Boulsworth Fell Race 2014
‘As I approached the final stretch I could hear the footsteps of runners approaching in my ear. I really began to dig in as I heard the dulcet tones of Mr Roche in my head shouting “have a word Martin..”
Running, why running my good lady wife, Alison, would say…………………
It all started back in 2012 when I wanted to get back on a bike and take to the open roads. Back in my younger days I had been a very keen cyclist but unfortunately, due to injury, I had to retire. The longing to do something I had always enjoyed remained with me and so I went and bought myself a bike naively thinking I could get back on a saddle and start where I had left off. Sadly not the case! The years had taken their toll on my fitness levels and so I started to do a bit of running to try and build up my stamina.
It was at this point that I was told about John “have a word” Roche and his sessions at Towneley park. I went along to the beginners group, did an odd park run, progressed to the next group, and made myself a member of the club in 2013 taking in a few races along the way.
This year I made the decision to enter as many of the Pendle & Burnley Grand Prix races as was possible and had finally reached the last race of the season, Boulsworth Fell Race.
Race Day…
We arrived at Trawden Playing Fields on a cool, windy and VERY WET morning. I was really looking forward to today’s race and it was really nice to see that lots of runners had turned out despite the weather conditions.
I didn’t know what to expect as I had not run it before but some had told me it was a “toughie”. As we set off up the long climb all I wanted to do was reach the top, but keeping in mind to take it easy at the start and not be tempted to rush off. As I approached the top of the climb a big sigh of relief came into play as I could see there was some level ground that lay ahead.
Courtesy of Trawden 7
It was at this point I could see a long line of runners in front of me tackling the main stretch of the course. I started to focus and raced ahead as I knew once I had reached the summit I could then look forward to the downhill part of the race, and the finish line. Keeping a nice steady pace I continued down the hill, passing others along the way, motivating me even more to the finish. As I approached the final stretch I could hear the footsteps of runners approaching in my ear. I really began to dig in as I heard the dulcet tones of Mr Roche in my head shouting “have a word Martin”, and I really didn’t want to be caught in my final footsteps to the finish line.
What a relief I had finally made it and completed this challenging course and my 13th race of the season. YES, I had managed to run in all of them! I hope to continue with the Pendle & Burnley Grand Prix in 2015 and hopefully improve my times. Watch this space!
Congratulations to all competitors who have taken part in the Grand Prix and look forward to seeing many of the friendly faces in 2015.
Thanks to Martin Griffin for this weeks race report! Full results can be found here.
The Rest of the Weekend’s Action
Only three other races this week! (that I’m aware of) With a third from Sierre-Zinal 2014 which will be featured as next week’s race report!
Firstly, we had two harriers competing over at the 2014 Blackpool Airshow 10k. Ted Orrell finished as the 1st M75 in his category, in 00:50:09, whilst Julie Toman finished in 00:54:11. Well done on what I would imagine was a blustery day over in Blackpool!
Over in Preston we had 9 Harriers compete at the Welcome Tavern 10k Challenge. Terry O’Leary continued his great run of form, finishing 5th just five seconds ahead of Kevin Davies. Full Clayton-le-Moors Harriers results are as follows –
5 00:38:04 284 O’Leary Terry Clayton le Moors Harriers M
6 00:38:09 285 Davies Kevin Clayton le Moors Harriers V50 M
10 00:40:35 281 Hogan Michael Clayton le Moors Harriers V45 M
16 00:43:20 283 Clarkson Alan Clayton le Moors Harriers V55 M
26 00:46:26 272 Brady Martin Clayton le Moors Harriers V50 M
33 00:47:02 274 Wildman Brian Clayton le Moors Harriers V45 M
41 00:48:55 278 Moore Lee Clayton le Moors Harriers M
57 00:52:05 279 Duffy Amanda Clayton le Moors Harriers V35 F
86 00:59:53 269 O’Brien Kevin Clayton le Moors Harriers V70 M
Clayton-le-Moors are certainly broadening their horizons this week! Paul Shackleton ran at the British Masters Track and Field Championships. He did amazingly well and secured a silver medal in the V50 300 meter steeplechase!! Amazing effort Paul. In his own words ‘And some people think Clayton is just a fell club!’
In other news, Breton Holdsworth completed his ‘pigramige’ into the V40’s by completing the seriously impressive challenge of running over 40 miles in one go. He ran from Bolton Abbey to York Minister with the help from Nick Gaskell, Johnny McKenna, Micheal O’Donnell, Dave Motley, Joanne Motley, Chris Singleton, Christina Singleton, Christopher Holdsworth, Adam Shaw, Lee Smith, Ryan Wilkinson and Jim Hickie, who all joined in at various stages. There was also support from cyclists Neil Worswick and Adam Hamer, whilst Sophie McIntosh and wife Paula Holdsworth supported in the car. Breton would like to thank all of those who have supported him, as well as to everyone who made a donation. A massive £565 has been raised so far for North West Air Ambulance, if you’d like to make a donation the link is here – https://www.justgiving.com/Breton-Holdsworth/
As previously mentioned, a race report from the Sierre-Zinal 2014 will be featured next week by Ivan Whigham. Well done to everyone who ran this week, with a special mention going to Jacob Boyle for his fantastic win at Boulsworth Fell Race!
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