Burnley parkrun | Cliviger 6

Todmorden Harriers claimed the first two places at Burnley parkrun on Saturday, with Nick Barber finishing first and Paul Hobbs in second place.


Nick was clear on his own as he recorded a time of 17:44 for the free timed 5k run that is held every week in Towneley Park.

Paul had more company and faced a tough battle to claim second spot in 18:52, with Trevor Davis finishing in 19:11 for sixth place.

Maria Prescott completed the distance in 23:02 to finish seventh lady, with Bev Wright finishing ninth lady in 25:24, as they both recorded new best times for the course.

Ian Stansfield crossed the line in 37:51 for 92nd place.


The Harriers headed back to Burnley the following day, for the Cliviger 6 mile road race.

Maria Prescott finished seventh lady once again, as she claimed the v45 prize in 42:53 for 56th overall.

Kevin Coughlan was 75th in 45:23, followed by Elise Milnes finishing first v50 in 49:32.

Peter Ehrhardt stopped the clock at 53:53 for 120th, with Graham Milnes finishing in 129th position in a time of 56:42.


The Crow Hill Reverse Fell Race takes place on Tuesday 7th August starting at 7:30pm, with registration at Mytholmroyd Community Centre.

Entry on the night for the 5 mile race is £3:50 with all proceeds going to Ovarian Cancer Action. There will also be a raffle on the night, with proceeds being donated to the Flood Relief Fund.

Cliviger 6 | Healey Reservoir 5k

Todmorden Harrier’s Road Championship continued on Sunday with the Cliviger Six. Starting from Mount Lane Sports Field the route began with a stiff climb up Red Lees Road. A gentle downhill then took the runners into and through Towneley Park. More uphill followed as they passed by Towneley Hall and exited the park for an undulating return along Todmorden Road, which led to the last climb back up Red Lees Road to the finish in the sports field.


Jon Wright was the first Harrier to finish in 7th place closely followed by Nick Barber in 9th and Paul Brannigan in 14th. After Martin Stork had crossed the line, a close battle between Mark Anderton, Kevin Booth and Darren Tweed saw just 6 seconds between them at the end.

Maria Prescott finished first Todmorden lady followed by Elise Milnes, who won the first v50 prize, and Mel Robertson.

Todmorden Results: 7 Jon Wright 34:53; 9 Nick Barber 35:09; 14 Paul Brannigan 37:02; 25 Martin Stork 38:38; 38 Mark Anderton 39:44; 39 Kevin Booth 39:47; 40 Darren Tweed 39:50; 72 Richard Butterwick 43:19; 87 Maria Prescott 45:12; 96 Phil Cook 46:24; 112 Elise Milnes 48:39; 117 Melanie Robertson 49:59; 118 Peter Ehrhardt 50:05; 130 David O'Neill 54:57; 131 Graham Milnes 55:11; 141 Myra Wells 1:00:08; 147 Ian Stansfield 1:05:12.

The previous Tuesday had seen five Todmorden Harriers take on the Emily Hughes Healey Reservoir Dash at Whitworth. The 5k multi terrain race included sections of road, rocky track and two laps of the reservoir with Richard Butterwick first Harrier back in 13th place, followed by Peter Ehrhardt in 27th and first v60. Myra Wells was the sole Todmorden lady in 34th, with Ian Stansfield in 39th and Jon Newby in 44th.

Crow Hill | Whittle Pike | Cliviger 6

Many Todmorden Harriers turned out to assist race organiser Clive Greatorex for the Crow Hill fell race at Mytholmroyd last Tuesday. The 5 mile race, featuring 1000 feet of ascent was run in a reverse route this year.
Chris Smale won the race in a time of 31:15, ahead of Calder Valley Fell Runners’ Gavin Mulholland and Steve Smithies.
First Harrier to finish was Paul Hobbs in 14th place, followed by Paul Burnett and Derek Donohue. Sarah Warburton finished 3rd lady and 53rd overall with Emma Osenton in 71st.


The following evening saw Sarah May win the ladies category in the 4½ mile Whittle Pike Fell Race at Cowpe as the club made a strong showing. Calder Valley’s Alex Whittem won the race overall in a time of 41:10.
Andrew Wrench was the first Harrier to finish in 4th place and 1st Vet40. Sean Carey won the under18 category, as he knocked 2½ minutes off his time form the year before, and finished 6th overall. Andrew Horsfall narrowly missed out on a win in the vet45 by just 7 seconds with Dave Collins 2nd vet50.

Todmorden Results: 4 Andrew Wrench 42:19; 6 Sean Carey 43:52; 9 Alistair Rhodes-Dawson 45:51; 16 Andrew Horsfall 47:29; 17 Dave Collins 47:49; 20 Paul Brannigan 48:09; 27 Paul Burnett 49:41; 38 Sarah May 50:49; 45 Darren Tweed 51:58; 57 Dan Taylor 53:36; 59 James Riley 53:47; 113 Richard Leonard 1:00:56; 124 Peter Marshall 1:03:33; 137 Mel Siddall 1:09:39; 141 David O'Neill 1:11:19; 154 Ian Stansfield 1:36:04.


On Sunday, it was the road championship that was the centre of attention as 21 Harriers made the short trip for the Cliviger 6 mile road race. Starting at Mount Lane Sports Field the runners had a steep uphill start, followed by a long downhill towards Burnley before turning into Towneley Park. An undulating return via the main Todmorden road followed with a short final climb up Red Lees Road.
The race was won by Marc Hartley of Staffordshire Moorlands AC, repeating his performance of last year. First Todmorden Harrier to finish was Andrew Wrench who was just edged into 3rd place in the final few paces, winning the Vet40 prize in the process. Paul Brannigan continued his rapid return to form, finishing in 16th with Dave Collins in 26th.
Sarah Glyde timed her run to perfection as she overhauled Claire Duffield just before the line to finish 7th female overall and 2nd Vet35. Mel Blackhurst finished 1st vet40 and Moyra Parfitt was 1st vet60.

Todmorden Results: 3 Andrew Wrench 34:37; 16 Paul Brannigan 37:55; 26 Dave Collins 39:22; 38 Mark Anderton 40:49; 51 Darren Tweed 41:51; 58 Richard Butterwick 42:43; 60 Martin Stork 42:53; 65 Phil Cook 43:58; 75 Sarah Glyde 44:41; 76 Claire Duffield 44:47; 83 Mel Blackhurst 45:37; 88 Kevin Coughlan 46:12; 104 Peter Marshall 50:14; 109 Lucy Hobbs 50:59; 112 Richard Blakeley 52:05; 118 Moyra Parfitt 53:49; 119 Melanie Robertson 54:07; 126 David O'Neill 57:02; 127 Barry Chapman 57:06; 129 Philip Southwell 59:13; 140 Ian Stansfield 1:07:45.