Happy New Year Team Clayton!

Pendle on Christmas Eve 2018 (pic; Mick Hughes & David Belshaw)

The start of December seems ages ago, but a wet start to the month saw the first real mud at the cross country races, and a chance to test my washing machine’s capabilities of removing the mud and returning the twins’ racing vests to their pristeen Daz whiteness. Despite the rain, the weather has been relatively kind (at least we’ve had none of the white stuff), and our runners have been all over the place representing the club. If you were in a race I haven’t covered, or you’re entering a race I might not know about, please let me know so I can include it. Also, please consider writing a race report – we really don’t need many words, even one of our juniors has contributed this month.

Good luck for 2018’s running, I’m hoping my ankle is finally sorted and that I will be pulling on my race vest sometime this year.

Helen Stevens

‘Fields, Frost & Festivities’

(Senior Men’s Cross-Country / Festive Season Report)

by Mick Hughes – Mens XC Captain

Hello Harriers.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The last Cross Country before we headed into serious festive mode was the Mid-Lancs ‘Hyndburn’ fixture at Woodlands, Clayton-le-Moors. In all honesty it was not without glitches and some errors on the day with course direction and timings. But, hey ho, frustrating as it was, these days happen and we have to remain positive and move forward… and that we did. Great turnout from the guys and ladies and once again it was most pleasing to see debuts from new athletes putting themselves forward to represent the club. I want to mention Shaun Sturdy who bravely came along and really had a good go and enjoyed himself ! (note to others pondering!)
It was a diverse lapped course of winding woodland trails, a couple of streams to cross, muddy slopes and open field sections. The biggest and arguably worse enemy on the day was the small tree stumps dotted about in both the woods, a few of the lads fell and got minor injuries but on the flipside a lot of the lads said they had enjoyed the different course and the experience. It was, I think a difficult course to get up to pace and remain consistent at. Mark Magee continued his superb form and did not disappoint with another 1st counter for us, crossing the finish in 40;19, the experienced Matt Duckworth ran in a great 2nd to Mark in 40;47. The quality and attendance we have come to appreciate from Andy Holt, Ryan Bradshaw and James Dunderdale proved once again to show our strength as they also all put great runs in with sub 43 minute finishes. For many, it was a cold, wet, glitchy afternoon that they may want to forget, but to me it was still a good reflection of our presence, quality and ‘get on with it’ spirit.

James Dunderdale continues his fantastic form.
Photo: Gillian Hughes

Andy Quinn getting stuck in! (pic; Gillian Hughes)

Ryan Bradshaw in action at Hyndburn with another great run (pic; Gillian Hughes)

Quite a few attended the festive favourite ‘Turkey Trot’ at Hurst Green on December 15^th , a rainy day but great attendance and some very creative colourful costumes on the day.. I cannot recommend running in full Star Wars villain attire though! It is said to be the last Turkey Trot, but If this is the case, I do hope someone takes over the helm at this festive fun one, as it’s a good fund raiser and light- hearted race after the years serious competing. Many clubs enjoy the banter.

Wayne Mcintosh, Cassie Smedley and Michelle Abbott getting into the spirit (pic; David Belshaw)

Me chasing Gillian Hughes down (pic; Steve Harling)

No year would be the same without the traditional Clayton run up our beloved Pendle on Christmas Eve. Some had a change and went to Worsthorne where I believe a similar great route and time was had. I assisted David Belshaw and took one of his camera’s up to capture a mix of the seniors and juniors on the routes up and at the trig. A good turnout across all ages and the views on that bright morning were magnificent.

Pendle on Christmas Eve 2018 (pics; Mick Hughes & David Belshaw)

Next  Mid Lancs Cross country fixture is Towneley Park on 12^th January.

*PLEASE REMEMBER* as long as you are a registered EA athlete with us you can register on the day at Mid Lancs fixtures and we would really appreciate your efforts

Thanks and appreciation as always to Donna Airey, Jason Pier, Cassie Smedley, Michelle Abbott, Helen Morphet Stevens, Gill Hughes and all others who have helped in any way.

See you at Towneley

And finally we get mud! Both December XC fixtures had lots of it.

