Things are hotting up for Summer

It’s been an absolute bumper week of Clayton activity, with many of you taking advantage of the improving temperatures and weather over the Bank Holiday to top up on Vitamin D, bag some PBs and generally fly the tangerine flag for the Club all over the country.

Midweek

Foe Edge Fell Race

Held on a rather murky and wet midweek evening, this short race in Rossendale takes in the summits of Cowpe Lowe and Scout Moor. Hopefully this won’t be the last running of the race as large parts of the route are affected by a proposed expansion of the existing windfarm. Six Clayton runners braved the rain, with Danny Collinge leading them in 2nd overall.

Full Results

Harrock Hill Series 1

Full Results

Burnley Lions 10k

Louisa Powell-Smith – photo David Belshaw

As part of the Burnley and Pendle Grand Prix Series 2016, this ‘rolling’ 10k race brought out a huge contingent of Clayton runners on Friday night. Louisa Powell-Smith stormed to a Ladies victory in 17th overall and Andrew Stubbs led the way for the Men with a great run, coming in 4th overall and 1st Vet.

Report from Carl Helliwell:
“I only decided to do this a couple of hours before the race as Sarah couldn’t do it. It was a lovely warm summers evening with a large number of Clayton runners. There was a mad scramble to get through the bottle neck out of the cricket club and onto the road. The front runners started to break away taking Mr Stubbs (V45 & first Claytoner home) with them. I had my usual tussles with my fellow Claytoners and could feel Jon Cleaver breathing down my neck towards the end! Luckily I managed to pair up with Stephen Hall from Trawden and we pushed each other on the second lap. It was a tough finish, but I was happy with my time and place. I had knocked over a minute of my PB and gained my highest position in a PBGP event and it was even on the road! Not my favourite discipline. Well done to everyone who ran.”

Andrew Stubbs – photo David Belshaw

Carl Helliwell – photo David Belshaw

Sean Clare – photo David Belshaw

Beth Quinn – photo David Belshaw

Full Results

Saturday 28

Edinburgh Marathon

Jane Hylands, Danny Pilkington and Chris Holdsworth travelled North of the border for this very popular event with its fast PB chasing course. Jane was running in her first marathon and despite some knee problems, hopped in in 5:33 whilst Danny ran 4:27. Chris was 14th in a superspeedy 2:37:11 –  a fantastic effort.

Danny reports:

“This was my second time in Edinburgh (and my 2^nd Marathon).  I was there to get the time I wanted last year 4:30:00.  On arrival into Edinburgh on Sunday morning, it was absolutely freezing and I was regretting not wearing a running jacket.

Full results

Blackool Prom 10 miler

Hutton Roof Fell Race

Full Results

LDWA Dorset 100

Photo Nicholas Olszewski

One hundred miles through Dorset’s finest countryside was on the menu for Adrienne Olszewska and Nick Olszewski this weekend, running in the LDWA Dorset 100.

Adrienne reports back:

“DNF.  Did Not Finish. Not always the thing you want to shout about but sometimes it’s the best decision you can make.  Suffering with a recurring ankle problem, Nick decided to take it down a notch and do the route with slowcoach me.  This would not normally be a recipe for an enjoyable time due to irreconcilable differences in ability! However, as he has been out a lot this year training with the juniors and is about to do some training to become a coach, I suggested he view it as an extended coaching practice (this being completely for my benefit of course!).

We had a plan. We were going to joggle around the course which would entail walking the uphills and trotting along wherever possible. Not blisteringly fast but slow and steady. Also we were determined not to be sucked into staying too long at the checkpoints even though they are veritable havens with lovely people determined to make you sit down and let them spoil you with all kinds of lovely food and drinks.

