Category Archive Seniors Training

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

Clayton Juniors

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

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

ByAdrienne Olszewska

Mid Lancs Cross Country and the rest of the week’s action

Clayton-le-Moors Harriers have not been battling for flat screen TVs in the local Tesco! Far from it; they have been much too busy battling for the finish in a wide variety of cross country, road and fell races.

Mid Lancs Cross Country League – Liverpool

Juniors

Junior coach Jason Pier said, “Well done to the 12 juniors who competed in the British Athletics Cross Challenge at Liverpool. This fixture is a first class event attended by some of the very best junior runners in the country. You all showed great effort and determination to do well on a very fast course which showed in the great results. As always the togetherness of the juniors was evident as you all cheered each other on around the course. Well done to ALL of you.”

Under 11s

Clayton Junior

Under 11 team at Liverpool. L-R Milly Mccabe, Dexta Thompson, Finan Holdsworth, Roanna Holdsworth, Kady Thomspson

Girls and boys set off together in this event so it was a very large field of 164 runners at the start. This didn’t seem to bother our fabulous five and they all had a great time.

U-11 Boys (64 runners)

Finally caught a photo of our under-11 boys in action. As they are the first to race, it’s sometimes quite difficult to catch them as their races are fast, and over in the blink of an eye. It was a pair of solid performances from some of our youngest members. Well done Dexta and Finan

Cross country race

Dexta storming to the finish.

Position Name Time
21 Dexta Thompson 00:08:10
53 Finan Holdsworth 00:10:21

U-11 Girls (100 runners)

A trio of our youngest girls took part. Roanna Holdsworth was the first Clayton girl. Well done to Roanna, Kady and Milly.

Position Name Time
38 Roanna Holdsworth 00:09:08
70 Kady Thompson 00:10:23
82 Milly Mccabe 00:11:26

U-13 Girls (98 runners)

Another trio of Clayton Junior girls ran in this race. Briony Holt had another great run finishing in 11th place amid some top level competition. Well done Briony. Well done to Liberty and Natasha as well.

Position Name Time
11 Briony Holt 00:11:40
77 Liberty Thompson 00:14:14
87 Natasha Olszewska 00:15:06

U-15 Boys (116 runners)

Curtis and Simon put in good, solid performances in this group. Well done lads.

Position Name Time
83 Curtis Holt 00:11:12
112 Simon Wilshaw 00:13:11

U-15 Girls

Alice was our sole representative in this extremely competitive and fast group. A great performance; well done Alice.

Position Name Time
58 Alice Pier 00:12:32

To finish off a great day’s racing a couple of our junior girls met Steve Cram; legendary middle distance runner.

Steve Cram and Clayton Juniors

Stars of the future with a star of the past? L-R Briony Holt, Steve Cram, Alice Pier

Senior races

Ladies
Irene Roche, Ladies Cross Country Captain, said, “A great big thanks and well done to all Team Clayton who ran at Liverpool today. Possibly a record Clem Lady turnout at this venue! Decent weather and good fun all round.”

Clayton Ladies

Clayton Ladies at the Mid Lancs Cross Country fixture in Liverpool

Ladies Race – 255 runners

Position Name Time
135 Vicky Heys 37:24
141 Angela Shian 38:07
142 Irene Roche 38:13
153 Tanya Ashcroft 39:10
157 Jean Knightley 39:19
160 Julia Rushton 39:29
170 Sarah Helliwell 41:08
183 Helen Burnett 43:50
200 Michelle Butschock 47:30
210 Christine Leathley 52:11
215 Susan Allen 55:30

Mens Race

Report by Chris Holdsworth

Of all the XC races of the previous season, Sefton Park was by far the fastest on the calender. Not only was this due to the flatness of the course, but because of the sheer amount of talented runners dragging you along the course. The same can be said for 2014’s XC fixture!

After the battle of Barlick that I endured at Hyndburn XC, where each member eventually passed me on a very muddy, leg sapping trail, I had hoped to bridge the gap a little more on a faster course. However, in the mass start I found myself unable to weave my way through the pack and was pushed back further than I’d hoped, leaving me with a lot of ground to cover. A new battle I had not considered emerged in it’s place, a battle with Ron Hill and his swanky silk orange short shorts.This lasted approximately one mile until I left him in my dust (joking aside, Breton had a great race and is coming back to form).

