ByJacob Watson

UKA British Fell and Hill running Championship, plus the rest of the Weekend’s action!

UKA British Fell and Hill running Championship

“All the top names in fell running were in attendance, and it was quite evident that we would have our work cut out for us! … It was as windy as hell out there!“

The 26th running of the British Fell and Hill Championships took place on Sunday 19th October on the beautiful Middleton Fells in East Cumbria. Clayton had entered four teams in the event- men’s A and B, men’s vet 50’s and a ladies team. All the top names in fell running were in attendance, and it was quite evident that we would have our work cut out for us!

Wendy Dodds (Photo courtesy of Adrienne Olszewska)

Conditions on the day were far from perfect. As Rob Hope said shortly after winning the first stage, “It was as windy as hell out there.” However, at least it stayed dry, visibility was good and the course was mainly runnable.

Alison Dugdale and Anna Kelly (Photo courtesy of Adrienne Olszewska)

For the ladies, Lisa Richardson ran well in a very fast first leg. As she handed over to Alison Dugdale and me, our team was in 33rd position in the ladies category. Leg 2 was a toughie but we managed to finish 14th ladies’ team and 134th overall. Expert navigators Jean Brown and Wendy Dodds had an excellent run on leg 3, matching our 14th ladies’ spot but gaining ten positions in the overall standings. Vicki Heys was last up, and she ran a strong final leg to finish 20th lady and 144th overall. In the final standings, we were placed 17th out of 45 ladies’ teams (132nd overall) which was a great result considering the high standard of runners we were competing against.

Ryan Wilkinson and Carl Helliwell (Photo courtesy of Adrienne Olszewska)

The men’s A team finished 37th out of 187 finishers, and the B team were 108th. Sadly, due to a couple of navigational errors on legs 2 and 3, the vet 50’s joined the 26 other teams who either did not finish or were disqualified.

Carl Helliwell – One of 3 Clayton runners who lost his shoe! (Photo courtesy of Adrienne Olszewska)

I would like to finish with a big thank you to the team captains Jean, Dave and Shack, for their time and effort in organising a grand day out.

Jordan McDonald (minus 1 shoe!) running for Team A (Photo courtesy of Adrienne Olszewska)

Fell relay results

Pos	Team	Competitors	Cat	Time	Lap 1	Lap 2	Lap 3	Lap 4
37th	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers – A	Jordan Mcdonald/Dave Motley/Jacob Boyle/Ryan Belshaw/Dave Nuttall/Andrew Stubbs	Open	04:27:18	00:53:20 (101st)	01:29:26 (40th)	01:13:50 (33rd)	00:50:42 (39th)
108th	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers – B	George Pier/Ryan Wilkinson/Carl Helliwell/Paul Wale/Pete Booth/Nicholas Olszewski	Open	05:10:29	00:59:51 (164th)	01:35:32 (67th)	01:35:05 (156th)	01:00:01 (124th)
132nd	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	Lisa Richardson/Anna Kelly/Alison Dugdale/Wendy Dodds/Jean Brown/Vicky Heys	Female	05:27:31	01:02:16 (181st)	01:53:17 (134th=)	01:29:07 (124th)	01:02:51 (144th)
mp	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	Dave Naughton/Ian Greenwood/Paul Shackelton/Stephen Whittaker/Mark Aspinall/Garry Wilkinson	Male V50	05:07:15	00:51:46 (87th)	01:56:33 (148th)	m3	00:52:53 (59th)

Full results (including individual legs / splits) can be found at http://www.sportident.co.uk/results/2014/BritishFellRelay/

Many thanks to Anna Kelly for this week’s great race report!

Race You To The Summit

Despite taking a tumble and receiving some impressive battle scars, Chistopher Holdsworth continued his brilliant running streak with a win at Saturday’s Race You To The Summit.

Chistopher Holdsworth – Claiming first place at this year’s Race You To The Summit

Christopher was in good company with plenty of fellow Clayton members also recording decent times. Good stuff guys!

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
1	CHRISTOPHER HOLDSWORTH		30:57:00
44	IAN ROBINSON	V60	40:41:00
46	DUGALD McCALLUM	V60	40:51:00
61	MARTIN BRADY	V50	44:50:00
72	ROBERT HIRST	V60	48:07:00
80	ADAM HAMER		52:19:00
83	JOHN T. FRANCIS	V70	54:44:00

Full results available at http://www.fellrunner.org.uk/results.php?id=2602

Green Drive 5

It was good to see a strong turnout of our road runners at Lytham St Annes Green Drive 5 on Sunday. Congratulations to Kevin Davies, David Scott and Marion Wilkinson for scooping first in their respective categories!

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Pace per Km/Mile	Time
20	Kevin Davies	M50	001/019	03.49/06.08	00:30:41
52	Stephen Biscomb	M60	002/011	04.11/06.44	00:33:38
65	Alan Clarkson	M55	003/023	04.22/07.02	00:35:10
82	Jason Pier	M40	013/016	04.35/07.23	00:36:54
83	David Scott	M70	001/008	04.36/07.23	00:36:57
90	Brian Wildman	M45	013/020	04.40/07.31	00:37:35
149	Richard Lawson	M70	004/008	05.14/08.25	00:42:05
150	Jackie Kershaw	F40	008/017	05.14/08.25	00:42:07
196	Marion Wilkinson	F70	001/001	05.38/09.04	00:45:20
209	Christine Egerton	F60	004/006	05.50/09.23	00:46:53
210	Kevin O’Brien	M70	007/008	05.53/09.27	00:47:17
228	Christine Leathley	F65	003/004	06.16/10.05	00:50:23

Round Rotherham 50 Mile Run

A special mention goes out to Martin Terry for a great run at Round Rotherham 50 mile race.

Martin finished the gruelling run in 7th position and recorded an impressively speedy time of 7:54:34.

Full results available at http://www.rotherhamharriers.org/rrr2014/

Parkrun Roundup

Plenty of Clayton vests for Saturday morning’s various Parkrun events. It was also good to see a turnout of orange and white at the inaugural Fell Foot Parkrun as well. A special mention goes out to Terry O’Leary who managed a top 10 place at Burnley despite having to stop to tie his shoes laces, not once, but twice(!) on the way round. Good effort!

Pos	Gender Pos	Name	Time	Cat	Other
LEEDS parkrun– 424 Runners
3	3	Jonny MCKENNA	00:16:35	SM25-29
BURNLEY parkrun – 187 Runners
2	2	Jonathon PYE	00:18:26	SM25-29
4	4	Jacob WATSON	00:18:39	SM30-34
6	6	Richard STEVENSON	00:19:22	VM35-39
7	7	Terry O’LEARY	00:19:49	VM35-39	Sub 20 despite laces becoming untied. Twice!
15	14	Gordon BARRETT	00:21:08	VM50-54
25	23	Stephen AINSWORTH	00:22:18	VM55-59
39	35	Martin BRADY	00:23:26	VM50-54
42	38	Dexta THOMPSON	00:23:35	JM10	New PB!
51	45	Brian WILDMAN	00:24:13	VM45-49
69	12	Julia RUSHTON	00:24:49	VW50-54
87	71	Colin WOOLFORD	00:26:16	VM35-39
93	73	Richard LAWSON	00:26:48	VM70-74
98	24	Liberty THOMPSON	00:27:03	JW11-14
103	26	Donna SCOTT	00:27:21	VW45-49
111	33	Adrienne OLSZEWSKA	00:27:56	VW45-49
119	35	Annabel WILCOCK	00:28:18	JW11-14
120	85	John WILCOCK	00:28:21	VM50-54
122	87	Stuart BARKER	00:28:25	VM45-49
Dewsbury parkrun – 98 Runners
89	51	Robin PRICE	00:36:00	VM70-74
Pendle parkrun – 48 Runners
3	3	John HARTLEY	00:20:48	VM55-59
6	5	Richard BRISCOE	00:21:16	VM35-39
Fell Foot parkrun – 247 Runners (Inaugural event)
81	60	George THOMPSON	00:26:01	VW60-64	First run at this event
84	23	Katy THOMPSON	00:26:21	VW60-64	First run at this event
166	68	Eileen JONES	00:31:41	VM60-64	First run at this event

Junior News

A special mention goes out to Eleanor Root for her recent successful Cross Country Races! Results listed below:

Event	Date	Pos	Full Results	Other
Bingley AC Cross Country competition	24/09/14	3rd	Click for results
Malsis Cross Country	08/10/14	3rd	Click for results
English Schools Cross Country Cup North Yorkshire Round	15/10/14	6th	Click for results	Team Qualified for Northern Final

A credit to the Junior team. It’s brilliant to see our Junior members achieve such a wide range of success. Well done!

ByAdrienne Olszewska

Red Rose Cross Country and the rest of the weeks action

Red Rose XC – Leigh

With near perfect conditions, a whopping 52 club members took part in the races spanning the age ranges from under 11s to over 60s. The weather was fantastic. Bright, sunny and no wind to fight against – also very little mud which might not have pleased everyone! The course was flat and level, making for a fast and hard run for many. Lots of exciting finishes to see that were heartily cheered on by our orange-clad members.

Clayton-le-Moors Harrier John Roche battling for the finish.

Race Reports from First Timers Sarah and Carl Helliwell

Neither Carl nor I knew what to expect at Leigh Sports Village; however one thing we had been guaranteed was pain, and lots of it! Before I carry on I will say a little bit about us. We are Sarah and Carl Helliwell and both started running in December after we realised that time is not your own once you have a child. We had soon realised we couldn’t cycle as much; however putting on a pair of trainers was a more viable option and a bit more bang for your buck!

Sarah
It was a large field with the women and juniors as we gathered together in the afternoon sun. The Clayton ladies were giving each other words of encouragement and before we knew it the gun was fired. I’d been warned it was fast, but nothing prepared me for how quick everyone went. Slightly different from the fell races I’d been doing. I will be honest here; I’m more of a plodder than a sprinter! I could see Candice, Nat and Angela all making quick starts with Irene and Vicky not far behind them. I told myself to ignore them and to try and stick to my own race. The first 2 laps around the field were filled with encouragement from the crowd and the other Clayton supporters. The race then headed off the field through the trees onto a trail. I started to feel more settled and kept encouraging myself to keep my pace going. We cut off the trail and back through the trees into a bit more rough stuff, before heading back towards the playing field again and the words of encouragement from the crowds and Clayton support.

It was now time for the big lap as we headed back into the trees and made our way towards the park and the lake. It was here that Jean passed me and I tried to keep with her for as long as possible. I think I managed about a minute before she started to slowly tap away from me, with my legs not responding. What you do not realise is how much the race snakes around and how much of the route is hidden. It twists and turns around trees and bushes whilst covering a variety of surfaces from grass, trail, bridges and not too much mud!

