Roundup 2014 – Page 4 – Clayton-le-Moors Harriers

Kelbrook Fell Race 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

Kelbrook Fell Race 2014

‘The early leaders were not the Grand Prix leaders, but John LLoyd and junior Jordan McDonald of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers. They held this lead until numpty here got giddy and went full steam ahead. I was eventually joined by the two Grand Prix table toppers, Jimmy Craig and Marc Hartley, where we stayed in our pack up the windy road towards the first descent before we tackled the summit’

Spending the week mulling over my last minute defeat to Tom Brewster at the Burnley Boys 10k had me in the sort of mood almost every runner finds themselves in. Toys were thrown so far my crib was but a distant blur. I was in quite the foul mood… ‘I don’t enjoy these Burnley & Pendle Grand Prix Races’ I half heartedly muttered under my breath to ~~everyone~~ anyone willing to listen. ‘They’re just too predictable’ I whined, ‘I shan’t be doing anymore!’

After a 20 minute sulk, I pulled it together and dragged myself to the Kelbrook Fell Race 2014.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

I arrived to the usual Grand Prix faces. My head was down, warm ups short and steady as I focussed on the race ahead. The runners gathered at the start line, all eager to get the race underway. A quick introduction to the health and safety, followed by a 3,2,1 got us all on our way, up the track and onto our first climb.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

The early leaders were not the Grand Prix regulars, but John Loyd and junior Jordan McDonald of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers. They held this lead until numpty here got giddy and went full steam ahead. I was eventually joined by the two Grand Prix table toppers, Jimmy Craig and Marc Hartley, where we stayed in our pack up the windy road towards the first descent before we tackled the summit.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

The first descent brought us to a stream, where Jimmy first took 1st position. This was short lived before Marc and I rejoined the forefront of the race. A sharp hill brought us back on ourselves where I was able to take a glimpse of the following heard. My Grand Prix nemesis Tom Brewster had shortened the gap between the front 3 and was steadily closing in. Jordan, while no longer at the front, was still putting in a monumental effort and keeping up in the second pack.

I knew I had to up my game, if ‘road’ is Tom’s thing, then ‘fell’, or at least ‘hills’ was surely mine..

As we hit the crevice before the notorious Kelbrook ‘hands on knees’ climb, I was confident that I could keep up with the two either side of me. ‘They’re just road runners’ I thought, ‘I’ve definitely got them here’.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

Nope. The usual gusto that greets me when my legs arrive at a hill were not there that day. So I walked. Luckily, I think pride got the better of the other two and they attempted to run the whole hill. This at times had me walking quicker than they could run.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

It mattered not – although we all arrived at the summit at the same time, they’re speed was my undoing. A race back to the finish allowed Jimmy Craig to finish over a minute in front, whereas I finished in 00:22:29. They’re won’t be any tantrums this week however, as I managed to finish over a minute in front of 4th placed Andy Buttery.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

I’m happy with my race, but there really were some brilliant efforts from Clayton-le-Moors Harriers throughout. To say Tom doesn’t usually race on fells, he had a stalwart effort that any ‘fell’ runner would be proud of, finishing in 6th with a time of 00:23:44. Alan Life also had a brilliant race, narrowly missing out on a top 10 position in 11th. Garry Wilkinson, who was recently quoted as saying ‘I think this is my bow with the seniors’ proved that there was still life in the old dog yet. He finished in 18th with an excellent time of 00:24:50.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

The performance of the day has to go to Jordan McDonald though. Not only did he finish as the first U18, he also bested over 100 seniors, finishing just over the 25 minute mark in 00:25:12.

Photo by Christopher Holdsworth

This weeks Race Report was by Christopher Holdsworth, full results found here.

The Rest of the Weekends Action

One of the other big races of the weekend brings us to Duddon Valley 2014, where eight Clayton-le-Moors Harriers competed. First around the course was David Naughton, speeding to the finish in 03:34:00. Next through the finish line was Mick Dobson in 04:04:32, closely followed by Ivan Whigam in 04:11:29. There was also great runs from Ralph Baines in 77th, John Russius in 83rd, Andrew Firth in 97th and David Nalor in 101st. Well done men!

Over at Edenfield, another eight Harriers competed in this fell race, with David Naughton racing once again. This time he finished as the 2nd Clayton-le-Moors Harrier, in a time of 00:54:40. This was narrowly behind the 1st Harrier home, Geoffrey Gough in 00:54:24. Mark Taylor was next through the finish in 01:05:03, who was then followed home by Andrew Dugdale and Stephen Fish for the men. There were also two ladies who had excellent races. Linda Bostock and Nichola Jane Horsfall put in brilliant performances, finishing in 01:09:27 and 01:13:28 respectively.

Competing at The Lakeland Trails in Stavely, Breton Holdsworth took on the 17km Kentmere Trail Race. Getting miles in the tank was more of a priority for Breton, though he still put in an excellent effort finishing in 11th with a time of 01:21:14.

Another solo Harrier ran at the BOFRA Coniston race, this time in the form of junior Briony Holt. Not only did she finish as the 1st girl, she managed a 4th placed finish overall! Brilliant effort!

Over in Preston, the inaugural Crazy Cow 10k took place. Three Clayton-le-Moors Harriers attended the race on a very hot Sunday Morning. Christopher Holdsworth managed to scoop 1st place, winning in 00:35:07 – a new PB for him. Another PB breaker was Clayton-le-Moors new boy Adam Hamer, in his first 10k for the club, finishing with a brilliant time of 00:59:26. Another great performance by Sophie McIntosh finishing the course in 01:05:59, rounded of a great weekend of results for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers!

Don’t forget to get involved with our training sessions.Visit our training section to find out all the details for the next coming months.

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Burnley Lions 10k & The Rest of the Weekends Action

Burnley Lions 10k

‘The race was starting to thin out with Chris Holdsworth in 3rd, Capt. Brewster in 5th and me in 6th. I vividly remember checking my watch at 2.2m and being amazed we were only one third through the race!’

Stood at the start line at Colne Cricket Club on Friday evening I had a lot of questions spinning through my mind; most of them negative. Having not raced a 10k for nearly six months it’s safe to say I wasn’t feeling the most confident on entering the race. However, a combination of my resolution to try to race more often and the race being a Road Championship qualifier I couldn’t turn down the chance to have a run out.

On the start line there was pretty much every Clayton-le-Moors member I would have expected to be involved. Possibly due to Capt. Motley taking the spoils at the Blackpool half there seemed to be a few road runners who wanted to ensure the Fell captain wouldn’t have bragging rights in both disciplines come the end of the year. On the other hand this could have just been me…

Photo By Nick Gaskell

Come 7pm the race was off and despite a decent sized hill almost immediately after exiting the cricket club the pace didn’t let up. I settled in to sixth place and dug in for the climb up to the Alma pub. After dropping down from the Alma and heading back towards Colne I was passed by Capt. Brewster who seemed to be absolutely flying. The race was starting to thin out with Chris Holdsworth in 3^rd, Capt. Brewster in 5^th and me in 6^th. I vividly remember checking my watch at 2.2m and being amazed we were only one third through the race! I felt like I was really struggling at this point and seeing both Chris and Tom moving further ahead didn’t do me any favours.

Photo By Nick Gaskell

We were soon back at the cricket club at the end of the first of two laps and still in the positions previously mentioned. Just before the second climb to the Alma I decided to make a move and to give it everything as soon as I hit the incline. Half way up I managed to pass Tom and soon set my sights on Chris who I was able to slowly reel in and pass as we reached the top of the climb. From here on in I felt third place was achievable but Andy Buttery, who eventually finished there, had a great run and I wasn’t able to close the gap. With a mile or so to go my lace came undone however it didn’t cause me as much trouble as it could have done on another day. Lesson learned!

Photo By Nick Gaskell

The finish at the school came as a surprise, as I thought we were running back to the cricket club, but was more than welcome. I finished in 4^th just in front of both Tom (5^th) and Chris (6^th) who have both improved tremendously over the last 6 months and I fully expect many more very close races over the coming months.

Photo By Nick Gaskell

Thanks to Jonny Mckenna for this weeks race report! Washed away results just about found here..

The Rest of the Weekends Action

There were lot’s of you racing this weekend! Leading the way were new Clayton-le-Moors Harriers couple Adrienne and Nicholos Olszewski, racing at this years Hogwills Trail 26. Both put in a great effort, finishing in 04:30:09.50 and 06:20:05.70 respectively.

Next up we had the Hutton Roof Craggs Fell Race, which had a total of 12 harriers competing at the event. Alan Life put in a spectacular effort finishing as the first in 44th position, finishing ahead of Mick Dobson in 48th and Ivan Whigam in 65th. The three men helped us to finish in 10th overall. We also had a lady running in Nichola Horsfall, finishing the race in 01:22:30. Well done to all who ran!

