Home 45th Haworth Hobble – Saturday 14th March 2026

45th Haworth Hobble

Saturday 14th March 2026 – 8am

Entries for 2026 Haworth Hobble opened on 1st October 2025 and were sold out in hours on same morning - over 1000 places. There is no waiting list now and no more entries accepted. Entries for the 2027 race will open on 1st October 2026 via SI Entries.

Entry fee for the 2026 race was £28.

Fell Runners Association Race Matrix 

Click here to view FRA Race Matrix Template - Haworth Hobble

This document is designed to give people who are not familiar with the event, an opportunity to assess the risks involved on the course and whether it meets their skill set. It is subjective and all competitors remain responsible for their own safety and ensuring they have the skills to undertake the race.

Charities, Good Causes and free places for Mountain Rescue volunteers

  1. The Haworth Hobble is a very large event now with complicated logistics and high costs. However, we are wholly volunteer run and do our best to put on a special race which is widely supported by running community - please understand that we all give our time for free.
  2. Part of the ethos of the race is to raise money for local charities, local good causes and for investing in the Juniors of Keighley and Craven Athletic Club. Our entry fees are exceptionally low for what you get and every penny left over goes to great causes.
  3. We believe that we can only enjoy the fells, moors and mountains in the UK due to the selfless volunteers who are available 24/7 as part of our UK Mountain Rescue (and Fell/Search & Rescue) service. We can train and race in the knowledge that these people are there. This race will always donate significantly to local teams but we also offer 15 free places as a 'thank you' to any active member of any UK Search & Rescue team. Please email kcacraces@gmail.com with details to see if free entries still left (you don't have to wait until official race entry date opens on 1st October each year).

 

General Information

Start Time: 8am for mass start. Early starts available any time between 6.30am to 7.15am (Checkpoints 1 and 2 have opening time to prevent anything other than slowest runners/walkers using this option). YOU DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR EARLY START - JUST TURN UP EARLY ON DAY. APPROX 20% TAKE THIS OPTION SO YOU WILL NOT BE BY YOURSELF.

Category: BL
GPS: not allowed for navigation
Distance: 51km / 31.7m
Climb: 1615 metres/5300 feet (analysis of Strava files suggest this is average height gain although previously advised as approx 1300m/4400 feet)
Venue: Haworth Primary School, Rawdon Road, Haworth, BD22 8DW.
Grid ref: SE 03143 37265
Skills & experience: ER, LK, NS
Minimum age: 18 (see age limits below)

31.7 miles traversing gritstone moors around Haworth, Todmorden and Hebden Bridge with 5300 ft of ascent/descent. Maximum time allowed approx 11 hours (see cut offs at each checkpoint for full schedule).  This race is on edge of winter and there is expectation that you have all the skills required for navigating and looking after yourself on remote moors in potentially very wintry conditions.

This is a tough race and it is expected to go ahead in almost all conditions as if you have signed up, you have acknowledged that you have suitable skills and that you are carrying all the right gear. However, for the first time in 2023, we had to make a last minute decision and shorten the course due to heavy snow as otherwise very few people would have finished. In exceptional circumstances only, we reserve the right to reduce the race to the 21 mile bad weather course (see bad weather course below).

New For 2026

  1. Make it an 'ultra weekend' as two ultra running presentations at great venue in Haworth over the weekend
  2. Click here for 'Racing The Extremes' - Friday night 7pm to 8pm
  3. Click here for 'Pushing The Boundaries' on Saturday night - 6pm to 7.30pm.
  4. Friday night race registration and kit check now available (as well as race day registration)
  5. Some portaloo facilities on route.

Competitor Race Day Manual - THIS HAS ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RACE

This is the March 2025 Race Briefing and the vast majority of it will be exactly the same for 2026 race. All information regards early starters, cut offs, distances, checkpoint positions and food will be almost exactly the same. The updated 2026 Race Manual will be issued via email to competitors around 7th March 2026.

Haworth Hobble Competitor Race Briefing - 8-3-25

Age Limits

Over 18 years old race day.

Hobble Reccy Runs - Confirmed Dates

There is one date change from provisional dates as 22nd Feb 2026 is now moved to 8th Feb 2026 . The dates are:

a) Sunday 28th December 2025 and Sunday 8th February 2026 - 8.30am

b) Sunday 25th January 2026 and Sunday 1st March 2026 - 9.30am (note: one hour later than outbound reccy):

  • Todmorden to Haworth Finish Line - 13.5 miles
  • Meet at Woodhouse Road/A646 Halifax Road junction as per link above.

Reccy Details:

  1. There will be minimum of 4 pace groups but probably 5 or 6. They are usually very social. We had over 50 people on a few reccy runs before 2025 race.
  2. The slowest group will always be very slow - steep hills walked but expectation that you can run slowly on flats/downhill. We will regroup in last group so nobody left behind. If you are struggling in faster group, you can drop to group behind.
  3. Waterproof Course Maps available if required at £3 at each reccy inc checkpoint distances/cut off details etc.
  4. We are guiding only to show route - we take no responsibility at all for you and wholly at your own risk. It's expected that everybody has suitable experience to join us and carries all the necessary kit as weather can be bad.
  5. Well behaved dogs allowed and people who are not entered in the race. A reminder that we are guiding only and you must be able to look after yourself.
  6. These are point to point reccy runs - also known as a logistical pain in the arse ! After success on 2025 reccies, we intend to organise taxis again for those who want them. These will depart the run finish point at 7.45am and 8.45am respectively so that people can position car at finish which is way better than trying to get your knackerred soaking wet self back from Todmorden to Haworth on 2 buses. Taxi details will be posted on Facebook about a week before each reccy and email will be sent to race entrants as well.

