first known attempts were in the winter of 1948-1949. Three climbers from Leeds – Des Birch, Jack Bloor, and Arthur Dolphin – were also runners. They completed the course, with Des Birch setting the first record time of 4 hours and 27 minutes.

The First Official Race

The very first Three Peaks Race was organized by Preston Harriers in 1954. People thought Des Birch's record might be broken! The weather was pretty good, but a strong wind made it chilly.

The race started at the Hill Inn in Chapel-le-Dale. Only six runners took part.

• First, they climbed Ingleborough. All the runners were close together at the top.
• Next was Pen-y-ghent. Fred Bagley was the first to reach this peak, a minute ahead of Stan Bradshaw.
• Finally, they tackled Whernside. Fred Bagley was still in the lead, 12 minutes ahead of Stan Bradshaw.

Fred Bagley finished the race back at the Hill Inn in 3 hours and 48 minutes, winning the first race! Stan Bradshaw came in second, and Alf Case was third.

Changes Over Time

From 1964 onwards, the Three Peaks Race Association took over organizing the event. In 1975, the race start and finish moved from Chapel-le-Dale to Horton in Ribblesdale, where it is today.

The race course has changed a few times to make it longer or harder. This happened in 1975, 1983, and 1987.

Race Cancellations

Sometimes, the race has to be postponed or cancelled.

• In 1981, heavy snow meant the race was moved to October.
• The 2001 race was cancelled because of an animal disease outbreak called foot-and-mouth disease.
• The 2020 race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2008, the Three Peaks Race was part of a bigger international event called the 5th World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge. This meant runners from all over the world came to compete!

Race Winners

Here's a list of some of the amazing runners who have won the Three Peaks Race over the years.