A Hard Rain is Gonna Fall

Despite the devastating floods of the weekend and the cancellation of many events, there was still quite a lot of action to report on this week. Cross country has been the mainstay of the week, with record amounts of mud at Marl Pits to contend with. There’s also been some fast 5K racing at Todmorden and a few forays on the fells.

Club News and Announcements

English and British Fell Championships

Races are now confirmed and some are open for entries. Details can be found here.

Late Result

Apologies to club member Richard Lawson who I missed off the results for the Mid Lancs Sefton Park fixture. He was 2^nd MV70 out of 7 fellow competitors and finished in a time of 44:45.

Thursday 3 December

Todmorden Park 5K race series

This was the fourth and final race of this fast, winter 5K series organised by Cannonball Events. Garry Wilkinson was running for charity team Running4CF and finished in 6^th place with a time of 19:42

Full Results

Pendle Schools Cross Country

Congratulations to Briony and Curtis Holt who represented their schools at this event. Curtis came second in his race and Briony was first in hers.

Briony Holt on the podium at the Pendle Schools Cross Country championship. Photo courtesy of 5 Little Boys Photography

Saturday 5 December

Blackburn with Darwen Schools Cross Country

Natasha and Bronia Olszewska took part in this event at Witton Park. Bronia ran in the Year 7 girls race and finished 23^rd. Natasha ran in the Year 8 and Year 9 girls race and finished in 8^th place which qualified her to run for Blackburn with Darwen Schools in the district event in the New Year.

Team Olszewska at the Blackburn with Darwen Schools Cross Country Championships. Photo by Adrienne Olszewska

Red Rose Cross Country – Marl Pits

U11 Girls

Team Position 7^th (E Dorrington | H White | S Hargreaves)

Ella Dorrington tackling the Marl Pits mud with ease. Photo by David Belshaw

 U11 Boys

Team Position 4^th (D Thompson| F Stubbs | J Bentham)

U11 Boys team warming up at the Red Rose Cross Country fixture. Photo by David Belshaw

 U13 Girls

Team Position 6^th (L Thompson | C Bentham | S Ashworth)

Sophie Ashworth dancing down the muddy slope. Photo by David Belshaw

U13 Boys

Team Position 7^th (J McKay | J Bowman | L Jackson )

Even muddier for the U13 boys. Jackson McKay tackling the slope. Photo by David Belshaw

 U15 Girls

Briony Holt in her second cross country race of the week. Making it look easy! Photo by David Belshaw

U15 Boys

U17 Women

U17 Men

Team Positon 2^nd (S Wilshaw | R Clarke | R Lawrence)

U20 Women

U20 Men

Senior Women

Senior Ladies and Junior men race at the Red Rose Cross Country. Photo by David Belshaw

Team Position 5^th (H Leathley | J Brown | V Heys)

Vets Team 6^th (J Brown | V Heys | A Shian)

Senior Men

Team Position 3^rd ( T Brewster | G Pier | C Helliwell | M Aspinall | A Armstrong | A Orr )

Vets Team 3^rd (C Helliwell | M Aspinall | A Armstrong | A Orr)

Full Results

Sunday 6 December

Cardington Christmas Cracker

According to race organisers Telford Athletic Club The Cardington Cracker is an institution. Over 200 runners turn out on a cold December day to pay homage to this annual fell race as part of the traditional runners build up to Christmas. It’s 9 miles and 2,600 feet of hell but well worth it for the carrot soup followed by a few pints of Shropshire Lad in the Royal Oak.

Andrew Firth at the Cardington Christmas Cracker. Photo by Colin Williamson

Full Results

Gravy Pud Fell Race

124 runners took part in this race. The route follows a course up on to the moors and to Lees Hill before returning via Swallows Wood. Approx 5 miles with 1000′ of climb. Ivan Whigham was our sole club runner

Report from Ivan Whigham

I was number 26 in the Gravy pud on a day that was wild and windy day and very wet under foot. I was racing neck and neck with Mick Toman of Rossendale Harriers, just managing to beat him by a split second. After completing the race three times, it is definitely one of my favourites.

Full Results

Pendle Forest Orienteers – Pendle Hill Event

The organisers had planned to put out controls on Saturday daytime for both the night and day events.  Storm Desmond put paid to that and the night event was cancelled. There was a Saturday inspection of the day area, especially the Ogden Clough river and stream crossings as the river level could not be predicted.  It depended on the forecast overnight rain.  On Inspection on the event morning, while putting out controls at 6:00AM, the organisers decided to run the courses unchanged as the crossings were tricky but not dangerous.

Pendle orienteering is more about route choice than fine navigation.  Some competitors got round cleanly, but there were tales of overshooting, undershooting, too high and too low on one or more controls.  Relocation can be very tricky in this apparently featureless expanse.  Control placement benefitted from the new georeferenced map and precise control placement confirmed by GPS.

The courses got the best out of the area and the Black course attracted some very competent and fast competitors.

Next time, the organisers promise to start higher, go higher and treat you to the intricacies of the peat hags!

A number of our club members took part in this event.

Ralph Baines, Mark Nutter and Colin Woolford all competed in the 8.7km Black Course. Mike Wallis won the Blue 4.7km course. Jean Brown and Katy Thompson took on the Greenb 3.7km course and Junior Christopher Brown took on the 2.3km Orange Course.

Colin Woolford reports

There were several courses on offer, with the Black course being a challenging tour of Pendles bogs and tussocky moor land from the Reservoirs, through fell wood to the Deerstones area, before returning via Ashendean Clough, Ogden Clough, Boar Clough and in, all off path of course. Cracking conditions in the end, and milder than you would think for December.

Full Results

Parkrun roundup

Richard Lawson writes; “ It gave a new meaning to “Shoe Fly Pye” when Jonathan sped round a very wet Towneley parkrun. Numbers were down as members were saving themselves for the cross country in Rawtenstall at the aptly named “The Pits”

Ivan Whigham visited Lyme Park parkrun and writes; “Lyme park park run is the toughest park run in England it is like a short fell race. This was my second run here, on the winter course as it is 800 ft.high and is very exposed to the rain and wind”

Bolton parkrun – A total of 171 runners took part.

Burnley parkrun – A total of 115 runners took part.

Dewsbury parkrun – A total of 63 runners took part.

Lyme Park parkrun – A total of 44 runners took part.

Pendle parkrun – A total of 39 runners took part.

Woodhouse Moor parkrun – A total of 266 runners took part.