Today the team provided ‘Standby Rescue Cover’ for the annual Easter Saturday Rivington Pike Fell Race.

Organised by Horwich RMI Harriers and Athletics Club, this short distance but gruelling height gain (And immediate height loss on the return stretch !) fell race has a history of being run for over a hundred years, and attracts many of the country’s top class fell runners.

Todays races took part in excellent dry conditions, with clear blue skies and snow drifts and snow banks still in evidence throughout the area from last weekends snows.

Twenty nine team members in all four of our Team Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance vehicles and our Ford Transit Minibus Ambulance attended today, with thankfully no injuries or incidents to attend to on the route of the fell race itself.

At he race finish a 16 year old male competitor from Hebden Bridge, was treated for a suspected right hand / finger fracture, after a fall on the course, and after treatment by two team members was advised to attend hospital. (This is reported here for information only and does not feature in our ‘Incidents’ listings)

An unprecedented large number of runners took part in todays races, including 35x in the Under 8’s, 48x in the Under 10’s, 86x in the Under 12’s, 59 in the Under 16’s and 313x in the Under 18’s and Senior race combined.

One rescue did take place today, at the conclusion of the event, one which our esteemed Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE wished was not recorded by his colleague team members!

This was the recovery by team members of his well and truly ‘bogged down’ car in deep mud and ice on the moorland track of Georges Lane, effectively blocking the track.