Everything went really well. We were making good progress. With no prior knowledge of the route, navigation was trouble free and all was well. The only issue that was beginning to cause problems was the heat. We were completely unprepared for the conditions. Saturday was extremely humid and even when it went dark didn’t really ease off. This means that you sweat a lot and all of your gear becomes wet. All of it. Everywhere.  This causes chafing in places you never knew it was possible to chafe. Not nice. And then there’s the overnight dew and the saturated feet. It’s a common problem on these events.

But we got to the ‘breakfast’ stop at Beaminster, picked up our drop bags and set to work fixing feet, changing shoes, clothes and enjoying the all-important full English before heading off into the dawn for day 2. A beautiful sunny day that just got hotter and hotter and hotter. The route began to cross lots of fields. Big, open fields with no shelter or respite from the sun. Stupidly we had not brought sunscreen and even if we had it would have sweated off in no time.  By the time we got to the checkpoint at the 90 mile point, we were struggling. Painful chafing for me and Nick was a little bit wibbly wobbly on the way down the road to the checkpoint. After a quick top up of bottles, Nick felt a bit queasy and went outside to wait for me. The checkpoint guy didn’t like the look of him and followed him outside which was a good job because he was swaying around like a baby giraffe! They steered him back inside and set to with lots of wet tea towels to cool him down.

At this point, even though there was only 10 miles to go, it just didn’t seem worth the risk to continue. Nick was not in a good condition and if he had overheated again in the middle of nowhere we would have been in trouble. I’d soldiered on for quite a while as I was too embarrassed to quit because of the chafing! We handed in our tally cards and waited for the body wagon to come and get us. We had arrived at the checkpoint in 65^th and 66^th place, a little over 90 miles in 30 hours. Pretty pleased with that.

So no regrets. The course was mostly beautiful. We went through delightful thatched villages, beautiful woodland, trotted around a few roman hill forts, and quite enjoyed the hundreds of gates; large metal ones, small metal ones, so many gates! Didn’t really enjoy the scorching fields – they were torturous in the heat. Strangely enough, the checkpoint where we retired was run by the North Yorkshire LDWA group. And guess where next year’s 100 mile event is? That’s right North Yorkshire. We’ll be there (with sunscreen, just in case)!”

Photo Nicholas Olszewski

Results to follow

Sunday 29

BOFRA Coniston Gullies Fell Race

The Clayton Juniors have been busy too this weekend, competing in the BOFRA fell series. Briony Holt sent this report:

“On Sunday, a few of our Clayton Juniors ran at Coniston Gullies for the second of the BOFRA series. The race course was short and steep with some tricky parts in some places. It was a very hot day – if not a bit too warm when at the foot of the fell. The u9’s – u14’s ran straight up the middle of the fell and the u17’s and seniors ran up more technical routes to the top of the gullies. Despite all of this, it is still my favourite race!
When all of the younger juniors had ran their race, it was time for the u17’s to go. There was only 12 runners in the whole race so this relieved some of the pre race nerves! I ended up coming 1st u17 girl and 9th overall. Well done to all of the Clayton juniors who raced it, and everyone else who took part!”

Felix Thompson was 6th in U9B, Dexta Thompson 4th and Jenson Bentham 8th in U12B, Kady Thompson 9th in U12G, Jackson McKay 5th in U14B, Claudia Bentham 8th in U14G with Briony Holt 1st in U17G.

Briony Holt at Coniston Gullies – photo Geoff Thompson

Full results

Helvellyn and the Dodds Fell Race

Apparently one of Kenny Stuart’s old training runs, this is a predictably solid Lakeland race of 15 miles with 4500ft plus of ascent, coincidently following much of the standard Bob Graham route of Leg 2/4. Andrew Firth and Pete Browning ran and Andrew sent this report:

“My final day of a brilliant week long stay at Thelkeld in the caravan culminated in a fell race starting less than 300 metres from our caravan site. Well it would have been rude not to!
The only other Claytoner was Pete Browning who came up to join us on the site on Saturday night with other half Sandy. The sunshine seemed to have brought a good representation from East Lancs other clubs, Trawden and Barlick in particular.
The race starts and finishes at Thelkeld Sports club, and sets off with the massive climb of Clough Head, which BG’ers will know very well. It then traverses the Dodds, with checkpoints at Great Dodd and Raise, before the final destination of Helvellyn summit and then the reverse of the route back to the Sports Club.
On the initial tarmac over 190 starters set off as though it was a hundred metres sprint. I was soon towards the rear of the field, although with the hot sunny weather I knew it was going to be important to pace myself. Once on the steep climb up Clough Head I was able to start clawing places back, and steadily I was catching runners all the way to Helvellyn. Reality struck when the lead runner Carl Bell of Keswick AC came into view whilst I hadn’t even started climbing Raise. There are 3 further climbs to the turn, and in setting a new record time of 2hrs 6mins 55 secs, it seems he had finished before I reached the turn.
I think the hardest part of the race was turning and re climbing all the peaks traversed on the way out. Even though there were only checkpoints on three of them, it is necessary to go nearly to the top of the others just to get back. I was certainly weary as I made the return journey some 15 mins or so behind Peter who as usual seemed to speed up as the race went on. He at least had the decency at the finish to admit it was the hardest race he had done for some time.
The last climb up Clough Head is nowhere near as steep as the other way, but was difficult at that stage. However the sight of a Trawden vest ahead kept me going. On the final descent I managed to pass around 10 more runners some of whom were actually walking having maybe not paced themselves in the hot weather. Three Trawden vests were caught here to uphold the honour of the premier East Lancs club. The final run in was pergotory with feet hot and blistered, but the relief of the finishing line was brilliant. Final finishing positions Peter Browning 125th in 3 hrs 32 mins 01 sec and myself 152 in 3 hrs 46 min 52 secs. I now have a Clayton vest shaped sunburn and very sore feet, but on reflection it was a great day and great end to a brilliant holiday.”

Results to follow

Liverpool Rock and Roll Marathon and Half Marathon

Clayton at the RnR Liverpool Half and Marathon – photo Lynsey Birtwistle

Another big Clayton turn out for this musical themed Half. Runners included Lynsey Birtwistle, Leanne Cottam, Justin Birtwistle, Joanne Bennett, Janine Pollard, Judith Carey, Carl Carey, Karen Clarkin, Deborah Greenwood, Jon Cleaver and Jacob Watson. Apologies if anyone has been missed out. Three reports are below, the first from Judith Carey:

“This was my first ever half marathon, I loved the atmosphere and experience. From looking at the photo’s I was surprised to see I was smiling a lot of the way round so I must have enjoyed it lol!

I enjoyed the route, bands and views as I ran and I just took my time, hoping to come in around 2:30:00. As I got to the docks I had a mental battle as it was a long long long straight but I upped my pace for the final mile and sprinted with tired legs to the finish line coming in under my target at 2:22:13!!

Overall a great day, great Clayton crew and lots of support and cheers on the way round ?”

Judith Carey – photo Jamie McIllvenny

And this from Jacob Watson:

“This was my second year running the Liverpool Half and it was certainly an experience! The course is best described as undulating with no major hills and a flat final 3 miles. Although there are numerous twists and turns dotted about the course (including a cheeky run up and down Penny Lane), it’s still possible to grab a Personal Best which was my aim for the day. The only thing which might have stopped me from claiming my PB on Saturday morning was the weather, they were certainly the hottest conditions I can remember running in! I’m usually one to skip the water stations and concentrate on crossing the lane, however I believe I used all but the first at 3 miles and even took a gel and water from the 9 mile station. It was tough out there! Support all the way round the route was fantastic, with a number of bands playing for the runners as well as the crowds of people cheering us on. This was a necessity in the final 2 miles where I was suffering from bad stitch (possibly from all the water I’d taken on!) but managed to power through to claim my PB!

The race ended with a mini music festival, of which the headliners Cast were fantastic and the atmosphere was brilliant. Even paying £6 for a pint from one of the bars didn’t sour the experience. Same again next year then!”

