Leicestershire victorious again in annual battle with Northamptonshire

Although hat dipping stations were at the ready, the weather was much cooler than it had been in previous weeks and with plenty of shaded areas out along the course, the temperature was ideal for the setting of another county battle between Northamptonshire and Leicestershire!

Of course, the two tunnels at Oxendon and Kelmarsh which all runners passed through twice also gave a little respite from the sun, and gave a slightly unique touch to the 28 mile challenge, plunging runners into darkness for 1432 metres in total.

Runners chose to run from Market Harborough, along the Brampton Valley Way to Northampton and back, or start at Northampton, running to Market Harborough and back again. All runners completing slightly over marathon distance, with many completing their first ultramarathon covering just over the marathon distance at 28 miles.

84 runners began the battle, with 37 of them starting from the Northampton end, and 47 choosing Market Harborough as their starting location. Within the ranks were lots of familiar faces, but there were also plenty of nervous-looking new faces as well!

With runners running in both directions, it can be difficult to judge which side is going to host the lead runners. The runners themselves were trying to judge at what mileage they crossed paths with the lead runners from the opposite direction, but even then, until crossing the finish line, you have no real idea of who is going to take those sought after podium places!

It was Robert Fiford, from the Northampton end who crossed the line as overall winner of the 2025 event, completing the 28 mile distance in a time of 3h 22m 1s. Second place also went to a runner from the Northamptonshire side, Andrew Verra, from Northants Tri Club. Andrew crossed the finish line 3h 34m 44s after he set off. Giles Polito, the first to finish for Leicestershire just held onto third position overall, finishing in 3:40:06, with Ryan Moore hot on his heels just one second behind!

It was much closer for the ladies, with Louise Andrews from Kenilworth Runners, representing Leicestershire, the first female to finish in a time of 3:55:06. Melissa Emerson took second place for the second year in a row, running more than 12 minutes faster than last year’s time to finish as first female from the Northamptonshire side and complete the race in 3:57:28. Third female finisher was Beth Owen, also representing Northamptonshire and crossing the finish line in 4:12:52.

Among those runners welcomed back this year was Bill Mitchell, from the 100 Marathon Club. At the age of 80, Bill has completed more marathon and ultra distances than most and proves that age is no barrier to completing goals you set for yourself!

Despite four of the podium finishers running for the Northampton side, once again the winners of this year’s ‘Battle’ of the Brampton Valley Way were MARKET HARBOROUGH!

The winning team is calculated using the average time from the same number of runners from each side, and for the third year running, Market Harborough took the title!

Mary Pearson, Race Director, said: “I really look forward to this race every year as there’s such lovely camaraderie between runners from both sides. For many participants this is their first attempt at the distance and stepping up into the world of ultramarathons, and the sheer determination of runners to make that step up and succeed is just brilliant.

“We were blessed with perfect running conditions on Sunday which meant that an incredible 96% of all starters finished the race, and we are indebted to the team at West Northants Country Parks for allowing us to stage the event along the Brampton Valley Way, and to Northampton & Lamport Railway and Harborough Leisure Centre for their continued support of the race.”