Flower Scar Fell Race | Ilkley Moor Fell Race

The Flower Scar Fell Race moved to a new venue of Todmorden Cricket Club and a new route on Saturday.


The longer 10.4km course climbed up Todmorden Edge from Centre Vale Park, and on to Flower Scar Hill. A woodland descent then led runners back along the valley, with a sting in the tail climb before a final descent to the finish at the Cricket Club.

Calder Valley Fell Runners claimed the first three places with Karl Gray edging out Tim Ellis by one second to win in a time of 45:59. Alex Whittem followed over three minutes later in third place.

Photo by Keith Parkinson

Lauren Jeska was comfortably the first lady in a time of 54:25, and the first Todmorden Harrier, with many of the club’s runners assisting race organiser Jon Wright.

Hannah Rhodes Patterson, of Durham University finished over four minutes behind Lauren to claim second place ahead of Horwich’s Lindsey Brindle.

Todmorden also won the ladies team prize, with Jane Leonard and Clare Kenny combining with Lauren to pip Clayton Le Moors by just one point.

Dan Taylor was the first Todmorden man to finish in 36th place, followed by Rob Tyson in 60th and Simon Hollows in 78th position.

Todmorden results: 10 Lauren Jeska 54.25; 36 Dan Taylor 57.22; 60 Robert Tyson 60.06; 78 Simon Hollows 61.38; 111 Nick Ward 66.40; 132 Derek Donohue 68.56; 154 James Riley 72.06; 158 Mick Craven 72.24; 169 Jane Leonard 73.29; 191 David Leslie 76.15; 192 Clare Kenny 76.22; 221 Sue Roberts 85.04.

Keith's Flower Scar Photos...

Woodentops Flower Scar photos...

Steve Bateson's Flower Scar Photos...

The following day Jon Wright had his running shoes back on for the 8.4km Ilkley Moor Fell Race, finishing in 4th place. Claire Duffield was the only Todmorden lady and finished in 136th position.

Flower Scar Fell Race | Pendle Cloughs | Cake Race | Bluebell Trail

The Flower Scar Fell Race last Wednesday evening saw 130 runners tackle the 4 mile course, in fine and dry conditions, with Todmorden’s Lauren Jeska adding another course record to her collection.
 Calder Valley's Tim Ellis won in 29.33 comfortably ahead of clubmate Jason Stevens, with Todmorden's Andrew Wrench in third place.
 Despite a change to the start that lengthened the distance slightly, Lauren Jeska reduced the ladies course record by over a minute to 31:58. Calder's Helen Fines was second lady in 34:54 with Sarah Sarginson of Bowland Fell Runners in third position.


Todmorden Results: 3 Andrew Wrench 31.30; 5 Lauren Jeska 31.58; 8 Ivan Gee 33.07; 14 John Lloyd 34.08; 20 Marcel Ellison 35.14; 21 Paul Brannigan 35.37; 24 Darren Tweed 36.35; 28 Dan Taylor 36.53; 29 Robin Tuddenham 36.55; 34 Rob Gray 37.54; 35 Ben Crowther 37.55; 41 Dave Collins 39.26; 48 Michael Harper 40.07; 49 Simon Galloway 40.11; 52 Paul Alexander 40.39; 57 Derek Donohue 41.11; 58 Lee McCluskey 41.15; 70 Phil Cook 42.50; 76 Bev Holmes 43.23; 80 Richard Butterwick 43.54; 84 Andy Glyde 44.07; 89 Guy Whitmore 44.19; 94 Maria Prescott 45.04; 95 David Leslie 45.11; 97 Mick Howard 45.41; 98 Helen Hodgkinson 45.55; 99 Richard Blakeley 45.56; 101 Chris Drinkwater 46.46; 103 Ray Poulter 47.04; 105 Cath Shanley 47.24; 108 Andy Brookfield 48.21; 109 Peter Ehrhardt 48.22; 112 Sue Roberts 48.35; 114 Fiona Armer 49.13; 119 Peter Marshall 49.56; 120 Andrea Marshall 50.04; 125 Louise Abdy 54.14; 126 Julie Wyant 54.45; 129 David O'Neill 58.42.

On Saturday, Todmorden’s runners headed in different directions.



Marcel Ellison finished in 13th place in a time of 2:30:19 at the Pendle Cloughs Fell Race, a 14 mile race that requires runners to navigate themselves through 9 checkpoints in order.