Clayton-le-Moors Harrier Sarah Helliwell

Cross country first timer Sarah Helliwell at the finish line

As the runners started to cross over I could see the front runners returning with Candice up there, making a fantastic return to cross country and the first Clayton lady over the line in 21.53. I knew I would be out on the course for a lot longer! I held my own around the big lap and started to close down on a couple of runners. I passed them just before we crossed the bridge back past the sports complex. As I entered the last section I knew I had to give it my all as I made my way back to the finish line and the cheers of supporters. I managed to pick my pace up as I turned the corner and was relieved when I crossed the line with a little feeling of sickness creeping up. The Clayton ladies were all waiting at the finish line congratulating each other and telling tales of feeling sick and how much saliva we had covered ourselves with. There was one comment stating that “cross country is not a sport for the glamourous…”

I am glad that Irene talked me into doing the cross country, as I feel it has given me a new challenge after the Pendle Burnley Grand Prix series. I am looking forward to some more pain and sickness in a couple of weeks’ time!

It was now the turn of the men!

Over to Carl who was given no choice of doing cross country as I gave his name to Irene as well, I thought if I am doing it, so can he…

Carl
I’ll be honest from the start, I am not the most organised person in the world. I thought I was pretty much sorted for this event; arriving 2 hours before my race and checking out the course the night before/early morning on the internet. My usual tactic has been to ask someone what is going on a few minutes before a race, so as not to worry myself too much. I don’t like to waste precious energy worrying!

As I lined up for my first ever cross country I had in my little head what I thought the route was. Two small laps and two big laps on a powerful and flat course (I don’t like the flat; I like hills and have always done well on the bike with them.) Therefore this race was my worst nightmare, flat, wrong course in my head and 6 miles of it. One thing I did know was that I had to run my own race and hang onto a pace that was uncomfortable for as long as possible. This has been my tactic since I started racing in May; go as hard as I can for as long as I can before I feel like I am towing a caravan back across the finishing line. Unfortunately this feeling occurred a lot sooner than I anticipated which was just after lap 1 of what I though was the small lap! It was only when I heard the bell and asked a marshal after lap 2, that I realised the course was not what I expected!

Cross country first timer Carl Helliwell towing his caravan over the finish line!

Not knowing the course was probably a good thing as I felt it helped me to calm down and slowly tap away and pull back runners during lap 2 & 3. I noticed there was a lull from other runners around me, which gave me confidence that I was not the only one suffering. After half a lap of getting my head together and ‘star gazing’ moments I started to dig in deep. The last mile I was well and truly hitched up with my ‘caravan’ as I towed it back to the finish line and the cheer of Clayton supporters. I felt like I had given my all and was totally spent as I crossed the finish line. I loved it and I cannot wait for the next one! I’m not going to prepare this time; I’m just going to ask someone on the start line…

A massive well done to everyone who competed in both the juniors and seniors

We both really enjoyed the event. We couldn’t believe how well organised and big it was. The amount of runners, the team spirit and the crowds and encouragement that everyone gives each other is brilliant. Cross country has a real family feel to it especially with the variety of races from U11’s to seniors. Our little girl Eva, loved the day out and was kept busy with all the young Clayton junior girls and harassing Motley junior. We are both looking forward to the next race at Wilsons playing fields.

Hope to see you there! Sarah & Carl

Club Results

Under 11 Boys – 77 Runners

Pos	Name	Time
3	Jackson McKay	9:47
20	Dexta Thomson	10:37

Under 11 Girls – 98 Runners

Under 11 Girls Team 8^th Place with 93 points (13 Teams)
Ella Dorrington / Emma Jeffers / Keira Stevenson

Pos	Name	Time
13	Ella Dorrington-Levy	9:03
40	Emma Jeffers	9:53
42	Keira Stevenson	9:54
75	Eloise Clegg	10:42
86	Rachel Stevenson	11:35
89	Lydia Wood	11:44
91	Millie MacCube	11:53

Under 13 Boys – 55 Runners

Under 13 Boys Team 9^th Place with 118 points (10 Teams)
Adam Quinn / Adam Stevenson / Daniel Bradley

Under 13s Boys Team. L-R Daniel Bradley, Adam Quinn, Adam Stevenson

Pos	Name	Time
29	Adam Quinn	10:54
42	Adam Stevenson	11:48
53	Daniel Bradley	14:04

Under 13 Girls – 60 Runners

Under 13 Boys Team 4^th Place with 44 points (8 Teams)
Briony Holt / Eleanor Root / Millie Stubbs

Under 13 Girls team. L-R Briony Holt, Liberty Thompson, Millie Stubbs, Eleanor Root, Natasha Olszewska

Pos	Name	Time
4	Briony Holt	10:08
19	Eleanor Root	10:54
21	Millie Stubbs	11:02
40	Natasha Olszewska	12:02
47	Liberty Thompson	12:39

Under 15 Boys – 40 Runners

Under 13 Boys Team 6^th Place with 62 points (7 Teams)
Curtis Holt / Ryan Clarke / Thomas Bradley

Pos	Name	Time
15	Curtis Holt	14:55
22	Ryan Clarke	15:26
25	Thomas Bradley	15:38

Under 15 Girls – 42 Runners

Pos	Name	Time
17	Alice Pier	17:27
41	Lucy Stevenson	24:11

Under 17 Men – 16 Runners

Pos	Name	Time
3	Jordan McDonald	19:41

Under 17 Ladies – 22 Runners

Pos	Name	Time
18	Bethany Quinn	28:39

Ladies Race incorporating Under 17s, Under 20s and Senior Men. Jordan McDonald and Bethany Quinn visible.

Ladies – 142 Runners

Ladies Team 6^th Place with 72 points (16 Teams)
Candice Heys / Vicky Heys / Angela Shian

Vet Ladies Team 2^nd Place with 34 points (14 Teams)
Candice Heys / Vicky Heys / Angela Shian

Angela Shian at the Red Rose Cross Country Race

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
5	Candice Heys	LV35	1	21:53
33	Vicky Heys	LV40	4	24:58
36	Angela Shian	LV35	7	25:05
38	Natelle Harrison	L	37	25:06
51	Irene Roche	LV55	2	25:41
61	Julia Rushton	LV50	5	26:09
66	Jean Knightley	LV55	4	26:13
85	Sarah Helliwell	L	85	27:41
103	Helen Burnett	LV40	18	29:05
117	Adrienne Olszewska	LV45	14	31:03
134	Susan Allen	L50	14	36:30

Men – 246 Runners

Mens Team 9^th Place with 378 points (18 Teams)
Lee Smith / Mark Aspinall / Andy Armstrong / David Motley / Carl Helliwell / George Pier

Vet Mens Team 7^th Place with 144 points (16 Teams)
Mark Aspinall / Andy Armstrong / John Roche / Malc Christie

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
43	Lee Smith	M		41:51
44	Mark Aspinall	MV50	3	41:59
50	Andrew Armstrong	MV40	7	42:25
54	David Motley	M		43:05
92	Carl Helliwell	M		45:03
101	George Pier	M		45:57
103	John Roche	MV55	3	46:04
113	Malc Christie	MV50	11	46:48
122	Richard Briscoe	M		47:20
138	John Wilcock	MV50	15	48:27
142	RyanWilkinson	M		49:06
148	Peter Booth	MV60	1	49:20
150	Geoff Pickup	MV60	2	49:29
170	Andy Quinn	MV40	32	50:40
186	Stephen White	MV55	10	51:58
202	Martin Brady	MV50	27	53:27
210	Peter Thompson	MV50	29	54:15

Full Results

Lea Town 10k – Saturday 11th October

Just one club member took part in this event, Terry O’Leary who finished in 7th place with a time of 37:53 in a field of 89 runners. Well done Terry.

Full Results

Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon – Sunday 12th October

Well done Breton Holdsworth for a fantastic run at the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon finishing in 29th place with a chip time of 02:48:06!

Clayton-le-Moors Harrier Brett Holdsworth

Breton Holdsworth brightening up the murky landscape at the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon

Full Results

Langdale Horseshoe – 11th October

Eleven Clayton Harriers members took part in this classic, lakeland fell race.Neil Hardiman was the first Clayton Harrier to finish.

Report from the Ambleside FC Website

The race started in poor visibility and intermittent rain but finished in bright sunshine. For the first time in many years Langdale & Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team, supported by Coniston and Kendal, had to be called out (3 times) for injuries. Two had to be airlifted to hospital in Whitehaven.

First of the 375 runners starting was Rhys Finlay-Robinson of Dark Peak in 2 hours 16 minutes, outsprinting George Crayston of Borrowdale. Jim Davies of Borrowdale, a Vet 45, was third. Leading local men were Matt Reedy of Ambleside 7th, Kieran Hodgson of Helm Hill 10th, Adam Perry of Helm Hill 11th and Stuart Dickson of Ambleside 19th. Borrowdale were first team.

The ladies were led home by Judith Jepson in 2 hours 44 minutes, with Nicky Spinks 2nd – both of Dark Peak and both Vet 45s. Dark Peak were first team. Few locals turned out but Sally Ward from Sedbergh was 8th and Wendy Dodds, running for Clayton was first Vet 60.

Neil Hardiman on the descent of the Pike of Blisco. Photo courtesy of Andy Jackson

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
44	Neil Hardiman	MV45	02:42:42
139	Ivan Whigham	MV50	03:02:54
160	Ralph Baines	MV45	03:10:22
196	David Naughton	MV50	03:17:32
197	Peter Browning	MV55	03:17:38
213	Andrew Firth	MV55	03:21:33
215	Wendy Dodds	LV60	03:21:44
228	Alex Braysford	MV40	03:28:03
254	John Rusius	MV60	03:33:04
264	Nigel Hodson	MV45	03:35:34
308	Peter Dugdale	MV55	03:51:46

Full Results

Gin Pit 5 – Sunday 12th October

Spotted a couple of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers in this event. It’s a 5 mile trail run organised by Astley and Tyldesley Road Runners. Well done Peter Butterworth and Julie Toman!

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
43	Peter Butterworth	MV60	32:53
176	Julie Toman	FV45	45:11

Full Results

Withins Skyline – Sunday 12th October

Well done to everyone who took part in this event out on the wild and misty moors near Haworth. Congratulations to Briony Holt who was first u12, first girl overall and 4th overall. She also beat the course record for both u12 and u14.

Spot the Clayton-le-Moors Harrier in the middle of the pack – Photo courtesy of Kath Grundy

Senior Results – 255 runners took part

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
43	David Bagot	M	00:52:45
57	Brian Horrocks	MV50	00:54:20
85	Chris Funnell	MV40	00:56:13
164	Richard Briscoe	M	01:02:19
208	Robert Hirst	MV60	01:09:19
210	Katy Thompson	FV60	01:09:38

Junior Results – 111 runners took part

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
4	Briony Holt	F U12	06:39
16	Chris Brown	M U10	07:19

Full Results

Autumn Breaker 10k – Sunday 12th October

Well done to the five Clayton-le-Moors Harriers that took part in this event. This two lap course uses the same beautiful route in the park as the Stanley Park 10k earlier in the year. Starting and finishing on the running track the route follows the well maintained pathways around the park.

Clayton Harriers at the Autumn Breaker 10k in Blackpool. L-R Stephen Biscomb, Marion Wilkinson, Jackie Kershaw, Brian Wildman, Bryan Searby

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
28	Stephen Biscomb	MV60	00:41:10
73	Brian Wildman	MV45	00:45:42
164	Jackie Kershaw	FV40	00:52:21
205	Marion Wilkinsn	FV65	00:55:25
225	Bryan Searby	MV40	00:56:40

Full Results

Parkrun Roundup

Parkrun has been celebrating 10 years of success and growth recently, and our club members are always popping up at park runs here, there and everywhere. This week we have a win, a couple of PBs, and a first timer to applaud!