My main objective from this point on was to stay as close to the Barlick boys as much as possible. This was successful until around the 5km mark where Chris Singleton, Marc Hartley and Nick Treitl all pulled away, with the leader of the pack (Chris) ending up finishing around 30 seconds ahead. I ended up finishing around a minute ahead of my time from last year, in 34:21. I had thought that I might of produced a slightly faster time than that of last year, having a full year of running under the belt. Unfortunately I think Thursday’s speed session was still rattling around my legs, particularly feeling the effects in the first two miles.

Among the many talented runners on show, Clayton-le-Moors Harriers produced some excellent performances and had a great showing of numbers too. Bring on the next one!

Clayton Men

Clayton Men’s Team at the Mid Lancs Cross Country Liverpool fixture

Special mention for Martin Brady; this was his 100th race this year! An awesome achievement from Martin.

Mens Race – 520 runners

Position Name Time
159 Christopher Holdsworth 34:21
192 Breton Holdsworth 35:40
198 Lee Smith 36:08
246 Kevin Davies 37:43
248 George Pier 37:49
264 Carl Helliwell 38:21
307 Alex Cran 39:47
341 Richard Briscoe 40:54
371 Sean Clare 42:03
385 John Wilcock 42:36
420 Peter Booth 44:23
428 Peter Browning 44:43
437 Andrew Howarth 45:20
445 David Scott 45:55
448 Dugald McCallum 46:05
452 Melvyn Thistlethwaite 46:19
471 Martin Brady 47:22
495 Richard Lawson 51:49
509 Ron Chappell 54:07

Full Results

English Schools Cross Country Cup Finals

Ellie Root travelled with her team from Skipton Girls’ High School to Newquay to take part in the ESAA Cross Country Cup National Finals. Ellie came a fantastic 27th out of 131 runners and helped her team to become National Champions. Thanks must go to all the Junior coaches and volunteers that have helped Ellie along the way. We are all very proud.

Ellie Root

Ellie Root at the English Schools XC Championships

Todmorden Park 5k Series – Race 2 – 27th November

70 runners took part in this evening event. A cohort of 5 Clayton Harriers took part.

Position Name Category Time
5 Kevin Davies MV50 17:56
35 Gary Balmer MV45 21:44
39 Martin Brady MV50 22:23
57 Robert Hirst MV60 25:29
64 Nicola Kay F 28:29

Full Results

Kirkby Moor Fell Race – 29th November

Kirkby Moor Fell Race is described as a fast race over rolling moorland: a mixture of heather, sheep tracks and sometimes the access tracks for the windmills. It’s not that high or steep, so a good race for beginners and road runners, but some parts are still quite hard going and navigation on the moor can be very interesting in the November fog.

Mike Wallis and Jean Brown headed up to the low-key Kirkby Moor fell race on Saturday.  11km over the moors north of Kirkby in Furness.  A return to racing after a year out with injury for Mike was rewarded with a prize for 2nd MV50!  Jean also left with a prize – for 2nd LV40.  

Position Name Category Time
17 Mike Wallis MV50 00:58:37
45 Jean Brown FV40 01:10:24

 Full Results

Wesham 10k – 29th November

Race report from Michael Hogan

I had picked this race to crack the elusive sub 40 run that I was desperate for. The race started in near perfect conditions, unnatural for the end of November really, but who are we to argue.

‪Terry O’Leary and ‪Jordan Mcdonald shot off like whippets, I set my pace at 6:20 min miles and started getting my long lost race face on. With the last few races I have done, the 3-4 mile window seems to coincide with my brain going walkabout and pace being lost, not today, with Graham Cunliffe for company concentration was paramount.

The race flew past. It was predominantly flat with a few undulations to break the stride, and, as the last few corners loomed, it was all or nothing. Drop a gear and floor it time – hey presto 39:56! back in the sub 40club.

Well done to all the Clayton runners and a special mention for Jackie Kershaw who was the sole Clayton Lady in this race for achieving a new PB.

 Wesham 10k – 408 runners

Position Name Category Time
25 Terry O’Leary MV35 00:37:52
35 Jordan McDonald MU20 00:38:32
53 Michael Hogan MV45 00:39:56
76 Stephen Biscomb MV60 00:41:23
261 Ted Orrell MV75 00:52:29 (1st in class)
267 Jackie Kershaw FV40 00:52:46
387 Graham Kissack MV65 01:03:44

Full Results 

The Best 5k – Preston – 30th November

Just one club member at this event run in and around Preston North End football ground. 139 runners took part. Well done Julie!

Pos Name Cat Time
72 Julie Toman FV45 26:36

Full Results

Movember 10k – 30th November

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of millions of moustaches around the world. With their Mo’s, Bro’s and Sista’s raise vital funds and awareness of prostate and testicular cancer. As an independent global charity, Movember’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health.