There was the just the one Clayton-le-Moors Harrier at Great Eccleston Scouts Fast 4. Martin Brady flew the flag for us, finishing the race in 46th position, with a time of 00:29:15. Well done Martin!

Dave Motley put in a cracking effort in this years Bowely Hill Trail Race, finishing in 5th place overall. New member Carl Helliwell also had a fanastic run, giving the Captain a run for his money finishing in 7th place. Carl’s other half and also a new member Sarah Helliwell also had a storming effort, finishing as the 4th overall lady! There were also great runs from Richard Briscoe, Stephen Breckell, Martin Brady (again) and Ron Chappel.

Over at the Saddleworth Fell Race, two Harriers competed in Rick Moore and Stephen Fish. Rick finished in 00:31:55, whilst Stephen finished in 00:34:33. Well done men!

And lastly, Matt Perry had the run of the weekend by finishing 3rd at Austwick Amble (what a great name). He finished just 12 seconds behind 2nd in an impressive time of 00:53:58. There was also strong runs from Ivan Whigam in 33rd, Mick Dobson in 41st and Colin Woolford in 101st.

Super Junior Molly Hesketh also had a great run at this race finishing in 00:14:55 for the under 12s.

Well done to all who ran this weekend!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

BMAF Road Relays 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

BMAF Road Relays 2014

‘Old Michael took the early spoils and took advantage of the first climb and fast flat section to pull out the early lead on his namesake. However, for a change young Michael seemed to have his ‘mature head on’ and just kept a sensible distance behind’

Brilliant sunshine and some very well toned runners greeted us as we arrived at Birmingham for the road relays. I must admit to some trepidation in the week preceding the event, worrying that we would make fools of ourselves in front of the best in the country. But coach Roche put my mind at rest and I quickly got myself in the right frame of mind for the race.

These races are always fun and this did not disappoint. From the moment we all met at the Dunkenhalgh for the trip down the banter started, particularly from Mickey Hogan who seemed to have it in for me. All in good spirit though.

After John had asked for the 100th time ‘Are we nearly there yet dad’ we arrived at Sutton Park. Some of the events had already got underway so we quickly unpacked the pavilion and set ourselves up opposite Salford so we could have a bit of banter during the day.

We watched the women show us how it was meant to be done and very quickly our start time approached. John was a true captain and even polished my head to help me go faster.

First up were the two Michael’s. Motor mouth himself Michael O’Donnell running for the V35 team and Mickey Hogan running for the V45 team. This was always going to be a hard fought battle and did not disappoint. Old Michael took the early spoils and took advantage of the first climb and fast flat section to pull out the early lead on his namesake. However, for a change young Michael seemed to have his ‘mature head on’ and just kept a sensible distance behind. There is a nice little uphill finish on this course and the young man took advantage of this to pull away and come in with a very respectable time of 18:37 with Mr.Hogan just behind in 18:53.

I was 2nd up for the V35 and was surprised to see Forest coming in quite so quickly and I had quite a battle with the organisers to get out to the start line. John Wilcock was chomping at the bit on the start line behind me. In my usual style I put too much effort into the first climb so had to try and regroup myself on the flat section. When I came to the turn-around I saw John behind me so knew I had to try and up the pace. I was hurting by the final climb but running past the Clayton-le-Moors masses on the finishing straight encouraged me and I managed to finish in a time of 18:36 (sorry Forest). John came in close behind me in a time of 19:34.

Leg 3 saw Nick Roscoe running for the V35 against Gary ‘Wilki’ Wilkinson running for the V45. Nick ran a strong leg to keep off the evergreen Wilki, with a time of 19:49. Gary, with yet another performance defying his years ran 18:50 to put the old men just 15 seconds behind the youths.

It was time for the last leg of the V45 race, with still another 3 to go for the V35. Up for the V35 was our brummie Paul ‘Shack’ Shackleton. This was a rare experience for Shack as this race was virtually on his doorstep compared to his usual trek to Lancashire. Running for the V35 was David Hogan sporting his streamline beard.

Shack had the run of the day finishing in 18:09 to take the honors for the V45 over the V35. Well done the old men who finished in 24th place in their category! David ran a strong leg in a time of 21:41, a real gutsy performance from him.

Whilst the V45’s could tuck into their double cheeseburgers there were still two more legs for the V35’s. Paul Wale had the honors and took over from Hoggie. Like David, Paul ran his heart out. I think it is always more difficult for the later runners than the early runners but Paul still ran a strong leg in 21:29.

Last up was the captain himself Mr. Roche. Despite carrying his aches and pains John ran a strong leg in 20:23 to bring the V35 team home in 33rd place. John had said to me at the start of the week we would be somewhere near 30th overall. I didn’t believe him thinking there was no way we would get anywhere near that. But am happy to be proved wrong.

Overall winners were Altrincham & District AC, followed by Les Croupiers and Salford Harriers. The V45 category was won by Leicester Corithanian with Salford second and Thames Hare & hounds in third. Mickey Hogan summed the day up when he said it was fantastic. We had a really good team spirit with some fun thrown in, which is what running in a club is all about. Everyone gave 100% and more. Its days like this that make you really proud and happy to run for a club like Clayton-le-Moors Harriers. Well done to everyone who took part and thank you for making it a memorable day. I personally can’t wait for the next event.

Thanks to Alex Cran for this weeks race report!

The Rest of the Weekends Action

The weekends events started with the 100th Burnley Parkrun, attended by Clayton-le-Moors Harriers very own Ron Hill. On a perfect morning of sunshine, the performances certainly reflected it with PB’s being broken in all directions. Exemplary to this fact were Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Christopher Holdsworth and Tom Brewster. After a gruelling battle for first place, Christopher Holdsworth managed to emerge victorious in his first ever win for the club. Both men pushed each other more than they knew, as when they finished, they realised that they’d both smashed their previous Burnley Parkrun PB’s. Jordan McDonald also had a brilliant run, pushing for a top 3 finish with a time of 18:04. An amazing turn out of 54 Harriers in total took to the Towneley based 5k, with with debutants Adam Hamer, Adrienne Olszewska and Natasha Olzewska all making their bow for the club. However, the star of the day goes to 10 year old Jackson McKay for his outstanding time of 20:57. Well done to all that ran!

Over at the Farfield Horseshoe, over 3000ft was climbed in the 9 mile race, which was attended by twelve Clayton-le-Moors Harriers. David Nuttall was the first Harrier back with an excellent time of 01:35:15. Next through the finish line was Neil Hardiman, finishing in 40th overall. There was also great runs from Ivan Whigam, Dominic Carr and Kieran Carr, rounding off a great day at the Farfield Horshoe 2014.

On Sunday 18th of May, three Clayton-le-Moors Harriers made the trip to Worden Park 10k. As the first Clayton round, Richard Stevenson had a storming run finishing in 11th over all in a time of 00:39:22. Next through the finish is the ever reliable road 10k runner Steve Biscomb, who finished in a time of 00:42:52. The third harrier round the scorching course was Alan Clarkson, finishing in a time of 00:44:44.

Well done to all that ran this weekend, there were great runs from many!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Calderdale Way Relays 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

Calderdale Way Relay 2014

‘My only goal was to keep up with Spencer, a goal which was becoming a little unattainable towards the ruins overlooked by Stoodly Pike. He announced ‘I’m ‘avin one of these lads, the rest is up to you…’

As leg 1s cars pulled into The Ram Inn car park, each occupants gaze was met with the same knowing look. What were we doing at 6am in the morning outside a sodding pub – It could only mean one thing… It’s relay time!

With the members of leg 1 all cursing the captain for choosing us to take the fall for the 8am start, in reality, we were all excited by the race ahead. Arriving at the venue brought us the news that Russell had chosen not to bring his Clayton-le-Moors Harriers top, instead he rummaged through Lee’s Sports Wears ©, modelling his latest range in baseball gloves and helmets. Once bum bags were fixed, supplements supped, we were out on the start line ready to begin.

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Holdsworth

The sound of a whistle brought the race to a start, signalling a mass sprint up the embankment. The noise in the air ceased, deafness dropped and the only sound to be heard was the rustle of race numbers complimenting the passing flow of the river. Once we ushered ourselves around the early bend, the pairs from each club began to filter into the bottleneck through the woods. Only being able to achieve the same speed as the runner ahead gave the 10 mile leg a nice and steady introduction, from which we were able to build on. Reaching the field at the top of the trail was where Spencer and I began to deploy our game plan. Take it easy, real ‘em in, move on to the next. The pairs began to fall behind with only a few remaining ahead, with one in particular becoming the source for our own particular personal battle.

