A SEDBERGH man is enjoying some rest this week after winning a fell race which lasted over 10 hours and involved more than 11,000ft of ascent.

Adam Perry, 25, beat over 400 people and clocked a time of 10 hours 34 minutes to break the winning line in the 51st Fellsman race at the weekend.

The event from Ingleton to Threshfield covers the roof of the Yorkshire Dales and includes high Pennine country.

It includes Ingleborough, Whernside, Great Coum, Blea Moor, Snaizeholme Fell, Dodd Fell, Fleet Moss and Buckden Pike.

Adam, who works as a planning officer with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: “It was a bit of a surprise to come in first – but I was very pleased.

“I do a lot of hill and mountain running and I’ve run this one a few times in the past so I was familiar with the route and the conditions. But it’s a hard, very demanding race.”

He was part of a six-man team that also included Ian Phillips, who came in a close second.

Another team member was Matt Neale, 41, a national park ranger who is no stranger to ‘ultra running’.

He raised more than £7,000 for the breast cancer unit at Northallerton’s Friarage Hospital by running the famous 190-mile Coast-to-Coast route from St Bee’s Head to Robin Hood’s Bay in 61 hours and 13 minutes.

“Taking part in the Fellsman is a good character assessment,” said Matt.

“The route passes across the roof of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, mixing the more popular summits with the less frequented, more remote areas.

“In most parts the ground is either full of tussocks or bogs or both. Often there is no sign of a path and it requires careful navigation – and that’s before it gets dark.”

The event is run by Keighley Scout Service Team and sponsored by The North Face.

On Saturday, the Yorkshire Dales National Park was also the venue for the 59th annual Three Peaks Race, which this year used a new section of path from Pen-y-ghent to Ribblehead.

The section was created to avoid the badly-eroded Horton Moor and Black Dubb Moss area, using funding that the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust raised from the European Outdoor Conservation Association.

Joe Symonds, 29, who won the race for the second time in succession, said of the new route: “It was a joy to run. It is a really fast track. I know it is probably a little bit longer, but I am sure it is quicker and it is a lot easier underfoot.”

Race Director Paul Dennison said: “It was soft underfoot and there was a cool wind, but conditions were near perfect.”