Richard Butterwick came out on top for Todmorden Harriers at the Stairway to Heaven Trail Race at Holmbridge, near Holmfirth, on Saturday morning.
The inaugural running of this race organised by Summer Wine Trials attracted a small field of runners in drizzly and misty conditions with visibility down to less than 100 metres for much of the 12.5 km mixed terrain course.
Richard had already completed a hilly 5km parkrun in Barnsley a couple of hours earlier, so he set off at a sensible pace slowly gaining places up the first rocky climb.
The leading group of runners were out of sight in the mist when they took a wrong turn midway through the race after a directional sign had been interfered with, allowing Richard, who had keenly studied the race route map before the start, to lead a small group of runners the correct way.
Unaware he was now heading the race, Richard then pulled away on the long final climb and ran a strong downhill section to cross the line in a surprise first place just under the hour mark.