Bryan Searby

Clayton Harrier at Movember 10k in Lytham St Annes

A couple of Clayton Harriers took part in this fundraising event among 305 starters. Bryan getting a new personal best taking him closer to a 50 minute target for the 10k (maybe a go faster moustache is needed for next year’s event!) Well done to the Brian and Bryan.

Pos Name Cat Time
40 Brian Wildman V45 46:01
124 Bryan Searby V40 54:32

Full Results

David Staff Memorial Fell Race – 30th November

The race is run in memory of David Staff who turned 17 years of age on 5th December 1994 which then allowed him to compete as a senior for the Darwen Dashers.  His first race (and last) as a senior was in the Clitheroe 10k on 27th December 1994.

David collapsed and died by the road side at 5 miles from a condition called Hyperthropic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, which in laymans terms is an abnormal thickening of the heart muscles which interrupted the electrical pulses which keeps the heart working.  This condition takes the lives of approximately 8 so-called fit and healthy young people a week, most of them are actively engaged in sport, but it is not the sport that kills; it is the exertion that acts as a trigger.

Darwen Dashers host this race to raise funds for Cardiac Risk in the Young, the charity that David’s father Granville actively supports. The funds raised are used to provide heart screening in the young.

18 Clayton Harriers took part in this race with Andrew Orr first Clayton man in for the club. Vet runners David Scott and Katy Thompson took first positions in their age categories. Katy was also first Clayton lady in for the club. Well done to all that took part in this commendable local race.

Andrew Orr

Andrew Orr who was the first Clayton man home in the David Staff Memorial Fell Race

Pos Name Cat Time CatPos
13 Andrew Orr M40 00:31:42 (004/048)
15 Alan Life M50 00:32:21 (003/032)
23 Ivan Whigham M50 00:33:32 (006/032)
34 Richard Briscoe M 00:35:10 (012/027)
40 Chris Funnell M40 00:35:31 (018/048)
42 Mark Nutter M50 00:35:35 (010/032)
85 Andrew M. Dugdale M50 00:39:06 (021/032)
104 George Thompson M60 00:40:45 (006/016)
106 David I. Scott M70 00:40:57 (001/006)
109 Martin Brady M50 00:41:14 (027/032)
116 Katy Thompson F60 00:41:54 (001/003)
122 Sarah Helliwell F 00:42:28 (007/010)
130 Stephen Fish M60 00:43:44 (011/016)
132 Julia A. Rushton F50 00:43:57 (006/010)
134 Carol Life F40 00:44:14 (005/010)
136 Robert Hirst M60 00:44:30 (012/016)
142 Kath Brady F50 00:46:53 (008/010)
151 Ron Chappell M60 00:50:10 (015/016)

Full Results 

Parkrun News

A few people visited new parkrun locations this week as well as the more local ones. Some great placings and a couple of personal bests for Jonathan Pye and Jackson McKay. Well done parkrunners

Burnley parkrun – a total of 141 runners took part.

Position parkrunner Run Time
2 Jonathan PYE 00:18:02 New PB!
4 Andrew MCFARLANE 00:19:36 First timer!
7 Jackson MCKAY 00:20:16  New PB!
47 Millie STUBBS 00:24:19
57 Donna SCOTT 00:25:36
59 Finley STUBBS 00:25:42
67 Keira STEVENSON 00:26:36
71 Robert HIRST 00:26:43
84 Stuart BARKER 00:27:53
87 Annabel WILCOCK 00:27:59
88 John WILCOCK 00:28:01
124 Lucy STEVENSON 00:35:15
123 Adam STEVENSON 00:35:15

Pendle parkrun – A total of 35 runners took part.

Position parkrunner Run Time
1 Paul HESKETH 00:20:39
3 John HARTLEY 00:20:49
12 Barry MITCHELL 00:25:48 First timer!
27 Molly HESKETH 00:33:09

South Manchester parkrun – A total of 377 runners took part.

Position Parkrunner Run Time
2 Jacob BOYLE 00:16:38 First timer!

Cannon Hill parkrun, Birmingham – A total of 437 runners took part.

Position parkrunner Run Time
21 Paul SHACKLETON 00:19:16

Ormskirk parkrun – A total of 87 runners took part.

Position parkrunner Run Time
4 Richard STEVENSON 00:18:40 First timer!

Fell Foot parkrun, Newby Bridge – A total of 141 runners took part.

