Racing in relays, running alongside trains and tackling hilly challenge routes, so many of you racing multiple times this week, there’s just no holding you back! It’s great to see some terrific turnouts at team events. The future’s most definitely bright!
Welcome Tavern / Vernon 5k series – Tuesday 23 June
60 Runners lined up for the latest race in this 5k series. Tony Pilling and Anthony Hughes ran in this event.
Pos | Name | Cat | Time |
32 | Tony Pilling | MV50 | 24:05 |
33 | Anthony Hughes | M | 24:07 |
Pendle Forest Orienteers – Sunnyhurst Woods – Wednesday 24 June
Three of our members took part in the latest of the summer series orienteering events organised by Pendle Forest Orienteers. This event took place in Sunnyhurst Woods in Darwen. Well done Jacob Boyle & Joshua Boyle in the midi class. Dave Motley in the maxi.
Todmorden Park 5k – Race 1 – Thursday 25 June
71 runners lined up for the first race of this popular mid-week 5k races. A trio of our junior members took part as well as nine seniors. Excellent times from youngsters in a fast race generally. Lots of people pleased with the results and ready for the next race.
Pos | Name | Cat | Time |
3 | Jacob Watson | M | 17:47 |
5 | Jackson McKay | MJ | 18:44 |
29 | Lennon Jackson | MJ | 21:44 |
33 | Martin Brady | MV50 | 22:32 |
34 | Darren Rushton | M | 22:42 |
36 | Sophie Ashworth | FJ | 23:06 |
40 | Tony Pilling | MV50 | 24:07 |
48 | Robert Hirst | MV60 | 25:28 |
49 | Elouise Sylkie Pemberton | F | 25:30 |
54 | Paul Walsh | M | 25:46 |
62 | Nicola Kay | F | 28:17 |
64 | Jack McGuire | M | 31:00 |
Witton Park Trail Relays
54 club members formed 18 teams for this popular trail relay that takes part in Witton Park in Blackburn on a deceptively tough course.
There were 4 senior male teams, 2 junior male teams and 2 male vet teams. The ladies matched the men’s numbers with 4 senior female teams, 2 junior female teams and 3 vet female teams. There were some great runs and individual performances.
Our Clayton Harriers Ladies’ Team 1 (Laura Hesketh, Claire Vincent, Helena Leathley) were the first ladies team. Our Male “A” team (Danny Collinge, Jacob Boyle, and Jordan McDonald) finished in 4th place. Our Junior Boys A team (Ryan Clarke, Tom Bradley, and Curtis Holt) were the first male junior team. Josh Boyle, running with the Run4Nepal team ran the fasted leg 2 time with his team finishing in 6th place overall.
Well done to all that ran.
Cliff Bar 10 Peaks – Saturday 27 June
The Cliff Bar 10 Peaks events work on a very straight forward principle – they find the most challenging mountainous locations in the UK and plot an ultra-distance length route through them, with mandatory checkpoints on the highest 10 peaks in the area. It is then down to the competitors to navigate from the start to the finish, taking in the 10 peaks in a set order (plus additional mandatory checkpoints and feed stations), within the 24 hour time limit.
The routes are not designed to be easy and are navigationally challenging, especially if the conditions are unkind! The long routes are up to 60 miles long, with 6000 meters of height gain, whilst the “short” routes vary between 30 and 45 miles with between 3 and 4000 meters of height gain. Usually less than half of the competitors successfully complete the long course, hence the introduction of the shorter route choice since 2013.
Congratulations to Alun Hall who completed the long course. He finished 32nd with an excellent time of 17:21:31
Wharfedale 3 Peaks Challenge – Saturday 27 June
Vicky Heys and Angela Shian took part in this event which they described thusly; great route, great company, 22 miles done and dusted by 1pm, then a jig with a morris dancer, lovely day!
The route is a departure from the well known Yorkshire Three Peaks of Penyghent, Whernside and Ingleborough and instead visits the stunning Upper Wharfedale Three Peaks of Birks Fell, Buckden Pike and Great Whernside.
