Ron Hill Birthday 5k | Watergrove 5k | Wild Goose Chase

Several Todmorden Harriers joined almost 200 runners in Littleborough to celebrate Ron Hill’s 74th birthday with a 5k race.


Andy McFie, making a rare appearance on the roads, was the first Harrier to stop the clock at 18:31 for 12th place, with Martin Stork in 14th and Dan Taylor in 28th place.

Sarah Glyde finished 4th lady, with a time of 20:48.

Todmorden results: 12 Andy McFie 18:31; 14 Martin Stork 18:48; 28 Dan Taylor 19:34; 41 Richard Butterwick 19:54; 57 Sarah Glyde 20:48; 126 Ray Poulter 24:37; 170 Myra Wells 28:34; 187 Ian Stansfield 32:47.


On Sunday the paths around Watergrove Reservoir attracted 100 runners to Wardle, with Alistair Rhodes-Dawson claiming a win over the 5km course in a time of 19:15.

Richard Butterwick and Michael Harper had a close battle finishing 6th and 7th respectively.

1 Alastair Rhodes-Dawson 19.15; 6 Richard Butterwick 20.36; 7 Michael Harper 20.49; 16 Chris Drinkwater 24.07; 27 Bohuslav Barlow 26.24; 41 Myra Wells 29.19; 63 Ian Stansfield 33.51.


A trio of Harriers were on a Wild Goose Chase, from the Turkey Inn at Goose Eye near Keighley.

Clive Greatorex was the first Todmorden runner to finish this new 7km fell race in 7th place, with Dave Collins in 9th position, whilst Sue Roberts finished 3rd lady.

Rombald's Romp | Three Shires

Todmorden Harriers plumped for the fell option at the Rombald’s Romp Fell versus Trail Race on Ilkley Moor. The unique event features a choice of two 7 mile courses, one a fell route and one a trail route.


Nick Barber was the 6th finisher on the fell route, followed by Paul Brannigan in 15th and Paul Hobbs in 17th place.

Kath Brierley finished in 47th, with Mel Blackhurst in 53rd and Helen Wilson in 77th place.

Todmorden Results: 6 Nick Barber 51:16; 15 Paul Brannigan 54:13; 17 Paul Hobbs 54:17; 29 Dave Collins 58:44; 40 Michael Harper 1:02:01; 47 Kath Brierley 1:04:39; 48 Phil Hodgson 1:04:49; 51 Andy Glyde 1:05:49; 53 Melanie Blackhurst 1:06:14; 77 Helen Wilson 1:16:08; 80 Sue Roberts 1:19:36; 84 Louise Abdy 1:20:59; 90 Ray Poulter 1:29:28;



A trio of Todmorden runners tackled the Three Shire Fell Race in the Lake District. The 13 mile race featured over 4000 feet of ascent and Marcel Ellison was the first Harrier to finish in 51st position in a time of 2:25:51, followed by Andy McFie in 68th in 2:31:01 and Simon Anderton in 175th in 3:03:03.

Moel Wnion | Jungfrau Marathon | Yorkshireman Marathon | Burnley parkrun



Photo by Jim Smith

 Lauren Jeska sealed her first British Fell Championship with a win at the final race in Wales. Lauren needed to overhaul Calder Valley’s Helen Fines in the standings, and quickly established a lead on the Moel Wnion race, and went on to win with a new ladies course record of 43:40.


In the men’s race, Dan Taylor finished in 55:43 for 76th place.

Photo by Bev Wright

A trio of Todmorden runners were in Switzerland for the Jungfrau Marathon, which follows a mainly uphill mountainous route in the shadow of the Eiger.

Jon Wright completed the course in 3:53:49, with Andrew Horsfall finishing in 4:55:38 and James Riley in 5:38:33.



Closer to home, at Haworth, Joe Daniels finished in 22nd place at the Yorkshireman Marathon in 4:28:57 and Elise Milnes was 104th with a time of 5:32:58.

