ByAdrienne Olszewska

March comes in like a lion

Well, it’s March already. The first lambs are in the field, daffodils are sprouting, and spring is on the way. This week you have been on the roads, the trails, the fells, cross country courses as well as orienteering, adventure racing and awards ceremonies!

Pendle Primary Schools Cross Country Championship – 26th February

The Pendle Primary Schools Cross Country Championship for Year 5/6 pupils – took place at Alkincoats on February 26th. Clayton Junior member, Grace Root, came 9th. Well done Grace!

Red Rose Cross Country League Presentation Night

Clayton Juniors at the Red Rose Cross Country League Presentation Night

Congratulations to our brilliant juniors who received awards at the Red Rose Cross Country League Presentation Night. Jackson McKay took away a huge trophy that was well deserved for an excellent cross country season!

Jackson McKay with his trophy.

Stanley Park 10K – 28th February

In much better conditions than last weeks Great North West Half Marathon, six of our club members travelled over to Blackpool to take part in this race on Saturday and there were some great performances. Junior runner, Jordan McDonald, finished in 6th place overall in a great time of 37:39 closely followed by fellow junior runner, George Pier who finished in 10th place overall in a time of 38:49.

Jordan McDonald at the Stanley Park 10K. Picture by Christopher Holdsworth

Chasing the two juniors, Jon Hanson came in 11th place just a few seconds behind George. He said; “The race was great. Well organized and a good conditions for running. Will be running it again later in the year for hopefully another PB. Jordan and George had a fantastic run”

Jason Pier and our sole lady runner, Sarah Angelone, also grabbed new PBs so well done to them.

Sarah Angelone at the Stanley Park 10K

Sarah said, “Great event….fantastic marshal as we came back to the track cheering and high fiving all the runners. Got a bit side tracked watching the ducks on the pond in parts so time dropped off but then remembered John’s ‘have a word’ comment and got back in the zone!” Adam Hamer returns to racing after a break to travel down under and finished a shade over the hour mark. Well done everyone!

Pos	Name	Category	Time
6	Jordan McDonald	M	00:37:39
10	George Pier	M	00:38:49
11	Jon Hanson	M	00:38:59
54	Jason Pier	MV45	00:44:34
79	Sarah Angelone	F	00:46:50
269	Adam Hamer	M	01:04:11

Full Results

Midgley Moor Fell Race – 28th February

This race is described as a challenging race involving route choice on paths and heather moor. It is a 5 mile race with 1250ft of climbing.

Five Clayton ladies and one gent took part among 191 runners. Back after injury, Nat Harrison reported; “It was hard, Great turn out. Tough underfoot, lots of bushes, heather, bracken whatever you call it! Good weather, great cake, fab company.”

Nat Harrison at the Midgley Moor Fell Race. Photo by Woodentops.org.uk

Despite this report, Nat went on to be second counter in the womens team who were place equal third with Saddleworth Harriers and Wharfedale Harriers. Vicky Heys, first Clayton Harrier finisher, agreed that it was hard underfoot but with a great atmosphere and company cheers.

Vicky Heys at the Midgley Moor Fell Race. Photo by Woodentops.org.uk

Irene Roche reported; “Yes, this oap was trailing behind the young Clayton fillies,but apart from queues at a couple of stiles early on, a good challenging course with a bit of everything. One male only from Clayton, Bob Hirst.”

Pos	Name	Category	Time
113	Vicky Heys	FV40	00:58:18
124	Natalie Harrison	F	00:59:02
137	Irene Roche	FV50	01:00:48
147	Linda Lord	FV60	01:02:35
148	Angela Shian	F	01:02:38
167	Robert Hirst	MV60	01:07:53

Full Results

PFO Orienteering Spring Series – Nick of Pendle – 28th February

The Nick O’Pendle is characterised by wide open vistas and lots of contours, so when the weather held and the cloud lifted, fast winning times were guaranteed. The courses through the wide open spaces were a mix of easy lines and invisible pin points. Most relished the physical challenge and enjoyed the day.

Mark Nutter and Colin Woolford both took part in the technical Brown course. Mark finished in 6th place in a time of 108:29:00 and Colin came in 9th place in a time of 144:40:00. Colin Woolford reported good conditions, but tough going seeing Pendle from some very different angles. Out again the following day, Colin also took part in the Haglofs Open5 adventure race in the Yorkshire Dales.