Women’s Cross Country Report

by Donna Airey – Women’s XC Captain

The final Red Rose Fixture was held at Todmorden in real XC weather. A new venue and it didn’t disappoint. Organised superbly by Todmorden Harriers, I said in the car on the way over, they like a hill! A good turn out for the ladies, 14 taking part. Well done all.
Cassie was first Clayton lady back, followed closely by Liz Mullan and Michelle Abbot to make up our ladies team who finished 6th.
Vet team, Cassie Smedley/Michelle Abbot/Vicky Heys finished 5th
Congratulations to Christine Leathley who finished the series 3rd place F65, well done Christine!

Next up, Mid Lancs Hyndburn. Once again, a good lady turn out. The start was a bit of a shambles. After the U15B/U17W start was delayed, the ladies start was also delayed but with no indication for how long which made keeping warmed up a pain. Setting the men off on time also caused issues for the second half of the ladies. The paths were tight enough with us ladies out there never mind when the man caught up and tried to get past. Luckily, even with a few tumbles, all our ladies came back unharmed. Well done to all our ladies on a very tough day!
Ladies A 5th Tara Robb/Jean Brown/Michelle Abbot
Ladies B 13th Cassie Smedley/Lisa Ellis/Vicky Heys
Ladies F35 3rd Jean Brown/Michelle Abbot/Cassie Smedley
Ladies F45 3rd Jean Brown/Vicky Heys/Irene Roche
Ladies F55 3rd Irene Roche/Yvonne Wickham/Karin Goss

Ribble Valley 10K – 30th December 2018

If the number of race reports we received for this is anything to go by, it’s a very popular race! So here you get a couple of different perspectives…

Craig Nicholls

A tongue in cheek comment about there not being enough me in the monthly roundup was met with a suggestion that I provide a report myself and I was subsequently given the task of doing a write up for the Ribble Valley 10K. So here it is.

Having completed the 2018 Pendle & Burnley Grand Prix and entered my name and my two little runners William and Emily onto the hallowed list of the PBGP Grand Slam club I had decided to take a little break from the constant pressure of running and racing. A decision that backfired spectacularly when I decided to return to the fold in time for the cross country season and realised that my summer vacation had not been kind to my legs or lungs and that something resembling a small wok had appeared where I once hoped a six pack might reside.

The obvious solution was to make a firm commitment to JRs Winter Training programme and put my faith in Clayton’s answer to Gareth Southgate to rescue the situation and transform me back into something that the club might want to call one if it’s own again. Ten weeks of Tuesday and Thursday training with cross country races at the weekend followed and the marginal gains started to appear as week by week my Strava segments started to improve as did my finishing positions in the cross country races so I decided to book onto the RV10K and see whether or not I was in good enough shape to think about a new tarmac PB.

The morning of the race finally arrived and suddenly the pressure of being competitive beyond my ability started to suck all the fun out of the occasion and I spent most of the morning imagining how disappointed I was going to be if and when the race went badly. These feelings however were swiftly dispersed when I arrived at the start line and was met with over 1,300 runners of all shapes, sizes, ages and ability who were all just as excited and nervous as myself. With no less than 39 Clayton members in attendance it’s virtually impossible not to feel inspired and motivated about being part of something bigger and better than your own personal running goals so I made my way to the start line ready for whatever the race happened to have in store for me.

The race started and the elite runners were quickly out of sight and out of mind leaving the rest of us to negotiate our way round a challenging but fun tour of the Ribble Valley countryside. Each and every runner was greeted by cheers and encouragement literally every step of the way and the kilometre markers seemed to fly by meaning I was soon counting them down to the finish splitting my time equally between watching where I was going and staring at my watch whilst constantly recalculating my target finish time.

With 2K to go and my motivation starting to ebb away I was greeted by the sight that nobody at a Tuesday or Thursday session ever wants to see. John bloomin’ Roche appeared by my side (not a road to Damascus apparition though – it really was him) and I knew that any attempt to slack off before the race was complete would not be tolerated. With his trusty sidekick Mr Wilcock by his side the two Johns carried me (not literally – that would be cheating) through to the finish line and a new sub 42 minute PB.

A worried-looking Craig gives John W a sideways glance…

NOTE – I’m only messing about by making this race report all about me. Hopefully readers will note the subtle references to the excellent training sessions put on by JR, the brilliantly inclusive series of cross country races we’re all entitled to attend and the uplifting experience of being a small part of this wonderful club.