Pos	Gender Pos	Name	Time	Cat	Other
PENNINGTON FLASH parkrun– 180 Runners
36	34	Martin Brady	00:24:14	MV50-54	First Timer at this location
BURNLEY parkrun – 169 Runners
1	1	Jonathon Pye	00:18:08	SM25-29	New PB!
2	2	Jacob Watson	00:18:15	SM30-34	New PB!
6	6	Nick Roscoe	00:20:27	VM45-49
11	11	Stephen Ainsworth	00:21:36	VM55-59
22	21	David Ian Scott	00:22:58	VM70-74
80	22	Annabel Wilcock	00:27:39	JW1-14
81	59	John Wilcock	00:27:40	VM50-54
148	90	Jack Skelly	00:36:09	JM10
149	59	Natalie Harrison	00:36:09	SW30-34	First Timer!
169	98	Robert Hirst	00:42:34	VM60-64
DEWSBURY parkrun – 83 Runners
69	40	Robin Price	00:33:02	VM70-74
HEREFORD parkrun – 120 Runners
3	3	Paul Shackleton	00:18:07	VM50-54	Inaugural Hereford parkrun
PENDLE parkrun – 71 Runners
10	10	John Hartley	00:20:50	VM55-59
24	3	Dawn Terry	00:25:01	VW50-54

ByAdrienne Olszewska

Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay and the rest of the week’s action

I thought this was going to be a quiet week with just a couple of write ups to pass along but how wrong I was! It’s been an action-packed week with lots of great results for our club members in a wide range of races and events.

Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay – Sunday 5^th October

70 teams competed and 4 teams were fielded by Clayton-le-Moors Harriers

Leg 1 Round Up from Breton Holdsworth

After a couple of changes my Leg 1 partner was finally confirmed as the excellent young Jordon McDonald. We travelled up to Patterdale together and once dawn broke we could see how nasty the weather was looking and only 7 degrees. A cracking introduction to the Lakes for Jordan! The race this year started from the playing fields again, and I had been warned to get a good start as it turns to single track on the climb, basically we started at a sprint and got onto the trail within the top ten.

Clayton Harriers Jordan McDonald and Breton Holdsworth at the Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay

After climbing for what seemed like forever, we managed to overtake a few though also lost a couple of places. We then had “that” downhill, impressively we pretty much stayed on our feet on the way down and didn’t lose any more places. Then we hit the track into the finish where we put on another sprint which according to my gps was 4.52 minute mile pace for 0.7 miles and brought us in 8th just 1 second behind 7th place.

Leg 2 Round up from Chris Holdsworth

I have raced a few times at relays over the course of the last year. Each time I’d either been on leg 1 or the last leg so I had a renewed excitement for this year’s Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay. Myself and leg 2 partner, Matt Perry, awaited the pairing of Breton and Jordan McDonald at the end of leg 1. The skies had begun to open up as we started our warm up with fellow leg 2 runners Lee Smith and Ryan Wilkinson. We had decided to keep our coats on until the last minute – little did we know that it would come sooner than we’d thought!

Breton and Jordan had a storming run, surprising us by coming in at 8th place. Hurriedly, we removed our jackets and the hand over to Matt set us on our way. As we were ahead of Barlick, it was my aim to keep as close to them as possible. We steadily ran our way back up the track knowing that we had 3000ft to climb.

I was feeling good and was eager to overtake a few more teams as the undulating paths made their way to the foot of the first mammoth climb. At this point, Barlick had edged their way back ahead – a development which made it my priority to keep as close to Matt Lalor and Stephen Chew as possible. The poor relay partner that I am, I had left it to Matt to recce the leg and thus navigate the route. (I knew he was reliable from our time racing Stan Bradshaw against one another. Had it not been for him, I’d still be wandering up Pendle somewhere!)

Our roles complimented each other well, I pushed on up the hill whilst he kept me grounded and directed me well. Once we made our way to the summit, Barlick had disappeared into the clag ahead, leaving us to tussle with a couple of other teams. Stubbed toes and difficult descents down the scree was a tough test for our endurance shortly after the first checkpoint, but we slowly began to track down more teams. One of which was the re-emergence of Stephen Chew on the rock climbing ahead. Literal rock climbing by the way… I stood staring at a rock for at least 15 seconds, wondering how on earth Matt had gotten up it.

Once the rocks were climbed, we again lost Barlick to the clag, which in turn made us lose sense of the correct path. After a couple minutes of deliberation and a conversation with a walker in the fog, it was only when a herd of runners broke through the mist behind us that we were confident to take the path ahead and dib into the second check point.

From here it was all mostly descent, which was my least favourite part of the course. An attempt to speedily bypass the pack of runners had me slip on a rock and go hurtling swiftly to the jagged stones below; a theme that would continue as we jostled for positions down the final descent. Four times I fell flat on my back due to slippy rocks underfoot and at this point I was relying on Matt to drag me back home. Bruised and battered, we made it back to the end of leg 2/start of leg 3 having lost 4 places in 01:15:45, handing over the dibber to Garry Wilkinson and Jacob Boyle to begin their climb up Red Scree.

Really enjoyed this leg (the uphill parts over the downhill parts) Having enjoyed leg 1 last year and leg 2 this year it would seem there is a theme emerging! I look forward to leg 3 next year…

Leg 3 Round Up from Michael O’Donnell (Forrest)

The Very long way – Andy & I set off very fresh & made a decent time to CP 1 -top of Red Screes. I know the route, no bother, but then came our big mistake. Andy was running really well. I used the dibber, he set straight off a different way to where I was going to go. I presumed he was trying to short cut it as there had been talk of it with Gaz (Wilkinson) so I didn’t say anything when I should have shouted him back, to the safe way Gaz had shown me on a reccy last year.

To cut a long story short we ran to a point where we could see Ambleside & then were extremely lost for about 10 minutes. I am just very grateful to Andy for being able to navigate well with a map & compass when he saw a quarry which was on the map. Our time to CP1 was good, I’d have thought CP2 to the finish was good too . CP1-CP2 was probably the slowest of the day.

We managed to catch a few teams on the way back but it was definitely a very steep learning curve. Please learn from our mistake. Better to stick to the safe route choice if conditions are bad & always voice your opinion no matter how senior your partner is, which was my mistake.

Leg 4 Round Up from Dave Motley

We took over from Garry & Jacob and started quick along the track, we quickly climbed up to Hart Crag passing one of our competitors easily. The more we climbed the worse visibility got, to the point where visibility was down to 5 metres. Not knowing the leg due to a last minute leg change within the team I put my entire trust in Dave Nuttall, who because of the conditions, wanted to follow the main footpath to Hart Crag rather than traverse diagonally over the fell, this decision worked out and we hit Hart Crag with ease.

At Hart Crag we had a choice of 3 or 4 different ‘trods’ and Dave was a little unsure, however a quick compass bearing and we were off to Fairfield. The track seemed to become wider and running became good, I opened up but unfortunately Dave N couldn’t follow, I suspect this was down to the last remnants of a bad cold. He wanted to drop out Friday Night but battled through due to me not knowing the leg. We reached Fairfied and then onto St Sunday Crag via Gavel Pike, Dave was a little unsure so again compass at the ready and a passing Bowland team helped us reach the final descent. Unfortunately ‘team Bowland’ just got away from us on the descent and we finished overall in 13th, same as 2013.

Back at the show field, Bacon Butties and beer commenced with the usual banter. This went onto to the evening as 8 of us went on the ‘Wilky Beer Bus tour’ celebrating Lee Smith’s birthday via pubs at Ambleside, Long Preston, Barnoldswick & Whalley.

As Captain I would like to say a massive Thank You, firstly to Dave Nuttall for running when recovering from Man flu and then to the rest of the team for some outstanding performances, most notably from Jordan Mcdonald. It’s an absolute pleasure to Captain and represent this club with a bunch of fantastic lads….CHEERS!!!!!!

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Team A finished 13^th with a total time of 04:19:56

Leg	Runners	Time
1	Breton Holdsworth / Jordan McDonald	00:40:27
2	Chris Holdsworth / Matt Perry	01:15:45
3	Jacob Boyle / Garry Wilkinson	01:00:05
4	Dave Motley / Dave Nuttall	01:23:39

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Team B finished 46^th with a total time of 05:23:35

Leg	Runners	Time
1	Dave Bagot / Jon Hanson	00:46:50
2	Lee Smith / Ryan Wilkinson	01:34:16
3	Michael O’Donnell / Andy Orr	01:38:37
4	Neil Hardiman / Ryan Belshaw	01:23:52

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Ladies finished 63^rd with a total time of 05:46:23

Leg	Runners	Time
1	Katy Thompson / Jean Brown	00:56:50
2	Anna Kelly / Avril Duckworth	01:35:46
3	Lisa Richardson / Marion Dixon	01:27:12
4	Wendy Dodds / Alison Dugdale	01:46:35

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Team Z finished 65^th with a total time of 05:55:11

Leg	Runners	Time
1	Andrew Howarth / Robert W Mitchell	00:53:15
2	Mark Nutter / Peter Booth	01:35:31
3	Andrew Firth / Richard Bellaries	01:46:17
4	Ivan Whigham / Ralph Baines	01:40:08

Full Results

English Schools Fell Running Championship 2014 – 28th September

Well done to junior members Briony Holt, Millie Stubbs and Isaac Wilkinson who took part in this event. It is a huge credit to our junior section to have members competing at this level. Briony Holt finished 2nd in the Year 8/9 Girls category with a time of 00:25:39, Millie Stubbs finished 14th in the Year 7 Girls category with a time of 00:19:08, and Isaac Wilkinson finished 20th in the Year 7 Boys category.

Race Report by Andrew Holt

Briony was really excited to be able to enter this event as an individual. It was to be held locally, and we were able to recce the route along with her fellow clubmate, Millie Stubbs. We followed the route given on the map. This wasn’t your classic fell route, but it was more than challenging with rocky steep paths and a long ascent onto and around the moor. It felt long and other people we saw also reccy-ing the route were surprised at how difficult this route was.

On the day, the weather was near perfect for spectating, a little warm for running maybe but the ground was dry and grippy underfoot, which made up for the cool rain. The sun came out later for the older runners, making the run even harder.

Millie Stubbs

Millie Stubbs was up first in the year 7 group. She finished an impressive 14th girl, showing both her talent and determination as she has only run a handful of fell races this year.

Briony Holt

The year 8-9 group ran next, Briony’s group. I could see the runners start around the field and, what seemed like an eternity later, the first runner appeared. The field was already spread out considerably.

Briony was second girl, her plan to stay behind Esme Davies (FRA under 14 English champion) for as long as she could obviously hadn’t worked. She was in front of Katie Atkinson however by several meters,but twice this season Katie has caught up with Briony on the downhill section. Briony passed me several minutes later on the downhill section and was now several places in front of Katie. She was pushing very hard and looked strong and, barring a mishap, was on for a podium finish.

To Millie’s and Curtis’s encouragement Briony entered the sports field on her own, and in her own, mildly disappointed words managed a “little bit of a sprint”. She finished an amazing 13^th place overall and second girl behind Esme Davies. This was one place higher than we expected, and is an amazing achievement.

