AMBLESIDE'S Annie Conway led Cumbria's women to team gold in the Fell Running Association's Inter Counties championships at Betws-y-Coed in Wales on Saturday.

Conway was denied victory by a narrow six second margin, finishing hot-on-the-heels of Yorkshire's Emma Clayton, who clocked 40-29. She was supported by her Cumbria team mates Sarah McCormack (41-05), who finished third, and Anna Lupton (43-17), who placed eighth.

In the under-16 junior women's race the field was led home by Cumbria's Scarlet Dale (21-57) from Yorkshire's Jemima Elgood (22-09). Cumbria's Elliott Mather (19-09) was third in the men's under-16 event which was won by Lancashire's Joshua Boyle (18-33).

Scotland West's Andrew Douglas (45-26) was a comfortable winner of the senior men's race from Middlesex's Chris Smith (46-15) and Yorkshire's Tom Adams (47-14). Helm Hill's Tom Addison (48-27) was third counter in the Yorkshire team that won team gold finishing in eighth place.

STAVELEY'S Rob Jebb, who runs for Bingley Harriers, won Saturday's Fairfield Horseshoe (9 miles/3,000ft of climbing) for a fifth time.

The V40 athlete 'old headed' his main rivals by choosing the better racing lines and crossed the finish line in 1-20-26. He was 23 seconds ahead of Mark Addison who led Helm Hill to the team prize supported by Michael Ainsworth (8th in 1-31-38) and Lee Knight (16th in 1-35-02).

Borrowdale's Kim Collison (1-21-10) was third and Ambleside's Garry Greenhow (1-24-29) placed fourth.

In the ladies race, Helm Hill's Sharon Taylor led the field home in 1-39-53 to finish 32nd overall. She was followed over the line by Kim Spence (1-49-46), of Valley Striders, and Kate Archer (1-50-22) of Ilkley Harriers.

There were 209 runners in this year's race starting from Rydal Hall in sunny but blustery conditions.

HELM Hill's Adam Perry partnered Borrowdale's Martin Mikkelson-Barron to win the 26th annual Old County Tops Fell Race, organised by the Achille Ratti Climbing Club, on Saturday.

The 36-mile course starts and finishes in Great Langdale and takes in the highest points of the old counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire - these being Helvellyn, Scafell Pike and Coniston Old Man.

They completed the course in the second fastest time ever - 6-48-22 - and are the first pair to break the seven hour mark since 2005.

Following them home was Ambleside's Paul Tierney and Ben Abdelnoor in just over seven hours while Matt Reedy and Jamie Luxmore, both Ambleside, were third in 7-24-43.

Records were also broken in the veteran 100 - combined age of the pair of runners - ladies and mixed categories. The V100 winners were Matt Beresford (Kendal) and Stuart Shuttleworth (Ambleside) in 7-48-49.

The leading ladies were Jean Brown (Clayton le Moors) and Nicky Spinks (Dark Peak) who finished in 8-28-06 and the mixed pairing were Tim Budd and Caitlin Rice, of Glossopdale Harriers, in 7-43-12.

And Helm Hill's Nigel Wood and Keiran Hodgson won the V80 category in 7-21-37.