Pennine 10K – Sunday 28 June
A fantastic win for Christopher Holdsworth in this hugely popular local 10k race organised by Jane Tomlinson’s Run for All charity. Well over a thousand runners of all abilities took to the streets and parks of Burnley for this undulating course.
Chris Holdworth won the race in a time of 32:59. As he passed through Towneley Park he was running with a comfortable lead which he maintained until the end. Top ten finishes followed for clubmates Daniel Balshaw and Jacob Watson. Also a couple of excellent runs from Jordan McDonald and George Pier earning them both a top twenty finish. John Hartley was the 1st MV55 and Laura Hesketh was our first Clayton lady finisher, 3rd lady in the race. Ryan Clark had an excellent run finishing in 95th place with a time of 44:13.
A special mention and well done to Judith Carey who ran this distance for the first time. She said she was really proud of her achievement and is hoping to be much faster next year.
Pos | Name | Cat | Time |
1 | Christopher Holdsworth | M | 32:59 |
3 | Danny Collinge | M | 35:07 |
6 | Daniel Balshaw | M | 36:22 |
8 | Jacob Watson | M | 36:32 |
12 | Jordan McDonald | M | 37:14 |
20 | George Pier | M | 38:49 |
25 | John Hartley | M55 (1st) | 39:10 |
28 | Jonathan Pye | M | 39:47 |
33 | Matthew Duckworth | M | 40:07 |
34 | Laura Hesketh | F | 40:26 |
35 | Kenan Eti | M | 40:29 |
46 | Chris Funnell | M45 | 41:21 |
95 | Ryan Clark | M | 44:13 |
112 | Stephen Biscomb | M60 | 44:45 |
125 | Alan Clarkson | M55 | 45:16 |
186 | Angela Shian | F35 | 47:28 |
190 | Amanda Duffy | F35 | 47:27 |
250 | Elizabeth Mullan | F | 49:06 |
297 | Lynsey Birtwistle | F35 | 49:34 |
323 | Clare Wilson | F35 | 50:14 |
324 | Donna Scott | F45 | 50:40 |
341 | Donna Airey | F | 51:14 |
400 | Bianca Bennett | F | 52:23 |
509 | Elouise Sylkie Pemberton | F | 54:47 |
802 | Deborah Greenwood | F45 | 1:01:17 |
986 | Sophie McIntosh | F | 1:05:07 |
1179 | Judith Carey | F35 | 1:13:03 |
Wigan Trail 10k – Sunday 28 June
Well done Team Thompson. All four Thompsons took part in the 2.5k short run on the trails of Wigan’s Greenheart Amberswood park, situated between Spring View & Hindley. This former mining area has been transformed into a 160 hectare nature reserve of woodlands to wildflowers meadows, grasslands to wetlands.
Awaiting results
Race the Train – Sunday 28 June
Report by Chris Snell
For those used to public transport, chasing buses or trains can be a regular occurrence. Trains in particular, have a nasty habit of closing their doors just as you arrive! So revenge sprung to mind when I heard about race the train.
Runners compete to beat a steam train on the East Lancashire Railway over a distance of 12 miles. The event started at Bury train station and involved running multi-terrain in the hope of not just catching the train, but beating it. Both the runners and the train started by the train whistle.
The course covered public roads, fields, rough pasture and park lands. The train made several stops, which gave runners a chance to catch up or even overtake. Running alongside fellow Clayton’er Andy Bradley, we battled in a game of cat and mouse with the train, catching the occasional glimpse of steam from its engine or the sound of it chugging behind us.
Crossing the line, roughly 10 minutes before the train’s arrival, with my medal in hand and a victory photo next to the beaten train, I decide this is definitely better than all those sprints along the train platform.
Pos | Surname, name | Cat | Time | By cat. |
5 | SMITH Lee | M | 01:07:45 | 2° M |
8 | STEVENSON Richard | M | 01:09:40 | 4° M |
45 | SNELL Chris | M | 01:19:04 | 21° M |
49 | BRADLEY Andy | V45 | 01:19:47 | 4° V45 |
Our Awesome Junior Members
As always our junior members compete in many events always giving their all and pulling brilliant performances out of the bag. A real credit to the junior coaching team.
