The final British Championship race was held in North Wales on Saturday. The Maesgwm Muddle was a 10.5 mile race run from Llanberis. After already securing the men’s team championship medal, Keswick AC travelled with some new faces to the race. The start time was at 11am and after a bit of a delay with kit check, it was all go. The pace was strong across to the first climb, and then it was a grind to the summit through thick grass and tussocks before turning and heading straight back down again. The race continued up and down a ridge run in the thick mist to Moel Eilio, down towards a quarry, then a long fast descent with a horrible sting in the tail, an uphill finish through some fields. Keswick’s Carl Bell not only won the race but also won the Gold Championship Medal. He shares the title with Chris Arthur, after they both completed the British series on equal points. Carl is the first Keswick AC British winner since Kenny Stuart back in 1985. To follow this up Mark Lamb finished third in the race and takes the bronze medal in the championship. It was only a couple of years ago that Mark was pleased to finish in the top twenty in a championship race, so he has gone from strength to strength and put in a lot of hard work to get where he is today. Despite recent injury, John Battrick finished an impressive 14th to help Keswick win the team prize on the day. In the ladies race Keswick’s Jenn Mattinson finished 10th, and in doing so, secured a top ten position in the overall standings. On his triumph, Carl commented “What an amazing day. It was great to see all the Keswick runners enjoy the race and I’m so proud to be part of this club. I would never have won today without the support of the team. I would also like to thank my partner Jenn for having more confidence in me than I ever have in myself. And a huge thanks to Howgill Harriers for helping me get into the sport in the first place. Without them I wouldn’t be fell running.”