Bingley Harrier Ian Holmes just missed out in his bid to make it 16 straight wins in the gruelling Stanbury Splash Fell Race.

From the pell-mell start in the quarry at Penistone Hill near Haworth, a record total of 410 runners tackled seven soggy miles with 1,200 feet of climbing.

They were led round by a front group of Holmes, Chris Steele (Borrowdale) and Stuart Bond (Dark Peak).

The outcome was settled after the short but severe climb up from Sladen Beck about a mile from home, as Steele pushed on the strongest to take the win by 15 seconds. Bond came from well back to push Holmes down to third place.

The top five in the men’s race was completed by Graham Pearce (Pudsey & Bramley) and Tom Adams (Ilkley).

A classy performance by Jo Buckley (Calder Valley) meant victory over team-mate Helen Fines in a time of 52min 57sec.

Buckley’s prize was an etching by artist and fell runner Shane Green, who himself finished 37th overall. Previous winner Helen Glover (Keighley and Craven) was third and the first local female.

Team categories were settled in favour of Holmfirth (men) and Ilkley Harriers (ladies).

The Junior Quarry runs, held before the senior race, give young runners an opportunity to sample fell racing over compact, spectator-friendly 800 to 3,200m courses and have become a success story for the organisers (woodentops.co.uk).

Having attracted only five entrants in 1995, a record 182 youngsters took part last week.

Holmfirth took four out of ten category wins. Winners over the half-mile distance were William Wigg (Todmorden) and Ella Atkins (Pendle) in the under-eights.

Over a mile, Jimmy Burke (Holmfirth) and Olivia Roper (Bingley) triumphed in the under-tens, James Lund (Keighley and Craven) and Lucy Byram (Holmfirth) were under-12 champions, and Lewis Byram and Harmonie (both Holmfirth) clinched the under-14 titles.

In the two-mile under-16 race, Annabel Mason (Wakefield) set a course record to win the girls race and Wharfedale’s Sam Haggar won the boys event.