Junior Member Christopher Brown finished in 1st place in the yellow event in a time of 18:42 and then went on to take part in the Orange event as well.

Full Results

High Cup Fell Race 2015 – 28th February

This is a 9.3 mile fell race with 1509ft of climbing. No results as yet and not known if any of our members took part. I have a suspicion that some of you did, I just haven’t tracked you down yet! Will update when I find anything out.

Trotters 5

Clayton Vet Ron Chappell was our sole representative at this 5 mile trail race organised by Burnden Road Runners.

Ron Chappell at the Trotters 5 Trail Race. Photo by Michelle Navesey

Full Results

Harden Trail Race – 1st March

The Harden Trail Race is described as a 6 mile race through the beautiful woods and undulating trails of Bingley St Ives estate. The Junior race is a 2mile shorter option for any age.

Julie Toman was our sole representative in the senior race. She said, “It was a tough 6 mile trail race, definitely one to put in your diary. Loved it and the homemade cakes after! Lots of prizes too. A great event!” Managing to avoid a full body mudslide in this event, Julie was awarded the ‘brightest head gear’ special prize!

Julie Toman at the Harden Trail Race with the prizewinning headgear! Photo by the woodentops.org.uk

Juniors Curtis and Briony Holt took part in the junior 2 mile race and were 1st boy and 1st girl. Well done the two of you. Briony said, “It was a hard course but a good one for the younger age group. There were ‘special prizes’ at the end as well as overall winners prizes. It was boggy underfoot with a few ditches now and again but overall it was an interesting course.”

Team Holt. Curtis and Briony Holt winners at the Harden Trail Race. Photo by woodentops.org.uk

Results

Haweswater Half Marathon – 1st March

The Haweswater Half follows an out and back course from Bampton Village (9 miles S of Penrith, 4 miles W of Shap) and passes along the shores of Haweswater in a remote and dramatic mountain valley. The hilly course offers an exhilarating run in unique surroundings.

Tanya Bunkham was waving the Clayton flag as our sole competitor in this event. She finished in a time of 01:54 and reported conditions as very hilly and windy, tough going.

Full Results

Stanley Park 10k Day 2 – 1st March

Three club members took part in the second 10k of the weekend at Stanley Park in Blackpool. 295 runners took part in the second event of the weekend. There were strong performances for all three. A top twenty finish for Matthew Duckworth and first age category finishes for Stephen Biscombe and Alan Clarkson. Well done all of you!

Pos	Name	Category	Time
19	Matthew Duckworth	M	00:40:06
31	Stephen Biscombe	V60	00:42:10
37	Alan Clarkson	V55	00:43:09

Full Results

Parkrun roundup

Well done to all of our parkrunners. You’ve been out and about in a range of locations. Nine of our juniors took part in the Burnley event this weekend so well done to all of them, especially Thomas Bradley for his 10th place finish and Liberty Thompson for a new PB. Jonathon Pye and Jacob Watson both finished strongly in the top ten as usual and Colin Shuttleworth and John Hartley both had top five finishes at Thetford and Pendle parkruns.

Brockwell parkrun, Herne Hill – A total of 254 runners took part.

Position	parkrunner	Run Time
96	Katy THOMPSON	00:24:32
101	George THOMPSON	00:24:39

Worsley Woods parkrun – A total of 131 runners took part.

Position	parkrunner	Run Time
25	Nerina GILL	00:25:25

Burnley parkrun – A total of 212 runners took part

Position	parkrunner	Run Time
5	Jonathan PYE	00:18:05
6	Jacob WATSON	00:18:08
10	Thomas BRADLEY	00:20:44
14	Sean CLARE	00:21:07
15	Matthew DUCKWORTH	00:21:14
23	Alan CLARKSON	00:21:56
26	Stephen WHITE	00:22:31
36	Martin BRADY	00:23:14
37	Dexta THOMPSON	00:23:16
42	David Ian SCOTT	00:23:31
64	Adam STEVENSON	00:25:14
75	Donna SCOTT	00:26:05
81	Lee MOORE	00:26:24
84	John WILCOCK	00:26:30
83	Annabel WILCOCK	00:26:30
88	Nick ROSCOE	00:26:33
92	Liberty THOMPSON	00:26:40
99	Jackie KERSHAW	00:27:03
104	Ron CHAPPELL	00:27:16
112	Sophie ASHWORTH	00:27:52
120	Stuart BARKER	00:28:56
133	Diane ORRELL	00:29:35
152	Nicola KAY	00:30:47
172	Kady THOMPSON	00:33:42
179	Milly MACCABE	00:35:17
205	Kathleen GARNETT	00:39:07

Dewsbury parkrun – A total of 86 runners took part.