Position parkrunner Run Time
99 Eileen JONES 00:30:36

Other News

Clayton Ladies turn 21

Clayton Ladies are 21 years old! Well actually I am far too polite to mention the combined ages of all 26 ladies that attended a celebration of 21 years of Ladies Thursday Night Training at the Agra restaurant on 7th November. A good old time was had by all. Here’s to the next 21 years.

Fell Runners Association Presentations

The FRA Annual Presentation Dinner and Dance was held in Telford this year. After a year when the first British championship race in Northern Ireland demanded good navigation skills, the first challenge of the evening was finding the venue, with a crucial 100m stretch of road being closed and no diversion signs. Eventually (up to an hour in at least one case!) everyone found the Hotel and the night began in earnest.

When the presentations began, Clayton’s star for 2014 was Linda Lord – picking up her trophy for first Lady Vet 65 in the English Championship – brilliant result Linda! Kieran Carr was second in the Male Vet 65 English Championship; Wendy Dodds second in the Lady Vet 55 and 60 English Championships. Wendy was also awarded a coveted Lakeland Classics Mug for being first Lady Vet 60 in the series. We then picked up our medals for the second Lady Vet 40 team in the British Champs (counters Wendy Dodds, Barbara Savage and Jean Brown with Katy Thompson competing in all of the races as a great insurance counter). Fantastic results.

FRA Presentation

FRA Presentation Evening
L-R Jean Brown, Katy Thompson, Linda Lord and Kieran Carr

The evening ended with a Ceilidh… we all got away with our feet intact. A great evening. What will the club be picking up at the presentations this time next year…?

FRA Subscriptions

The FRA has also decided to take a leap into the 21st century and collect subscriptions online, using the membership system offered by SiEntries. This will accept payment by direct debit, debit or credit cards.  We will NOT be accepting any payments by Standing Order from now on.

All members including those who previously paid by standing order, Life and Honorary Members need to complete the renewal process by Wednesday 10th December otherwise you will not receive the FRA Handbook & Fixtures Calendar in time for Christmas.  Those who renew late will receive the handbook in late January.

To renew, please visit http://www.sientries.co.uk/fra.

English / British Fell Championships 2015

For those interested in taking part in some of the English / British Championship races in 2015 they were published on the FRA presentation programme as:

English:
Short – Flower Scar 7 March
Medium – Stretton Six Summits 9 May
Long – Duddon Valley 30 May
Long – Bradda, Isle of Man 11 July
Short – Lingmell Dash 25 July
Medium – Guisborough 3 Tops 6 Sept

British:
Medium – Moelwyn Peaks (Wales) 18 April
Medium – Durisdeer (Scotland) 13 June
Short – Lingmell Dash (England) 25 July
Long – Seven Sevens (Northern Ireland) 15 August

If you are interested in running any of the races have a look at the details on the races pages of the FRA website – some have on-line pre-entry opening on 1 December.

Club Fell Championship

Provisional Final Standings in Club Fell Championship are now available. The 2014 Club Fell Championship consists of five races, with a member’s best three races counting. The qualifying races were:

  • Saturday 8th March 11:00 am – Stan Bradshaw Pendle Round (BM), Barley.
  • Saturday 12th April 11:00am – Coledale Horseshoe (AM), Braithwaite.
  • Thursday 19th June 7:15 pm – Aggie’s Staircase (AS), Darwen.
  • Sunday 10th August 10:30 am – Boulsworth Fell (BM), Trawden.
  • Saturday 15th November 10:30am – Tour of Pendle (AL), Barley.

Jean Brown tops the ladies results and Matthew Perry tops the mens.

Full Details

Pendle Aggregate Trophy Competition

Final standings for the 2014 Pendle Aggregate Trophy are now available. This competition consists of five qualifying races, with a member’s best four races counting. The qualifying races were:

  • Saturday 8th March 11:00 am – Stan Bradshaw Pendle Round (BM), Barley.
  • Saturday 5th April Ladies 12:30 pm, Men 2:00 pm – Pendle Fell Races (AS), Barley.
  • Tuesday 13th May 7:15 pm Mearley Clough Fell Race (AS), Worston.
  • Saturday 23rd August 2:00 pm Pendleton Fell Race (AS), Pendleton.
  • Saturday 15th November 10:30 am Tour of Pendle (AL), Barley.

Joint top places are Christopher Holdsworth and Jean Brown

Full Details

Club Road Palladium

In the Road Palladium Competition members receive points for competing in any road race. There are separate competitions for Ladies and Men.  Leaders are currently Jackie Kershaw and Chris Holdsworth.

