Ian Holmes (born 4 December 1965) is an English fell runner who was the national champion several times in the 1990s and 2000s and represented his country at the

World Trophy The World Trophy is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 5 furlongs and 34 yards (1,037 metres), and it is s ...

and European Trophy. At school, Holmes played rugby, but after a back injury, his running became a priority. In the early 1990s, he spent some time as a ski instructor near

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third ...

and his training there significantly improved his fitness. Returning to England, Holmes settled in

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

and began racing regularly on the fells. He first represented England at the 1992 World Trophy. He was selected for some of the later World Trophies and also ran at the European Trophy. Among other international races, Holmes won the Mount Kinabalu Climbathon in record time in 1998 and returned to win again the following year when he held off Simon Booth in a close finish. On the domestic scene, one of Holmes's significant victories early in his career was at

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...

in poor weather in 1994. He went on to win many other fell races, including the

Three Peaks Race The Three Peaks Race is a fell race held annually on the last weekend in April, starting and finishing in Horton in Ribblesdale. The course traverses the Yorkshire Three Peaks. The present distance is about 23 miles (37 km). The first k ...

, Burnsall,

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' ...

, Jura and

Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...

. Sarah Rowell wrote about Holmes's descending ability, noting that he often won races despite being some way behind the leaders at the highest point. Running for Bingley Harriers, Holmes won both the British and English Fell Running Championships in 1996, reportedly saying afterwards, "The serious stuff's over now, though - everything from now on will be for fun!". This was followed by further British titles in 1997, 1998 and 2000, and English titles in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003. He has won the

Coniston Fell Race The Coniston Fell Race is an annual Lake District fell race held in April or May, starting and finishing in the village of Coniston. The route is approximately in length with of ascent and takes in checkpoints on the summits of Wetherlam, Swir ...

ten times. In his local area, Holmes consistently won races from Penistone Hill for many years, winning the Stoop every year from 1991 to 2000 and the Auld Lang Syne race every year from 1994 to 2003, and had one of the longest runs of consecutive victories in the history of the sport at the Stanbury Splash, winning every year from 1996 to 2010.Stanbury Splash Records.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Ian 1965 births Living people British fell runners British sky runners