We’re all going on a runner holiday

Even the holidays are an opportunity to grab your running gear and get out there! As we move into late summer, we see the end in sight for summer series racing. This week you have been racing in parks, on the roads and on fell and mountainside. It may be the height of the summer holiday season but even that is a reason to race for many of you!

TUESDAY 2 AUGUST

Crow Hill Reverse

Robert Hirst was the sole Clayton runner at this 5 mile fell race with 1001ft of ascent. He finished in 52^nd place in a time of 57:47.

Full Results

WEDNESDAY 3 AUGUST

Astley Park Trail Series

Junior Race

9 juniors took part in the final race of this trail series. Dexta Thompson had a strong race and took 1st place in his age category.

Dexta Thompson at the Astley Park Trail Race. Photo by Nicholas Olszewski

Kady Thompson and Felix Thompson racing to the finish at the Astley Park trail race. Photo by Nicholas Olszewski

Full Results

Senior Race

Jonathan Pye was our sole representative in the final race of this summer trail series. He finished in 25th place with a time of 27:32.

Jonathan Pye at the start of the final Astley Park Trail Race. Photo by Nicholas Olszewski

Full Results

Whittle Pike

Five runners took part in the Whittle Pike fell race organised by Rossendale Harriers.  This race is 5.1 miles and has 1601ft of climb. Ryan Wilkinson was our first man home in 23^rd place overall and with a time of 49:28.

Full Results

THURSDAY 4 AUGUST

Cuerden Valley Badger Trail 10K

Three club members ran in this trial 10K in the grounds of Cuerden Valley Country Park. John Wilcock was our first finisher in 20^th place overall with a time of 43:41. Stephen Biscomb was 44^th in 46:45 and Ron Chappell was 155^th in 01:06:40.

Full Results

Todmorden Park 5K series

A dozen Clayton Harriers made the trip to Todmorden to take part in the fourth, and final, race of this popular summer 5K series organised by Cannonball Events.

Jacob Watson at the Todmorden Park 5K. Photo by David Belshaw

Jacob Watson was our first Clayton finisher in 5^th place in 17:18 with Jordan McDonald joining him in the top ten finishers in 18:14, taking 1^st MU23 at the Same time. Some great running from our young male runners on show with age category wins and good times for Nick Hennessey, Lennon Jackson and Reece Lawrence.

Reece Lawrence at the Todmorden Park 5K. Photo by David Belshaw

Keeping the side up for our vet runners saw some good running from Martin Brady, Ian Hargreaves and Tony Pilling for the men. Leading the ladies was Michelle Abbot in 23:57 in her debut run for the club. Hayley Copeman put in a steady performance in 27:26 and at the opposite side of the spectrum from our male runners, our senior ladies Marion Wilkinson and Val Lawson cleaned up the W70 category.

Marion Wilkinson at the Todmorden Park 5K. Photo by David Belshaw

Full Results

SATURDAY 6 AUGUST

Borrowdale Fell Race

Sixteen club members took the trip up to the Lake District to compete in the Borrowdale Fell Race, a very tough category AL fell race. It is 16.8 miles and includes 6562ft of ascent, taking in Scafell Pike, starts and finishes at the Scafell Hotel in Rosthwaite village.

Borrowdale Fell Race. Photo by Stephen White of www.granddayoutphotography.com

Christopher Holdsworth had an excellent run in this tough fell race that forms part of the English Championships this year. With a huge climb up to the summit of Scafell it’s no easy run for sure. Chris finished in 25^th place with a time of 03:19:17.

Christopher Holdsworth at the Borrowdale Fell Race. Photo by Andy Jackson

The race was run by Ricky Lightfoot in just 02:49:21. The first lady runner was Lou Roberts in 03:26:09.  Wendy Dodds was our sole lady runner and finished in 04:40:32 and was 1^st LV65.

Report from Richard Briscoe

Borrowdale Fell Race – a day of torture. It was the English championship race of the Borrowdale Fell Race. I thought I’ll give it a go as I did it last year to see if I could beat last year’s performance. The race is one of the toughest in the lakes with over six thousand feet of climbing over tough terrain and 16 miles running.