Position	parkrunner	Run Time
85	Robin PRICE	00:39:46

Thetford parkrun – A total of 212 runners took part.

Position	parkrunner	Run Time
3	Colin SHUTTLEWORTH	00:19:07

Pendle parkrun – A total of 51 runners took part.

Position	parkrunner	Run Time
4	John HARTLEY	00:21:22
37	Molly HESKETH	00:31:36
41	James BALDWIN	00:32:19
45	Christine LEATHLEY	00:33:57

Fell Foot parkrun, Newby Bridge – A total of 120 runners took part.

Position	parkrunner	Run Time
76	Eileen JONES	00:31:47

Coming up

Stan Bradshaw Pendle Round 7th March. Pre-entries now taken up to 5pm on 5th March and EOD available. If any club members want to volunteer, you can contact Mike Eddleston on 07951 424780 or use contact form.

Summer Series 2015. The Summer Series consists of six Tuesday evening races for members of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers and Trawden AC only. In addition to the usual prizes, in each race prizes are given for the closest pre-race predicted time to the actual time. No watches allowed during each race! A runner’s best four races count for overall series prizes. Full Details

Presentation Night. Tickets are going fast, over 70 tickets sold already, so don’t miss out on your opportunity to attend the ultimate awards ceremony of the year! James Hickey will be at JR’s training on Tuesday selling tickets or you can contact Marie Greenwood to buy a ticket.

ByPeter Booth

February Newsletter

Do you know that Clayton Harriers will organise at least 10 running events this year, including the UK Hill and Fell Relays? The major feature of this month’s edition is an appeal from our Race Promotions Coordinator, Mike Eddleston for all Clayton members to ease the pressure on our race organisers by committing to help at a minimum of one club event per year. In addition to all the usual features, there is an account of a ‘wrinkly’ outing and a picture quiz. Download your copy here. February Newsletter 2015

Our unstoppable U-13 girls. L-R Ellie Root, Liberty Thompson, Millie Stubbs, Briony Holt

ByDave Motley

I’m dreaming of a white………….

Christmas passed with not a sight of the white stuff and then the skies opened this weekend, which in the end caused a little disruption to the racing.

A number of races were cancelled or postponed this weekend including the Podium 5k which attracts a super quick field at its monthly event in Barrowford and the East Lancs Hospice 10k from Great Harwood, this race has been re-arranged for Sunday 25th January.

But there were races that defied the weather with Clayton Harriers as usual out in force. The first race of the weekend the Hebden 22 had a number of our members competing, although technically not a race the popular LDWA event attracts runners from all over the local area with promises of a fantastic route, great organisation and I think your weight in cake, sandwiches and other goodies. In total 156 runners took part in this event with the following members finishing:

30. Paul Hesketh 3:57

34. Neil Hardiman 3:58

94. Wendy Dodds 5:11

141. Adrienne Olszewska 6:32

(L-R – Neil Hardiman & Paul Hesketh)

Sunday Morning came and the prospect of Stanbury Splash, the first Fell club championship race of the year. With the adverse weather conditions and the race organiser making the decision to both shorten the course and announcing that the approach roads to Penistone Quarry were in a poor condition a late announcement was made by club captains myself and Jean Brown to cancel this as a club championship race. This decision was not taken lightly, however we felt the safety of our members was paramount and we did not want anybody to feel they had to drive in those conditions just to get a club championship counter. My apologies again for such a late announcement as I know a number of individuals had already set off to the race and talking of those individuals John Hanson sends this report.

Stanbury Splash…………..

Race day again and my 2^nd fell race since I’ve joined the club. Build up to this race was a little different and everyone’s eyes were on the weather. Personally I’d googled the race ( as every proper geek would) and was so impressed by the look of it that I was doing the race whatever the weather, once my mind is set on something I’m doing it.