Full Details

Junior Helpers Still Needed

A big thank you to Nat Harrison, Joanne Bennett, Richard Briscoe, Richard Stevenson, Vicky McKay and Steph Jackson for all your help at the junior training session. Your help is greatly appreciated

If any other seniors would like to give us a hand, even on a one off basis then please get in touch. Most weeks are interval session based so you can either join in (risking getting spanked by a 12yr old!) or just help marshal the session. Everybody is welcome. I’ll be starting a rota on the website in the coming days.

Contact Andrew Armstrong for further information

Winter Training News

Winter Training at Barden Athletics Track. Starts this Thursday 4th Dec. 6.30pm. The sessions from Network 65 have now finished until further notice.

Unofficial Christmas Do

This Saturday 6th December.

Order of the day….Run @ Marl Pits XC (Rawtenstall). Home for food, water and glad rags then a night in the metropolis of Burnley, meeting in Weatherspoons @ 7:30pm. After which it’s a free for all!

And Finally….

Don’t forget to have a great week running and racing. If you are out and about please get in touch and tell us all about it, with lots of photos as well if you can. There is still lots going on. Coming up this week;

  • Todmordon Park 5k Night series
  • Red Rose XC – Marl Pitts, Rossendale
  • Guys 10, Garstang
  • Ulverston or Great Langdale Chrismas Pudding races
  • 3-1-4 Lancaster half marathon
  • And of course parkrun

 

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

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

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 Maesgwm ladies

ByJim Hickie

Lottery Funding Award of £8900

Juniors Lottery FundingClayton-le-Moors Harriers are delighted to announce the award of a grant of £8904 from Sport England, which will support our talented group of juniors. The grant has been awarded to the ‘Burnley Running Community’ project which lasts for one year. The awarding of the grant is largely down to the hard work of club members Marion Wilkinson, Jason Pier, Andy Armstrong and everyone involved, that have helped make our juniors the success that they are.

A large part of the award is to provide additional coaching for eleven of our older juniors, to encourage sustained participation into adult running. These members are now able to attend weekly gym strength & conditioning classes for a year at St Peter’s Leisure Centre in Burnley. The award also supports the training of additional coaches for our club, promotion and publicity, as well as mini bus travel to races and driver training.

The grant will help the club to sustain the high level of quality that is emerging through the ranks. Without such support, it can become an uphill task to maintain the enthusiasm needed to keep our youngsters in the sport as they become young adults. All of our thanks and gratitude goes to Sport England for helping us to develop our juniors into our senior runners of the future!

However, it isn’t just the juniors that will receive the benefits. The award has enabled Burnley Getin2 Running to hold adult beginners group sessions, which are held in the distraction free parks of Burnley. Led by qualified leaders, these sessions are held at Thompson Park on Mondays at 6:30pm, Saturdays at 11am and Sundays at 10am. There is also a session at Towneley Park on Thursdays at 6pm. For further information visit runengland.org, or call 01282 425011. We look forward to seeing more people taking up running to get fit, and hope that some will decide to become a part of our success and join us.

Get into Running

ByPeter Booth

August Newsletter

The brand new edition of the Harrier is here! On time! Follow the link to catch up on loads of recent results for junior and seniors. There’s a report from Mike Wallis about the Saunders Mountain Marathon and an update on the Summer Series. Not forgetting all the usual features: Run of the Month, Covering Old Ground, Milestones & Training info.

Ring 18th September in your diary – it’s the club AGM & 5000 metre track race – details on p4. August Newsletter 2014

Clayton at Trawden

ByPeter Booth

July Newsletter

The July Harrier is here – sorry for the late arrival; I’ve been a bit busy! The Newsletter includes El P’s report on the Boulder 10K, Tom Brewster’s on Hendon Brook Half Marathon and mine about my Challenge, as well as the usual features, fixtures and a bumper list of results. July Newsletter 2014

ByPeter Booth

June Newsletter

Here’s another 40 page bumper edition which contains a reports on the Calderdale Way Relay and the Fellsman ultra fell run, as well as how Linda Lord celebrated her 65th year. (Clue: she didn’t put her feet up!) With all the usual features, fixtures and results, just click the link and it’s all yours!

ByPeter Booth

May Newsletter

Here is the link to the latest newsletter. This month’s edition has (most of) the answers to April’s picture quiz, along with another photograph of Clayton members of yesteryear – so old that even Don Barton & El P will struggle to remember them! On a more serious note there is an obituary for Harry Hartley and fond memories of Walt Wilkinson who died 15 years ago. Plus race reports, results, fixtures & news. May Newsletter 2014