Richard Briscoe at the Borrowdale Fell Race. Photo by Stephen White of www.granddayoutphotography.com

I thought at the start to take it slow and steady. Getting to the first check point I was going over a stile and Richard Bellaris flew past me and said don’t worry about him he is an old man in a funny way. Later on we were getting towards Scafell Pike and had to climb boulders which was hard work and up to the summit.

Richard Bellaries at the Borrowdale Fell Race. Photo by Paul Calverley

The weather was perfect for the race. From the summit of Scafell Pike you have to go down the corridor which is a steep scree which was quite fun falling down it, with rocks flying at me. At the bottom of the corridor route got to Sty Head I felt shattered as I haven’t done a long run for ages. I felt like packing it in, but after pulling out of the Three Peaks early in the year I better do this one. I was nice to see Joss Naylor who was watching the race at Sty Head he gave me support and some energy sweets. I felt ok then as the big climb up Great Gable. From the top of there was a nice run on the grass over to Honister pass, to the slate quarry.

There were plenty of supporters there and that was good. The last climb was up Dale Head which is a long plod, and for some reason near to the end of the race I felt fine. Then the last descent was down past the quarry at Dale Head to the summit. The last part killed me as Darren Fishwick from Chorley gave me support and said you look shattered but I got round. Shame I didn’t beat my time from last year but I’m hoping to beat 5 hours next time

Full Results

Hellifield Gala Fell Race

The first ever gala was held in Hellifield in 1969 and was called the Youth’s Gala. Although there were children’s sports, there was no fell race until the early seventies when a cross country race was organised which, like the present day fell race, went over Haw Hill. In 2002, the route was changed following the building of a new housing estate at the back of the old auction mart, although Haw Hill is still the main feature of the race. The course record is presently held by Yorkshireman and Olympic Triathalon Champion, Alistair Brownlee.

Report by Peter Browning

What a cracking little race! A beautiful sunny day, three and a half miles with three good climbs and descents, straw bales to get over fences, and aluminium ladders to get over walls with a two meter drop on the downside if you chose the wrong ladder! Plus a Clayton hero giving up his race to help a fellow competitor in distress. What more could you want?

I don’t know how it can be listed as a BS race in the FRA calendar – it was definitely an A in my book. There were also plenty of Junior races which were keenly contested, plus the Gala favourites such as egg and spoon and sack races.

Four Claytonners took part. Steve Fish was the hero who stopped to help a young girl who had collapsed on the run back in. Along with former Clayton runner Andy Holden, he helped her off the fell and onto a quad bike that brought her back with no ill effects. Well done Steve.

72 runners completed the course and the Clayton finishers were Peter Browning, Jude Ashworth, Michael Frost and Stephen Fish.

Full Results

SUNDAY 7 AUGUST

Asda Foundation York 10K

Offering a flat, fast course, this race takes runners on a tour past the York Minster, the city walls and attractions such as Clifford’s Tower and the Shambles. Starting and finishing at the Knavesmire, the York 10K is a fantastic challenge for all abilities.

Team Holdsworth were indubitably visible in this popular 10K race. Even with Borrowdale the day before, Chris Holdsworth still ran an excellent time of 37:30 to finish in 39^th place. Breton Holdsworth finished 3 seconds ahead on no doubt much fresher legs!

Full Results

Blackpool Air Show 10K

This is a flat, one lap course on the upper and lower promenade. Runners can then enjoy the Blackpool Air Show / Red Arrows in the afternoon. Stephen Biscomb was our sole representative in this race. He finished in 70^th place in a time of 44:56

Full Results

Clennell Trail Half Marathon

Report from Andrew Webster

This was my 2nd outing at a High Fell Events run so I knew to expect more bang for your buck than the stated distance!! After registering and having a spot of porridge to get the body ready it was safety brief with the notorious words “and the finish might not be what you expect”, and we were off.

Andrew Webster at the Clennell  Trail Half Marathon.

This race had been entered as a joint venture between me and my mate Shaun but after his unfortunate bout of d and v Friday/ Saturday he could only drag up the first hill before he wisely decided to drop back before he caused any dramas. This was a shame as after the first flat 2 miles trail to warm up it was the first of the climbs up a drovers trail to gain height before undulating over the spectacular Cheviot Moorland tops. A couple of nice descents and climbs brought you to the 7-mile mark were the marathon distance split off at the feed station and the half doubled back into a valley before crossing an old Bailey bridge and a massive calf shredding climb (almost literally) that evened out into rolling moorland and bog before dropping back off to a logging road.