Having only recce’d the leg once, we were still a little unsure as to which route was correct. Not wanting to rely on the runners behind, Spencer made it our objective to stay with the runners from Tring. Eventually we caught up with them on our decent through Ripponden where the back and forth battle begun. Having just been fed a glucose sweet or two, I was on a sugar enduced high. I’m not quite sure if I sprinted the next few hills or teleported. Once we’d passed Ripponden, Spencer and I hit our stride up the continuous road to the moorland. Steadily, we began to gain a comfortable lead on the boys from Tring.

Again, navigation issues arose which allowed for our competition to retake the lead. We were around 7 miles in and my energy was now spent. My only goal was to keep up with Spencer, a goal which was becoming a little unattainable towards the ruins overlooked by Stoodly Pike. He announced ‘I’m ‘avin one of these lads, the rest is up to you’. Not wanting to be the disappointment that would take Spencer’s trademark smile, I pushed on through the hip pains and kept my place just in front of the other lagging Tring member.

All of a sudden it hit me, we had only half a mile to go and we were neck and neck. Adrenaline the like I had never felt before kicked in and I stormed past all three runners, tackling one of the most treacherous and slippy path ways I’d ever experienced. The danger didn’t matter, broken ankles didn’t matter – After this 7 mile solitary battle, we simply had to prevail. At one point I even managed to cuff my hand on barbed wire, taking my glove clean off. That glove was good and gone, I was in the zone and I wasn’t stopping for anything.

Photo Courtesy of Garry Wilkinson

Thankfully, Spencer retrieved my glove straight away, reminding me after that I might have needed it for an end of race kit check. My legs now not working properly meant I could no longer turn around bends. This made it very difficult when there was s-bend after s-bend. However, Spencer’s ‘gentle’ roar for me to go in the right direction made me do exactly that. In the end, we managed to finish our leg in 01:18:17, less than a minute and a half behind 3^rd placed Barlick.

We were greeted well by the Clayton-le-Moors welcome party. The air was warm yet the monsoon-esque weather set in. Here, we sent Dave Motley and Andrew Stubbs on their way…

‘9am and Me & Mr Stubbs are waiting for the A team to finish their leg, would they be in 1st, 2nd, 3rd? had they got lost? The suspense is all too much. Warm ups continue in the lashing rain and the leg 1 boys come through in 4th. We set off hard up the hill to the reservoir hoping to chase down or make some time up on 3rd place, but that soon went out of the window when we took a wrong turn and ended up just off course probably losing 1min or so. Next we had a strong climb up and over Stoodley Pike with me taking advantage of the descent knowing full well that Mr Stubbs flat speed would allow him to catch up.

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Holdsworth

Twists & turns through the farms, into Todmorden centre, over the train tracks and back up the hill before the long descent into the sports centre. Overall the leg went well; however I ran 4mins slower than last year with the combination of wrong turns (ensure recce next time), slight injury problems and poor boggy condition under foot possibly to blame. We came back in 4th but lost a few minutes on 3rd’ – Dave Motley

Photo Courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson

Losing ground on 3^rd meant Clayton-le-Moors Harriers would have to focus their efforts on solidating 4^th place. It was over to Garry Wilkinson and Jacob Boyle on the 3^rd leg…

‘Jacob and I set off in forth place with a chasing gap of seven and a half minutes to third. Although the young pretender Jacob (32 years his junior) forced the early pace my experience showed as we ran quicker than the 2nd and 3rd team and gained 7th fastest leg of the day. I Think this was my swan song with the seniors … but what a way to finish. Cheers Jacob’ – Garry Wilkinson

Photo Courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson

With Jacob and Garry making good pace, it was a swift hand over to Tom Brewster and Ryan Belshaw for the 4^th leg…

We set off on leg 4 in high spirits having handed off from Garry and Jacob in 4th place, after a mile or so the mood sobered as we came to terms with the task ahead of us; 10miles of boggy moor and heavy rain showers to contend with while attempting to chase down 3rd place Barlick Fell runners and keeping 5th place Todmorden far enough behind so as not to worry us!

The relentless climbing strength of the ex-marine Ryan coupled with the flat-terrain speed of Road Captain Tom proved to be a good mix as we matched each other along the entire route, maintaining 4th place after the gruelling hilly leg. Elation at the end of the leg momentarily turned to concern as blood was discovered on Toms vest, however this swiftly turned to amusement when it was revealed to be caused by improper lubrication of certain areas of the chest’ – Tom Brewster

Photo Courtesy of Ryan Wilkinson

Things were getting quite tense now. Lungs burning, nipples raw; we were on for a pivotal battle with Todmorden. Paul Shackleton and David Walker took the reigns in leg 5…

‘It was cold, wet and bleak at Wainstalls and we didn’t want to get out of the car. One of the lads said ‘you wouldn’t want to live up here would you’. No. Barlick fell runners came and went and about ten minutes later we were off in 4th place with me still wearing my jacket (You feel the cold more at my age) and with about ninety seconds lead on Todmorden Harriers and Calder Valley’s B team. We set off steadily; we didn’t have much choice as we slopped through the first couple of miles. Tod’ and CV closed in but I don’t like being passed in a relay and neither does David. We dug in and on the climbs pulled away, only to be caught again on the better ground.

With a mile to go Calder Valley dropped back and at a busy road crossing with half a mile to go Tod’ got away. We didn’t exactly do ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ but we didn’t want to get run over either and the Tod’ lads got a few yards advantage which they kept to the finish. We handed over in 5th place. 60.22, 8th fastest on the leg. Somewhere in first few miles, my car key fell out of my bumbag, which almost spoiled a great day, but not quite’ – Paul Shackleton

Hearts were now in mouths. With Todmorden now leading the way, it was up to our speedy duo Breton Holdsworth and Jonny McKenna to save the day in leg 6. The race was on…

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Holdsworth

After what seemed like forever stood there dithering in my vest, we were off chasing down Todmorden Harriers A team who had a very slight lead, we soon caught them in the woods and over took them, then Jonny took a nice sliding dive on a right hander over a bridge. Exactly the same place that Matt Lalor slipped on the same leg with me last year (I’m becoming a bit of an omen)

We were still in front and opening up a comfortable lead, then we came to a road crossing where we lost some ground waiting for an opening in the traffic. Not to worry we shot off again still in the lead, upon where we came out onto the road in Bailiff Bridge, out of nowhere Todmorden Harriers appeared on our shoulders, which then spurred us on again up the hill onto Birkhouse lane as we followed it round (as per CWR instructions) the Todmorden Harriers duo then appeared right on our shoulders again, via an unmade track? As most people know I’m not bitter about shortcuts, not that I’m accusing anyone of course. We were still keeping the lead by this point and after we turned into the field past the bungalow we didn’t see them again until, Boom they were right behind us on the canal path going through Brighouse.

It was then neck and neck all the way through the next couple of miles of climbing, which to be fair if I could’ve matched Jonny we would have been able to open up another comfortable lead. They started to pull away once we hit the tarmac, though I was pretty confident we would be able to drag some distance back. For people that aren’t accustomed to this leg, we had just spent the last couple of miles gaining just over 500ft of elevation, which then means the next mile and a half was nearly 500ft of descent down tarmac and cobbles which fairly trashed my quads resulting in jelly legs for the final flat. We still had them in our sites going along the canal and then back onto the final stretch along the road to the finish line. We put in another couple of pushes but ran out of ground (if only we had a few more miles) So we started the leg in 5th overall and finished in 5th overall just gutted we couldn’t secure 4th’ – Breton Holdsworth

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Holdsworth

And so, 4^th place wasn’t to be. Unfortunately the underdog story goes to Todmorden for their plucky effort to turn around a 15 minute deficit. Nevertheless, the effort shown from all runners across the 6 legs was monumental.

Just as it was for team 2 and the ladies. Clayton-le-Moors B finished brilliantly with an improved position on last year. Coming 26th overall, the day started with the duo of Lee Smith and Russell Clarke. Although they managed a half time extra lap, they finished their leg with a respectable time of 01:37:03. Next up were Michael O’Donnell and Paul Wale for leg 2. Quick of the blocks, they also had a fine run with a time of 01:22:00. They passed the baton to promising young superstars Jordan McDonald and George Pier. They achieved an excellent time of 00:45:44, well done boys! On the 4th leg was the top pairing of David Bagot and Neil Hardiman. Their run lasted for only 01:22:54 before they passed on to John Wilcock and Adam Shaw in the 5th leg. They managed a storming 18th position for their leg, handing over to 6th in a time of 01:06:15. The last leg consisted of the battlers Dominic Car and Richard Briscoe, bringing us home in 26th posting a time of 01:21:32, rounding of an excellent day for Clayton-le-Moors B.

