Chevy Chase, 5th July 2025
Three Claremont Road Runners took on the challenge of running up and down Cheviot and Hedgehope this year. That is 20 miles and a lot of climbing. Definitely not for the faint-hearted, so well done to all 3.
David Lydall’s take was: “Weather was great, possibly too warm, certainly for what I wore. Slowest time ever but very enjoyable. Got blisters between checkpoints 1 and 2, like last year. Sadly the ice cream shop was closed when we got there.”
Sonja and Jamie have jointly provided this report:
“The Chevy Chase never fails to deliver 20 miles of incredible countryside and equally incredible pain. This year the three Claremonters taking part were Sonja, Dave Lydall and Jamie and what quickly became clear was that we all had distinctive techniques for carrying our kit from the car park to the race HQ at Wooler Youth Hostel: Jamie put everything into a large holdall, Dave split his items between three bags while Sonja just had one bag but carried her fell shoes in their original shoebox. At the Youth Hostel, we met former Claremonter Paul Carroll and numerous friends from other clubs.
The stretch to the first checkpoint is usually one of the easiest ones, relatively flat and with good paths, but a strong headwind made it more challenging than usual. Afterwards, the track became rougher and Dave experienced difficulties with the blisters that had caused him to withdraw from the race last year. The Mountain Rescue people decided that it was not the type of problem that they dealt with, but Dave found some relief in the ‘Anton method’ of tying his laces. After the bright sunshine at ground level, the clouds above the Cheviot looked ominous, but the rain held off through the steep ascent to the summit. Then there was the sliding and slipping of the equally steep descent, where there is the constant fear of falling, suffering injury, lying exposed on the mountainside, being airlifted to
hospital and missing out on the free chips that are available at the end of the race. For her first time running the course, the descents were the part of the race that Sonja was most apprehensive about. However, she found that the descent down Cheviot was one of the best parts of the run. Dramatic views of Hedgehope and the surrounding hills were mixed with the novel experience of running and sliding down the hill. She especially enjoyed the comradery of her surrounding runners, all making the same journey downward, culminating with a refreshing change in scenery across the small burn at the mountain’s base.
Thankfully, none of us needed any airlifting: we all made it to the bottom and were then able to enjoy the pleasant change of climbing another mountain. Hedgehope is not as steep as the Cheviot, but goes on and on and on. After the descent of Hedgehope, there’s some flatter ground and the chance for runners to remind themselves what running feels like. There are also walkers on the course (who start an hour before the runners) and some had brought dogs: one
Labrador showed an impressive skill in jumping straight over a fence, while the rest of us had to lift weary limbs over one by one.
We had a vote in the car afterwards and the unanimous view is that the penultimate stretch of the race is the worst – running on a riverside path sounds pleasant, but the reality is that the ‘path’ hardly exists in some places and running is impossible much of the time. It was a relief to leave the riverside, even though this meant a very sharp climb (‘Hell Path’ as it is affectionately known) before the last section through the farms and the road to Wooler.
Sonja ran a highly impressive debut time of 4.46.44, Dave an impressive 5.21.02 and Jamie rounded out the group with 5.52.17. Jamie was not feeling at his best after the race and emerged from the shower with his T shirt on inside out – an error that he has not made since the day of his first official photograph at primary school. Unfortunately, we got to the Milk Bar too late to spend our complementary drink vouchers (valid until 31 st July), so let us know if you are heading to Wooler later this month and think you might want a coffee.”
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 73 | Sonja Fenske | 4:46:44 |
| 117 | David Lydall | 5:21:02 |
| 151 | Jamie Harding | 5:52:17 |
A video of the event is available here.