Andrew Webster at the Clennell Trail Half Marathon

Knowing the organisers evil twist of mind I recovered down there not haring off like a loony. This was a good plan as after a couple of miles of lovely trail descent the course bounded off the edge through a load of bracken and a very formidable and tricky descent to the valley bottom before pointing you off again to a “hill” that you were literally crawling up till half way it was great!!! From the top of there, it was a flattish run over to the other side and a lovely descent down to a forestry block, skirting the edge to hit a grassy trail down to the back of the hall to finish. Half?? No more like 14.5 even though my Garmin didn’t count the vertical. A great event well worth a look on the website for their others even though it’s a long way up but a great way to make a weekend of it!

AWAITING RESULTS

Norwich 10K

Well done to Richard Stevenson who took part in the Run Norwich 10K whilst on holiday. He finished in 34^th place with a time of 38:38 and was 4^th in his age category.

Full Results

Worsthorne Moor Trail Race

Another whopping turnout in the middle of the holiday season for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers with 48 runners in the senior race.

Plenty of Clayton vests at the Worsthorne Moor Trail Race. Photo by David Belshaw

Matt Perry was our first finisher in 2^nd place overall and with a time of 42:03. The race was won by Tom Corrigan. Louisa Powell-Smith continued her excellent performances in this series taking first lady and 1^st F35, finishing in 18^th place overall in 46:51.

Heading up Gorple Road. Photo by David Belshaw

There were also age category wins for Chris Funnell 1^st M50, Reece Lawrence 1^st MJ, David Scott 1^st M70 and Christine Leathley 1^st F65

Report from Jon Cleaver

Worsthorne trail is a tough course, starts off on a 2-mile climb (after hurdling a fence) up a stony track on the Pennine Bridleway and it is brutal. You eventually get onto the soft ground which was really boggy in places and I fell over and got covered at least once. Get to the bottom and it levels out then a fast descent which had quite a bit of headwind. Chris Snell and I worked hard to shelter each other and keep the pace on, at the bottom then another climb up and I felt my legs starting to go and Chris pulled away.

Jon Cleaver and Louisa Powell-Smith racing back to the finish at the Worsthorne Moor Trail Race. Photo by David Belshaw

I could see Louisa gaining ground as we climbed out from the reservoir and on to the final downhill section. Chris was too far for me to close, but I had a tough challenge keeping Louisa behind me. I gave it everything in that last mile and just got a nose in front. Really enjoyed the race and a pint in the Billet at the end!

Full Results

Junior Races

U8s

18 runners took part in the U8 race. Toby Birtwistle was our first finisher and 2^nd overall. Charlie Plant was our first girl finisher and 10^th overall in the race. Some strong performances all round from our younger runners.

Under 8 Race at Worsthorne. Photo by Nicholas Olszewski

U10s

Matthew Jackson was our only U10 runner and he finished in 4^th place.

U16s

A lot of success in this age range for the club as we had the biggest turnout of runners. Nick Hennessey had a great run to take the overall win. Ella Dorrington was the first girl in 3^rd place overall. Age category wins for Nicholas Hennessey (M16), Ella Dorrington (F12), Lennon Jackson (M12), and Natasha Olszewska (F14).

The start of the U16s race at Worsthorne Moor. Photo by Nicholas Olszewski

Full Results

parkrun roundup

Abingdon parkrun – A total of 273 runners took part.

Burnley parkrun – A total of 303 runners took part

Burnley Junior parkrun

Dexta Thompson chasing Nicholas Hennessey at Burnley junior parkrun. Photo by Aaron Lundie

Dalby Forest parkrun – A total of 156 runners took part.

Fell Foot parkrun, Newby Bridge – A total of 270 runners took part.

Harwich parkrun – A total of 133 runners took part.

Pendle parkrun – A total of 103 runners took part.

Southport parkrun – A total of 157 runners took part.

Witton parkrun – A total of 147 runners took part.

Woodbank parkrun – A total of 130 runners took part.