World silver medal mountain sky runner (a marathon distance up the side of a mountain!) Emma Clayton was around the field all day and kindly handed out the medals, encouraged the children and came across as a proper good egg, and put the finishing touch to a very well organised yet challenging day for all the runners involved.

Medal-winning sky mountain runner Emma Clayton with Briony Holt

All in all a wonderful day, and fair reward for all the hard work and training put in throughout the season. Special mention to Curtis too for his U16 win at Thieveley pike on Saturday, and of course to Marion, Jason, Andy, Sam and Brad for their coaching and support throughout the year

Full results

Burnley Fire 10k – Sunday 5th October

It was a perfect day for this race. Fine, cool and not too much wind as 243 runners lined up at the start. There was a superb showing from the club with an impressive 31 members taking part. It was an equally impressive finish with club members taking 1^st and 2^nd places, with a further 3 members finishing in the top ten! Well done!

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers out in force at the Burnley Fire 10k

Race Report from Irene Roche

The start of the race has a very fast section for a couple of kilometres before a gradual climb up past Towneley Park. This is followed with a long descent down through Walk Mill, the legs are nicely warmed up before the challenge of running a very steep Mount Lane followed by a further climb up to the top of Higher Red Lees. After passing the Kettledrum it is steady running through Pike Hill with a fast down hill from the Ridge to the finish.

Team Clayton certainly shone brightly today. Another year and another great finish in first place for Jonny McKenna with a time of 35.11. Following in second place came Andy Stubbs also claiming the first V45 prize. Team Clayton took the spot light in claiming six places overall out of the first eleven in the race and also with the number of our lads who took part. An excellent achievement!

Now for the ladies. Again, pleasing to see a good turn out for Team Clayton “on the road”. Anne-Marie brought the ladies home in the excellent time of 46.04, whilst I managed to claim the 2^nd Team Clayton lady (and receiving a huge box of toiletries for 1^st LV55), Jean Knightly followed behind achieving a personal PB for the course. Well done Jean! And…more celebrations with the arrival of Rachel Todd at the finishing line. A new 10K PB for her – and what a course to achieve it on. Well done Rachel! And… with Jackie finishing in great style (currently ranked first for the Clayton Ladies Palladium points) and Marion achieving first LV65 in the race, the continuing improvement of our relatively new Clayton Ladies (Helen, Adrienne and Nicola) a very successful day out for all our Ladies.

On final note, the inspiration of the day was spotting Kitty Garnett on her way to the finish. Kitty’s smile is so contagious, so much so that I insisted on capturing her on camera. After all, she had achieved first LV75! An inspiration to us all on how to keep on racing and enjoying the sport. Well done Kitty!

Clayton-le-Moors Harrier Kitty Garnett at the Burnley Fire 10k

Pos	Time	Name	Cat
1	00:35:11	Johnny McKenna	M
2	00:36:13	Andrew Stubbs	MV45
4	00:37:28	Jacob Watson	M
5	00:37:49	Terry O’Leary	M
8	00:38:24	Jonathon Pye	M
11	00:38:51	Russell Clarke	M
24	00:40:59	Sean Clare	MV45
33	00:41:51	George Pier	M
41	00:42:34	Stephen Biscomb	MV60
46	00:43:06	Alan Clarkson	MV55
53	00:44:25	Richard Briscoe	M
55	00:44:38	Stephen Ainsworth	MV55
58	00:45:03	Stephen White	MV55
65	00:46:04	Ann-Marie Thornley	FV40
66	00:46:05	Paul Burke	MV55
78	00:47:18	Brian Wildman	MV45
79	00:47:26	Irene Roche	FV55
83	00:47:36	Martin Brady	MV50
84	00:47:38	Martin Griffin	MV50
100	00:50:06	Jean Knightley	FV55
119	00:51:36	Rachel Todd	FV40
125	00:51:54	Robert Hirst	MV60
128	00:52:07	Jackie Kershaw	FV40
132	00:52:34	Helen Burnett	FV40
159	00:55:27	Ron Chappell	MV65
160	00:55:39	Stuart Barker	MV45
163	00:56:03	Marion Wilkinson	FV65
173	00:56:30	Adrienne Olszewska	FV45
175	00:56:41	Adam Hamer	M
218	01:03:46	Nicola Kay	F
243	01:17:49	Kitty Garnett	FV75

Full Results

Saddleworth Edges Fell Race – Saturday 4th October

Three Clayton-le-Moors Harrier ladies entered.

Overall Pos	Time	Name	Cat
42	01:26:20	Vicky Heys	FV40
51	01:29:45	Angela Shian	FV40
57	01:32:30	Natalie Harrison	FV50

Race overview from Vicky Heys; this was a tough 8 mile course starting on a incline from a field. I came 3rd lady overall and 1stV40, then Angela came in and then Natalie. There was some very “friendly” weather – rain, hail and wind but will certainly do it again.

Full Results

Rivington Trail Half Marathon – Saturday 4^th October

Well done to the 3 Clayton-le-Moors Harriers that took part in this event, now established as a trail classic the Rivington Trail Half Marathon goes from strength to strength attracting a wide cross section of runners from good club athletes to charity runners taking more than 2 1/2hrs to complete the challenging route.

Pos	Time	Name	Cat
21	01:30:15	Ian Greenwood	MV50
83	01:42:41	Andy Bradley	MV45
180	01:55:44	Jason Pier	MV40

Full Results

Run Preston 10k – 965 Runners Late Results

Another good turn out for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers at this popular local event.

L-R: Alex Cran, Kevin Davis, Adam Hamer, Chris Holdsworth, Sophie McIntosh. Picture courtesy of Chris Holdsworth

Pos	Time	Name	Cat
3	00:34:54	Christopher Holdsworth	M
14	00:38:43	Kevin Davies	MV50
22	00:39:14	Russell Clarke	M
30	00:40:08	Alex Cran	MV40
41	00:41:08	Michael Hogan	MV45
71	00:43:31	Stephen Biscomb	MV60
294	00:52:07	Peter Costello	MV55
517	00:58:00	Brian Searby	MV40
594	01:00:03	Adam Hamer	M
560	01:02:13	Kevin O’Brien	MV70
810	01:07:25	Sophie McIntosh	F

Full Results

ByAdrienne Olszewska

Ron Hill 76th Birthday 5k, and the rest of the week’s action

The Ron Hill 76th Birthday Cowm Race – Thursday 25th September

Report by David Scott

The Ron Hill 76th Birthday 5k at Cowm. Ron Hill wearing the appropriate race number! Photo courtesy of Steve Bateson – www.runningpix.co.uk

Having missed the AGM 5000m and meeting, as I was on holiday, I returned from warm, sunny Cornwall to run Ron’s Birthday race on a dark, damp, dismal, drizzly evening which was brightened up by a sizeable number of Clayton vests. It was particularly pleasing to see 5 of our Juniors, plus Fast Alice, brought along largely through the efforts of Jason and Marion who continue to do a super job.

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers at the Ron Hill 76th Birthday 5k

The orange army out in force. PBs galore with fantastic results from all who ran in a well organised and fun race celebrating a true legend of running on his 76th Birthday – Andrew Holt

The start is on a narrow lane below the reservoir dam and after 2 of our young flyers had been turned round from heading for the back of the race start, to find a position nearer the front, and after Andy O’Sullivan had organised a loud cheer for the birthday man, the race was away. It was also revealed that Andy had now organised/promoted over 500 races, an amazing achievement for a remarkable man.

After a flat start of 150m the course turns 90deg left up a steepish tarmac road to reach the top of the dam. Then it is 2 laps of the res. mainly on a gravel path and back down the hill to finish below the dam again. Many of you will have noticed that I can no longer set off fast but once along the res. path I started to pass people. Our Juniors had already vanished and I never saw any of them again. It is one of those strange things, but when racing I tend to concentrate on catching the next 2 or 3 people in front of me and on a narrow path, with lots of runners, I never saw Martin who finished 11 places ahead. There were a lot more runners, 211 rather than the 67 and 62 that had run when I last ran at Cowm in 201, and this gives the advantage of there always being someone to chase.

Run of the night must go to a brilliant performance by Jordan McDonald who finished 2nd overall. Richard Stevenson, in 16th place, held up the honour of the Seniors, but it was our Juniors who all ran really well and deserved the plaudits.

Ron presented the prizes, still wearing his Clayton vest. One of the things that really impresses and makes me proud to know Ron, is that he still races regularly, unlike many of our other top athletes who, when they no longer win races, give up. Many, many years ago I remember racing in the South East Lancs XC League in Bury, running the last 200yds down a tarmac lane and hearing footsteps catching me. With eyeballs out and still being caught, the figure of Ron appeared by my side and said ‘I bet that gave you a bit of a fright’! He was not really in the race as such, but had given everyone a start and worked his way through the field. On 29th Dec. 2014 he will have run every day for 50 years!!!! Amazing!

Pos	Name	Time	Cat Place
2	Jordan McDonald	16.59
16	Richard Stevenson	18.06
20	George Pier	18.26
32	Curtis Holt	19.01
34	Alexander Townrow	19.09
35	Tom Bradley	19.15
71	Jason Pier	21.08
78	Fast Alice Pier	21.41
84	Martin Brady	22.02
95	David Scott	22.41	1stV70
126	Richard Lawson	24.40
140	Jackie Kershaw	25.29
16	Marion Wilkinson	27.11	1stF70
176	Ron Hill	28.28	1stV75
190	Jack McGuire	30.10

Thieveley Pike Fell Race – Saturday 27th September

TPFR Results 2014.

Clayton Ladies plus an extra member at Thieveley Pike Fell Race

Strong start for the juniors at Thieveley Pike

Juniors out in force and ready to run at the Thieveley Pike Fell Race.

The Grand 10K Run at Aintree – Sunday 28th September

Ron Hill features again as he took part in this popular 10K event along with a handful of Clayton Harriers. Some excellent performances and, according to the Run Britain rankings, a couple of PBs as well for Terry O’Leary and Amanda Duffy.

Pos	Gun time	Chip Time	Name	Cat
8^th	37:31	37:31	Terry O’Leary	1^st V35 (PB)
200^th	49:29	49:00	Amanda Duffy	WV35 (PB)
284^th	52:51	52:22	Lee Moore	V35
437^th	58:05	57:05	Ron Hill	V75

Littleborough 10k Road Race – Sunday 28th September

Spotted a couple of Clayton Harriers amongst the Littleborough 10K results. 113 runners took part so great results for Alan and Martin.

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
25	Alan Clarkson	M55	42:14
59	Martin Brady	M50	48:13

Clent Hills Race

Congratulations to Paul Shackleton for his win at the Clent Hills Race.

Rab Mountain Marathon 27th & 28th September

Another great result just in for Colin Woolford who completed the Rab Mountain Marathon finishing in 75th place with a time of 10:37:51

Run Preston 5k & 10k 28th September

5k Results – 313 Runners

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
72	Jackie Kershaw	FV40	26:22
93	Marion Wilkinson	FV70	28:10

Lots of Harriers took part in this event but results are running a bit late. Will add 10k as they become available.