But we didn’t stop there…

Our ladies were out in force too, and boy did they deliver! They managed a 61st placed finish over all and they started the day with Captain Jean Brown and Barbara Savage. They got us off to a solid start with a time of 01:52:39. They transferred the racing duties to Vicky Heys and Angela Shian, who managed a brilliant time of 01:30:24. A superb effort for this notoriously hilly leg. On the 3rd leg was Julia Rushton and Linda Lord, keeping us steady recording a time of 00:56:40. The baton was passed on to Alison Dugdale and Anna Kelly for the 4th leg. Racing home in 01:33:02, they handed over to Lisa Richardson and Rebecca Rawcliffe for the penultimate leg. Their leg ended in 01:24:45 where they handed over to Lorraine Slater and Nic McNamara for the final leg. The ladies wrapped up the day in 09:00:51 with the final duo posting a time of 01:43:21. Brilliant stuff!!

I think it is safe to say that the day can be perfectly summed up in this final shot. Take it away, Richard and Dom!

Race report by Christopher Holdsworth, with contributions from Dave Motley, Garry Wilkinson, Tom Brewster, Paul Shackleton and Breton Holdsworth. Thanks for your help! Full results can be found here.

The Rest of the Weekends Action

You’ve had a lot to read so far, 2400 words in fact.. ‘it’s a bloody essay!’ I hear you cry. I know, I’m deeply sorry. Readjust, take a break and we’ll get through this together..

Firstly! Friday night saw the second race in the Burnley & Pendle Grand Prix Calendar. The race was Pinhaw, and it happened to feature two heavy weights of the running world turn up in Tom and Mark Addison. With first and second place out of contention, the race was on for 3rd place. Sadly, a Harrier couldn’t claim it and it fell to Barlick runner Jimmy Craig. We did however manage to secure team prize through 4th place Christopher Holdsworth, 6th placed Matt Perry and 7th placed Andrew Stubbs. There were thirty of us competing overall, well done team!

On Saturday, Jean Brown decided to warm up for the Calderdale Way Relays by tackling the monster Buttermere Fell Race. I find my self writing about Jean often, as the fell captain is always out and about. No matter how many times I see here name, she still manages to surprise me with another outstanding time. She tamed the beast in just over the 2 hour mark, finishing in 45th place. I’d like to also congratulate former Clayton-le-Moors Harrier Wayne McIntosh for also having a good crack at this race. Well done both of you!

For a change of pace, we had Clayton-le-Moor Harriers compete in a 10k road race. Overall there were six Harriers competing at Blacksticks, with Dave Nuttall the first round finishing in 7th. Micheal Hogan finished in 27th, whilst Steve Biscomb finished in 33rd. There was also stellar efforts from Alan Clarkson, Brian Wildman and Ron Chappel.

Lastly, I was sent in this report from Sam Root, reporting on the Deva Junior Aquathlon Race..

‘On Sunday 27th April, Eleanor Root traveled to Christleton near Chester to compete in the Deva Junior Aquathlon. There was a mixed field of 41 competitors taking part in the Tristars 3 category. After a solid swim and transition Eleanor put in a strong performance during the run and claimed an overall position of 15th, taking 9th place in the girl’s competition. Not to be outdone, younger sister Grace competed in the Blackpool Junior Triathlon on Sunday 11th April in the Supersrpint category. Again, Grace had a solid swim then gave a strong performance on the bike and really came into her own on the run. In a mixed race of 12 competitors Grace came 4th overall but managed to get 1st place girl’- Sam Root

Thanks Sam and well done Grace! If I have missed any results I do apologise. Between racing, meetings, work and compiling the reports I’ve had little time this week. If I have missed any results out, please email me here and I’ll add them quick sharp!!

This weekend see’s Ron Hill make an appearance at the 100th Park Run, so please come and join us and run in the early morning sun!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Coniston Fell Race 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

Coniston Fell Race 2014

‘A particular favourite of mine, the route is a classic horseshoe, starting with the lung bursting climb up Mouldry Bank on the way to Wetherlam, before crossing Prison Band and then on to Coniston Old Man…’

A perfect day for racing the second English Championship of 2014; the weather stayed dry and just the right temperature and conditions under foot , which were as good as they could be for a Lakeland race this early in the season. A particular favourite of mine, the route is a classic horseshoe, starting with the lung bursting climb up Mouldry Bank on the way to Wetherlam before crossing Prison Band and then on to Coniston Old Man, finishing with an infamous descent back to the village.

Being a championship race the entry list had filled up quickly and the stars were out! The first three back were Tom Addison in 1:07.57, having battled it out with Rob Hope who was a mere 1 second behind with Morgan Donnelly a further 90 seconds behind. But in my opinion the performance of the day was from Ian Holmes in fourth place. Ian is the record holder (1:03.29 in 1996!) and has won the race on numerous occasions so this must be a favourite of his too! At 48 to come fourth in a hotly contested English Championship race is a great achievement.

As for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers, I was pleased to see a good turn out from the ‘veteran guard’ including Jack Holt, Kieran Carr, Linda Lord, Wendy Dodds and Pete Browning still grinding out the classic Lakeland races! Shack had made the long journey from the midlands to continue his V50 campaign and captain Dave Motley was there to spur us all on among several others. However, I’m afraid I didn’t get chance to find out too much about the placings so you will have to check the results when they are posted.

(CH: Here they are! Full Clayton-le-Moors Harriers times and positions below, full results here.

Place/Time/Runner/Age Category

77 1.21.43 DAVID NUTTALL M45

155 1.30.11 GEOFFREY P GOUGH M55

161 1.30.34 JACK HOLT M65

199 1.36.02 JEAN BROWN W45

218 1.37.37 PAUL SHACKLETON M50

220 1.37.42 PETER BROWNING M55

222 1.37.44 KIERAN F CARR M65

261 1.43.28 WENDY DODDS W60

284 1.47.59 ANDREW FIRTH M55

293 1.49.00 ANDREW M DUGDALE M50

303 1.51.02 MARK TAYLOR M

311 1.51.51 RICK MOORE M50

321 1.53.05 ALISON DUGDALE W40

335 1.56.41 DAVE MOTLEY M

342 1.58.07 KATY THOMPSON W60

356 2.02.45 PETER DUGDALE M55

361 2.03.36 LINDA M LORD W65

368 2.06.27 NICHOLA J HORSFALL W55

378 2.10.02 ANDREW HOWARTH M50

397 2.26.16 KARIN GOSS W65

For me the day was capped off with a few pints in Coniston and a brief game of dads vs. kids rugby at the football club, where I found myself camping amongst a bunch of Yorkshire fell runners and their families making the most of the bank holiday weekend. This camaraderie is what makes fell running so special – and the result… kids won by one try!

Thanks to David Nuttall for this weeks race report!

The Rest of the Weekends Action

It was a weekend of two halves. If you wasn’t at Coniston Fell Race, it seemed you was at The Great Hameldon Hill Race instead. For some, like Captain Fantastic Dave Motley, you were at both. With an underlying Chris Barnes stag do coinciding with the first race of the Grad Prix calendar, there was a lively and mischievous atmosphere that engulfed the Sunday morning proceedings.

The race began and off flew Spiderman and Captain Clayton, though their burst of speed was short lived. Soon enough, the serious racers began their climb through the car park and the smiling faces turned to humourless, dour-faced grimaces, as the runners soon realised the gravitas of the tiresome task ahead. In the end, the Clayton-le-Moors Harriers did the Clayton-le-Moors Harriers organised race proud, picking up the team prize through fell foes Christopher Holdsworth and Matt Perry, along with the ever increasingly impressive Jacob Boyle. Christopher Holdsworth was also awarded the ‘First Clayton Home’ trophy for his efforts.

There were a grand total of 39 Harriers in total!! That is a momentous number for any club to produce at a race, well done! Sorry I can’t mention you all, though I will say it was good to see a healthy turn out from the ladies. Alison Dugdale, Angela Shian, Vicky Heys, Fionnuala Swann, Kaye Callaghan, Irene Roche, Rebecca Rawcliffe, Natalia Suchomska and Susie Allen all made the effort to climb the 1000ft climb. Well done ladies!

The juniors also had a great turn out, lead by under 8 runner Finlay Stubbs with a time of 01:24, coming in at 1st place! There was also speedy performances from Eliza Cottom in 5th, Rachel Stevenson in 8th and Joshua McKay in 9th.

Jackson McKay came in at 02:59 as another Clayton junior 1st place finisher, whilst Ella Dorrington had a spectacular run finishing in 3rd place for the under 10s race. Again, there was another brilliant performance from the under 16s race, with Leon Passco coming in 2nd place with a time of 11:20.

A total of 28 runners partook in the junior race. The above were just highlighted performances and as much as I’d like to highlight you all, in reality I don’t have as much time as I’d like to spare! If I did I would write each and every name out as you all of you did brilliantly. Well done juniors, thank you for all you efforts!

Senior results can be found here, whilst Junior results can be found here.

