Cragg Challenge 21st June 2026 introduced by Alex Baldacci, staff writer at Baby Wolf
It started, as so many of these things do, with the Tour de France and a huge grand piano being hauled up the longest slow incline in the UK, in Cragg Vale, West Yorkshire, by a phalanx of cyclists attached to a purpose-built scaffolding rig. Not a sentence I get to use every day of the week. And I should know. My daughter, then 12 years old, was the accompanist on one stage that ended outside The Robin Hood, from where I write my regular column for the Baby Wolf newspaper.
It was called Le Grand Départ and it lit a fire in the minds of a select group of local residents. The road was closed for the event, and a party atmosphere ensued, children out playing on the road. They thought to themselves: why can’t we do this every year? And so, The Cragg Challenge was born. A mixed event featuring runners and riders, completing differing distances up and down Cragg Vale and across all age groups, with prizes awarded and times tracked. A good friend of mine celebrated her 70th by running it. And then there are the kids.
One of the unique selling points of this event is its engagement with local schools. Fifty-four percent of the entry of one local school took part last year. That is quite the achievement in promoting fitness and improved mental health through exercise and taking part in something at the heart of the community, instilled in our youngest and creating memories of a place and a group of people who have dedicated time to keeping them involved and away from the perpetual draw of their screens, bringing them back into the arms of the people who surround them. A warm hug in the form of a festive sporting event. There are seven schools involved so far, and these kids are running five miles uphill in just over thirty-six minutes.
Organising this is a logistical Leviathan. There’s insurance, policing, road management, medical support and more. Publicity, promotion, schools outreach, leafleting. There have been blips, of course there have – the blip that no one saw coming. The Cragg Challenge started in 2017 and grew, stoked up by these great guys, but then came Covid, but it rose like a phoenix again. Then the Queen died and that kiboshed it for a year. But back it came again.
It's vital, essential, that events like The Cragg Challenge take place. We are a world which is in danger of disconnecting, isolating ourselves and bombarding ourselves with disinformation, siting us on our sofas, inactive. But The Challenge does precisely what it says on the tin. It challenges us, makes us active once again and brings us back to the heart of a place, so that we never forget and we return. To nature and our homeland.
And it only works because of the sponsorship from local businesses and volunteers. Again, I should know. I was one for the first time last year and Graham gave me the unenviable task of being the bouncer at the bottom of the road, turning away drivers whose satnavs had sent them up a road with an inflatable finish line on it and scores of people legging it or riding it. I must have the sort of face that doesn’t invite dispute.
I salute Phil, Graham, Pete, Tim and Nic and all the others who make this madcap day occur and bring so much joy to this valley above the Elphin. The Cragg Challenge is a glorious thing and will take place in 2026 on June 21st, Father’s Day, and the longest day of the year, the Summer Equinox. A suitably apt chime to the longest slow incline. I know how much time these guys put into organising this and the money it raises for the Overgate and Cancer Research UK. The hill itself has been renamed The Oliver Collinge Climb in memory of a local primary schoolteacher and sportsman, taken too young at only 27, by a disease that shows no clemency or mercy.
I see these guys gather every week to plan the next one. Although, to be frank, I think there’s an element of catching up over a few beers, also. The bar tab alone for organising this must contribute heavily to keeping my beloved pub, The Robin, in business. I have to thank them for that as well.
Give it a go in 2026. Run up that hill. Or ride it. This isn’t Kate Bush we’re talking about. Have fun, raise money, test yourself and keep all this going and all of us together. One couple did this with their toddlers in prams. There are no hurdles here.
And when you’ve finished, mopped the sweat from your brow, collected your medal, come see me in The Robin for a pint. I’ll shake your hand.
Written by Alex Baldacci, Staff Writer at Baby Wolf – http://baby-wolf.com
Enter the Cragg Challenge 2026 here: https://craggchallenge.co.uk/