Noon Stone Fell Race | Lynn Hindle, Brian Hargreaves & John McDonagh Memorial Littleborough 5 mile

The Noon Stone Fell Race, organised by Todmorden Harriers, attracted almost 250 runners last Saturday. Despite the relatively mild conditions, rain showers and heavy going underfoot added to the challenge of the 9 mile course which features over 2300 feet of ascent and descent.

The race climbed steeply up to Coldwell Hill from Mankinholes, then immediately back down to London Road for a steady rise to Stoodley Pike. A descent down to Withins Clough led onto the navigation section across open moorland, past Little Holder Stones to the rain gauge at Warland Reservoir.

A steep drop into Black Clough below Langfield Edge was followed by the final climb of the day back past Coldwell Hill and a testing steep descent back to the finish.

A close race soon developed with five runners battling for the win for much of the distance, with the lead changing hands several times. Tom Addison of Lakeland club Helm Hill eventually winning in a time of 1:12:05, just 15 seconds ahead of Ben Mounsey of Calder Valley. Simon Harding of Macclesfield Harriers finished in 3rd place.

Calder Valley won the team prize with Alex Whittem crossing the line in 4th and Gavin Mulholland in 5th.

First Todmorden runner was Sean Carey, recording 8th place in his first attempt at the distance. Ben Crowther was next to finish in 47th, just ahead of Shaun Pickard in 51st.

The ladies race was won in a time of 1:25:40 by Helen Berry of Holmfirth with Kath Brierley taking the honour of first Todmorden lady in 6th, and first v40, having overhauled Sarah Warburton in the final mile. Together with Lucy Burnett, in her first race for the club, they won the ladies team prize for Todmorden.

Tod Results: 8 Sean Carey 1.17.53; 47 Ben Crowther 1.28.28; 51 Shaun Pickard 1.29.22; 69 Clive Greatorex 1.32.46; 75 Ozzy Kershaw 1.33.29; 111 Dan Taylor 1.38.48; 115 Kath Brierley 1.39.42; 120 Sarah Warburton 1.40.10; 143 Andy Glyde 1.44.19; 153 Lucy Burnett 1.45.21; 214 Sue Roberts 1.57.22.




On Sunday, twenty one Harriers turned out for a memorial race in Littleborough for former Todmorden runners John McDonagh and Brian Hargreaves, and Blackburn Road Runners' Lynn Hindle, who all passed away last year.

Originally planned as a 5km road race, roadworks meant a course switch to a longer and tougher 5 mile trail race. The runners were faced with an early steep climb up Blackstone Edge Old Road and then a further climb along the Pennine Bridleway.

After crossing over the motorway, a steep descent looped them back under Rakewood viaduct and past Hollingworth Lake for a fast downhill finish back in Littleborough.

Rob Jackson of Horwich RMI won in a time of 29:37, with former Todmorden runner Sue Becconsall now of Bingley Harriers finishing first lady in 33:07 and 8th overall.

Dwane Dixon and Martin Stork led the way for Todmorden finishing in 2nd and 4th places respectively, with Dave Collins completing the course in 10th place.

Sarah Glyde finished 3rd lady, just ahead of Lucy Hobbs in 4th with Mel Siddall just edging out Hatty Nylon for 8th lady.

Tod Results: 2 Dwane Dixon 30.31; 4 Martin Stork 31.03; 10 Dave Collins 33.31; 15 Simon Galloway 35.03; 17 Richard Butterwick 35.21; 18 Kevin Booth 35.23; 24 Keith Parkinson 37.38; 26 Phil Cook 38.29; 27 Sarah Glyde 38.36; 28 Lucy Hobbs 38.55; 34 Paul Brannigan 39.50; 35 Mel Siddall 40:00; 36 Hatty Nylan 40.05; 40 Kevin Coughlan 41.35; 46 Nigel Hanson 42.49; 49 Peter Ehrhardt 43.24; 52 Helen Hodgkinson 43.54; 53 Andrea Marshall 44.26; 63 Dave O'Neil 48.29; 72 Barry Chapman 50.17; 73 Myra Wells 50.42.

Steve Bateson's Littleborough 5 pics...

Noon Stone Fell Race - English Championships 2010

The Noon Stone Fell Race proved a worthy opener to the 2010 English Fell Championships on Saturday as Todmorden Harriers’ organisation of the classic fell race received much acclaim. Conditions for the 9 mile race were the most challenging for several years with the combination of soft boggy ground and drifts of snow making for hard going. The middle unmarked navigational section was completely shrouded in mist, and that ultimately determined the winner as nearly 500 runners struggled to find the quickest lines across the boggy moors.

Starting from Mankinholes, the race quickly rose up the first steep climb of the day to Coldwell Hill, before plunging back down to London Road losing much of the 600 feet height just gained. The route then had runners climbing back up past Stoodley Pike and then down again to Withens Clough. The third rise of the day took the field out onto pathless open moorland and bog to the highest point of the race at the Little Holder Stones.

It was here that Dark Peak’s orienteering specialist Mathew Speake took control of the race, a lead which he retained to the end, as it returned via Warland Drain and over Langfield Edge before a precipitous descent into Black Clough and the final climb of the day, past the Noon Stone itself, back to Coldwell Hill and then down to the finish at Mankinholes. Speake finished 3 seconds ahead of club mate Lloyd Taggart, in a time of 1:08:16. 2009 Champion Rob Hope of Pudsey and Bramley finished in 3rd place.