On Monday, five Clayton-le-Moors Harriers took to the Avenham Park 5k in Preston. ‘Christopher Huldslorin‘ managed another 6th placed finish in 00:17:05. Martin Brady managed 57th place, whilst Jackie Kershaw was next with a time of 00:24:48. The extraordinary Marion Wilkinson was the next through in 00:27:15. However, the story of the day goes to Sophie McIntosh, who finally broke her targeted sub30 5k, smashing it in a time of 00:29:36. Well done Sophie!

UK Results is currently down, so I apologise if there were any more races this weekend. You can contact the Media Manager if you have any more results for me to post.

The Calderdale Way Relays are this weekend. With a number of teams submitted, it would be great if we could have your support! You can find information on the race here. If you have any other queries, don’t hesitate to ask! Good luck to all running next weekend!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

The Yorkshire Dales Three Peaks 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

The Yorkshire Dales Three Peaks Fell Race 2014

‘The next couple of miles were very muddy, gloopy and sticky underfoot, a few people were slipping over on their trail shoes, though I was fine in my fell shoes… just’

Heavens Above !

I parked up at Horton on Friday night with constant rain. The forecast all week was for a front to pass by and I was praying it would blow over before 10.30am Saturday . In the field Friday night was Mick Dobson, Dave Motley and a few other Harriers braving the weather. Saturday morning came and it was still raining – we went up to register, had porridge and a brew. Soon plenty of runners were milling around all looking up to the sky and praying!

Alleluia! At 10.30am the rain stopped and the race began. I had Mick Dobson as my marker though he soon pulled away so I followed Ken Taylor to the Pen.y.ghent Trig. Coming off the summit the wind was going to be with us up to Whernside so I was running with my vest to keep cool. There were lots of Clayton-le-Moors Harrier supporters at the shooting gate – Mark, Andy, Paul to name a few. The next couple of miles were very muddy, gloopy and sticky underfoot, a few people were slipping over on their trail shoes, though I was fine in my fell shoes… just.

Approaching Ribblehead I gave Sean Claire encouragement, as Clayton-le-Moors Harries supporters gave me the same at the checkpoint. It really spurs you on! Up to Whernside now and the ground was soggy and cold. There was a clayton vest in the distance and gradually passed Avril Duckworth (though she did stick with me).

On the summit the wind was wild but was soon was off down the track to Hill Inn for more drinks,food and more words of wisdom from lots of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers supporters. Last hill now so head down and feet onwards towards Ingleborough. On the way up I caught Ryan Wilkinson who had a leg injury (He finished thankfully).

Approaching Ingleborough there were lots more Harrier supporters giving encouragement and jelly babes and I managed to catch Mick Dobson on the trig, though he scampered off and never caught him! The legs were shot now so I was trying to keep my place down past Sulber Nick. I passed runners who had cramped up or had gone off too fast (been there before) It’s a fine line on how fast you go 1^st half of the race.

The finish was coming up and felt I OK for once and ran like the clappers to the finish, what a relief the first thoughts were never again… But you foolishly forget your feelings and foolishly enter the next years race! The finish field was full of supporters and you have a banter with your friends and supporters .

At the Presentation Jon Sharples was presented with a prize for 21 races, Wendy Dodds for 30 races and Avril got her V50 prize. Thanks go out to all the spectators and marshals for their support and foolishly I will be there next year for the 61st Three Peaks race.

Race Snippets

Ricky Lightfoot won in 02.53

Victoria Wilkinson was the1^st lady 3.21 (16 minutes ahead of the next lady ).

Spencer Riley was the first Harrier in 3.40

Avril Duckworth was first clayton lady in 4.10 and was 1^st V50 which was outstanding. I will nominate her for run of the month!

Dave Scott was the first V70 in his 47th race

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Team Placements

Men were 6th

Women were 6^th

V40 were 5^th

V50 were 3^rd

Thanks To Ivan Wigham for this weeks race report!

A list of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers finishing times can be found below. A full list of results can be found here.

146	David Bagot	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MU25	Three Peaks	03:54:00
147	Gary Balmer	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks
148	Martin Brady	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks
149	Alex Braysford	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	04:39:37
150	Richard Briscoe	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks	05:35:40
151	Dominic Carr	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	04:19:14
152	Sean Clare	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	04:17:20
153	Ian Connell	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks
154	Mick Dobson	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	04:07:15
155	Andrew Dugdale	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks
156	Simon Halliday	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	03:51:50
157	Neil Hardiman	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	04:03:42
158	Paul Hesketh	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	03:52:34
159	Nigel Hodson	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	04:33:11
160	David Hogan	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks
161	Brian Horrocks	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks	04:03:08
162	David Horrocks	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks	04:30:16
163	Matthew Law	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MU25	Three Peaks
164	Dave Motley	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks	03:43:51
165	David Naughton	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks
166	Robin Nicolson	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks
167	Andrew Orr	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	03:55:03
168	Matt Perry	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks	04:03:25
169	Spencer Riley	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	03:40:58
170	John Rusius	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks	04:57:05
171	David Scott	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV70	Three Peaks	05:19:09
172	Jon Sharples	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks	04:22:30
173	Adam Shaw	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks	04:51:54
174	Lee Smith	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks	04:08:04
175	Simon Stansfield	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks
176	Mark Taylor	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks
177	Paul Wale	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	05:12:48
178	Ivan Whigham	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV50	Three Peaks	04:08:28
179	Garry Wilkinson	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks	03:53:57
180	Ryan Wilkinson	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks	04:11:45
181	Neil David Worswick	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	MV40	Three Peaks
584	Ryan Belshaw	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	M	Three Peaks	03:49:38
875	Marion Dixon	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	FV40	Three Peaks	04:33:41
876	Wendy Dodds	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	FV60	Three Peaks	04:49:05
877	Avril Duckworth	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	FV50	Three Peaks	04:10:08
878	Nichola Horsfall	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	FV50	Three Peaks
879	Lisa Richardson	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	FV40	Three Peaks
880	Barbara Savage	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	FV50	Three Peaks	04:50:51
881	Katy Thompson	Clayton-le-Moors Harriers	FV60	Three Peaks	05:39:08

The Rest of the Weekends Action

On a weekend where news from the Three Peaks dominates our media channels, it is important not to forget the hard work our other Harriers are putting in elsewhere. Captain fantastic Tom Brewster is a primary example, demonstrating his ever growing presence at the front of the pack at the Wray Scarecrow 10k. Finishing almost a minute ahead of 2nd place, he finished 1st with an impressive time of 00:35:49. A superb effort for a hilly course.

Another top performer this weekend was Breton Holdsworth, who contested this years St George’s Day 10k in Langdale, Cumbria. Finishing 5th in a strong field of competitors, he managed a personal best time of 00:35:48 standing him in good stead for a jam packed summer of races (presumably away from Lancashire).

The ever present 10k specialist Steve Biscomb competed at the Radcliffe 10 MT in Manchester, along with Martin Brady. Both once again had excellent runs posting times of 00:43:55 and 00:49:30 respectively. Well done men!

Andy Armstrong and Jamie Baldwin both competed at The Fellsman 2014. We are currently waiting to hear how they did in this ultra marathon across the Yorkshire Dales. Results to follow soon!

Well done to all who ran this weekend. Club spirit couldn’t be higher and with plenty more big races over the next few weeks, let’s keep this morale going! Next weekend has two big races in the form of The Coniston Fell Race and The Great Hameldon Hill Race, which is a Clayton-le-Moors run event. Come and show your support and cheer on our Ladies and Men!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

The Weekends Action

The Weekends Action

Apologies for the lateness of this weeks weekend report, we’ve just been waiting on results to come through from Rivington Pike. The report should be with us soon and will be combined with this post in due course.

So! Without further adieu, on to the rest of the weekends action…

Our solo fell runner this week comes in the form a VF60 Eileen Jones. Although finishing last at the Loughrigg Fell Race, she put in a tremendous effort to finish in under the hour mark with a time of 00:59:07. Tough as it is to come through in the final position, she showed excellent determination and showed the rest of us up for not getting out there with here. Well done Eileen!

It is true that Clayton-le-Moors Harriers produce some hardy runners, unafraid of stepping up to any and all races, even if it means going it alone. Let me introduce you to our sole trail runner of the week, Martin Brady! As another Harrier showing us the way, he also had an excellent run finishing in a time of 00:51:33 at this years Guiseley Gallop MT Trail Race.

On Easter Friday, two big races took place which were Caldervale Country 10 and Salford 10k. Firstly, at the Garstang based 10 mile race two Clayton-le-Moors Harriers took to competing were Brian Wildman and Robert Hirst. Contending against 169 other runners, all must have been eager to get back for Good Friday beverages as there were some speedy times on show, with our duo posting times of 01:17:09 and 01:54:36. Over in Salford, there was another solo Harrier on show! This time it was road runner Steve Biscomb in an outstanding time of 00:40:26, who also managed to smash his PB!

