Langdale Half | Three Shires | Littleborough 10k | Good Shepherd | Stainland 10k

Todmorden Harriers Road Championship continued with the Great Langdale Half Marathon, with three Harriers making the trip on Saturday.
 

Paul Brannigan put in a strong run to finish first v45 and in third place overall with a time of 1:24:12.
 

Mel Blackhurst was first v45 woman crossing the line in 1:45:37, and Kevin Coughlan completed the demanding hilly course in 1:50:50 for 95^th place.

 

On the same day, the Three Shires Fell Race was taking place just around the corner with misty conditions on the hill tops making for a challenging day.
 

Geoff Read made the most of his navigational skills to finish in 124rd place, just ahead of Jane Leonard and Marcel Ellison as the trio all came in around the 3 hour mark.
 

Phil Hodgson and Richard Leonard followed them a few minutes further back in 132^nd and 135^th respectively.

Steve Pullan then crossed the line in 200^th position and Mandy Goth was just behind in 202^nd place.
 

Todmorden results: 123 Geoff Read 2.59.23; 124 Jane Leonard 2.59.51; 126 Marcel Ellison 3.00.24; 132 Phil Hodgson 3.06.09; 135 Richard Leonard 3.08.28; 200 Stephen Pullan 3.40.10; 202 Mandy Goth 3.43.36.

Closer to home, several Todmorden runners tackled the inaugural Littleborough 10k, which followed a scenic loop along country lanes, including a lap around Hollingsworth Lake.
 

Dwane Dixon and Martin Stork battled to end with Dwane finishing in 8^th position in 39:00, with Martin just 3 seconds behind.
 

Paul Alexander improved his 10k personal best to 41:08 as he finished in 18^th position, followed by Mark Anderton in 34^th with a time of 44:05 and Mick Craven in 43^rd position in 45:42.
 

Karen Gray finished 8^th woman and 67^th overall with a time of 50:59 and Ian Stansfield finished in 110^th place stopping the clock at 1:14:51.
 

Todmorden results: 8 Dwane Dixon 39:00; 9 Martin Stork 39:03; 18 Paul Alexander 41:08; 34 Mark Anderton 44:05; 43 Mick Craven 45:42; 67 Karen Gray 50:59; 110 Ian Stansfield 1:14:51.

Peter Ehrhardt finished first v65 at another new race, the Stainland Trail 10k, completing the hilly course in 1:05:25.

A handful of Harriers were in Mytholmroyd for the Good Shepherd Fell Race, a 14 mile route featuring 2000 feet of climbs including two ascents of Stoodley Pike.

Paul Hobbs finished in 10^th position in 1:54:57, followed by Dan Taylor in 21^st position, stopping the clock just inside 2 hours, at 1:59:54.
 

David Leslie finished in 2:46:01 for 81^st, followed by Sue Roberts in 89^th at 2:58:34 and Reg Czudek was 97^th at 3:42:00.

Robin Tuddenham was a little further afield, as he finished first at the Melbourne parkrun in Australia.

Peris Horseshoe | World Triathlon London | Turbine Tangle | South Cheshire 20

A handful of Todmorden Harriers were in attendance at the Peris Horseshoe, the fourth and final race in the British Fell Running Championships.

Todmorden look to have clinched the Women’s Team silver medal by the narrowest of margins, based on provisional results, tying on points with Mercia but finishing ahead on aggregate places, and just one point ahead of Wharfedale Harriers, whilst Ambleside were the clear winners.

Kath Brierley was the first Todmorden woman in 134^th place with a time of 5:11:40, followed by Jane Leonard in 143^rd place at 5:20:37 and Clare Harris was 160^th in 5:43:33.

Andrew Bibby was the first Todmorden man in 120^th position, completing the 17.5 mile mountainous route in 4:59:08 with Dan Taylor a couple of places behind in 5:00:49.

 

Sarah Vickers was at the World Triathlon Grand Final in London where she was competing in the Olympic distance open race, finishing in 9^th place in the v35 age group after a strong run section moved her up several places.

 

Marcel Ellison finished in 3^rd place at the Turbine Tangle in a time of 1:44:41, a new race at Cowpe that challenged runners to visit all 26 wind turbines on Scout Moor.  The order and route choice was down to the runners meaning that navigation skills were as important as pure speed.

 

Paul Alexander continued his marathon training with a strong run at the Cheshire 20 mile road race, finishing in 37^th place with a time of 2:24:46.

Hades Hill Fell Race | Ben Nevis Race

Todmorden Harriers dominated the entries at the Hades Hill Fell Race on Thursday, with twenty seven Harriers making the short trip to Whitworth for the race that traditionally marks the end of the summer fell racing season.