Kit Requirements

Full FRA mandatory kit is required and in addition you must also carry foil blanket or bivvy bag, minimum 0.5 litre of water carrying capacity and an additional long sleeved thermal base layer not to be worn at race start. However, given the date then it is highly likely that you should be carrying much more than the minimum.

Course Information including race map, GPX files, feedstation locations and cut off times

1. Click kere for map of race route on Strava.
3. Click here for Hobble GPX file and Hobble Bad Weather Route GPX file - Please note that the bad weather route has only been used once before and depending on circumstances, this could be altered.
 

Race Videos

2022 Race Video

2023 Race Video

2024 Race Video

2025 Race Video

Race Day Food

Whilst full details will not be confirmed until the race brief issued approximately 7 days before race, based on last few years you can expect following:

– Pre Race will have tea, coffee and squash available at no charge. Bacon sandwiches from 6am at small charge.

– During race there are 6 well stocked feed stations with all the basics of chocolate bars, bananas, melon, orange, jelly babies as well as water, squash and Cola. However feed stations 3, 4 and 5 have additional options including tea, coffee, soup, OXO and on food side hot dogs with onions, fresh filled donuts, chip butties, freshly cooked Tom Yum soup and other surprises. We are well known for having great feedstations with exceptional volunteers.

– After the race there is tea, coffee, soft drinks along with freshly cooked hot pizza and cake.

Refunds, Deferrals and Substitutions

 
This is a volunteer run event and we want to be very clear about our terms and conditions as this causes us unwanted grief every year especially when we are trying to organise race in our spare time. Our entry fees are exceptionally low for an event of this size and for what you get. We can find very little that compares in UK based on what we charge.  In doing this, we are clear about our policy as follows:
– there are no refunds
– free deferrals to the following years event or the Yorkshireman Off Road Marathon are allowed until 31st January. You can only defer once.
– free substitutions processed by yourself on SI Entries are allowed until 15/2/2026.
– if you have purchased a T-shirt and it is not collected within 10 minutes of last competitor finishing, we reserve the right to sell it if we can as we often get asked by people if they can purchase on race day. When we do this 100% of proceeds go to charity. This is better than having pile of uncollected T-shirts that are in effect worthless day after race. The hoodies (if purchased) will however be retained for 2 days after race if not collected and you will need to contact us quickly and either collect or pay postage/packing costs.
 
We understand that people will get ill, injured or have many other reasons not to do race. However, we start spending heavily on event around 6 weeks before and this is based on number of entries we have at 1/2/2026. If we allowed refunds or deferrals to a few weeks before event then entry fees would have to be substantially higher. Please respect this as so much work goes into organising event by volunteers so people asking for refunds on night before event is not helpful (and it happens!).

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Can I Use Poles? – Yes, although please be careful (it’s now against FRA rules but we have dispensation due to long standing and unique nature of race).
  2. Can my dog run with me? – No, this is against FRA rules and can trip other competitors.
  3. How do I learn the route? – We organise reccy runs in December, January and February. Emails are sent to all entrants.
  4. How tough is the route? – Whilst much of route is runnable, other than a few short road sections, it is mostly trails and moors. There are some very exposed remote moors which can be very challenging in bad weather which is why we expect you to have sufficient skills for the race and to carry all mandatory gear as an absolute minimum. At the front end we have some of the UK’s top off road runners however we also have people who walk the whole route and have a brilliant time in doing so.
  5. Can I run as a pair? – Yes, this started off as a pairs race and we always have a large entry of mixed, male and female pairs. We also have a non-binary category for individuals/pairs.
  6. When can I get. map? – Waterproof race maps will be on sale at £3 at all the reccy runs and they will also be on sale on race day. As well as route on front page, on the rear they include course description, details of all checkpoints, distances between checkpoints and cut offs.
  7. Are there any refunds, substitutions allowed? – Please read above on this subject. It seems that people ignore this and ask anyway – this is immensely frustrating to volunteers who have to respond whilst trying to organise the race. Our entry fee is exceptionally cheap for what you get – if we offer refunds or later deferral date then quite simply, the entry fee would have had to have been much higher plus the unpaid volunteers end up with lots of extra admin close to race.

     

    Race Organiser and Contact Details

    Gary Chapman
    kcacraces@gmail.com

    Facebook group – This group has so much information regarding to race especially around time of reccy runs or leading up to race.

Results

  • 2025
  • 2024
  • 2023 – Race shortened to 21 miles due to heavy snow
  • 2022
  • 2021 – Cancelled due to Covid-19
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004
  • 2003
  • 2002

     

    KCAC actively supports sheRACES


    Haworth Hobble fully supports SheRACES and we actively ensure that all guidelines are met to ensure our races are seen as amongst the most female friendly around. We already have a female participation rate over 30% which is well above average but we always want to do more. Our other main race, the Yorkshireman Off Road Marathon and Half Marathon had a 52% female participation rate in the half marathon in 2024 and 41% in the full marathon in 2025. We will always ensure equal status in results and prize giving, separate ladies toilets and availability of sanitary products at start/finish/all feed stations, generous cut off times to encourage inclusivity for all, free guided reccy runs in groups to promote safety/confidence on route, free deferral for 2 years when pregnant up to race day and ensuring all imagery/race information actively encourages participation of women.