The morning of the race came and it had been changed to a shorter 5 mile course, it didn’t matter as I was looking forward to it, so off we go.

On the way over I saw a few club members making their way over and I was glad that I’m not the only one. Sanity check not needed for today.

On arrival the land is covered in snow and the views are amazing, really gave me the buzz for being there and wanting to race. Time to register and have a quick warm up before its time to get to the line. Just before 11:30 we all gather at the bottom of the quarry and get ready to start, I’m stood with Dave Bagot and John Roche. I’m enjoying the atmosphere and also looking forward to getting going just to warm up a little.

Race starts and we are off to a 1 mile climb, fairly boggy but a steady easy climb. I was unfortunate to get stuck behind people on the climb but I kept managing to find a place to overtake as we got further up the hill.

(John Hanson above in the red jacket)

Race continues to get even boggier and one minute you’re on your legs, the next your down to your knees in mud and just about staying upright. Tough going but great fun and let’s face it we all love getting muddy on a fell run. About 2 and half miles in Dave Bagot is still in sight and I feel strong, I just keep pushing through, tapping up the hills and overtaking as often as I can. Then the downhill comes. We all start flying down and people are hitting the deck left right and centre, including myself. We make it to the bottom and then a slight climb up and I manage to overtake a few more on a good section where I could pick some speed up down to the road crossing, we make it past the road but I can’t just get in front of the next guy and before I know it we are at the finish line.

A fantastic race which had me smiling all day.

(Still smiling……..L-R Natalie Harrison, Vicky Heyes, Angela Shian)

31. Dave Bagot 40:34

59. Jon Hanson 42:43

97. John Roche 44:54

99. Chris Funnell 44:57

110.John Wilcock 45:27

140. Richard Briscoe 47:16

144. Vicky Heys 47:24

171. Angela Shian 49:26

176. Natalie Harrison 49:42

251. Katie Thompson 55:02

277.Kath Brady 57:05

Full results here

At Giggleswick in the Kendal Winter League series we had another fantastic junior performance from Briony Holt who battled in tough conditions to win the girls race.

(Briony Holt)

In the senior race we had great performances from…….

22. Alan Life 28:01 (1st V50)

112. Carol Life 36:42

118. Wendy Dodds 37:13 (1st LV60)

132. Stephen Fish 38:34

At the Inskip 1/2 Marathon Michael Hogan said “I think I was the only clayton vest at the Inskip 1/2 marathon this morning, chuffing chilly and icy in places but a really good morning out. Here comes Marathon Training – Happy Days”

Full results are not out yet but I will update asap.

and finally Parkrun – I’m not going to do the usual World Update because I don’t know (Adrienne will be back next week) 🙂 but as usual we had members out in force at both Burnley & Pendle (and im sure uk wide).

and the only other thing is a reminder about the ‘Club do’ or Annual Presentation evening.

ByPeter Booth

January Newsletter

Happy New Year! The latest edition of The Harrier is now available here. Click on the link to see a new year’s message from El P, more comment and reaction to the Tour of Pendle, as well as all the usual features, fixtures and results. January Newsletter 2015

ByPeter Booth

December Newsletter

December Newsletter 2014 Here is the latest of The Harrier, complete with a report on the Tour of Pendle by yours truly, plus all the usual features. Most important: a plea for help with junior training sessions. Please volunteer if you can – they’re the future!

Dave Motley leads Christopher Holdsworth at the 2014 Tour of Pendle. Photo Copyright Andy Holden

ByAdrienne Olszewska

British Masters & Mid Lancs Cross Country, and the rest of the weeks action

“Excellent team performance from Team Clayton at the first Mid Lancs XC fixture from the Men, Women, and Junior teams, this is just the first step towards our goal of putting Clayton-le-Moors Harriers back in the top flight where we belong. Please continue to support the Club throughout the season, everyone on the start line counts.”
Ian Greenwood (Mens Cross Country Captain)

Cross Country News

There were two major cross country events going on for club members this weekend.

Firstly, the British Masters Cross Country Relays in Derby with three teams entered. Two ladies’ teams and a men’s team

Irene Roche (Ladies Captain) reported; “Had a brilliant day in Derby at the Masters Cross Country Championships with the Clayton ladies. Success and enjoyment are the words to describe Team Clayton’s trip to Derby on Saturday 25th. Whilst bronze was awarded to our LV55 team, Christine Leathley, Jean Knightley and Irene Roche, our LV45 team comprising of Anna Kelly, Barbara Savage and Julia Rushton gained 9th place amongst many teams of tough competition.