Marion Wilkinson

The tradition of running the Ribble Valley 10k with my daughter Lisa started when I was 65years old, and my time then was 52:28, I only started running a couple of years before.

Lisa could not run it this time so I stood in the 1000 plus crowd without my best friend.
We always wished each other good luck and then off we would go to do our own thing.
I had started to get slower as the years passed from my first race at Clitheroe, but this year my fitness had improved since having my operation for glaucoma three years earlier.

This year I wanted to get under 60mins. My first 10k in 2018 and I did it 58:47, so so pleased, but that means no retirement for another year.

Going to do a few more 10ks in 2019, onwards and upwards lets see if I can make some more progress

Marion Wilkinson at RV10K. Photo: David Belshaw

1st December – Todmorden XC (Red Rose Cross Country League) – Results

3rd U13 Boys Team (Robbie Smedley, William Woodruff, Jenson Bentham), 1st U13 Girl – Helana White, 2nd U13 Girls Team (Helana White, Amelia Halstead, Sianna Smith), 2nd U15 Boy – Jackson Mackay,  2nd U15 Boys Team (Jackson Mackay, William Nicholls, Lennon Jackson), 3rd U15 Girls Team (Ella Dorrington-Levy, Hannah Eccles, Imogen Ferguson), 2nd U17 Men’s Team (Nick Hennessey, Michael Stevens, Peter Stevens), 2nd U17 Women’s Team (Briony Holt, Nicola Moynihan, Millie Stubbs).

1st December – Podium 5K – ‘A’ Race Results – ‘B’ Race Results

2nd December – Myerscough 10 – Results

8th December – Hyndburn (Mid Lancs Cross Country League) – Results

2nd U13 Girl – Helana White; 1st U13 Girls Team (Helana White, Amelia Halstead, Sianna Smith); 3rd U15 Girls Team (Ella Dorringto-Levy, Imogen Ferguson, Hannah Eccles); 3rd U15 Boy – Jackson Mackay; 3rd V35 Ladies Team (Jean Brown, Michelle Abbott, Cassie Darling-Smedley); 3rd V45 Ladies Team (Jean Brown, Vicky Heys, Irene Roche); 3rd V55 Ladies Team (Irene Roche, Yvonne Wickham, Karin Goss).

15th December – Hurst Green Turkey Trot – Results

15th December – Tandle Hill (SE Lancashire Cross Country League) – Results

1st U13 Girl – Helana White

Tandle Hill Race Report by Sophie Ashworth

Nicola Moynihan at Tandle Hill. Photo: Rachael White

‘Too Cold for Boys’

We pulled up onto to Tandle Hill Road, through a gap between two houses to get to the start. Nearly had Rachael breaking her foot after falling through a stile, lucky Helana was there to catch her. We walked the course avoiding the two foot drop into a hole. The ground was rock hard with patches of ice. Even though this was a cross country race, the hills made it more a fell race. Representing team Clayton were: Helana White, Hannah Eccles, Nicola Moynihan and myself. Helana ran first and no surprise for her to win quite comfortably. Next up was Hannah and myself both had a great start and with Hannah finishing 8th and unfortunately I dropped out due to falling over on my ankle. After that Nicola was up with a great finishing position with 4th place. Meanwhile, whilst Nicola was racing I was still up at point K waiting in freezing conditions for the St. John ambulance to arrive.

Overall good race and amazing effort from everyone braving the cold and wet weather.
Well done girls!

15th December – Kong Winter Fell Series Race 2 – Results

26th December – Whinberry Naze Dash Fell Race – Results

1st MU21 – Charlie Parkinson; 1st FV60 – Karin Goss; 1st MV60 – Peter Dugdale; 3rd MV60 – Andrew Firth; 3rd FU21 – Ella Dorrington-Levy;

27th December – Wansfell Fell Race – Results

1st FV70 Karin Goss; 2nd FV60 – Wendy Dodds; 3rd MV60 – Andrew Firth; 3rd MU18 – Michael Stevens.

30th December – Ribble Valley 10K – Results

Parkrun Roundup

Junior Parkrun Roundup