Park Run – Where have you been running this week?

Clayton Harriers are keen supporters of Park Run and there is always a good showing at the local events. Sometimes, though a little bit of Park Run tourism occurs and they can be seen popping up in all kinds of places. This week Clayton Harriers have been spotted at the following events. Ron Hill is there again!

Pos	Gender Pos	Name	Time
Heaton Parkrun – 424 Runners
70	66	Stephen Green	22:00
241	185	Ron Hill	27:34
Bolton Parkrun – 203 Runners
42	5	Julia Rushton	24:14
Burnley Parkrun – 186 Runners
3	3	Jonathon Pye	18:19
6	6	Dave Motley	19:19
8	8	Jacob Watson	19:46
11	11	Nick Roscoe	20:04
24	24	Alan Clarkson	21:06
53	8	Dawn Terry	23:29
65	55	Martin Brady	23:58
76	64	Adam Stevenson	24:22
88	14	Donna Scott	24:56
96	76	Ron Chappell	26:06
102	24	Julie Toman	26:30
110	26	Roanna Holdsworth	27:00
111	85	Breton Holdsworth	27:01
154	49	Lucy Stevenson	31:27
181	68	Kathleen Garnett	37:46
Dewsbury Parkrun – 120 Runners
75	50	Robin Price	33:11
Penrith Parkrun – 60 Runners
25	18	George Thompson	24:41
32	12	Katy Thompson	25:45
Pendle Parkrun – 68 Runners
5	5	John Hartley	21:09
15	12	Stephen White	23:35
38	13	Christine Jennifer Egerton	30:30
41	15	Molly Hesketh	30:49
48	21	Christine Leathley	32:38

Leeds Parkrun – 410 Runners

I am told that the unknown runner in second place is none other than our own Jonny McKenna who finished with a fantastic time of 16:27!

ByDave Motley

Northern 6 Stage Road Relays & the rest of the weekends action!

I push up the hill and the guys are shouting like mad “come on Jon they shout sprint finish, push” this gives me that final burst I need and over the line

Hi all I will start this report by introducing myself and giving a little background into how I came to be a runner. My names Jon Hanson I’m originally a Barrowford Lad but I now live in Rawtenstall.

I have been involved in running on and off for the last 3 years ever since my CEO asked me to do the great north run with him and a group one xmas do, gently explaining that I have put a few pounds on and it’s a good way for us to get in shape. He was right as I was starting to look for the next pant size up and the decision to run was not a hard one. So began my running. I gave up immediately after the run and regretted it so kept trying to get back into it. I remembered the feeling running gave me and how better I performed in life when fit and feeling health. This year I was determined to join a club but wanted to get myself back in shape first. I trained for the summer Blackpool 10k with a plan to join a club straight after the run. I completed the run and looked for club to join. Clayton came recommended by a couple of friends, I was told it was a competitive club and would suit my competitive nature well. After seeing the results sheets from Blackpool and the Clayton names on the sheet my decision was made and I contacted Michael Hogan who told me to get myself down to training on a Monday evening. Had a great time that evening, the lads put me through my paces and I’ve never looked back. It’s not the first time I’ve said “best decision I’ve made for a long time”

John Hanson

Now to this weekend’s relay race – The Bloke report

I woke in the morning and as usual, and is becoming my pre-race ritual tucked into my porridge and bananas, pondering on the day I had ahead of me. It was unusual for me not to be nervous and I felt calm and relaxed, had my race plan firm in my mind and the preplanning and preparation must have gone some way into keeping the nerves down.

Dave Motley picked me up and we were on our way with a nice quick journey to Warrington. Immediately on our arrival we bumped into the Ladies team and had a quick chat before race registration. All was going well, the weather was good and wind conditions were in our favour too. Soon enough we meet the rest of the guys and that’s when my nerves kick in. I smiled to myself, here we go and sure enough the toilets visits are soon to follow.

We made our camp and have a quick jog round the course, I am taking note of the slight incline on the way out and keeping that in mind as it’s a 2 lap leg, before we know it we’re back at camp and its race time. First out was Christopher Holdsworth who ran a very impressive 20.46, I look at Christopher who comes back to where we are based, he looks tired and the realisation of relay running for the team sets in. Next out is Dave Motley who also puts a great team effort in with 23.41. Half way through Dave’s run Alex Cran disappears to get into position, this increases my heart beat as it’s my turn next and I want to make sure I give it my all. We watch Alex come round from his first lap and now it’s time for me to get in position. ( Alex also ran an excellent race and came in with a time of 23.56.

I go down to the pen and jostle my way through to find a position I can see the runners coming up to finish the second lap, I think to myself “I’m glad we’re in the orange striped tops” makes our runners easier to see and helps to ensure you step up to the start position in time. I see Alex turn the corner and jump to get to the start.

Alex crossed the line and I’m off. I know the pace I want and try to maintain a 6 min mile. Start feels good and I maintain a steady pace. I see Dave and Christopher warming down on the first half and they give me some words of encouragement. I’m feeling a bit to steady and increase the pace. I’ve now got myself into a spot and I’m going well, a guy in front is pacing me well and helping me maintain my pace. I keep a watchful eye on him and try my best not to let him get away.

Nearing the end of the first lap and it’s nice to get some words of encouragement from the lady’s team and see my old school friend Candice Heys there cheering me on. I give a wave and push on to start the steady incline. By now the guy in front is pulling away and I put some more effort in to push through and catch up, I was happy to see a consistent time from my watch with the first two miles within a second of each other, but now in the third mile I can feel myself tiring and I’m having to really control my breathing which is rapidly getting out of control, I take some deep breaths which helps to calm me down a little and I’m ready for the final push. I’ve lost some time on the third lap but this makes me knuckle down and get my pace back, coming into the gravel track I know the end is near and I start to push again, turn the corner and the Girls are there again cheering and a very welcome sight as this is the start of the last straight to the finish line. I push up the hill and the guys are shouting like mad “come on Jon they shout sprint finish, push” this gives me that final burst I need and over the line I go in 23.33.

I re-join the group to watch the final guys go out. Jonathan Pye was after me and he ran a very impressive 22.59 and finished with an impressive burst of speed. David Bagot followed and again put in a massive effort and came in at 23.41.

We all regroup and have a team photo and then down to the Lady’s to have a photo with them. Great end to a fantastic day.

John Hanson, Jonathon Pye, Alex Cran, Dave Motley, David Bagot & Chris Holdsworth.

These relays are a fantastic event and a great day out with your fellow team mates; I would recommend them to anybody who is thinking about entering one of them. Full results can be found here.

Thank you to John Hanson for this race report.

Now for the ladies by Candice Heys

Well done again to our ladies team, we came 52nd out of 68 teams in the Northern 4 stage relays at the weekend with Trawden in 51st and Stockport Leeds Lincoln and Kendal coming 1st to 4th . We had good weather it was fine dry and not to hot although a little muggy . Angela Shian ran our leg 1 getting us off to a good start then Rebecca Rawcliffe ran leg 2 doing a good job moving us up 9 positions , followed by Jean Knightley who accelerated past 4 competitors to hand over to Irene Roche who ran like a little rocket to pull another 5 places back for us . We all had a fun day watching the action of the many runners there and cheering each other on . It was nice to be cheering on our men’s team as well and we were all supported enthusiastically by fellow local clubs such as Trawden, Barnoldswick and Accrington , so we enjoyed the atmosphere enormously and of course supported them back , everyone came away from the event feeling it had been a success .

It was quite a big day for me I ran leg 1 of our incomplete B team and got round without excessive knee pain so 12months and 3 weeks of being out I am now back in and hope to progress from the mark I put down on that leg. So that I can run for the club again soon roll on XC. Also roll on next year when I hope we will return to Birchwood with team CLEM again , it is a good venue , 2 lap flat fast course where spectating is easy ,parking is great and getting there off the motorway network is simple. my only negative would be there are not enough toilets to support the number of entrants but I showed my girls a polite , reasonable and logical way to get in that last minute wee and we all ran rather comfortably – lol. Thanks again ladies who ran , those who offered to run and then couldn’t and those who helped me rally the troops and thanks to our club for supporting our entry. Ladies results can be found here.

David Bagot, Chris Holdsworth, Jonathon Pye, Alex Cran, John Hanson, Dave Motley, Angela Shian, Rebecca Rawcliffe, Irene Roche, Candice Heys, Jean Knightley

Now for the rest of the weekends action starting with the Pendle Memorial Race.

Can you name all the above Clayton members from the original erection of the memorial cairn?

A fell Race to celebrate the lives of two Clayton runners who sadly passed away doing the sport they loved, Alan Heywood and Judith Taylor. Unfortunately both lost their life pursuing the challenges they loved.

For the race itself we couldn’t have had better conditions for the 59 competitors, with over 30 from team Clayton competing in this testing 2.8 mile course from the Wellsprings to the memorial cairn and back.

Linda Lord – Photo courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson.

Team Clayton not suprisingly with its representation won the team prize and Chris Holdsworth had another podium finish despite racing in the road relays the day before. The vets categories were also dominated by Clayton Harriers. Race photographer for the day was Adrienne Olszewska and a number of photos can be seen on Adrienne’s or Clayton facebook page.

I think everybody who took part in this race will agree it was a very fitting rememberance for both Alan & Judith.

In the other news we had a really good representation at the Three Shires fell race on Saturday, a classic 12 mile very tough race in the heart of the Lake District with notable performances from Dave Nuttall finishing 18th in a really tough field.

Richard Stevenson was our sole representative at the Ladybower 20, finishing in 3rd place and only taking part to kill a little bit of time whilst his wife Deborah Stevenson of Trawden AC took part in the 50mile version.

In the hilliest half marathon in the country (Langdale Half) we had three representatives with Breton Holdsworth finishing in 9th in a time of 1:25:55, a MASSIVE well done to new member Claire O’rourke who had a really strong run finishing in 57th overall & 3rd lady and Graham Kissack finished in 2hr42.

and finally up at Lancaster Half marathon, Alan Clarkson had a fantastic run posting a time of 1:35 finishing in 15th overall, I think Monday night training is paying of Alan!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Stockport Road Relays 2014 & The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

Stockport Road Relays

“Yes, the hard part’s over!” I thought. Mistake number three. After flattening out we turned a corner to be faced with another steep incline. “Oh dear”. My confidence had now been zapped and I was starting to lose my place…”

3600 metres. 2.2 miles. However you write it down it really doesn’t seem like much. “How hard can it be?” That was my thought as I lined up at the start line. This, it soon transpired, was my first mistake.

Courtesy of Breton Holdsworth – Jacob Watson

Mistake number two came after lining up next to fellow Harrier Michael Hogan who asked ‘have you recce’d it?” As I had turned up with about 10 minutes to spare (and consequently sending Captain Breton into a minor panic) I answered “nope, didn’t have time”. Oh dear. “There’s a pretty steep hill after the first mile”, warned Michael. He was not wrong.