The forecast rain held off making for ideal conditions for the 5 mile race that climbs steeply past Brown Wardle Hill and Middle Hill to reach the highest point on Hades Hill, followed by a return by the reverse route.  The firm running allowed Josh Tighe of Northumberland Fell Runners to set a new course record of 31:04, almost 2 minutes ahead of his nearest rival. 

There was a close battle between Andrew Wrench and Nick Barber to be the first Harrier home as they finished third and fourth respectively, with Paul Brannigan finishing in seventh place.

Kath Brierley was the first Todmorden woman, finishing fourth woman, and first v55, followed by Jane Leonard seventh woman, and first v55 and Jackie Holden was twelfth woman back.

Todmorden Results: 3 A. Wrench 33.42; 4 N. Barber 33.49; 7 P. Brannigan 35.11; 15 D. Taylor 37.16; 18 J. Wrench 38.04; 19 T. Davis 38.1; 21 R. Gray 38.33; 25 J. Alan 39.08; 34 M. Roberts 40.11; 39 P. Alexander 41.12; 44 S. Galloway 41.56; 45 A. Bibby 41.58; 60 A. Glyde 43.57; 62 Kath Brierley 44.19; 63 P. Cruthers 44.3; 68 Jane Leonard 44.58; 69 R. Butterwick 44.59; 77 Jackie Holden 47.01; 82 K. Coughlan 47.48; 83 R. Leonard 48.01; 90 Kirsty Patton 48.52; 91 D. Leslie 48.53; 94 Andrea Marshall 51.34; 98 D. Collins 52.13; 103 Sue Roberts 53.56; 107 P. Ehrhardt 54.3; 116 D. O'Neill 59.59.

Jon Wright completed his 20^th consecutive Ben Nevis Race, completing the 9 mile route up and down Britain’s highest mountain in 1:52:37 for 30th place, winning the Wallace Plaque in the process for being the first police runner.

Craig Stansfield finished in 1:54:55 for 40^th position, with Andrew Horsfall in 123^rd, at 2:10:26, and Marcel Ellison in 144^th position at 2:13:14.

Clare Harris crossed the line in 2:39:57 for 318^th place, with Mandy Goth in 427^th with a time of 3:04:42 and Rhys Watkins not far behind in a time of 3:06:19 for 434^th place.

Norland Moor | Blackshawhead Fell Race | Littleborough Lions 5k | Alice's Run | Blackpool Half

Sarah and Gareth Vickers celebrated their marriage with a run at the Tour of Norland Moor Fell Race, with the happy couple finishing together in 64^th and 65^th places.

They were joined by several other Todmorden Harriers, with Trevor Davies finishing in 15^th place with a time of 42:54 over the 10k route.  

Kath Brierley finished in 50:59 for 54^th place, with David Leslie in 76^th and Jane Leonard in 81^st position.

There was a strong turnout of Todmorden Harriers at the Blackshawhead Fell Race, with many others assisting in the race organisation.

Nick Barber finished in third place, just ahead of Jon Wright in fourth position who also claimed the v40 prize.  Jon Mitcham added the v50 prize and Rebecca Patrick finished third placed woman for the club.

Todmorden Results: 3 Nick Barber 37.27; 4 Jon Wright 38.12; 15 Jon Mitcham 41.34; 16 Marcel  Ellison  41.38; 19 Dan Taylor 42.00; 29 Dave Collins 43.55; 33 Gary Quested  44.18; 36 Martin Roberts 45.27; 47  Simon Anderton 47.17; 48 Roger Haworth  47.19; 55 Rebecca  Patrick 48.26; 56 Mark Anderton 49.21; 76 Paul Cruthers  52.22; 100 Andrea Marshall  60.53.

Jon Wright recorded 17:13 at the mid week Littleborough Lions 5k for third place, with Paul Alexander setting a new personal best for the distance of 19:23 for 15^th position.

Richard Butterwick was placed 28^th in a time of 21:36, followed by Myra Wells in 29:30 for 44^th and Ian Stansfield in 47^th place with a time of 34:42.

The latter trio were back in action at the Cowm Reservoir 5k on Sunday, with Richard setting a time of 21:59 for 19^th position.  Myra completed the two lap course in 28:31 for 58^th and Ian was 68^th in a time of 33:38.

At the popular Alice’s Run 10k from Mytholmroyd on Sunday, Paul Hobbs finished the multi terrain course in 39:26 for 7^th position, followed by Andy McFie in 9^th with a time of 40:19.

Guy Whitmore finished in 34^th position with a time of 47:10, with David Leslie finishing in 51^st in 49:47 and Lee McCluskey 56^th in a time of 50:59.

David O’Neill took on the Blackpool 10k on Saturday, finishing in 289^th with a time of 1:04:10.

The following day, a pair of Harriers tackled a windy Blackpool Half Marathon, with John Lloyd finishing in fourth place with a new personal best time for the distance of 1:15:25 and Robin Tuddenham in 15^th position with a time of 1:20:09.