TREACHEROUS underfoot conditions made for some spectacular tumbles as athletes descended the steep slopes of Barbon Fell in the sixth Kendal Winter League race of the season.

The slippy grass led many of the runners to slide down the fell on their backsides rather than attempt to negotiate the seriously steep incline on two feet.

Broughton's John Jardine went head-over-heels as he attempted to take second place in the under-14 boys' race, a fall that brought shocked gasps from the assembled spectators. He lay spread-eagled in the mud before getting up to drag himself the last few feet to the finish funnel in third position.

Ulverston's Chris Doyle won the senior men's race after being involved in a tough tussle with Helm Hill's in-form Billy Procter, who was again forced to settle for second place. Doyle led at the summit turn and managed to keep Procter at bay on the descent to win by 25 seconds clocking 22-02 almost three minutes behind Tommy Sedgwick's long standing record.

Settle's Karen Slater was just eight seconds adrift of the record time of 28-46 she set last year in winning the ladies race, which in the conditions was an excellent performance.

A sure-footed David Shepherd won the U17 boys' race with an impressive descending display while Helm Hill's Ryan Thornborrow just held off Broughton's Adam Crowe for second. Helm Hill's Rosie Parkinson won the U17 girls' race ahead of her teammate Ashleigh Tallon.

Matthew Fretwell won the incident packed U14 boys' race which saw many of the youngsters slip sliding down the fellside and included Jardine's dramatic tumble as he tried to catch CFR's Ben Morphet. Broughton's Bridget Penellom won the U14 girls' race equalling the record time of 9-09 set by Gemma Crowther last year.

Helm Hill's Jonathan Wright won the U12 boys' race that was run in blizzard conditions, beating team-mate Tom Doyle by ten seconds. The girls' U12 winner, Jenny Addison, was mixing it with the leading lads on the ascent but faded on the descent to finish a respectable fourth overall.

Results: Senior Men: 1 C Doyle, Trafford, 22-02; 2 B Procter, Helm Hill, 22-27; 3 Q Harding, Bowland, 23-29; 4 Peter Brittleton, Howgill, 23-52; 5 B Lonsdale, Settle, 24-03; 6 L Athersmith, Settle, 24-24; 7 I Atkinson, Helm Hill, 25-24; 8 J Murfin, Settle, 25-32; 9 C Speight, Ambleside, 25-43; 10 A Pilkington, Settle, 25-44. Ladies: 1 K Slater, Settle, 28-54; 2 K Hall, unattached, 30-43; 3 S Slater, Settle, 30-51. Boys U17: 1 D Shepherd, Settle, 16-48; 2 R Thornborrow, Helm Hill, 18-06; 3 A Crowe, Broughton, 18-07. Girls U17: 1 R Parkinson, Helm Hill, 24-26; 2 A Tallon, Helm Hill, 25-52; 3 G Biddle, Pendle, 26-30. Boys U14: 1 M Fretwell, unattached, 6-57; 2 B Morphet, CFR, 7-08; 3 J Jardine, Broughton, 7-17. Girls U14: 1 B Penellom, Broughton, 9-09; 2 J Bibby, Keswick, 10-20; 3 R Knipe, Barrow, 11-05. Boys U12: 1 J Wright, Helm Hill, 4-05; 2 T Doyle, Helm Hill, 4-15; 3 N Till, Helm Hill, 4-24. Girls U12: 1 J Addison, Helm Hill, 4-30; 2 B Van Hinsbergh, unattached, 4-45; 3 L Moorhead, Pendle, 5-30.