So that’s three solo runners this week. Where are we all hiding this easter?! If you’re struggling to find races, fixtures can be found here. If you have any questions you can direct them to our Facebook or Twitter pages where we will be happy to help!

Elsewhere, at the Anniversary Waltz three Clayton-le-Moors Harriers competed over this very tough race. Wendy Dodds was the first harrier back across the finish, coming in at the century mark and a time of 02:19:02. Next back was Marion Dixon in 133rd, followed by David Naylor in 166th. Great efforts all round!

On Easter Monday, Cannonball’s Hollingworth Lake 5k took place with no less than 7 Harriers! That’s where you’ve all been, laying in wait for this speedy 5k! These were, in order of how they finished, Steve Biscomb, Kenan Eti, Alan Clarkson, Beth Quin, Alice Pier, Jackie Kershaw and Marion Wilkinson. Everyone had pulled out top performances here, especially by our talented and promising youth. Well done to all who ran.

Remember that it’s the Three Peaks this weekend, we wish all the Harriers competing the best of luck! I’ll be there sweeping so make sure to avoid me, though I’ll be bringing my camera so be sure to pose for pictures. See you all there!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Coledale Horseshoe 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

Coldale Horseshoe 2014 – ‘The View From The Back’

‘Jogging up to race registration from the campsite, the first Clayton-le-Moors Harrier I bumped into was Richard Briscoe – the first thing he asked me was “Have you done this race before, is it hard?” to which the only response is ‘have you ever done an easy fell race Richard?’

The second race in the Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Fell running championships is a proper fell race in real fell running terrain in the Lake District. The Coledale Horseshoe is an 8.5 miles and 3002 ft of climbing in a classic Lake District setting. Whilst I have only done this race seven or eight times (in the 30 years or so that I have been involved in this crazy sport) it certainly is one of my favourite races given the terrain and natural horseshoe the race follows – and in particular the finish is all downhill!!

I’m always keen to make a weekend of fell running in the Lakes, and this weekend is no exception – an excuse for a weekend away in the caravan at the excellent campsite at Braithwaite (heated floor in the showerblock – brilliant at this time of year). On Friday night before the race I bumped into Gaz Wilkinson who had spent the week in a log cabin on the campsite with family .We reminisced about Coledale races of the past – Gaz did the race in the late eighties and gave the local Lakes lads a good spanking. I remember turning up in 1993 for what was in those days a mid summer evening race – a Borrowdale runner spotted my Clayton-le-Moors Harrier vest before the race and came over with the winners trophy for the Ennerdale race. He asked me to pass it on to Lee Thompson (an amazing Harrier of the past) who had won the Ennerdale race the previous weekend, but the trophy hadn’t been returned – thats the closest I’ve ever been to holding a winners prize!

On the morning of the race the weather was a bit overcast with the forecast for rain and high winds (with significant buffeting on the tops) at around the time of the race start – boy were they right. Jogging up to race registration from the campsite the first Clayton-le-Moors Harrier I bumped into was Richard Briscoe – the first thing he asked me was ‘Have you done this race before, is it hard?’ to which the only response is ‘have you ever done an easy fell race Richard?’

At registration, it was good to see a number of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers nervously looking at the race map and instructions and looking up into the mist wondering what the day had to offer. I know it is difficult to encourage our members to venture beyond East Lancashire, but there was a good number of Harriers up for the challenge of a proper fell race. My running has deteriorated over the last few years, and I knew that today was going to be difficult and probably the slowest I’d ever done on this course. Accordingly as I took my place on the start line I made my way to the back of the field and set off slowly hoping to make my mark on the steep climbs and in particular the descents. All of a sudden we were off and the orange and black hoops of my club mates sped off into the distance as I struggled with the first incline on my least favourite surface, the tarmac of the run out to the fell. The steps onto the fell brought everyone around me to a welcome walk (as far as I was concerned) and the atmosphere was very jolly as people took the time to have a bit of a conversation during the breather – I’m sure it was very different at the sharp end!!

Soon enough we were into the real grind of the climb up Grisedale Pike. The climb took me the best part of an hour, hard climb to start, followed by a ridge run then a gradually steepening climb up into the mist. I felt like I was gaining a bit on the runners in front of me as the climb steepened, heart rate was pumping and I was giving it everything. I was passing a few but as I approached the summit of Grisedale Pike I looked over my shoulder and realised that Katy Thompson was right on my shoulder – where the hell did she come from!? That was the kick up the backside that I needed and I resolved to give it everything I had on the descent to Coledale Hause to get away. However, cresting Grisedale Pike took us straight into the teeth of the gale that was blowing very strong – it was a struggle to get a good rhythm going, and the wind almost brought me to a standstill on several occasions.

Eventually we got down to Coledale Hause (still in very thick mist) – I felt like I was running on my own at this stage – couldn’t see the runners in front and was scared to look behind in case Katy was still hanging on. But at least we were out of the worst of the wind. It was at this point that I made the basic error of not putting my cag on – during the descent it was raining, not too heavily but enough to wet all my kit and base layer. I know the route well so didn’t need map and compass, as I started the climb of Crag Hill suddenly I could see a group of runners ahead – they looked like they didn’t really know the route and may have gone off course. I climbed quite strongly and quickly past a few (including a clayton lady whose name I don’t know). As we climbed we went back into the wind which picked up pace. The route at this point was quite hairy – it was hands and knees on steep rocky broken ground with scree mixed in. Added to which there were crags to our left (which thankfully you couldn’t see because of the mist) and all the time I was worried about being blown over the edge. As we topped out towards the top of Crag Hill we met the full force of the wind which went right through me and chilled me to the core through my wet base layer. It was too late at this stage to even consider getting my cag out because I was afraid it would blow away before I could get it over my head. Thankfully we were only on the top for a short period, and whilst the initial part of the descent was difficult suffering with cold I soon warmed up once out of the worst of the wind.

The next part of the race plays to my strengths, mainly downhill and I really started getting into my stride as we followed the flags off Sail through the heather. Picking up places all the way I made my way to the rocky track that eventually takes walkers to the Newlands Pass. The race however bears left to Barrow – here there are two choices of route. I always take the higher path and traverse to Barrow Door, and today I was surprised to see so many runners taking ‘my line’, since normally the majority of runners take the lower path ,which involves a bit more climb. I was even more surprised to see the runners in front of me continue up to Stile End – I did call back the nearest runner, but I think I benefited by at least 20 places by the finish. Barrow for me is always a test to keep running and I was reasonably pleased with my effort. The descent though was brilliant from my point of view – I have recce’d the descent on many occasions during my stays at Scott Gate Campsite. Thankfully this year they didn’t flag the descent so I was able to take my line down through the bracken direct to the gate. This cut off the corner and I believe it gained me another 7/8 places at least. I crossed the finish line feeling strong after 2hrs 2 mins – some 6 minutes slower than my last attempt in 2012. It’s fair to say that at the end it felt like a real achievement just to have completed the race today. Talking to people afterwards I got the impression that I wasn’t alone feeling that way.

I’m sure the results will be out shortly, but I did manage to establish that the first Clayton runner back was Vet Garry Wilkinson in just under and hour and a half, closely followed by young Dave Bagot with an excellent run just over 1.30 Not sure what happened in the ladies race but there was a good turnout of Harrier Ladies. Great to see so many Clayton-le-Moors Harriers so far North and hopefully we can include classic Lakes races in the Championship in the future.

On a final note I think it is entirely appropriate to thank the marshals on this one – very difficult conditions and even with full kit I wouldn’t have liked to spend a couple of hours on top of Grizedale Pike, Crag Hill or Sail – Well done Ellenborough!

Thanks to Andrew Firth for this weeks race report!

The Rest of the Weekends Action

Five Clayton-le-Moors Harriers took to the biggest ran in the UK this weekend, competing at the London Marathon 2014. Jonny McKenna, Michael Hogan, Martin Ritson, Collin Shuttleworth and Alexander Cran all made the trip down to the capital to contend with the countries best over the 26.2 mile course. Jonny put in a monstrous effort to finish his marathon among the uproarious London crowd in 02:42:20. Furthermore, he managed to finish in at 262nd out of over 39,000 runners! Matching this feat, Anthony Gotts had a momentous Marathon coming in at 31st overall and breaking the 2 hour mark, whilst also being widely spotted on national television coverage! Well done Jonny, Anthony and to all Clayton-le-Moors Harriers who ventured down. Great efforts all round! Full results found here.

A little closer to home, Clayton-le-Moors veterans were out in force at the Garstang Gallop 10k. Competing in the Lancashire race was Steve Biscomb, Martin Brady, Brian Wildman and Ron Chappel. All had excellent races with Steve leading the way with a brilliant time of 43:06. Another Lancashire 10k road race this weekend was staged at Bolton. This saw a sole Harrier contend in this hilly competition and as another veteran to boot. Kevin O’Brien finished just outside of the hour mark, producing a great time of 01:00:21.

