Here are the results from the last weeks racing, it’s good to see a healthy Clayton turnout throughout the Winter & lot’s of you keeping at the sharp end of the races!
Well done to Tom Brewster, Chris Holdsworth & Nick Gaskell for a second consecutive team prize at the Cannonball 5k race 2, they were of course joined at the top by Gayle Whittaker, Rebecca Rawcliffe & Alice Pier as they scooped the Ladies prize!
Results (click on the name to be directed):-
With six ladies at Liverpool, we achieved just about mid table in results from senior to vets. Excellent work girls :-), Rebecca Louise Rawcliffe, Jean Knightley, Georgina Slater, Sarah Whittaker, Christine Leathley and me…
And Clayton Ladies won the FV55 award – Jk, C.L. and me 🙂
Conditions were certainly better than last year, that is, not quite as much mud! With last minute nerves left on the start line, we all enjoyed the race with our own stories to tell.
Its certainly a race apart from the other Mid Lancs fixtures as this one entails standing alongside runners competing for the European Championship qualifiers.
There was a special “buzz” about the whole day out.
Cheers girls, Irene
Well the park run today was flooded with Clayton both young and old. At the start line there was tension in the air with the seniors hoping they would not get beaten by their younger counterparts and the juniors fired up with Coach Armstrong message of ‘Just go mental’.
Go mental was the order of the day with Clayton picking up the first 5 spots with road captain Tom Brewster leading they way, closely followed by Chris Holdsworth in 2nd, 14yr old Clayton junior Jordan Mcdonald in 3rd, new member Jonathon Pye in 4th and Capt. Motley 5th.
In the ladies race 14yr old Clayton junior Briony Holt scooped the prize, narrowly beating Sarah Toms (Blackburn Harriers) in a sprint finish up the home straight.
In total 36 members completed the race (majority under 16yr old) with many of them setting new pb’s. THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT!!!!
Full results can be found here
Quick reminder!
If you wish to run at Liverpool for the Mid Lancs Cross Country fixture please let the XC captains know as soon as possible. The Mid Lancs organisers need to allocate numbers to the clubs taking part ASAP.
This is the only race within the Mid Lancs calendar which requires a seperate number to the one you already have. So whether you have raced or not (e.g.Townenely) you still require a new number at Liverpool. Ladies contact me, the gents contact Paul.
Face Book is the ideal quick way ….you can give either Paul or me a call by phone. Our contact numbers are in the Clayton News Letter.
Cheers, Irene
We have been sent an e mail re the Liverpool xc regarding numbers.You may or may not know your Mid Lancs number does not apply for this race.We therefore need to let them know who from the club is likeley to run,this is for juniors,ladies and men.Please let the respective xc country captains know as soon as possible,either directly or via replying to this message.
It is a cracking race and the opportuntity to see and race against some of the best in the country as it is used as a qualifier for the British teams.You often see athletes from Norfolk,Devon, Scotland etc so no excuses about how far it is,only takes an hour from Burnley and look to car share. We appreciate it is the same day as the Tour but if that is not your cup of tea come and support the club at this National event.
Well done and thank you to all the Clayton ladies who ran at Towneley on Saturday. We had a good a turn out, so good we could hardly fit on the photo taken before the race!! (to be placed on here soon…). A brilliant effort from all, achieving around mid table over all for Clayton ladies, proving “the more the better” :-).
Next up is Liverpool at the end of the month. Although a bit of a journey its a good experience with the slightly longer course, lots of mud, flat (apart from one little incline worth a few strides) and an earlier start to the other Mid Lancs races (check details for times in the news letter).
Hope to see you all there.
Regards Irene
Helwith Bridge is a low key road event run by Vince Ashton of VLA events. It’s a classic run-bike-run format in the Yorkshire dales, with some moderately tough hills.
This year’s weather was challenging; 9 degrees combined with a stiff breeze makes kit choice difficult and I opted to put an extra layer on for the bike instead of trying to stick to one outfit for the whole race. The first run is always hard to pace; it’s only 4 miles and in previous years I’ve gone out too fast then regretted it on the bike leg. This year I went far too slow and took an extra two minutes!
The bike leg was tough; a strong head wind made the stretch from Helwith Bridge up to the viaduct at Ribblehead seem endless then a fast and furious return in the direction of Ingleton precedes another winding stretch through Clapham and Austwick. The second run is identical to the first and I desperately attempted to make up for lost time, with quads right on the edge of seizing up all the way round. For those who’ve never done duathlon; the second run is extremely uncomfortable as your thighs scream out at you, especially after a hilly bike route.
The race was won in 1:57 by Mark Flannery of Tri Kudu, finishing 3 minutes clear of the second place runner. First lady was Molly Ralphson of Trawden AC in 2:16
First Clayton home was Paul Brannon (2nd V50) and congratulations also to Alan Life on his first duathlon.
Next year; I need to get out on the bike more as I really struggled with maintaining momentum in the headwind. I also need to push harder in the first run (my second run was two minutes faster which shows how far off the pace I was!)
I’d recommend duathlon to all; it’s easier/cheaper to get into than triathlon and the bike training is invaluable for runners wanting to tackle hilly courses, on or off-road.
Andy Armstrong
The second running of this increasingly popular local race saw nine Clayton Harriers tackle the Sabden 6 mile trail race. The undulating course takes in a decent mixture of gravel tracks, tarmac roads and grassy trails with several styles and gates to overcome – not to mention a ridiculously steep ascent up the side of Churn Clough Reservoir between the 4th/5th miles!!
Newly appointed road & trail captain Tom Brewster claimed the “Cannonball Mile” prize – leading the field to the first mile!
Just a shame this was followed by taking a tumble at the first sign of rough terrain to drop back to 5th overall with new addition Nick Gaskell hot on his heels in 7th. The race saw superb efforts from Dave Motley, Garry Wilkinson and Richard Briscoe, all still sporting aching legs from the epic Ben Nevis mountain race a week before. Also present and on form were Laura Hesketh, Mark Taylor, Ron Chappell (Claiming MV65 prize), Bob Hirst and Karin Goss (claiming FV65 prize)
Full Results can be found by following the link HERE
Thanks to Mens Road & Trail Captain Tom Brewster for this write up of the race.
This weekends races are as follows :-
Saturday 14th September
Sunday 15th September
For full details of these & more local & National Races visit the below links:-