L-R: Irene Roche, Christine Leathley, Jean Knightley

The course was of neat dry grass consisting of one or two short hilly bits with a short visit through woodland. Two laps of this then brought each runner to the finish line. It was brilliant! Compared to many of our usual XC venues it was bit like running round someone’s very large back garden!

L-R: Barbara Savage, Anna Kelly and Julia Rushton

Next year we hope to arrive with more teams (hoping it doesn’t clash with our league runs). Thank you and well done girls!

Garry Wilkinson reported; “Many thanks to Paul Shackleton for organising this. Great to see him holding onto Bronze on the 5th, and anchor leg, in the British Masters XC in Derby today. Massive team effort from the ‘boys’. 5 x 3.1 km relay legs.  We won a bronze medal in the 45-54 age cat and there’s only one of us under 50. That’s an average of 5 min 45sec per mile /average age 51 on grass”

Leg 1 Andy Stubbs 10:58
Leg 2 Mark Aspinall 11:24
Leg 3 Ian Greenwood 11:54
Leg 4 Garry Wilkinson 11:34
Leg 5 Paul Shackleton 11:47 Team Captain

L-R: Andy Stubbs, Mark Aspinall, Ian Greenwood, Garry Wilkinson, Paul Shackleton and mascot

Secondly, the Mid Lancs Cross Country League kicked off at Hyndburn at Wilson’s Playing Fields in Clayton-le-Moors. There was a huge turnout of 71 club members across the races, 30 junior members and 41 seniors.

12 juniors took part in the Under 11 races, some of them competing in cross country racing for the first time, and there were solid performances all round. Jackson McKay had a great run finishing in 3^rd place in his race. It’s great to see such enthusiasm in our youngest members and the future looks positive. A credit to the junior coaching team!

Clayton junior girls at the Mid Lancs Cross Country fixture

Girls U-11 Results (70 Runners)

13 – Ella Dorrington 9:20
35 – Roanna Holdsworth 10:06
50 – Keira Stevenson 10:34
60 – Kady Thompson 12:50

Boys U-11 Results (66 Runners)

3 – Jackson McKay 7:41
15 – Dexta Thompson 8:42
39 – Cobi Doyle 9:24
43 – Finlay Stubbs 9:42
57 – Jack Skelly 10:35
62 – Finan Holdsworth 11:07
66 – Matthew Astley 12:53

8 juniors took part in the under 13 races with a particularly strong performance from the girls team finishing in 2^nd place. The boys team finished in 9^th place.

U-13 Girls Results (51 Runners)

2 – Briony Holt 10:04
8 – Eleanor Root 10:41
13 – Millie Stubbs 11:10
31 – Liberty Thompson 12:03
41 – Natasha Olszewska 13:08

Girls team 2^nd place (53 Pts) Briony Holt | Eleanor Root | Millie Stubbs | Liberty Thompson

Boys U-13 Results (56 Runners)

22 – Adam Quinn 13:24
49 – Adam Stevenson 16:00
51 – Isaac Wilkinson 16:11

Boys team 9^th place (118 pts) Adam Quinn | Adam Stevenson | Isaac Wilkinson

7 juniors took part in the under 15 races. Only 2 girls meant no team placing there, but a strong boys team finished in 4^th place.

Girls U-15 Results (22 Runners)

8 – Alice Pier 13:29
22 – Lucy Stevenson 19:32

Boys U-15 Results (41 Runners)

14 – Curtis Holt 16:33
18 – Thomas Bradley 16:29
24 – Ryan Clarke 17:16
34 – Alexander Townrow 18:03
38 – Simon Wilshaw 19:32

Boys Team 4^th place (55pts) Curtis Holt | Thomas Bradley | Ryan Clarke

Only 2 juniors competed in the under 17 races. Bethany Quinn ran well finishing 9^th in her class with a time of 20:53, and Jordan McDonald finishing 6^th in a strong field of runners with a time of 22:24. Well done!

