RUNNERS taking part in this year's Three Peaks Race - also known as the Marathon with Mountains - will be taking part in a tradition that began 70 years ago.

The first race, in April, 1954 saw just six people taking part - it is now one of the most famous races in the racing calender, and attracts thousands of entrants eager to run the 23 mile course, taking in Penyghent, Ingleborough and Whernside.

In celebration of the 70th anniversary, fell runner and writer Steve Chilton has written The Three Peaks Race - a history of the event from its early foundations, through two cancellations - one due to foot and mouth, and more recently, the Covid pandemic, to it being chosen as the venue for the World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge and lately being nominated as a qualifying race for UTMB World Series.

The Three Peaks Race is the mountain race that UK runners, at all levels, want to compete in, in a similar way that marathon runners want to run in the London Marathon. Some want to do it just the once, others strive to do it enough times to get the 15/21 completions award, and a crazy few keep doing it until they are no longer fit enough to make the cut-off times.

In parallel with the detailed history of the race, the stories of many characters from the seven decades in which the event has been held are explored in some depth. Historical accounts and contemporary interviews tell of the individual approaches and differing success levels of many participants. The interviewees include six-time winner Jeff Norman and five-time winner Victoria Wilkinson, but also extend to runners throughout the field, and also members of the organising team, past and present.

As well as the triumphs of race winners, accounts of perennial second-placers, and of running champions who never managed to win, there are stories of runners getting lost while in the lead, of being knocked over at a stream crossing, of stepping on a rock that turned out to be a dead sheep, and of stopping because they couldn’t take it anymore.

David Weatherhead, chair of the Three Peaks Race Association, in a foreword to the book, writes: "The Three Peaks Race is one of the earliest known long-distance fell races, certainly in Yorkshire. The first organised race was held in 1954. It has since become iconic, having a fell running ‘Who’s who’ list of winners and is a popular challenge for many outdoor enthusiasts."

The Three Peaks Race by Steve Chilton is published by Great Northern Books, and is available from April 16, price £15.99. It can be pre-ordered at: www.greatnorthernbooks.co.uk

This year's race takes place on Saturday, April 27. Find out more at: https://www.threepeaksrace.org/