Jon Cleaver writes:

“We couldn’t have asked for a better day the sun was shining & the wind was still.  There was a great atmosphere at the docks for the start where I met fellow Clayton Jacob Watson.  The route takes you through the centre of Liverpool and then up a few small hills through some parks and then back along the front for the last few miles.  Personally I felt a bit leggy from the Grand Prix in Colne and the heat did get a bit much as there was very little shelter outside of the parks. The bands playing along the course as great along with the support.  It was a sweet relief hitting the quayside and I could try and gain some consistent pace to the finish. Overall a very enjoyable experience and I think I will be back next year.”

3 Amigos including Jon Cleaver and Jacob Watson.

Apologies that there are no Clayton-specific results – the results weren’t searchable by Club.

And let’s not forget Dan Plant was also there and went the whole hog and ran the full Marathon.

Full results

Rossendale Triathlon

Mark Taylor packed enough kit for 3 disciplines and visited this popular Triathlon based around the Rossendale Valley. He came in 91st overall in a time of 1:29:36.

Full results

Bank Holiday Monday

Bowley Trail Race

Run as part of the Great Harwood Show, this is a great event for families who can stay in the showground to enjoy the festivities whilst waiting for their more energetic members to return from the hills.

Andy Bradley ran and provided this report:

“Ran the Bowley hill race today along with a number of other Clayton runners. Cracking race 5.8 hilly miles with free entry to the Gt Harwood show included. Quick pre race coffee from Joyce who runs the cafe at Towneley for luck and off we went lap around the show field like a bunch of show ponies and into the race proper. Lots of winding climbs later to a nice down hill finish to be handed a beer as I crossed the line. Plenty of  Clayton runners and the quicker lads secured the mens team prize. Quick wander round the show ice cream in hand, left just as the “Lamb National” race started, my have been better place if I had entered that race! Great day in the sun well organised, friendly will run this one again  well worth considering for everyone next year.”

Carl Helliwell also ran:

“Bowley is a top event right on my doorstep, which is attached to the Great Harwood Agricultural Show which is organised by Trawden. Team Helliwell walked down and met Team Motley and Team Coates who were also at the show. It’s a tough little course covering just less than 6 miles with plenty of up hills, down hills and stiles. The winner led from the start and had a comfortable win. However it was a tussle for the next 5 places. Unfortunately Captain Motley broke a finger nail (sprained ankle) after a mile and a half, having to rest it for a time and losing a lot of places. Up to that point he was one of the strongest people in Hyndburn, if not Great Harwood! The second strongest in Hyndburn was Peter Coates who was in second place for large sections of the race. Peter did a cracking race (his first as a Vet 40) and came in 3rd. I couldn’t match Peter today, but was happy with my 4th place after Friday’s race and knocking over 4 minutes of my previous time. The first 5 runners were all Vet 40’s or Vet 50 with Captain Motley eventually recovering from his broken finger nail and coming in 6th. On a serious note Dave did really well as he did have a nasty injury. Clayton won the team respectively, with Stephen Breckell as first Vet 65 and Julie Dawes as first female Vet 45. Another Brucie Bonus of the race is that every runner gets a bottle of Copper Dragon. Harry Heasley one of the original organisers of the race said it was great to see many runners from a good local club (Clayton) supporting the race. Well done to everyone who ran.”

Bowley Trail runners – photo Sarah Helliwell

Full Results

Park Run Roundup

Burnley Parkrun – a total of 382 runners took part

Richmond Parkrun – a total of 396 runners took part

Woodhouse Moor Parkrun –  a total of 403 runners took part

Heaton Parkrun – a total of 603 runners took part

Harrogate Parkrun – a total of 345 runners took part

Marple Parkrun – a total of 247 runners took part

Dewsbury Parkrun – a total of 104 runners took part

Witton Parkrun – a total of 78 runners took part