Busy week this week with recognition and awards for some of our junior members, tough fell racing, road running glory, cross country action and park run triumphs! The accolades and successes are tinged with sadness on hearing of the loss of a great friend to the club, Pete Hartley.

Tour of Pendle

Tour of Pendle – start of the race. Neil Hardiman and Ryan Wilkinson visible – photo by David Belshaw

This tough, local race attracted a large turnout of club members.  On the day conditions were a just a little claggy up on the top.

Chris Holdsworth in the clag at the first passing of the trig point.

Fell captain, Dave Motley shared these thoughts on the race.

Tour of Pendle – Fell Captain, Dave Motley at the crest of the last climb

“Another year, another hard slog at the Tour Of Pendle, misty conditions giving team Clayton a home advantage. My race went well, setting off steady and trying to work through the field almost giving Mr Holdsworth a fright on the last descent, although his tarmac speed allowed him to beat me. Great to see so many from Team Clayton and another fantastic Tour Of Pendle.”

Ladies Fell Captain, Jean Brown, at the finish

Results now available

Mid Lancs XC – Barrow

Considering the distance and the clash with the Tour of Pendle, Team Clayton saw a good turn out at the Midlancs fixture at Barrow. The men had more than enough runners for a qualifying team as did the ladies.

Mid Lancs XC at Barrow. Carl Helliwell. Photograph courtesy of Tickhiller Photography
http://www.tickhillerphotographic.co.uk/

With a flat fast course and an abundance of cheering for those waiting or having already run, it was a successful afternoon all round for Team Clayton. Many thanks to all for making the journey as each runner counts in these Midlancs races.

Clayton Ladies at Mid Lancs Cross Country in Barrow. L-R Julia Rushton, Helen Burnett, Irene Roche, Sarah Helliwell

Some brilliant results were gained today by Clayton juniors at Barrow in Furness for the Mid Lancs Cross Country. Briony Holt came 1st and Curtis Holt came 15 th. Adam and Beth Quinn ran too and both had fantastic races. Well done everyone.

Briony Holt at the Mid Lancs Cross Country in Barrow

Results now available

Award winning Juniors

Our junior members have been enjoying plenty of success and recognition this week.

Ellie Root ran in the Regional Finals of the English Schools XC cup in Stockton-on-Tees, her team (Skipton Girls High School) qualified for the finals in Newquay at the end of the month. Ellie came 14th but didn’t feel like she had a good run. However, yesterday she ran in the Harrogate and Craven XC qualifiers in Knaresborough and came 2nd with a really strong performance.

Clayton junior Ellie Root competing in the English Schools Cross Country Cup

That’s not all, Ellie Root also took part in the NW Junior Triathlon Series. Ellie finished 7th overall & received her certificate from GB athlete Katie Hewison last night at the awards ceremony at Lancashire Manor Hotel. Ellie competed throughout the year in her Clayton vest, registered under the club name. Well done Ellie!

NW Junior Triathlon Series (T3) awards night at Lancashire Manor Hotel

Briony Holt was honoured and awarded for her outstanding performances over the year. She attended the BOFRA presentation evening at the Stirk House Hotel in Gisburn and collected the Under 14 Girls award after competing in 9 of the qualifying races. She was also presented with the most outstanding junior award.

BOFRA Champion Briony Holt

And finally, congratulations to junior member, Jordan McDonald for an outstanding run at the Burnley parkrun where he came first.

It’s a real pleasure to see our junior members enjoying such successes and recognition and it is well deserved.  They are a credit to the club and the junior coaching team. The future is bright! (and orange, of course)

Preston 10 Mile Road Race – Sunday 16th November

A cohort of 8 Harriers took part in the Preston 10 mile road race. 431 runners took part in this event.

Michael Hogan had this to report;
“This morning’s race was held in near perfect conditions. It’s a good fast two lap course. Richard Stevenson was holding the 1st Clayton home position until 8 mile, and then Old Boy, Kevin James Davies, came through to lead the road crew home. New boy Jon Hanson had a good run for his first 10 mile effort with a fime just over 64 mins. This boy has talent waiting to be released. With myself, Steve Biscomb, Alan Clarkson, Brian Wildman and Ron Chappell making up a solid Clayton outing, it was a good day out for the Clayton road crew. Go at 10 K pace and hope you last for 10 miles!”