Courtesy of Breton Holdsworth – Andy Armstrong

The first mile consisted of one lap round the track followed by a flat section round the park. This ended with a steep drop which I confidently sprinted down, not thinking anything of it. This was dispatched with swiftly and easily (almost too easily come to think of it). My Garmin bleeped and I’d recorded my fastest ever mile. By now my confidence was reaching new highs! That was until I remembered Michael’s warning…

Courtesy of Breton Holdsworth – Richard Stevenson

My confidence was soon shattered as we reached the steep incline during mile 2. Managing to keep within the group was proving very tough, with many of the runners starting to puff and pant I kept thinking to myself “no matter how hard I’m finding this, it’s the same for them”. As we reached the top of the hill I couldn’t believe this mantra had worked! “Yes, the hard part’s over!” I thought. Mistake number three. After flattening out we turned a corner to be faced with another steep incline. “Oh dear”. My confidence had now been zapped and I was starting to lose my place. The climb was tough going and with almost no energy left in the tank I finally managed to reach the top.

Courtesy of Breton Holdsworth – Breton Holdsworth

The course by now had flattened out and it wasn’t long until we reached the final sprint back to the track. Crossing the line I wish I’d have had the energy to warn teammate Richard Stevenson of the toughness of this seemingly short and sweet course, however there was nothing left. 2.2 miles. How hard can it be? Brutally hard. More importantly, would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

Courtesy of Breton Holdsworth – Jon Hanson

Senior Women finished in 24^th with an overall time of 50:21

Rebecca Rawcliffe 16:22
Jean Knightley 17:30
Irene Roche 16:29

Senior Men Team ‘A’ finished in 31^st with an overall time of 52:10

Jacob Watson 12:54
Richard Stevenson 13:15
Alex Cran 13:38
Breton Holdsworth 12:23

Senior Men Team ‘B’ finished in 38^th with an overall time of 54:34

Michael Hogan 13:50
Jon Hanson 13:48
Richard Briscoe 13:55
Andrew Armstrong 13:01

Courtesy of Breton Holdsworth – Jacob Watson

Thanks to Jacob Watson for this week’s excellent race report! Full results are here.

The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

As this is my last week of writing ‘The Rest of the Weekend’s Action’ , I thought I’d go into a little more detail with the race I was involved in at the weekend. After all, it was an English Championship Fell Race!

Courtesy of Andy Holden – Angela Shian

Not that I had realised before blissfully agreeing to attend the race, having been persuaded to do so by the eager new fell runner Adam Hamer. The race was The Hodder Valley Show Fell Race, and lo and behold, some of the best fell runners in the country were all in attendance. Having a quick warm up before the 4 mile, 1500ft fell race began, I bumped into Matt Perry, who had also unknowingly decided to race without consulting all the details first. As we made our way to the pen, from which we were intended to start the race, it became clear there was to be a stampede towards the exit on the other side.

Courtesy of Andy Holden – Vicky Heys

Oh dear. The race began, and the numpty in front of me fell over his own feet. There was no time to adjust, and down I went too. My earlier writing of “bumping” into Matt foreshadowed what was to come, as my tumble also brought down my fellow Harrier causing a most calamitous start for the both of us. Now towards the back of the pack, and a great number of runners between where we wanted to be, we had to bide our time through the early bottlenecks, frustrated at our early mishap.

Courtesy of Andy Holden – Linda Lord

Not wanting to let the disastrous start get to my head, the opening of the field brought about an almost 5k pace from myself. I was now charging past what felt like a hundred runners, just to get back to a position where I would have originally intended to be. This daft pace took place all on an incline, and by the time I reached the first monstrous climb, I was categorically “goosed”. My legs, where they would have usually felt most comfortable, were now in no shape to be climbing these ridiculous hills, and for the next twenty minutes I was plotting my resignation from fell running altogether.

It was so damn hard….

Let it be known, Hodder Valley Fell Race is one of the toughest fell races I have been apart of, made only harder by the sheer amount of talent on show. After enduring thigh killer climbs and knee twisting descents, I managed to beat the course record by 2 minutes – but so did 33 other men…

Courtesy of Christopher Holdsworth

Now that I’ve set the scene on how tough the race was, as well as the amount of talented runners on display, you can appreciate how well the Clayton-le-Moors ladies did to achieve the 2nd placed team! This was achieved after brilliant performances from Vicky Heys, Angela Shian, Jean Brown, Wendy Dodds, Linda Lord, Karin Goss and more!

Courtesy of Andy Holden – Linda Lord

Unfortunately the results have not come out for ladies yet, so I can’t write all your names and times. Well done to all who participated in this very tough, albeit short fell race!

The men also performed really well in what were also very hot conditions with no breeze. Men’s positions and times are as follows:

34 Christopher Holdsworth M 38.44

47 Dave Nuttall MV45 39.49

53 Matt Perry M 40.22

122 Geoffrey Gough MV55 45.11

130 Ivan Whigham MV50 46.07

132 Ralph Baines MV45 46.12

137 Kieran Carr MV65 47.27

144 Peter Browning MV55 48.46

158 Ian Robinson MV60 50.10

171 Dugdale McCullum MV65 52.16

182 Andrew Firth MV55 54.06

184 Rick Moore MV50 54.48

185 Peter Dugdale MV55 54.56

191 Andrew Walmsley MV60 57.49

193 Robin Nicholson MV45 59.34

197 Stephen Fish MV60 61.46

199 Robert Hirst MV60 65.30

202 Adam Hamer M 74.21

A special mention goes to Adam Hamer, as although he finished last, this was only his second fell race (what a race to choose) and previous results show that he would have been far from the back any other year. Well done!

The other big fell race of the weekend was The Yorkshire Marathon 2014. We had eight Harriers competing in total – three in the full, three in the half and a pair! For the full option, Paul Hesketh was our first runner through the finish in 03:58:45, followed shortly by Colin Shuttleworth in 04:02:56. Putting in a fantastic effort and finishing in just under the six hour mark was Adriene Olszewska in 05:55:28. Brilliant times for the hilly Marathon course!

In the half marathon option, Dawn Terry was our the first Harrier back, finishing in 02:26:06. Sue Allen and Peter Costello both finished the half marathon at the same time, completing the course in 03:27:50. Our official pairing competed in the full marathon, with Jeffery Pickup and Martin Terry finishing the race in 04:43:44. Well done everyone!

There was another half marathon being held this weekend, as three of our Harriers competed at Garstang. Steve Biscomb, finishing as the 1st V60, completed the race in an impressive 01:37:51. Alan Clarkson was the next through in 01:38:55, with Brian Wildman bringing us home in 01:44:36.

There was ANOTHER half marathon that our runners competed in this weekend (funny how unique similarities occur each week) – Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon in Wales was the venue, where over 1500 competed! Fabienne Richmond and Ted Orrell made the trip over, with both posting excellent times. Fabienne finished in 01:33:36 and finished 8th out of 160 in the F35 category. Not only that, but she finished 181st overall! Ted Orrell finished in 01:52:29, and was the 1st M75! Excellent running there!

Lastly, although the results aren’t currently out, Jonny Mckenna competed in the Spen Greenway 10k. Looking at his strava results, he completed the race in 00:34:32 and finished in 4th place! Sorry if there was anyone else and I’ve missed you, please let me know if you raced as well by emailing me here.

AGM

Courtesy of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers

Don’t forget, this Thursday is the clubs AGM! The junior race is at 6:40pm, with the senior race at 7pm – both will be staged at the Seedhill Race Track. The AGM will be held after at Nelson Cricket Club at 8pm. Please attend if you can!

Courtesy of GW Fitness & Rehab

Also, this weekend is the Pendle Memorial Fell Race, which aims to raise money towards the stone’s restoration. As much attendance as possible from our Harriers would be a great help towards raising the money, and you can either sign up online, or pay £6.50 on the day. People who would like to walk the course are welcome to do so for £2, and just need to fill in an FRA form on the day.

Departing Message

That’s it for me! I am no longer the Media Manager at Clayton-le-Moors Harriers. If you’d like to fill my boots, you can do so my attending the AGM on Thursday!

Thanks for reading all my posts these past 8 months, I’ve enjoyed seeing how everyone has progressed each and every week in the weekend’s results. There have been a great array of new talent at Clayton-le-Moors Harriers emerging too, so keep up the good work!

See you all for the 5000M track race!

Thanks again,

Christopher Holdsworth

ByChristopher Holdsworth

The Ben Nevis Race 2014 & The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

The Ben Nevis Race

“I usually dive for this scree as I try to conserve my legs for the run in! The constant breaking action, stepping down the very steep grass, took its toll and I literally ‘fell’ into the river at the bottom with my legs pretty well done for…”

The first weekend in September once again found me in Scotland for my annual run out in The Ben Nevis Race. This was to be my 27th ‘Ben Race’. The weather was initially very good on the journey northwards on Friday but it was raining when we stopped at Hamilton for a break. This year I travelled with Jon Sharples and Steve Bury. Jon and I had booked us in at our usual B & B with Charlie and Isobel. Charlie is a fanatically barmy Celtic fan and we have only ever seen him wearing a Celtic shirt! He greeted us in the famous hooped ‘home’ strip but by Sunday he was wearing the full green ‘away’ kit!

Courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson

On Friday night we had tea a mile up the race route at The Ben Nevis Inn, washed down with beer. We dropped the car off at the B & B and then met up with other runners, friends and supporters in The Grog and Gruel in Fort William, where we consumed a couple more pints! Everyone was making the usual excuses about their injuries and lack of training etc! Steve said he hadn’t done much training and Jon was coming back to running after two operations recently.

Courtesy of Dave Burnett – Spencer Riley

Saturday dawned a little brighter but by the start of the race it felt quite cool in the increasing drizzle! There was a turnout of 24 runners from our club on the start line. Jon set off with a Tee shirt under his vest and I was far too cautious as I set off in a Helly Hansen long sleeve shirt under my vest. Steve was much tougher as he set off in just a vest, (and shorts of course!) After the first mile, passing the Ben Nevis Inn, Jon and I were both regretting donning the extra layer as the conditions became quite benign. The drizzle eased and there was virtually no breeze as we ascended the curve up to the waterfall at half way. On the steep rocky section after the waterfall I passed Mark Nutter, who was out taking some photographs and I threw my Helly shirt at him. I was climbing quite well at this point and Jon, having started steadily, was using me as a marker but was also gradually catching me too.

Courtesy of Dave Burnett – Dave Motley & Garry Wilkinson

As the faster runners descended I shouted encouragement to club team mates and I could see a real race developing for the V60 prize. Jack Holt was having another great run but Andy Robinson was working hard to keep him in his sights about 45 seconds behind. Jon immediately overtook me after the summit and started descending very well, as he usually does! Last year I climbed as well as this year but had a very poor descent. So I ran down the summit slopes fairly conservatively in order to ‘save my legs’. I was encouraged to find that I was in front of a number of team mates and other runners who I did not expect to have behind me! As we went ‘over the edge’ at about 3,300feet, into the rough scree I got going really well and I was taking every opportunity to cut corners and use the heavier scree in order to overtake people. Inevitably I had the usual slips, pirouettes and half tumbles but I was descending well and steadily passing runners. By this time Jon was out of sight!

Courtesy of Dave Burnett – Dave Motley & Garry Wilkinson

When we passed the to the left of the waterfall on to the famous ‘grassy bank’, it was very frustrating to find the way down limited by two continuous tapes set about 10 feet apart in order to prevent us from using the area of scree half way down the grass. I usually dive for this scree as I try to conserve my legs for the run in! The constant breaking action, stepping down the very steep grass, took its toll and I literally ‘fell’ into the river at the bottom with my legs pretty well done for!