Lastly, it seems the majority of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers had rest days or recce’s elsewhere, as a dwindled number of three competed at the Boulsworth Bog Fell Race this weekend. Nevertheless, they all valiantly bested this beastly fell race in great times. Alan Life was the first Harrier home in a time of 01:01:06. Next round the course was Jeffery Pickup in 01:06:22. Last but most certainly not least was Gary Balmer with a time of 01:09:38.

Well done to all who ran this weekend! Don’t forget that there are plenty of midweek races beginning too! You can view them all here. Good luck!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Pendle Fell Race 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

Pendle Seniors Fell Race 2014, Saturday 5th April

‘I had unrealistically hoped of running the majority of this climb, as I had finally succeeding at doing this in a training session exactly 3 weeks ago. I had previously never thought that this was possible…’

I arrived promptly to get parked and registered after pre race warnings from the race organisers that it was likely to be busy due to the mass of people gathering in the village of Barley for the first race of the 2014 English Championships. My warm up was timed perfectly with catching the leader of the ladies race, Victoria Wilkinson of Bingley Harriers, who had a healthy lead over her competitors as she headed left off the track as part of a changed route which meant instead of the mile long fast finish, runners were sent up a final short climb around the woods next to Lower Ogden reservoir to finish in the field behind the water works. The first Clayton lady to pass me as I continued jogging along the track was Jean Brown who put in a great effort finishing 34^th in a time of 46.03. She was followed by:

69^th Wendy Dodds 50.25

85^th Alison Dugdale 53.21

105^th Linda Lord 55.54

113^th Katy Thompson 58.56

118^th Nichola Horsfall 59.52

133^rd Karin Goss 1.03.48

I returned from my warm up to a packed and buzzing start line, full of eager runner’s ready get on their way. After upping my mileage over the past few months in preparation for the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, I felt confident of being able to run hard around the 4.5ish mile course, although I was wary to save a little in the legs for final short climb just before the finish. The new race route meant that as well as English Championship points, the leading runners had added motivation of a record being up for grabs, after the previous record of 29.44 had remained unbroken since it was set back in 1984 by Jack Maitland.

We were soon set off on our way, and everyone seemed to have the same idea of making a fast start and not getting boxed in along the track and despite my best efforts I still made a slower start than I would have liked. The first mile quickly passed and after making up quite a few places along the track, we turned right and began the 1^st of 2 climbs up Pendle Hill. This climb was fairly gradual but I still struggled to get momentum going and despite losing a few places, I was spurred on by trying to stop the Clayton vest of Paul Shackleton from disappearing out eye shot into the clag that covered the top of Pendle

At the top of the climb we turned off just before the trig down a fast decent back to the foot of Pendle Hill. We then turned left just before the steps and were faced with the notorious ‘Big End’ climb up the face of Pendle Hill. I set off running the climb and gained a few places back that I had lost on the decent. I had unrealistically hoped of running the majority of this climb, as I had finally succeeding at doing this in a training session exactly 3 weeks ago. I had previously never thought this was possible but was spurred into giving it a go after been given a motivational training talk from Clayton legend Geoff Gough back at the British Fell Relays in Wales whose statement of ‘whatever you can walk, you can run” still sticks in my head when doing hill training. However I hadn’t made such a fast racing start in my training session and so soon tired on the climb, and reverted to trying to keep up a fast walk as the lactic acid burned in my legs.

The climb eventually ended and we were greeted by a large crowd who cheered us on towards the trig where we turned left and headed back down the 1^st climb. I lost a few places on this tricky decent but was kept pushing swapping places a couple of times with Clayton’s Paul Shackleton. Before we knew it we were back on the road, feeling far less fresh than before. I held my position on the flat before turning left up the final short climb. This was a real killer and I had no energy to try and cling onto the couple of runners who went past. We then turned right and passed through a few very muddy fields, before entering the final field behind the water works, where we looped around the edge before crossing the finish.

The race was superbly organised and marshalled, and there was a great turnout of supporters who provided welcome encouragement on the fell. The runners at the front put on a fantastic spectacle, with constant interchanging of positions around the route and only just over 3 minutes separating the top 10 runners. This year’s race winner was Tom Addison of Helm Hill Runners, who led home an extremely fast field in a time of 32.55. He was closely followed by Rob Hope (Pudsey and Bramley), Simon Bailey (Mercia) and Tom Adams (Ilkley) who were all less than a minute behind. The first Vet 40 was Morgan Donnelly (Borrowdale) in 5^th place, closely followed by Rob Jebb (Bingley). Youngster James Hall showed tremendous potential finishing 7^th ahead of Rhys Findlay Robinson (Dark Peak) and Tim Ellis (Calder Valley), with Bingley’s Ian Holmes rounding off the top 10.

Leading home the Clayton pack was Spencer Riley who despite his focus on long distance training for the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, was still able to put in a great effort and sneak into the top 50 with a time of 38.00. He was closely followed by the ever improving Chris Holdsworth who finished 67^th with a time of 38.53. Rounding off the top 3 for Clayton was Matt Perry who was 71^st in a time of 39.09. There were some fantastic efforts made by the many Clayton representatives, with the 2013 Pendle Aggregate Trophy winner, Peter Dugdale epitomising the true Clayton spirit completing the race the day after flying back from South Africa. The other Clayton results included:

49^th Spencer Riley 38.00

67^th Chris Holdsworth 38.53

71^st Matt Perry 39.09

113^th Andrew Stubbs 41.35

129^th David Bagot 42.15

134^th Paul Shackleton 42:26

158^th Geoff Gough 43:22

162^nd Brian Horrocks 43:29

182^nd Jack Holt 44:53

192^nd Dominic Carr 45.18

196^th Richard Briscoe 45:22

198^th Mick Dobson 45:40

233^rd Mark Nutter 47:47

241^st Peter Browning 48:34

242^nd Kieran Carr 48:38

245^th Mark Taylor 49:34

271^st Dugald McCallum 51:00

274^th Andrew Dugdale 51.14

284^th Ian Connell 52:21

301^st Peter Dugdale 53:49

307^th Andrew Firth 54.39

324^th Stephen Fish 58.10

Thanks to David Bagot for this weeks race report!

Pendle Junior Fell Races, Barley, Sunday 6th April.

‘As we walked up the field to the starting area we knew the juniors were in for a tough day with conditions under foot quite bad. The juniors got together into their age groups and set off to inspect their race routes with many returning looking like they’d already raced’

Another fantastic effort from our juniors at the Pendle Junior Fell Races with 22 brave boys and girls taking part. Welcome to Joshua McKay who was making his Clayton debut. Special mention has to go to Briony Holt, Harry Mason, Jordan McDonald and Jacob Boyle for securing top 3 positions in the Lancashire Championships.

We arrived around midday to overcast sky’s and a cool breeze but nothing compared to what was install for the older juniors in the later races. In recent year’s at the Pendle races we’ve had sunny blue sky’s, snow and today heavy rain showers with much of Pendle Hill hidden in the clouds. As we walked up the field to the starting area we knew the juniors were in for a tough day with conditions under foot quite bad. The juniors got together into their age groups and set off to inspect their race routes with many returning looking like they’d already raced.

The U8’s got us underway with a brilliant run from Finley Stubbs who was 2nd boy (1st M7) with Joshua McKay 12th boy (2nd M6).

In the U10’s Jackson McKay was 6th boy (5th M9) closely followed by Christopher Brown 9th boy (7th M9), Ella Dorrington 12th girl (7th F9), Amelia Dugdale 19th (13th F9), Grace Root 25th girl (8th F8), Eloise Clegg 26th girl (16th F9) and Lydia Wood 39th (23rd F9)

Next up was the U12’s race with Briony Holt taking 3rd girl (2nd F11), Millie Stubbs 15th girl (7th F11), Harry Mason 32nd boy (12th M11), Adam Quinn 37th (14th M11) and Daniel Bradley 44th boy (18th M11).

As the U14’s prepared themselves the weather began to change but we were still hopeful that it would keep fine. The rain began to fall on the way up to Buttock Farm making conditions under foot even worse. This did nothing to put the juniors off with them showing grit and determination. Tom Bradley was 20th boy (14th M13), Alice Pier 19th girl (5th F13) and Eleanor Root 22nd girl (16th F12).

Finally it was the turn of the U16’s and U18’s to brave the conditions, with the U18’s going all the way to the Trig point and back. In the U16’s Jordan McDonald was 11th boy (8th M15), Curtis Holt 20th boy (9th M14) and Beth Quinn 30th girl (10th F15).

A great run from Jacob Boyle saw him finish 6th boy (3rd M17), with George Pier after taking a couple of tumbles on the way finished 17th boy (12th M16).

