Two Keswick Athletic Club runners – Carl Bell and Katie Kaars Sijpesteijn – represented Great Britain in the Trail World Championships in Portugal.

Sijpesteijn was third counter in the ladies team and 31st lady overall while Bell, making his debut in the competition, was second counter in 13th overall on the 27.5-mile route over a mix of technical and runnable trails.

Bell was disappointed not to make the top ten after hurting his foot with 10k to go so wasn’t able to finish as strongly as he’d hoped.

He said: “It was amazing to race some of the big names that win a lot of the European races.”

The team flew out on Thursday before the race and had time to settle in before the race on the Saturday.

Closer to home it was the British and English Championship race at Stool End Farm in Langdale.

This long 13.75-mile counter race covers a lot of rocky terrain in the first half before turning to wet boggy ground in the later sections.

On the climb up Bow Fell the pack split but at the summit the frontrunners were back together.

Over Esk Pike nothing changed but at Great End a group of four led the way, including Bell and the new kid on the block, Brennan Townshend.

By the top of Pike O’ Blisco, Townshend, of Keswick, had 30 seconds on Bell but Carl chose the better line off Blisco and came home first in around two hours 40 minutes, with Brennan in second position about three minutes behind.

Keswick men won the team prize with Calum Tinnion having a great run to finish seventh and the club was well represented in the men and women, with Steve Jones and Keswick veteran men including Steve Angus, Andrew Slattery and Craig Smith putting in solid performances.

Jenn Mattinson, Lucy Burnett and Kate Apps all finished in sub four hours and Zoe Webber was not far behind followed by Rachel Findlay-Robinson and Lesley Malarkey, Keswick’s 70-year-old superwoman, flying round in sub five hours despite suffering earlier in the week with an ear infection.