First Harrier home was Jon Wright in 31st place, with Andrew Wrench in 51st. Alistair Rhodes-Dawson and Nick Barber both managed a creditable top 100 finish, in 75th and 99th respectively.

Altringham’s Olivia Walwyn staked an early claim for this year’s women’s title finishing in 1:18:56. Todmorden’s Lauren Jeska put in an outstanding performance to finish 5th lady overall just 36 seconds behind 2nd placed Emma Clayton in a highly competitive battle. Despite a painful fall, Todmorden’s Moyra Parfitt took the vet65 prize.

Todmorden Results: 31 Jonathan Wright 74.53; 51 Andrew Wrench 77.11; 75 Alastair Rhodes-Dawson 79.16; 99 Nick Barber 81.28; 116 Andrew Horsfall 82.24; 127 Dave Collins 83.32; 134 Lauren Jeska 84.01; 169 Stephen Brandwood 87.23; 178 Ben Crowther 88.17; 180 Shaun Pickard 88.45; 221 Phil Hodgson 92.23; 232 Simon Anderton 93.29; 234 Martin Roberts 93.47; 281 Ozzie Kershaw 99.10; 292 Mick Craven 99.59; 302 Sarah Warburton 101.28; 307 Rachel Skinner 102.1; 308 Andrew Bibby 102.15; 312 Karen Gray 102.37; 332 Melanie Blackhurst 104.47; 357 Richard Leonard 107.57; 400 Louise Abdy 119.16; 413 Moyra Parfitt 133.21; 414 Claire Duffield 133.22.

Todmorden to host the English Fell Championships

The country’s finest fell runners will be picking their way around the hills of Todmorden on Saturday after Todmorden Harriers’ Noonstone Fell Race was selected as the prestigious opening counter for this year’s English Fell Championship.

Whilst many Todmorden Harriers will be busy helping out race organiser Andrew Horsfall, those taking part in the race will hope that the advantage of being on home ground will start off their 2010 Championship campaign on the right foot as the club seeks to build on past triumphs.

Many of the biggest names in the sport will be present, including current British and English Champion Rob Hope, as well as the upcoming talent of U23 Men’s Champion James Kevan and Ladies U23 Champion Emma Clayton. Ladies Team Champions Calder Valley will also be hoping their local knowledge will set them on their way to further success this year.

The 9 mile race, which features 2300 feet of ascent and descent, will start at noon on Saturday 27th February from Mankinholes. The first steep climb up Coldwell Hill should spread out the expected 500 competitors before they drop back down to London Road.

A climb up past Stoodley Pike will lead onto the fast descent to Withens Clough Reservoir. The third and longest gradient of the day takes the runners out onto private ground over the pathless Turley Holes and Higher House Moor with only the Two Lads Stones and the Little Holder Stones to assist with navigation.

After briefly following the Pennine Way from Warland Reservoir, a descent over Langfield Edge will lead to the final climb of the day past the Noon Stone on the way back up to Coldwell Hill and a steep testing decent to the finish at Mankinholes.

The presentation ceremony will be held after the race at the Top Brink Inn, Lumbutts.

Noon Stone Fell Race

The Noon Stone Fell Race attracted a large field of 251 hardy runners to Todmorden on Saturday. Whilst the morning mist had lifted considerably by the start at 12 noon, grey and cloudy skies remained throughout in perhaps the kindest weather experienced for several years. However, with the 9 mile race incorporating a total of 2,300 feet of ascent and a sizeable unmarked navigational section, it was still a serious undertaking.

Starting from Mankinholes, the race quickly rose up the first steep climb of the day to Coldwell Hill, before plunging back down to London Road losing much of the 600 feet height just gained. The route then immediately climbed back up past Stoodley Pike and then down again to Withens Clough. The third and longest gradient of the day took the strung out field across pathless open moorland and bog to the highest point of the race at the Little Holder Stones. After very briefly following the Pennine Way from Warland Reservoir runners were soon back onto rough ground as they descended over Langfield Edge. The final short climb of the day then took them back up to Coldwell Hill and a steep testing decent returned them to the finish at Mankinholes.

The early pace was set by Calder Valley’s Shaun Godsman and Alex Whittem, as they opened up a small lead on the first climb with Sheffield University’s Callum Gilhooley and Todmorden Harriers’ Sean Willis leading the chasers.

Whittem initially took up the lead on the muddy descent to London Road as Willis was dropped from the leading group. As the race progressed further a two way battle ensued between Godsman and Gilhooley, with the Sheffield student looking favourite as he opened up a small gap in the latter stages. However the local man’s experience showed in the run in as he went one better than last year, crossing the line in 1:11:15, to take the win by 7 seconds, with Whittem ultimately finishing a further minute behind in 3rd place.

First Harrier home was Willis in 6th closely followed by Chris Smale in 7th, taking 1st and 2nd in the Vet40 category respectively. The men’s team prize went to Calder Valley Fell Runners edging out Todmorden.

Zanthe Wray of Sheffield University quickly established herself as first lady and a strong run all the way round ensured that she comfortably remained so to the finish, with a 4 minute advantage over her nearest rival Heather Dawe of Ilkley. First Todmorden lady was Kath Brierley in 6th overall and 2nd Vet40. Along with Emma Osenton and Helen Hodgkinson, Todmorden comfortably won the ladies team prize.

After the extensive prize giving, a Todmorden Harriers spokesman thanked the land owners for their help putting the race on, the landlord and staff of the Top Brink Inn for their excellent hospitality throughout the day, and the many volunteer marshals and other helpers.