Jordan McDonald in the Mid Lancs Cross Country U-17 race

Senior Ladies

We had 11 ladies running in the senior ladies race with the over 35 team finishing in 2^nd place. Some great performances from the ladies team even with a number of ladies away running in the British Masters Relays.

Ladies Individual Results (166 Runners)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
9	Candice Heys	L35	25:11
45	Vicky Heys	L35	28:40
49	Fabienne Richmond	L35	28:59
50	Angela Shian	L35	29:00
82	Sarah Helliwell	L	30:48
95	Dawn Richardson	L45	31:20
102	Sarah Whittaker	L35	32:02
114	Helen Burnett	L35	32:58
135	Adrienne Olszewska	L45	36:13
154	Susan Allen	L45	40:43
162	Sophie McIntosh	L	42:44

Clayton Ladies in action at the Mid Lancs Cross Country

Ladies Team Results

Clayton-le-Moors – 9^th place (95pts) Candice Heys | Vicky Heys | Fabienne Richmond

Clayton-le-Moors “B” – 22^nd place (211 pts) Angela Shian | Sarah Helliwell | Dawn Richardson

Over 35s Team – 2^nd Place (41pts) Candice Heys | Vicky Heys | Fabienne Richmond

Over 35s Team “B” – 11^th place (115pts) Angela Shian | Dawn Richardson | Sarah Whittaker

Over 45s Team – 9^th place (107pts) Dawn Richardson | Adrienne Olszewska | Susan Allen

Senior Men

An excellent turn out of 31 Harriers took part in the men’s race, including George Pier in the U-20 category. First man in was Chris Holdsworth who finished in 17^th place with a time of 37:34. The men’s teams finished strongly with a fantastic 1^st place for the V60 Mens team. Well done chaps!

A great run from Chris Holdsworth.

Mens Individual Results (296 Runners)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
17	Christopher Holdsworth	M	37:34
52	Lee Smith	M	41:06
57	Carl Helliwell	M	41:06
59	Dave Motley	M	41:14
71	Richard Stevenson	M	42:00
87	Andrew Orr	MV40	42:59
92	Michael O’Donnell	MV40	43:02
102	George Pier	U20	43:28
108	Alex Cran	MV40	43:43
116	John Roche	MV50	44:10
122	Michael Hogan	MV40	44:29
136	Sean Clare	MV40	45:12
138	Breton Holdsworth	MV40	45:16
167	John Wilcock	MV50	47:00
192	Peter Booth MV60	MV60	47:55
193	Jeffrey Pickup	MV60	47:56
213	Richard Briscoe	M	50:04
217	Andrew Howarth	MV50	50:14
221	David McCallum	MV60	50:47
224	James Hickie	MV50	51:01
227	Stephen White	MV50	51:14
229	M Thistlethwaite	MV60	51:31
230	Paul Wale	MV40	51:42
241	Martin Brady	MV50	63:00
271	Robert Hirst	MV60	57:50
272	David Burnett	MV40	58:02
279	Stuart Hartley	MV50	59:55
280	Ted Orrell	MV70	1:00:09
288	Adam Hamer	M	1:01:06
292	Richard Lawson	MV70	1:07:06
296	Jack McGuire	MV50	1:17:32

Clayton Harrier, John Wilcock, storming up the muddy slope

Men’s Team Results

Vets Over 40s – 8^th place (161pts) A Orr | M O’Donnell | A Cran | J Roche

Vets Over 40s Team “B” – 14^th place (267pts) M Hogan | S Clare | B Holdsworth | J Wilcock

Vets Over 50s – 7^th place (78pts) J Roche | J Wilcock | H Booth

Vets Over 50s Team “B” – 14^th place (143pts) J Pickup | A Howarth | D McCallum

Vets Over 60s – 1^st place (22pts) P Booth | J Pickup | D McCallum

Vets Over 60s Team “B” – 4^th place (49pts) M Thistlethwaite | R Hirst | T Orrell

Full Results

Trail & Fell News

Great Whernside Fell Race – 25^th October
9 of our club members took part in this classic fell race. Linda Lord finished 1^st Lady Vet 60.

