My sister, Clare Harris, who has died aged 63 from cancer, was a remarkable fell runner, triathlete, cyclist and inspirational individual.
Clare worked as a buyer for companies including Regatta, Lakeland and Lancashire Wildlife Trust, but her work was very much a means to support her active life outdoors. Later on she took up cross-country skiing and cycling and had many trips around Britain and Europe with her husband, Nick Harris, whom she met in 2003, and married on a Scottish hillside in 2013, with the couple wearing matching running tops and shorts.
Born in Leicester, to John Sutton, a lecturer in printing, and Carol (nee Walker), a radiographer, Clare grew up in Plymouth, where swimming, sailing and walking on Dartmoor were family activities. At Plymstock school she was in sports teams for athletics, cross country, hockey and swimming.
After studying chemistry at Trent Polytechnic, Clare moved to Lancashire and became a member of a number of fell running clubs, including Kendal, where she was a ladies fell-running champion. She won numerous medals, including First Lady in the Manx Mountain Marathon in 1999, and completed her Bob Graham Round (42 Lakeland peaks in 24 hours) in 1989 - only the 32nd woman to achieve this.
In 1994, Clare visited Nepal to take part in the Everest Mountain Marathon, raising £7,000 for Water Aid, and then in 1996-97 she embarked on a (very) late gap year and travelled around the world by bicycle with a friend. She was a member of the Calder Valley Fell Runners women’s team during the golden period from 2003-08, when they won 11 British and English team medals. In the 2006 British relays, which Calder Valley were hosting, Clare ran the anchor leg after jumping out of the commentary box to grab the baton for the winning run, then returning to it to announce the win. In recent years she started cycling and taking part in triathlons, and in April 2022 she won a Female Vet 60 triathlon trophy and cycled the 170-mile Way of the Roses from Morecambe to Bridlington.
Nick and Clare started to spend their winters in Spain in their camper van with friends and in 2022/23 she managed four podium finishes in five mountain and trail races, as well as cycling and walking in the mountains.
On her return she was training for a John o’Groats to Lands End cycle ride, but tiredness and stomach symptoms led to a cancer diagnosis and a rapid deterioration in her health.
She is survived by Nick and me.