Courtesy of Dave Burnett – Spencer Riley

The next mile descending the stepped path was very hard as my old legs had simply ‘Lost their Bungee!’ After the footbridges I failed to find my usual good way down the steep short cuts and came out on the lower path right next to the junction with the Youth Hostel path. I struggled to get going on the flatter running along the rocky path and realised that I had lost some of the places that I had gained on the descent, as I joined a line of runners descending in front and from my right. I tucked in behind a group of four guys and tried to keep up with them down the road but I just had to let them go with half a mile before the finish! The sun made an appearance as I ran round the field feeling heavy legged but also feeling pleased that I had completed the course 10 minutes faster than last year and with some good runners behind me! I had managed to hold it together quite well on the descent and felt quite satisfied with my performance.

Courtesy of Dave Burnett – Richard Briscoe

In the V60 race Jack Holt was 1st but he was only 10 places in front of Andy Robinson. Both lads had raced really well. First finisher from our club was Spencer Riley who had a superb run on his debut for 12th place! Well done Spencer! Dave Motley pipped Garry Wilkinson by just 2 positions with both of them easily under 2 hours! There were lots of good times achieved by club mates as seen below. I was 5th V60 which was pleasing but frustratingly, the 4th V60 was only 4 places in front me in that little group that I had ‘let run away from me’ coming down the road to the finish!

Courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson – Ryan Belshaw

Andy Firth, who had been around for the week before the race, had done his usual ‘recce runs’ and he had ‘sussed out’ a radically different new route for the descent. Richard Bellaries descended the same way. It was Andy’s 21st ‘Ben Race’ and it was indeed a brave thing to try as he needed to complete the race in order to be presented with the much coveted ”Connochie Plaque”. Both lads had good runs but it was difficult to weigh up if their route was faster than the traditional route down the tourist path. It was probably easier on the legs though!

Courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson – Andrew Firth

All three of the debutants from our club must come in for praise. So well done Spencer Riley, also well done to Ryan Wilkinson and Robin Nicholson. Robin was ecstatic in the field after the finish with a smile from ear to ear having enjoyed the race immensely!

As usual we met up in The Alexandra for a meal and some beer. Moving on later to the presentation where we gave Jack a rousing cheer as he received the trophy for 1st V60 once again. There were eight runners this year going for the Connochie Plaque for completing 21 ‘Ben Races’, including our own Andy Firth. All eight duly completed the event and we gave Andy a particularly loud cheer as he received his plaque along with the other guys. Really well done to Andy and to the other runners!

Courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson – Spencer Riley

The Connochie Plaque has now been awarded to 88 runners, 10 from our club, but all 88 of them have been male! So come on ladies, who is going to be the first to get on the list?

Most of use ‘retired’ to The Grog and Gruel in the centre of Fort William for a few more beers and chat. A great evening was had by all.

Another year and another ‘Ben Race’ completed………..hmmmmmmm………..Now, just three more races for me and I will have completed 30 races at the age of 65! …….and then?

The Ben Nevis Race 2014 – selected results:

!st 1;34;43 Finlay Wild – Lochaber AC ( 5 wins in a row!)

12 1;46;03 Spencer Riley (Debut)

57 1;56;25 Dave Motley

58 1;56;36 Lindsey Brindle – Horwich RMI AC – 1st lady

59 1;57;02 Garry Wilkinson

82 2;00;59 Neil Hardiman

134 2;08;57 Jack Holt 1st V60

144 2;10;45 Andy Robinson

179 2;16;39 Ryan Wilkinson (Debut)

209 2;19;40 Jon Sharples

247 2;25;13 Robert Mitchell

258 2;27;43 Richard Briscoe

260 2;27;58 Nicholas Roscoe

272 2;29;48 Richard Bellaries

284 2;32;02 Andy Firth – Connochie Plaque for 21 Races!

325 2;37;08 Mark Taylor

333 2;38;56 Stephen Bury

350 2;41;31 David Nield

352 2;41;44 Andrew Dugdale

358 2;42;10 Robin Nicolson (Debut)

364 2;42;58 Barbara Savage

379 2;46;10 Gary Balmer

405 2;50;14 Peter Dugdale

406 2;50;16 Nichola Horsfall

431 2;56;21 Peter Thompson

485 finishers – 24 from Clayton-le-Moors Harriers

Courtesy of Dave Burnett – Richard Briscoe

Thanks to Bob Mitchell for this weeks brilliant report. Full results can be found here.

The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

There have been plenty of big events taking place this weekend. If Ben Nevis was the big talking point of the ‘fell runners’ world, then The Great North Run was the talk of the town for ‘road runners’. Plenty of Harriers turned up to represent the club, all of them putting in great performances. Terry O’Leary, who has fast been moving up the ranks, put in a speedy display to come 266th overall, in 01:23:56. Next through for Clayton-le-Moors was Alan Hall, who finished in 01:43:52. the third and fourth Harriers through the finish were Edward Milne and Christopher O’Brien who finished in 01:55:30 and 01:55:52 respectively. We had one lady runner in Nicola Kay this year, and even though she only just recently joined us in the summer, she had a fantastic race finishing under the 3 hour mark in 02:49:03.

Anthony Gotts, who could be seen in his Clayton-le-Moors vest on national television, performed well in the wheelchair category race, finishing 9th in 00:54:36. Well done to all who represented the club in Newcastle!

In another road race, and yet another highly popular event, Richard Stevenson was the sole Harrier taking on The Salford 10k. Like, Terry, Richard has also been showing massive improvements in his recent times, with his latest being a PB. He finished 39th out of over 2700 runners, and in 00:37:32. Well done Richard!

Lastly, although the results are not out, our ladies won the team prize at The Grisedale Horse Fell Race. Wendy Dodds was the first Harrier around the course, followed by Vicky Heys in 2nd, Angela in 3rd and Irene Roche in 4th. Although we haven’t got the results yet, I was told be Vicky that it was a ‘great event’ and that she ‘will do it again’. Great effort ladies!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Jacob Boyle Earns England Call up! + Maesgywm Muddle Fell Race 2014 & The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

Maesgywm Muddle Fell Race – The 4th and final British Championship fell race for 2014

“…The clue was in the title, although the race could more aptly be named the Maesgym Rollercoaster with 3800ft of climbing over 10 miles. It certainly felt like there was more up than down with large amounts of very steep ascents and rapid descents…”

Clayton ladies’ vets team were in silver medal position so it was crucial for all of us to put on our best performances!

Neil Hardiman joined the usual suspects – Wendy Dodds, Jean Brown, Katy Thompson, myself (and several others) for what turned out to be a real grueller!!

The start of the race was in Llanberis and the route went over the hills next door to Snowdon. The clue was in the title, although the race could more aptly be named the Maesgym Rollercoaster with 3800ft of climbing over 10 miles. It certainly felt like there was more up than down with large amounts of very steep ascents and rapid descents. It wasn’t a bad day weather wise with just a little cloud on the tops.

Mr Blake from Eryri, the organiser, gave a clear indication of what was in store by setting us off on a steep incline in the middle of a boggy field. This was followed by a bridle way up to Hebron station then a brutal climb up to moel Cynghonion which in the words of Wendy is like the front face of Whernside but much longer -and she wasn’t wrong!

Katy Thompson

All the height gained was soon lost with a rapid descent to join a trail which on any other day would have been pleasantly runnable, but the legs were left somewhere on the previous climb. There were three steep climbs after that ,the high point being Moel Elio which was shrouded in Welsh mist.

The long descent off Moel Elio led to a sneaky out and back to Cefn Du through boggy heather. Just to cheer us up the better runners were to be seen coming down the other side looking not so tired.

Wendy Dodds

And finally we were on our way home,over trail, bracken and Tarmac terminating in the savage climb back up to the top of the boggy field which saw many runners
collapsing on the line including our very own Wendy (see picture) who had a last minute tussle with an Eryri lady whom she pipped at the post!

Neil was the first home followed by Jean, Wendy, myself and Katy.

From Left to right:

Wendy Dodds, Jean Brown, Barbara Savage, Katy Thompson

A very tough day out in Snowdonia!

Thanks to Barbara Savage for this weeks race report! Full results can be found here.

The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

To kick start ‘The Rest of the Weekend’s Action’, Clayton-le-Moors would like to proudly congratulate Jacob Boyle on receiving a call up to represent England at the Junior Home Internationals in Glendalough, Ireland.

Jacob Boyle (left)

This fantastic achievement comes after a superb race from Jacob at the Sedbergh MU20 Trials. He came in at 4th, with an excellent time of 00:28:11. Great effort Jacob!

This weekend, Blackpool was the stage for two running events. First was The Hilton Illuminations 10k, followed the next day by The Hilton Half Marathon. In the first of the Fylde Coast Running events, the increasingly improving Jacob Watson finished in 8th position in a very speedy 00:36:32. Next through for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers was the talented new member Jon Hanson. He managed to finish in under the 40 minute mark in 00:39:12 and returned home in 21st position. Our Harrier 10k specialist, Stephen Biscomb, was next through the finish in 00:41:32, but most importantly as the 1st V60! Lee Moore also put in a solid effort, finishing in 00:46:21, whilst Amanda Duffy flew the flag for Clayton-le-Moors ladies, completing the race in 00:49:12.

Courtesy of Fylde Coast Running – Jonny McKenna

Two Harriers returned the next day, this time in the form of Johnny McKenna and Brian Wildman. Jonny‘s recent participation in long distance races has certainly paid off, as he put in a storming effort to win the half marathon! He completed the race almost a minute ahead of 2nd place, finishing 1st in 01:15:26. Brian also had an excellent race, finishing in 01:41:57. Well done to all who ran at Blackpool this weekend!

The other major race this weekend was Cannonball’s inaugural Pendle 3 Peaks Fell Race, where a massive 20 Harriers competed, which was almost a 1/5th of the entire race attendance.

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers sure do love a race on Pendle don’t we!

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography – Ivan Whigham

There were some excellent performances from our runners on the 9 miles, 2700ft course, and as always unfortunately too many to name, but here are some individual highlights –

Mens:

Christopher Holdsworth finished in 2nd in a time of 1:26:15

Paul Hesketh secured the 2nd MV45 position in 01:32:29

Michael O’Donnell was the 2nd MV40 in 01:34:18

Christopher, Paul and Michael managed to win the Team Prize for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers

Ivan Whigham scooped the 1st MV50, whilst Nicholas Olszewski was 2nd MV50

Richard Bellaries finished as the 1st MV60

Ladies:

Vicky Heys crossed the finish as the 2nd FV40

Linda Lord won the FV65 category

Linda Bostock achieved 1st in the FV55 category

Truth be told, there were amazing efforts all round on a very difficult course. All our Harriers did fantastically in all of the races this week. Lastly, we’d like to wish all of our runners good luck at The Ben Nevis Fell Race this weekend! Take plenty of photos and be sure to send them in here.