Linda Lord at the Great Whernside Fell Race – photo courtesy of Woodentops

Individual Results (157 Runners)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
76	Ivan Whigham	MV50	00:42:22
85	Peter Browning	MV50	00:43:33
93	Mark Nutter	MV50	00:44:33
94	Ian Robinson	MV50	00:44:36
111	Richard Bellaries	MV60	00:46:34
113	Rick Moore	MV50	00:47:07
115	Andrew Dugdale	MV50	00:47:19
118	Peter Dugdale	MV50	00:47:34
121	Andrew Firth	MV50	00:47:48
136	Linda Lord	FV60	00:49:29

Full Results

Montane Trail 26 at Rivington – 26^th October

Nicholas Olszewski and Tim Piggot took Harriers took part in this popular trail marathon.

Report from Nicholas Olszewski

This event has a lot of nostalgia for me as it’s my old stomping ground from the early 80’s when I lived in Bolton and ran for Horwich RMI.

The route takes you through the Chinese gardens of Rivington Pike, around the beacon and up to Winter Hill, dropping down into Belmont. Next is Delph Reservoir at Egerton before the long slog over to Darwen Tower, which seems to go on forever, partly due to the fact that you get a glimpse of it early on and it doesn’t seem to get any nearer.

Once you get Darwen Tower out of the way the climbing and bog is behind you, all that’s left is a little road work through Withnell and Brinscal before trails heading back to Rivington & Blackrod School, running alongside the reservoirs at Anglezarke.

Chuffed with my time and performance this year, knocked an hour of last years’ time, which I think was achieved by my increased running mileage and cycling, I’ll be back next year to try and break the 4 hour barrier; I was just over this year by about 8 minutes.

Individual Results (148 Finishers)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
25	Nicholas Olszewski	MV50	04:08:21
69	Tim Piggott	M	04:46:44

Full Results

Tandle Hill Trail Race – 26^th October
A couple of Harriers took part in this event. Tandle Hill is a famous landmark in Rochdale that is known for its amazing views of the Pennines and surrounding areas. The race has all the features people love about trail running. Country Lanes, woodland running, grassy trails and paths, undulations, amazing views and scenery and a very fast, long, downhill finish. 5.8 miles , 573 ft of climbing

Individual Results (87 Runners)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
10	Jon Hanson	M	40:45
67	Stephen Fish	M	55:25

Full Results

Bronte Way Race – 26^th October
There were 9 Harriers taking part in this race with a number of them racing for the second time this weekend. There’s just no stopping some people!

New member, Julie Toman was the only Clayton lady running in this race. She has come a long way in a short time; from her first park run 12 months ago to running tough local trail and fell races. Well done Julie!

Ian Greenwood, racing for the second time this weekend – photo courtesy of Woodentops

Individual Results (158 Runners)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
16	David Naughton	MV50	01:03:26
20	Ian Greenwood	MV50	01:04:46
32	Sean Clare	MV45	01:07:17
40	Ivan Whigham	MV50	01:08:25
41	Chris Funnell	MV45	01:08:28
47	Andy Bradley	MV45	01:09:10
92	Mark Nutter	MV50	01:20:55
104	Jeff Hignett	MV35	1:20:55
150	Julie Toman	FV45	1:36:35

Full Results

OMM – The Original Mountain Marathon
Founded in 1968 the OMM is the originator of the 2 day mountain marathon type event and is for teams of 2, carrying all clothing, equipment, tent, sleeping bag, food for 36 hours, navigating one’s own route and including an overnight camp. There are 7 different classes, (the course distances quoted are over 2 days) the longest being the Elite which is literally 2 consecutive marathon length days or thereabouts and with c2,500m of ascent over 2 days.

Class A – Wendy Dodds with Sarah Rowell 18^th place with a time of 13:18:44

Long Score – 12^th place Jean Brown and Mike Wallis with a time of 12:47:43

Full Results

Road News

Snowdonia Marathon – 25^th October
A demanding and spectacular marathon route, encircling Snowdon, Wales’ and England’s highest peak. Two Harriers took part and finished strongly in what is considered to be one of the most difficult road marathons.

Individual Results (1709 Runners)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
390	Simon Halliday	M40	3:48:20
331	Paul Thompson	M40	3:43:41

Full Results

Accrington 10k
A modest turnout of 14 Clayton-le-Moors Harriers for this event. Again some of the competitors had raced the day before, like I said you just can’t hold back a Harrier! Well done to Johnny McKenna (McCann) who finished in 3rd place and well done to Claire Vincent who was the 3^rd Lady finisher.