A truly great effort again from ALL you juniors. Thank you once more to ALL the parents for your continued support and encouragement for the juniors.

Aquathlon, Salt Ayre, Lancaster, Sunday 30th March.

Grace and Eleanor Root participated in their 2nd Aquathlon at Salt Ayre in Lancaster. It was a perfect day and for once the sun was shining. Grace competed in the Supersprint event coming 9th overall and 7th girl out of a mixed field of 15. Big sister Eleanor took part in the Tristar 3 event. She had a good swim leaving the pool in 3rd place but lost a little time in transition dropping her to 5th. She did however manage to pull it back on the run coming 3rd in her wave. Her final position was 24th overall and 12th girl out of a mixed field of 34.

Well done girls.

Thank you to Jason Piers for this weeks race report!

The Rest of the Weekends Action

This week saw a high volume of weekend races taking place. Dave Motley had an emphatic personal triumph at the Greater Manchester Marathon completing the race in the sub 3 hour mark. Read about the culmination of his hard work and efforts, along with other Clayton-le-Moors Harriers, in his captivating race report here.

Roger and Andrea Brewster competed at this years Leamington Regency 10k. They both completed the course in impressive time of 0:39:21 and 1:01:19. Another 10k being contested this weekend was 3 Bridges by Steve Biscomb, Martin Brady and Kevin O’Brien. All had brilliant runs with Steve narrowly missing out on a top 20 finish. Full results found here.

Harriers Richard Stevenson and Kevin Davies played an away game this weekend, competing at the Marathon de Paris. Once again Clayton-le-Moors members proved their mettle on the marathon stage by achieving great times 3.08.49 and 03:27:23 respectively.

Down in Lincoln, Breton Holdsworth had another top 3 placed finish, this time at the Grantham Cup 10k. He finished 2nd overall, posting a time of 00:41:50, over three minutes ahead of 3rd place.

Lastly, Junior member Leon Passco had a tremendous run at Burnley Park Run, setting a new PB in 18:13. As a spectator to his 1st placed victory, his effort and pace was a sight to behold – an exciting future prospect in the ranks!

Well done to everyone who ran this week, many miles were put in over this weekend and a whole lot of effort! Keep up the good work!

ByChristopher Holdsworth

Donard Challenge 2014 & The Rest of the Weekends Action

Donard Challenge 29/3/14 – First British Championship Race of 2014

Reported distance varied from 8-10km (and probably close to 10km?) with 850m of ascent

‘It was only when finding a group of twenty or so in a huddle on the featureless bit that I got my compass out. At first I thought that there had been an accident or that it was a group of hill walkers as the ghostly silhouettes stood around in a circle ‘chuntering’’

Six veteran Clayton-le-Moors Harrier stalwarts crossed the Irish sea for this event. We arrived by various means, the leisurely having a week’s holiday (Katy T and George-who was reputed to have travelled just to fit in a different Park Race), Jack H combining this with a working visit, Barbara and Neil going the long way round via Holyhead with their ‘mobile’ home, Jean flying out after a busy working week and Wendy flying out for a 24hour appearance.

Jean and Wendy were able to join the Wharfedale ladies in a luxurious apartment, along with two MV60s from Harrogate (interesting night for Wendy, sleeping on a couch in the lounge to find a bare chested man with a duvet wrapped round his middle rapidly leaving the lounge at 6.45 having moved to the couch in the night to avoid his roommate’s snoring, BUT there were two couches! (Perhaps ‘the chase’ was still on during the race but you would need detailed knowledge of the results to find the answer!). Katy and Jack had more up market accommodation to share with their spouses.

The organiser of the NI British championship race and his large band of merry helpers always makes everyone welcome and for the second successive year fed us with home baking after the race. As has often been the case it was a newly designed course, (although previously the Slieve Donard race has been a championship counter), this year having a different approach and departure to and from the summit which proved challenging.

There was a quick few km on forest trails from Donard Park before climbing 200m into the cloud to the forest edge to the first CP. Then it was a steep 160m climb to a minor summit CP at which point compasses were VERY useful to head across a short flat featureless few 100m before the 400m climb to the highest peak in NI taking CARE to watch the compass at all times as visibility was often close to zero. (It was only when finding a group of twenty or so in a huddle on the featureless bit that I got my compass out. At first I thought that there had been an accident or that it was a group of hill walkers as the ghostly silhouettes stood around in a circle ‘chuntering’)

From the summit it was an about turn descending past the subsidiary summit cairn that we passed on the ascent, (at this point, unexpectedly seeing some fast runners ascending it was evident that there had been some interesting ‘route choice). Then it was a rough descent on another compass bearing for almost 2km, (again great care required to avoid dropping into the wrong valley as some did), until hitting the marked route almost before we could see it. This led us safely round the rim of a huge quarry to the final CP. It was then a fast muddy, winding descent through the forest for almost 2km to the finish.

Anyone finishing did well in the ‘interesting’ conditions and the full waterproof cover required for the race was sensible and for some the compulsory emergency food, unusual for a ‘short’ race, might have come in useful (and was generously supplied by the organisers).

The tales from this event will continue all year with at least one person covering 10 miles as a result of a ‘walkabout’. It illustrates the value of navigation when there is no visibility.

Results (full details on www.nimra.org.uk )

Men

1^st Allan Bogle 1-05-25 City of Derry AC

2^nd Ian Whiteside 1-05-35 Carnethy

3^rd Neil Northrop 1-05-57 DPFR

1^st U23 (19^th place) William Neill 1-11-57 Mercia FR

1^st MV40 (10^th place) Morgan Donnelly 1-06-33 Borrowdale

1^st MV50 (27^th place) Stuart Whittle 1-14-06 Carnethy

1^st MV60 James Patterson 1-28-59 Newcastle AC

Women

1^st Jackie Lee 1-24-14 Eryri Harriers

2^nd Emma Gould 1-26-42 Mercia FR

3^rd Claire Green 1-27—33 P&B

1^st FV40 Mel Price 1-29-31 Mercia FR

1^st FV50 Aly Raw 1-36-25 Bingley Harriers

1^st FV60 Wendy Dodds 1-30-59 Clayton-le-Moors Harriers

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers Results

All returned with some points in their category (except the two FV60s for whom the rampant sexual discrimination of UKA only provides a category for MV60, despite it being the 30th anniversary of the woman’s Olympic marathon when the fairer sex were considered, for the first time (!) to be able to cope with this challenge, but obviously the older females are still considered to have their limitations!!!) Fortunately our brothers in NI, along with the organisers of British championship races from the other Celtic nations, choose to recognise this category so it can still be a competitive class.

70^th & 28^th MV40 Neil Hardiman 1-28-38

97^th & 5^th FV40 Jean Brown 1-34-20

116 & 6^th MV60 Jack Holt 1-37-11

198 & 5^th FV50 Barbara Savage 1-58-51

216 &4^th FV60 Katy Thompson 2-07-21

(and Katy Thompson would have been 2^nd FV60 had it not been on tired legs from Edale Skyline 6 days earlier as there were only 62 seconds between 2^nd and 4^th FV60)

It was great to have Barbara scoring points for our FV40 team, though my brain has difficulty computing team points so we shall have to wait for the team positions (but we may have beaten Ambleside!?).

Where were all the other Clayton-le-Moors Harrier men? Are they tough enough?

Still time to complete 3 counters for the 2014 British championships, remembering Ennerdale is a double counter (ie. Also English championship counter) and entries open 31/3/14

Thanks to Wendy Dodds for this weeks Race Report!

The Rest of the Weekends Action

This weekend saw two significant races take place. Firstly, on Saturday the Heptonstall Fell Race was undertaken by four Clayton-le-Moors Harriers. A superb race was had by V40 Garry Wilkinson finishing 18th and in a time of 2:15:42. David Baggot also had a great race, finishing 33rd overall and 2:22:54. Nigel Hodson also had a great race, finishing in 2:50:02, whilst Marion Dixon crossed the line as the 7th lady! Full results here.

Secondly, the inaugural Ron Hill Accrington 10k took place on a sunny Sunday Morning. Plenty of Harriers made their way to the streets of Accrington for what was a splendid race course. Clayton-le-Moors Harriers managed to secure the time prize through 2nd placed Christopher Holdsworth, 3rd placed Breton Holdsworth and 6th placed Nick Gaskell. We were represented well with an astounding 19 Harriers racing, one of which was Ron Hill himself who managed an excellent time of 00:59:27. Other brilliant performances came from Marion Wilkinson achieving a time of 00:57:08 and securing her categories prize, as well as V70 Ted Orrell who also secured the top prize in his category. Well done to all who ran, making this a special first race for the Ron Hill Accrington 10k, Here’s to many more!

(Keighley 10k results to follow)

Category Archive Roundup 2014