Ambleside AC has staged its first fell race since March.

The uphill-only time trial took place on Wansfell.

Jacob Adkin was the fastest runner, reaching the summit in 13 minutes 53 seconds, and the New Balance athlete revealed he was pleased with his performance.

He said: "I was really pleased with how it went.

“At first it was a shock to the system, as it was for everyone else who have not been able to race at all this year.

“It was a beautiful night and the organisers did a fantastic job making sure that the race was safe and fun at the same time.

“It was also good to see some of my friends in the community after a long time.”

Finishing behind Adkin were Chris Richards (14.47) and Rob Jebb (14.51) in second and third.

For the 150 runners who participated in the race, this was their first event all year, and Adkin stated that the Coronavirus pandemic made the 24-year-old shelve his plans for the year.

He said: “I was planning to be out in Europe for most of the summer.

“I had planned on doing various races like the World Cup and trail races.

“But obviously all those plans were scuppered in March.”

However, Adkin did state there has been some positives this year.

Due to no races, the athlete’s highlighted that his training schedule has benefitted as a result.

“My training has not been as bad as I thought it would be.

“Not having the pressure of having a proper race and having a decent training schedule has been great.

“It has been a perfect summer of training really.”

Adkin finished by thanking and underlining the work of the race’s organisers.

Scout Adkin was the first female to finish, recording a time of 15 minutes 50 seconds.

Following Adkin, Jess Bailey (17.54) and Nichola Jackson (17.58) finished in second and third.

The time trial’s route started in Ambleside Town Centre with the finishing line at the summit of Wansfell, at a height of over 1,500 feet.

The race was a fund-raiser for the Junior World Mountain Running Cup.

Following its postponement this summer the competition will be staged in the town next year.

Pete Bland Sports sponsored the race, with The Herdy Company providing spot prizes.

Organiser Duncan Richards paid tribute following the race to the volunteers and the runners for enabling a Covid-secure event to go ahead.

Richards is also leading the team organising World Cup races.