Steve Biscomb also ran, finishing in around 42:30 but is missing from the results.

Individual Results (337 Runners)

Pos	Name	Cat	Time
3	Jonny McKenna	M	34:47
15	Phil Hall	MV50	38:06
17	Richard Stevenson	M	38:38
40	Nick Roscoe	MV45	42:01
49	Claire Vincent	F	42:49
68	Richard Anslop	M	44:41
69	Alan Clarkson	MV55	44:45
93	Alison Dugdale	FV45	46:19
113	Brian Wildman	MV45	47:24
128	Martin Brady	MV50	48:16
155	Julia Rushton	FV50	49:37
180	Amanda Duffy	FV35	51:49
206	Jackie Kershaw	FV40	53:37
218	Robert Hirst	MV60	54:14

Full Results

Parkrun News
The parkrun movement continues to go from strength to strength, with new locations joining in the fun on a regular basis. Club members Katy and George Thompson were lucky enough to be a part of the inaugural Fell Foot parkrun last Saturday and here is their report.

George and I were going up to the Joss Naylor Dinner in Wasdale so decided to set off early and take in the new Parkrun at Fell Foot, Newby Bridge. One of the first people we saw as we arrived was Eileen Jones, former Clayton Ladies Fell Captain. She was with her sister Sheila, who has done most of her 205 Parkruns at Heaton Park.

Eileen had helped set up the Newby Bridge Parkrun and said the organisers were hoping for a small field for their first event. But they’d reckoned without the enthusiasm of dedicated Parkrunners! Of the 247 runners who turned up, four had completed over 200 Parkruns and another eight had 100 shirts. Just under half were first time Park runners.
The run starts on the grass near Windermere then goes out and does a loop round a meadow, comes back along the Lakeside with a short sharp hill back up to the start, then once more round the meadow. It was a lovely scenic route with the autumn colours on the surrounding hills. So if you’re ever in the Lakes on a Saturday morning it’s well worth a visit. The usual car park fees at Fell Foot are suspended until after the parkrun if you put a barcode in your car.

Parkrun Roundup
Well done to all of our parkrunners. Many of you went on to run one or, in some cases, 2 other events over the weekend. Congratulations to Susan Burns for her first lady position in the Burnley parkrun!

Heaton Parkrun – 416 Runners

Pos	Name	Time
113	George Thompson	24:18
140	Katy Thompson	25:06
181	Bryan Searby	26:17

Burnley Parkrun – 172 Runners

Pos	Name	Time
3	Jonathon Pye	18:23
4	Jacob Watson	18:36
5	Kevin Davies	18:40
6	Terry O’Leary	19:05
10	Susan Burns	20:25
13	Stephen Ainsworth	20:50
21	Donna Riley	22:07
35	Martin Brady	23:42
60	Donna Scott	25:21
88	Annabel Wilcock	27:44
89	John Wilcock	27:44
90	Stuart Barker	27:45
102	Julie Toman	28:27
126	Mike Holden	30:12
160	Harry Manning	36:13

Pendle Parkrun – 40 Runners

Pos	Name	Time
6	John Hartley	20:59
16	Robert Hirst	24:27

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

ByPeter Booth

October Newsletter

The October Harrier is here with two Runs of the Month (or should that be Run of the Months?), two months of results & a double dose of Covering Old Ground. Details of the new committee and results of the track 5K are in, along with Winter Training venues. Thanks to Katy T, there are all the fixtures up to the end of the year, including details of the Red Rose and Mid Lancs Cross Country Leagues. There is also an account of Katy’s Joss Naylor Challenge. All the info a club member needs! October Newsletter 2014

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

Category Archive Seniors Competitions

Pendle Primary Schools Cross Country Championship – 26th February

Red Rose Cross Country League Presentation Night

Midgley Moor Fell Race – 28th February

PFO Orienteering Spring Series – Nick of Pendle – 28th February

High Cup Fell Race 2015 – 28th February

Trotters 5

Harden Trail Race – 1st March

Haweswater Half Marathon – 1st March

Stanley Park 10k Day 2 – 1st March

Parkrun roundup

Coming up

Cross Country News

Trail & Fell News

Road News

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

Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay – Sunday 5^th October

Rivington Trail Half Marathon – Saturday 4^th October