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  The South Pennine 39 Trigs                               South Pennines

The South Pennines is a unique landscape: a vast area of high open moors intersected by steep-sided valleys littered with the industry of a bygone era and connected by a dense network of footpaths and packhorse trails.  This 105 mile epic was devised by John 'Bod' Riley of Calder Valley Fell Runners in 1988 based on his 1984 edition of the OS South Pennines map. The object was to link together 31 trigs and 8 former trigs or local landmarks into one continuous run involving some 20,000 feet of climbing!  Club-mates Rhys Kift and Peter White completed the route in 1991 in a time of 32-41. Remarkably the challenge was repeated 23 years later in 2014 by J R Clay - see report below.


For a more moderate foray into the area see The Upper Calder 13 Trigs another route devised by John at a mere 45 miles or so!

Route

Schedule

Click the icon to view or print a schedule of actual times together with corresponding the distances, grid references and heights of each point visited.  It should be read in conjunction with OS Explorer Map 21 - South Pennines (1:25000)

Finishers

This is an informal challenge without registrations or time limits. Why not share your experience on facebook to encourage and inspire other runners to have a go!


Links and Further Information

  • Enquiries and reports - email: southpennine39@btinternet.com 

  • The 39 Trigs Challenge - The original 1991 report on the successful attempt to bag all 39 trigs/landmarks on the 1984 OS South Pennine map. It should be noted the current edition of the map includes a much larger area!

  • The 39 Trigs Challenge - A report by J R Clay on his 2014 round of 135 miles in 46-30.

  • Going the extra 100 miles for DIPG - The Founders Round, The Fellrunner (issue 139. summer 2024).  Account by Paul Haigh of his May 2024 completion in support of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.   

 

 

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Sub-ultras (under 50 km)

COMPLETIONS

Where there is a recorder please contact them to log your completion. In addition, or if there isn't a recorder, you are invited to share your experience on the gofar facebook page to encourage and inspire other runners to have a go!

SAFETY WARNING

 

All the routes on this site require proven mountain running experience. You undertake them entirely at your own risk. Please take full mountain safety precautions at all times.  Always ensure you carry sufficient clothing, food and equipment to cope with dramatic changes in the weather conditions!  Appropriate insurance cover is recommended.

HAVE A GO!

The object of this website is to provide a single, ready source of information on the ultra-distance mountain challenges which have been developed over the past four or more decades. It now offers a diverse range of long and "short", old and recent, formal and informal routes from around the UK to encourage runners of all ages and abilities to have a go, subject to proven mountain experience in all conditions.

FRA LONG DISTANCE

RECORDS and NEWS

 

Please send details of any record-breaking runs and the like to Martin Stone who maintains records on behalf of the Fell Runners Association. Email:  martin.stone@sportident.co.uk

Please also refer to the guidelines and definitions in the FRA Handbook.

HELP WANTED

If you can improve on the accuracy of this resource, spot any errors in grid references, names, heights, spelling or punctuation, or find a link which does not work please email Tony Wimbush.: gofar99@gmail.com

Similarly, if you wish to submit any new (or old) routes for inclusion see the contact page for the information and format that is required:. 

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