Runners tackle the frozen moors during The Trigger. Photo: Gordon Gibbons

Hardy fellrunners took to the Peak District hills to help raise cash for a mountain rescue team.

The inaugural Trigger event was run in cold clear conditions across the national park’s three highest hills on Sunday, and boosted Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team’s funds by more than £2,000.

Top runner Nicky Spinks and her husband Steve Burgess, who live in the area, organised the race, which took in the tops of Black Hill, Bleaklow and Kinder Scout over a route running from Marsden in West Yorkshire to Edale in Derbyshire.

The Trigger, which takes its name from the Ordnance Survey trig pillars which form checkpoints on the route, had 169 entrants, who had to find their own way across the remote upland moors.

A spokesperson for the Woodhead team, which covers much of the area in which the run took place, said: “The day was a stunning day to be out in the hills. The usual knee-deep bogs of Bleaklow and Kinder were frozen hard allowing for some very fast running.

“Woodhead Mountain Rescue team was out in force providing race safety cover and tracking the progress of all competitors as they made their way from Marsden to Edale.”

First man and woman back in the race, Oli Johnson and Heather Catherine Marshall

Oli Johnson won the race in 3hrs 13mins, with first woman prize going to Heather Catherine Marshall in 4hrs.

Both received new trophies made for the event made from an Ordnance Survey trig point flush bracket, donated by the mapping agency, mounted on a hardwood plinth.

Team leader Keith Wakeley said: “On behalf of the team I would like to thank the race organisers and all sponsors in the local community for the time and effort they have put in to getting this race off the ground and making it such a success both as a classic fell race and a fund raising event for the team.

“I am humbled by the generosity of both funds and time that people are willing to commit to raising money for the team, without their assistance it would be far more difficult for us as a team to operate.”

A total of £2,502 was raised for the Woodhead team. Andy and Amanda Heading of Racekit also helped organise the race and sponsored it. http://www.racekit.co.uk/