In the 15 mile ‘half’ marathon Lucy Hobbs was 88th completed the course in 2:30:46 and Paul Cruthers crossed the line in 2:44:25 for 129th place.



Todmorden’s youngster’s were setting the pace for the club at Burnley parkrun, with Jackson Cowie finishing in 5th place, Jack Crummett in 15th, Henry Antemes in 24th and Alex Duffield in 79th place.

Alice's Run 10k | Ben Nevis Race | Blackshawhead Fell Race | Littleborough Lions 5k

Todmorden Harriers’ club Trail Championship concluded at the weekend with Alice’s Run in Mytholmroyd, a 10k multi terrain race that weaves up and down the Calder Valley.


Although not running on the day, Paul Hobbs was crowned Trail Champion having already built up a sufficient lead in the earlier rounds.

On Sunday, 21 Harriers joined the 200 entrants in the Epilepsy Action race, with Paul Brannigan leading the way for the club in 3rd place, pursued by Darren Tweed in 5th place.

Dave Collins was first v50 and 11th overall, followed by Richard Butterwick in 16th and Guy Whitmore in 22nd position.

Kath Brierley finished 3rd lady, with Mel Blackhurst finishing 5th lady and Karen Gray 11th lady.

Elise Milnes and Moyra Parfitt picked up prizes for first v50 and first v60 ladies respectively.

Todmorden results: 3 Paul Brannigan 38:43; 5 Darren Tweed 41:22; 11 Dave Collins 42:55; 16 Richard Butterwick 45:02; 22 Guy Whitmore 45:30; 33 Kathleen Brierley 47:24; 35 Andy Glyde 47:45; 37 Phil Cook 47:49; 39 Melanie Blackhurst 48:14; 50 Chris Drinkwater 49:48; 52 Richard Blakeley 50:00; 65 Karen Gray 52:11; 67 David Leslie 52:33; 70 Fiona Armer 52:53; 73 Elise Milnes 53:28; 76 Ray Poulter 53:35; 79 Peter Ehrhardt 54:08; 83 Mel Whitmore 55:03; 85 Moyra Parfitt 55:14; 94 Graham Milnes 57:47; 125 Myra Wells 1:05:16.

Epilepsy Action photographs from Alice's Run...

Farmer Gizmo's Alices Run photos... & Tod Harriers...


At the Ben Nevis Mountain Race, Jon Wright once again claimed the Wallace Plaque for the highest placed police runner, finishing the 10 mile up and down route in 1:45:17 for 9th place overall out of over 450 finishers.

Marcel Ellison was the next Todmorden runner to finish in 69th position, improving on his previous best time by some margin to finish in 1:59:42.

Todmorden’s other finishers: 108 Andrew Horsfall 2:06:26; 142 Dan Taylor 2:11:56; 222 Phil Hodgson 2:22:14; 437 Mandy Goth 3:07:44; 438 Mick Howard 3:07:44.

On Saturday, the Blackshaw Head Fell Race attracted 66 runners to its 5.5 mile course.

First Harrier was Dwane Dixon in 4th place, followed by Andy McFie in 11th position. Hatty Nylan finished 5th lady.

Todmorden Results: 4 Dwane Dixon 39.04; 11 Andy McFie 43.29; 26 Simon Anderton 49.31; 27 Roger Haworth 49.32; 40 Hattie Nylan 52.57; 43 Mark Whittaker 53.50; 61 Reg Czudek 70.22; 62 Jo Rutter 72.24.

Farmer Gizmo's Blackshawhead Fell Race photos...



Bev Wright finished 3rd lady at the Littleborough Lions 5k, recording a time of 23:54 for 22nd place overall.

Richard Butterwick crossed the line in 20:08 for 7th, with Chris Drinkwater stopping the clock at 22:16 for 17th place.

Myra Wells finished in 39th position in a time of 28:52.