Well done Junior member Ellie Root who took part in the Salt Ayre Triathlon Sunday 21st June in the T3 category; she came 9th overall in a time of 33.14. On Thursday 25th June she took part in the Harrogate and district athletics finals and came 3rd in 1500m in a time of 5.29 and yesterday, Saturday 27th June she took part in her 1st open water aquathlon at Crosby Marina which included a 350m swim and 2000m run. As yet results have not been posted we think she came 11th.
And well done to Natasha Olszewska for winning her 1500m race at the QEGS sports day breaking the course record at the same time!
Parkrun roundup
Plenty of parkrunning as always this week. A number of good placings and PBs scattered about and lots of you warming up for the Pennine 10k the following day. Well done to John Hartley for his first place and new PB at the Pendle parkrun. At the Burnley parkrun well done to Dexta Thompson for his excellent new PB bringing him under the 20 minute mark. Finlay Stubbs, Andrew Taylor and Marion Wilkinson also earned new PBs .
Burnley parkrun – A total of 215 runners took part.
Pos | parkrunner | Time | Cat | Note |
2 | Jonathan PYE | 18:54 | SM25-29 | |
4 | Dave MOTLEY | 19:34 | SM30-34 | |
5 | Laura HESKETH | 19:41 | SW30-34 | |
8 | Dexta THOMPSON | 19:59 | JM10 | New PB! |
16 | Matthew DUCKWORTH | 21:02 | SM25-29 | |
20 | Simon WILSHAW | 21:36 | JM15-17 | |
21 | Jason PIER | 21:54 | VM45-49 | |
25 | Millie STUBBS | 22:11 | JW11-14 | |
36 | Jenson BENTHAM | 22:40 | JM10 | |
38 | Lennon JACKSON | 22:43 | JM11-14 | |
39 | Alice PIER | 22:45 | JW15-17 | |
40 | Bryan SEARBY | 22:52 | VM40-44 | New PB! |
44 | David Ian SCOTT | 23:05 | VM70-74 | |
46 | Barry MITCHELL | 23:20 | VM65-69 | First Timer! |
50 | Finley STUBBS | 23:35 | JM10 | New PB! |
59 | Andrew TAYLOR | 24:38 | VM55-59 | New PB! |
63 | Sophie ASHWORTH | 24:48 | JW11-14 | |
64 | Ella DORRINGTON-LEVY | 24:49 | JW10 | |
67 | Colin WOOLFORD | 25:01 | VM35-39 | |
75 | Robert HIRST | 25:33 | VM60-64 | |
80 | Annabel WILCOCK | 25:48 | JW11-14 | |
81 | Stuart PROCTOR | 25:50 | VM35-39 | |
95 | Donna AIREY | 26:54 | SW30-34 | |
99 | Elouise Sylkie PEMBERTON | 27:15 | SW25-29 | |
102 | Kian ADAMS | 27:32 | JM10 | |
111 | Jackie KERSHAW | 28:18 | VW40-44 | |
113 | John WILCOCK | 28:25 | VM50-54 | |
117 | Kady THOMPSON | 28:42 | JW10 | |
122 | Felix THOMPSON | 28:54 | JM10 | |
128 | Stuart HARTLEY | 29:26 | VM55-59 | |
137 | Yvonne WICKHAM | 29:48 | VW50-54 | |
139 | Marion WILKINSON | 29:53 | VW70-74 | New PB! |
Pendle parkrun – A total of 89 runners took part
Pos | parkrunner | Time | Cat | Note |
1 | John HARTLEY | 20:01 | VM55-59 | New PB! |
17 | Martin BRADY | 23:37 | VM50-54 | |
23 | Andy QUINN | 00:31 | VM40-44 |
Bolton parkrun – A total of 302 runners took part.
Pos | parkrunner | Time | Cat | Note |
125 | Julia RUSHTON | 26:43:00 | VW50-54 |
Dewsbury parkrun – A total of 77 runners took part.
Pos | parkrunner | Time | Cat | Note |
73 | Robin PRICE | 38:18 | VM70-74 |
Fell Foot parkrun, Newby Bridge – A total of 133 runners took part.
Pos | parkrunner | Time | Cat | Note |
91 | Eileen JONES | 30:04 | VW60-64 |