SEDBERGH'S Victoria Wilkinson remains on track to lift the English championship title after winning the second fell race in the series at Barnoldswick on Saturday.

The Bingley athlete overcame the heat to triumph at the five-mile Weets race with a minute and 32seconds to spare over Ambleside's Irish international Sarah McCormack (45-26), clocking 43-54.

Ambleside's Lou Roberts (47-39) was first FV45 and was followed over the line by Helm Hill's Sharon Taylor (47-50) who along with Howgill's Heidi Dent, who was eighth in 49-44, collapsed with heat exhaustion at the finish. Heidi was taken to hospital for further treatment.

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Other South Lakeland athletes among the top ten were Ambleside's Kelli Roberts, seventh in 48-52, while Helm Hill's Hannah Russell was first U23, finishing ninth in 50-46.

By the time the men set off the weather was cooling and the skies became overcast and some of the runners got caught in a thunder storm with extremely heavy rain.

Helm Hill's Tom Addison had led the field onto the fell but part way up the climb his legs and arms filled with lactic and he was forced to come off the pace and Bowland's Chris Arthur pulled through.

Arthur (38-03) turned the screw on the banking up to the summit and was the only one among the leading athletes running the climb and he continued to pile on the pressure on the descent and won by 32 seconds from Pudsey and Bramley's Jamie Parkinson (38-35) and Keswick's Carl Bell (38-49). Addison (39-51) slipped back to 11th with his cousin and team mate, Mark, closing him down to finish 14th in 40-26. Staveley's Rob Jebb (42-23) was first V40 in 35th ahead of Helm Hill's Tim Colvin (43-03). Ambleside's Tom Gibbs (43-37) was second V45 while Borrowdale's Mark Roberts was first V55 finishing 51st in 44-08. Helm Hill's Billy Procter (52-29) was third V60.

AMBLESIDE'S John Helme was the first South Lakeland runner home in Saturday's Hutton Roof Crags Fell Race finishing fifth. The race was won by Horwich V40 athlete Danny Hope from Leeds City's Adam Osborne. The first lady was Leeds City's Hannah Bateson who was 37th overall in a field of 179 runners.

KESWICK'S Carl Bell (2-09-09) was a comfortable winner of Sunday's Helvellyn and the Dodds race beating Borrowdale's Martin Mikkelsen-Barron (2-16-10) by just over seven minutes with his team mate Mark Lamb (2-20-52) in third. Helm Hill long distance specialist Adam Perry (2-25-22) was sixth and his team mate Paul Aitken (2-41-20) was 15th. Mercia's Mel Price was first lady in 2-42-10.