Cuerden Valley 10k | Cowm 5k | Todmorden 5k | Top O' Leach | Borrowdale

Cuerden Valley was host to the penultimate round of Todmorden Harriers’ Trail Championship on Thursday evening.  The Badger 10k organised by Lancashire Wildlife Trust attracted over 150 runners to the park.

Paul Brannigan was the first Todmorden runner, finishing in sixth place in a time of 39:06, followed by Dan Taylor in exactly 44 minutes for 22^nd place.

Simon Galloway was the next Harrier to finish in 57^th position at 48:52, with Peter Ehrhardt completing the scenic course in 58:28 and 115^th place just ahead of Andrea Marshall in 119^th, with a time of 59:21.

Todmorden Harriers were in the prizes at the Harry Kelly Cowm Reservoir 5k, with Mandy Goth finishing first v50 woman in 26:50 for 40^th place overall and Myra Wells first v55 woman, and 49^th overall,  in 28:37, followed by Kathy Bridger, second v50 woman and 53^rd with a time of 31:25.

Richard Butterwick finished the two lap route in 27^th place with a time of 22:48.

The club continued collecting prizes the following night at the third Todmorden 5k race in Centre Vale Park.

Robin Tuddenham finished in fifth overall and first v40 male, whilst Bev Wright claimed the corresponding v40 women’s prize, stopping the clock at 23:50.

Myra Wells was first v55 woman and Ian Stansfield first v70 male.

Todmorden results: 5 Robin Tuddenham 17:55; 13 Martin Stork 18:42; 21 Paul Alexander 19:35; 28 Simon Anderton 20:24; 39 Richard Butterwick 22:48; 41 Bev Wright 23:50; 54 Andrea Marshall 26:11; 61 Myra Wells 28:30; 72 Ian Stansfield 34:20.

A quartet of Harriers kept up the successes at the Top O’Leach Fell Race on the same evening. The 8 km route from Cowpe was the first race of Rossendale Harriers mid-week series.

Dave Collins was the first Harrier home in 8^th place, and first v55, with a time of 52:55. Marcel Ellison finished in 53:25 for 13^th position.

Jackie Holden finished 2^nd woman, in 1:08:18 just 27 seconds behind the ladies winner, and Kirsty Patten was 3^rd woman in 1:11:14. 

A longer challenge was on offer at the weekend in the form of the Borrowdale Fell Race, with the 27km route featuring over 2000m of ascent over several Lakeland peaks including the summits of Scafell Pike and Great Gable.

Paul Hobbs was the first Todmorden runner back in a time of 3:55:27 for 86^th place.

Jane Leonard finished sixth woman, and first v55, with a time of 4:21:19 and Darren Graham was 197^th, in a time of 4:35:53.

Borrowdale Fell Race | Cuerden Valley Badger 10k

Lauren Jeska retained the ladies title in the English Fell Running Championships at the Borrowdale Fell Race on Saturday, whilst Dwane Dixon scored his first championship points in the men’s competition.


Dwane finished in 46th place, covering the extremely tough 17 mile course, which features over 6000 feet of ascent and descent over several Lake District peaks, in 3:37:02.

Lauren finished third lady on the day in 3:41:02 for 57th overall, and with just two races to go in the six race series cannot be caught for the gold medal.

Dave Collins finished in 4:18:38, with Joe Daniels in 200th in a time of 4:38:25 and Mark Whitaker coming home just past the 5hr mark, in 5:07:35.

Jane Leonard crossed the line in 5:22:56 for 330th place, with Chris Drinkwater finishing in 5:57:54 for 366th place.



On Thursday evening 17 Harriers travelled to Cuerden Valley Park near Preston for the Badger 10k trail race, which was the penultimate round of the club’s Trail Championship.

John Lloyd was the first Harrier to complete the multi terrain course, in fifth place, followed by Paul Brannigan in ninth place overall and first v45.

Paul Hobbs finished in 13th place, a result which means he has clinched the Trail Championship ahead of the final race, Alice’s Run which takes place in Mytholmroyd in September.

Maria Prescott was the first Todmorden lady to finish, followed by Elise Milnes as they won the v45 and v50 prizes respectively.

Ray Poulter and Peter Ehrhardt battled their way to finish first and second v65 in the race.

Todmorden results: 5 John Lloyd 37:51; 9 Paul Brannigan 39:51; 13 Paul Hobbs 40:36; 14 Trevor Davis 40:38; 23 Darren Tweed 42:06; 42 Dan Taylor 44:05; 45 Michael Harper 44:22; 69 Andy Glyde 47:36; 71 Phil Hodgson 47:46; 75 Maria Prescott 48:14; 107 Elise Milnes 52:40; 119 Julie Wyant 54:13; 124 Ray Poulter 54:53; 132 Peter Ehrhardt 55:38; 159 Graham Milnes 58:57; 169 Andrea Marshall 1:01:03; 173 David O'Neill 1:03:17;

Worsthorne Moor Fell Race | Borrowdale Fell Race | Hailstorm Hill Fell Race

Todmorden Harriers made a short trip to the Worsthorne Moor Fell Race on Sunday. In wet conditions, the 7 mile race followed a loop around the moor on a variety of terrain.

The race featured in the club’s inaugural trail championship and Dwane Dixon strengthened his hold at the top of the table with 4th place in a time of 41:50.

Paul Brannigan edged out Robin Tuddenham on the line for 11th place, with only one second separating them, with Martin Stork in 14th.

Mel Robertson was the only Todmorden lady to tackle the course, finishing in 98th place.

Todmorden Results: 4 Dwane Dixon 42.48; 11 Paul Brannigan 44.24; 12 Robin Tuddenham 44.25; 14 Martin Stork 45.09; 42 Simon Galloway 50.04; 49 Andrew Bibby 51.06; 55 Mick Craven 52.37; 64 Dan Taylor 54.04; 85 Richard O'Sullivan 58.05; 95 Kevin Coughlan 59.57; 98 Melanie Robertson 61.02.



On Saturday, a quartet of Harriers entered the classic Borrowdale Fell Race. Over 300 runners tackled the 17 mile route which features over 7000 feet of ascent.

Phil Hodgson was the first Harrier to finish in 153rd in a time of 4:24:56. Jane Leonard finished 2nd lady vet50, and 204th overall, in 4:45:58 with husband Richard completing the course in 5:15:03 for 267th place. Mandy Goth finished in 314th in 6:01:51.



Three Todmorden runners entered a new race at Bacup on Wednesday, with 117 runners taking advantage of the free entry offered by organisers Rossendale Harriers.

The imposingly named Hailstorm Hill Fell Race, which fortunately did not live up to its name, saw Marcel Ellison lead the way for the Harriers in 26th place. Simon Anderton finished in 35th position just ahead of James Riley in 38th place.