Full Results

Leeds Abbey Dash 10k – Sunday 16th November

Known for it’s 10k personal best potential, the Leeds Abbey Dash 2014 did not disappoint. The race was won by Andrew Butchart of Central AC who finished in 29 minutes and 17 seconds. The first female was Steph Twell of Aldershot who finished in 32 minutes and 30 seconds. There were 9524 finishers.

Well done to Johnny McKenna who was 160th with a chip time of 32:59 in an incredibly fast race over in Leeds.

Full Results

Sandgrounder 10k – Sunday 16th November

Two of our members went to Southport to take part in the 5k and 10k races

10K Results: 179 Kevin O’Brien M60 57:47 (216 runners took part)
5K Results: 11  Martin Brady M50 22:34 (34 runners took part)

Well done Kevin and Martin!

10k Results  and  5k Results

Arnside Knott Fell Race – Sunday 16th November

A couple of our members were spotted in the results of this race which covers 5.5 miles on a scenic course above Morecambe Bay and the Kent Estuary.  By all accounts it was a dry day with clear views all round.  140 runners took part.

22nd  Alan Life MV45 42:23
115th Carol Life W45 56:25

Full Results

Parkrun News

Another great week for club members at various parkrun events this week. From Cheltenham to Newby Bridge, you have been hitting personal bests all over the place!  In particular, well done to Jordan McDonald, Jacob Watson and Jonathon Pye for the top three spots at the Burnley parkrun this week. Also congratulations to Jacob Watson, Bryan Searby, Jack McGuire and Eileen Jones on your latest personal best times.

Burnley parkrun (175 Runners)

Cheltenham parkrun (363 Runners)

Heaton parkrun (409 Runners)

Pendle parkrun (37 Runners)

Fell Foot parkrun (178 Runners)

New Members

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to our latest members; Joanne Bennett, Clare Wilson and Darren Rushton to the seniors, as well as Leon Wichester to the juniors.  I hope to be reporting on your running achievements soon!

Pendle & Burnley Grand Prix

Just released.  The list of races in next year’s grand prix

List of Races in next year’s Grand Prix

Sad News

It is with great sadness that we report that a great friend of many Clayton Harriers, Pete Hartley, passed away at the weekend. After a motor vehicle accident ended his running career with Rossendale Harriers, Pete turned to taking photographs of races in the mountain scenery that he loved. He had an amazing eye for a photograph, and had the knack of giving the viewer a great impression of what it was like to be there. Many’s the time his grinning face would appear as you ran along a trod, miles from anywhere. His wonderful photos appeared in a wide range of publications, especially The Fellrunner.

Pete Hartley

When seven Harriers (plus two supporters) took part in the 2005 Everest Marathon, Pete was the official photographer for the event. The ten of us had a marvellous time, with Pete the life and soul of the party, especially in Kathmandou, a city he had visited before. He captured the whole event in pictures and gave us all a collection of photos on our return – a treasured record of a fantastic three-week trip.

With his outgoing personality and cheerful demeanour, along with his marvellous photos, Pete brought a smile to the face of a huge number of people. He will be greatly missed. Our condolences go to Denise and all Pete’s family.

And Finally…

If you want to run at the Mid Lancs League fixture in Liverpool and haven’t pre-registered, you can contact the team captains Irene Roche or Ian Greenwood for information on how to enter on the day.  This information will also be available on the Team Clayton Facebook page and on the Cross Country pages on this site.

London Marathon. We have been allocated 4 places for the VLM. I already have 3 requests from members with rejection letters so they are in. That leaves 1 place available for another club member. If anyone would like this place please contact John Wilcock. We will allow a week so that word can get around, after which a name will be drawn from the hat. John can be contacted on 07970 828167 or john.wilcock@cardium.co.uk