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Pendleton Fell Race 2014 & The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

Pendleton Race Report

“Back down the fields now and every year I lose at least 3 places on them, it’s fast running – good for cross country & road runners, I look round & see a tall lad in green – No ! Not this year pal…”

I arrived at Pendleton a little late for me, 1.35pm – slight motivational issues but thought nothing “ventured nothing gained – so let’s try my luck”. A decent Clayton-le-Moors turn out & 98 race competitors in total on a surprisingly warm sunny day. A fellow Clayton runner says to me jokingly “Have I come out of retirement” – I’ve been training enough but racing? – hmm not been focused on it – We shall see…

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

We are checked into the starting field by our numbers – new this year & are all chatting mainly about what position we are going to come in the club. I’m expecting to be around 6^th or 7^thbecause some fast Clayton lads are running that race a lot more than me. I work on “you’ve got to put it in to get it out”, but I’ve turned up to represent the club so I’m happy enough.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

We all start to line up 3, 2, 1…. we are racing! Around the field behind the Village Hall & I’m nearer the front than I expected to be, wondering if I’ve set off too fast but feel okay as I haven’t ran for two days. I trained from the Sunday to the Wednesday to the point my legs were extremely tired & achy – I figured to run this race well, I need to be really fresh.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

We hit the main street & it’s a slight incline, time to work only being a 5m race. I push myself hard from the start, no taking it steady yet. Having done the race before I am well aware that the hard part is keeping going when it starts to climb steep; that is yet to come. As we go through the gate on to the fields, I’m aware of one or two of my Clayton club mates jostling with me for position, so I push harder and a Dark Peak lady runner, who is really strong & determined, was on my shoulder.

Courtesy of Dave Potter

The first little descent was down Swardean Clough. Through the fern & up the other side, this is where the race starts for me, as it’s keeping going when your legs are telling you “I want to walk”. We are heading up to the road & one of my mates is walking. He’s over-trained – he would usually run me into the ground. I decide to give him some words of encouragement even at the risk of losing a place but I like to play nice so why not?

Courtesy of Dave Potter

We keep climbing, and I’m aware of the Dark Peak Lady runner behind me – she’s not losing ground on me but I won’t let her gain any either – she will have to earn it.

Courtesy of Dave Potter

We cross the road & gets lots of support off other Clayton members watching, but to be honest, I’m just aware of not wanting to walk and get to the top of the hill. The climb drags up & I can see the leaders in front reaching Apronful Hill – the first climb but still know my Dark Peak “friend” is right behind me, my head drops and I make a conscious effort to lift it up again & “dig in”.

Courtesy of Dave Potter

We turn to go down to Ashendean Clough, I should be able to make a gap now between me & Dark Peak but as we cross the Howcroft Brook she’s just behind me.

Courtesy of Richard Taylor

I’m making my way through the fern to find the path up to the climb to the “memorial“ cairn and my new dark peak “friend” puts a few little runs in when I’m walking & comes past me. I’m trying to get my legs moving again & I decide to follow her lead, I’m not letting her beat me quite so easily, so every time she runs I do too.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

I turn at the cairn, take a look to see runners coming up the hill – there is good gap – but I’m aware I always lose a few race places on the way back as it gets faster, but I’ve been doing a Monday night speed session so hope it’s going to pay off. I’m trying to catch the Dark Peak runner as we run down the long descent, which gets steeper down to cross Howcroft Brook again. The gaps closing but not as much as I wanted, but by the time we cross the Brook I know I can get past her with the support of fellow Clayton members as we cross the road.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

As I run past her I give her some encouragement, as she dragged me up to the cairn, & say to her in a few words I don’t mind her beating me but I don’t want anyone else coming past me now. We are running the race in reverse so back down and out of Swardean Clough – this is the moment “my wheels” may not go quick enough. Back down the fields now and every year I lose at least 3 places on them, it’s fast running – good for cross country & road runners, I look round & see a tall lad in green – No ! Not this year pal.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

I dig in. My thought is, “If I’m wanting to slow down so is everyone else” but tell myself “half a mile to go”.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

As I’m about to go through the gate onto the main road I turn round again, the tall runner in the green vest has gained on the Dark Peak runner & as it happens, goes past her, I tell myself quarter of a mile to go and “push, dig” – a little mantra I say to myself over and over when I want to stop as I run down the road, getting nearer to the finish. I try & sprint, daring not to look round as I know the tall lad in green is not far behind me. I turn to the finish, my lungs feel like they want to explode but I’m very happy.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

My race position was much better than expected, and happier still that my Monday evening road speed training paid off and no one came past me on the run back in.

Courtesy of CSHoldsworth Art & Race Photography

Pendleton is a superb short race and I’m very pleased I made the effort to get myself to the start as I knew I would be if I did.

Thanks to Michael O’Donnell for this week’s excellent race report! Full results can be found here.

The Rest of the Weekend’s Action

Plenty of races to discuss this week. We’ll start at The Burnsall Classic Fell Race, where we three Clayton-le-Moors Harriers competed. The first of our runners through the finish had an excellent race. Andrew Robinson completed the fell race in 20:55 and was also the 1st V60 too! The next two men across the finish should also be highly praised, as both of them went on to race at Pendleton a few hours later. Ivan Whigham completed his race in 22:37, whilst Mick Dobson finished home in 22:50. Well done all three men!

Lot’s of Harriers putting in double shifts this weekend! Like Mick and Ivan, Martin Brady also competed at another fell race besides Pendleton. He competed at The Tour of Noorland Moor Fell Race, and completed the second race of his weekend in 51:50. Another Harrier took to Noorland Moors in Chris Funnel, who also had an excellent race finishing in 46:30.

More double duties to discuss yet… Jacob Boyle competed in 2/3 of the fantastic Cannonball Events that were held this weekend. The first of which was the Watergrove Trail Race in Shore, Littleborough. Competing against some of the top runners in the country, he managed to finish in 6th place, in a time of 18:48. The day after, he race at the final Cannonball Event Sheep Fell Over Fell Race, again having a great race, finishing a place higher than the day before in 5th, and in 18:48. Also in this race to compete twice this weekend was Christopher Holdsworth. Also one of the many Harriers to take to the hills of Pendleton, he achieved a 3rd placed finish in 18:02. The 3rd Harrier through the finish, and securing team prize for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers was Garry Wilkinson in 7th and under the 20 minute mark in 19:43. This happened to be Garry’s first win in the V50 category, though he was also the 1st Vet across the finish. Well done!!

In this race, Adam Hamer competed in his first ever fell race. He had a tremendous race, finish not far off his 5k pb (not bad for a hilly course) in 32:05. Expect to see his name cropping up more often on the results for fell races soon! Jack Mcguire put in a stirling effort as always, bringing home the Clayton men in 38:03. Well done everyone!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Sierre-Zinal 2014‏ & The Rest Of The Weekend’s Action

Sierre-Zinal 2014‏

‘Throughout the race there was enthusiastic spectator support; brass bands, alpine horns and children offering sponges, drinks and food. We all received medals, certificates and a timely massage at the finish’

A small band of claytoners and friends traveled to Zinal a small village, a typical alpine village, in the Swiss Alps for the famous Sierre-Zinal Mountain race; known as the 5 4000m peaks (views). We caught the 0730 bus down to Sierre for the start at 9:30.This was preceded by 2000 walkers covering the same route starting at 0500 and a junior race (from Chandolin) at 0915.

All 1500 runners set off to the first checkpoint after 5 miles and 4300 ft of continuous climbing. After this checkpoint the course flattened out and the route was on forest roads to Chandolin, the route undulated on mountain paths to top of the course at Nava (alt: 8000 ft) then a short descent to Zinal through forests. Throughout the race there was enthusiastic spectator support; brass bands, alpine horns and children offering sponges, drinks and food. We all received medals, certificates and a timely massage at the finish.

Race: 19 miles / 7200 ftWeather: 18(deg) / cloudy but good visibility

Results:

Killian Journet (Spain)2:31first male

Stevie Kremer (USA)3:03first female

Rob Simpson (GB)2:35 (5th overall) first GB male

Victoria Wilkinson (GS)3:19 (9th overall lady) first GB female

Mick Dobson 4:08

Ivan Whigham 4:18

Andrew Firth 4:51

Pete Thompson 5:33

Robin Nicolson 5:41

Pete Dugdale 6:25

Mick Dobson had a superb run, Ivan Whigham suffered from cramp, Andrew Firth had a storming run, Pete Thompson was his first race after major surgery (on his big toe), Robin Nicolson treated this as a training run for his first “ben” whilst Peter Dugdale (King of Pendle) suffered from altitude & dehydration

Thanks to Ivan Whigham for this week’s race report!

The Rest of the Weekend’s Action

The harrowing realisation of how tough Sedbergh Hills Fell Race has swept the Harrier camp this week. There have been several cries and declarations that it was the toughest race of their lives, and with over 6000ft climb overall, it’s easy to understand why!

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We had nine Harriers complete the race, who are all very fragile in the days after (especially Ryan Wilkinson). A fantastic effort by Spencer Riley led our runners home, when he finished in 15th place, with a time of 02:19:11. He finished only 1 place behind Rob Hope and 2 places in front of Mark Mcgoldrick, highlighting what a super effort this really was!

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David Bagot was our next Harrier home in 02:49:07, whilst bruised and battered Ryan was home in just under the 3 hour mark in 02:58:46. Next over the finish was Jean Brown 03:02:38, shortly followed by Kieran Carr in 03:04:27. Wendy Dodds put in another stellar effort, finishing home in 03:07:32, and Katy Thompson finished in 03:50:01. Both ladies were the only F60s to compete at the race! Richard Briscoe ended his torturous adventure around the fells in 03:24:50, whilst John Russius brought the men home in 03:43:21. Great performances from all!

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Category Archive Roundup 2014

Red Rose XC – Leigh

Race Reports from First Timers Sarah and Carl Helliwell

Club Results

Under 11 Boys – 77 Runners

Under 11 Girls – 98 Runners

Under 13 Boys – 55 Runners

Under 13 Girls – 60 Runners

Under 15 Boys – 40 Runners

Under 15 Girls – 42 Runners

Under 17 Men – 16 Runners

Under 17 Ladies – 22 Runners

Ladies – 142 Runners

Men – 246 Runners

Lea Town 10k – Saturday 11th October

Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon – Sunday 12th October

Langdale Horseshoe – 11th October

Report from the Ambleside FC Website

Gin Pit 5 – Sunday 12th October

Senior Results – 255 runners took part

Junior Results – 111 runners took part

Autumn Breaker 10k – Sunday 12th October

Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay – Sunday 5th October

English Schools Fell Running Championship 2014 – 28th September

Burnley Fire 10k – Sunday 5th October

Saddleworth Edges Fell Race – Saturday 4th October

Rivington Trail Half Marathon – Saturday 4th October

Run Preston 10k – 965 Runners Late Results

The Ron Hill 76th Birthday Cowm Race – Thursday 25th September

Thieveley Pike Fell Race – Saturday 27th September

The Grand 10K Run at Aintree – Sunday 28th September

Littleborough 10k Road Race – Sunday 28th September

Clent Hills Race

Rab Mountain Marathon 27th & 28th September

Run Preston 5k & 10k 28th September

Park Run – Where have you been running this week?

Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay – Sunday 5^th October

Rivington Trail Half Marathon – Saturday 4^th October