Kevin Booth finished in 50th place, just ahead of Bev Holmes in 58th, and 5th lady.


Chris Drinkwater finished in 62nd, with Peter Ehrhardt completing the Todmorden contingent in 70th place.


Heading to the Saddleworth hills, a trio of Todmorden runners tackled the 10 mile Cake Race from Diggle, which attracted a record entry of 153 runners.


Dave Collins finished second v55, and 30th overall in 1:21:02 with Darren Graham just behind in 1:23:04 for 47th position.


Lucy Hobbs finished 5th lady with a time of 1:31:51.


On Sunday, the Bluebell Trail race attracted almost 400 runners to the outskirts of Halifax.


The course followed a 10.3 mile undulating route along trails, tracks and minor roads including a tough climb up Trooper Lane and a unique river crossing to finish.


Paul Hobbs led the way for the Harriers finishing in 21st position in 1:14:41.


Michael Harper completed the course in 72nd, with Mel Blackhurst in 126th and Paul Cruthers in 150th position.

Flower Scar Fell Race | Pendle Cloughs | Calderdale Way Relay

Photo by Keith Parkinson



Sean Carey led the way for the Harriers at Todmorden’s Flower Scar Fell Race last Wednesday evening, finishing in 3rd place just a few seconds behind Calder Valley’s Karl Gray and Alex Whittem.

The 4 mile race, which is free to enter, climbs 1400 feet from the start at Todmorden High School up to the top of Flower Scar Hill and loops back to the start via Robinwood.

The Harriers added a further three finishers in the top ten, with Andrew Wrench in sixth, John Lloyd in eighth and Alistair Rhodes-Dawson in ninth.



Todmorden runners made up almost a quarter of the ninety strong entry, so hopes were high of some good performances and the ladies did not disappoint, with Gemma Kendall putting in an excellent run to finish first lady.

Kath Brierley was second lady, and Bev Holmes marked her first race for the club with fourth lady.

Helen Hodgkinson was fifth and Maria Prescott sixth lady, as the home club dominated the ladies results.


On Saturday, three Harriers took on the 14 mile Pendle Cloughs Fell Race, which requires good navigation to find the nine checkpoints around Pendle Hill.

Helen Hodgkinson finished second lady, Mandy Goth first lady vet50 and Phil Hodgson second men’s vet50.


The rescheduled Calderdale Way Relay took place on Sunday, which had been postponed last December due to snow and ice.

Todmorden fielded three teams who all put in strong performances around the 50 mile route which includes over 12,000 feet of climbing. The distance is split into six legs, each run by a pair of runners.

The mens ‘A’ team finished in ninth place, with Sean Carey and John Lloyd laying down the 3rd fastest time of the day on leg 3.

The ‘B’ team also improved on their previous year's position to finish in 35th place, and 5th ‘B’ team.

The ladies team were boosted by club record performances on leg 3 by Maria Prescott and Sarah Glyde, and on leg 4 by Lauren Jeska and Sarah May.

This took them into fourth place after a close battle with Bingley Harriers, who eventually took third place with an advantage of just 2 minutes, after nearly 8 hours of racing. Holmfirth were the ladies team winners by a comfortable margin.

Flower Scar Fell Race

Todmorden Harriers put on a good performance with four runners in the top ten at the Flower Scar Fell Race last Wednesday, with Sean Carey going closest of the home runners to adding another win to his collection. However, it was Todmorden postman and Calder Valley runner Alex Whittem who triumphed for the second consecutive year at the finish.

The four mile race features a tough 1400 feet of ascent as the race climbs from Todmorden High School grounds up to Flower Scar Hill and back, via Robinwood.

The club had a good turnout of runners in the 100+ entry taking advantage of the free entry, in addition to many other Harriers assisting race organiser Jon Wright.

Whittem won the race in a time of 28:54 with Carey pushing him all the way. Calder Valley’s James Logue was third, in 29:45, with Todmorden’s Andrew Wrench 4th. After Clayton le Moors Jack Dugdale had crossed the line in 5th, the local domination continued with Calder’s Steve Smithies 6th and Todmorden’s Nick Barber 7th, and Paul Hobbs 10th.

Halifax’s Carole Fryer finished first lady ahead of Calder’s Clare Kenny. Todmorden’s first lady was Jane Leonard, ahead of Jeanette Dowling and Issy Pollard.

Todmorden Results: 2 Sean Carey 29.18; 4 Andrew Wrench 30.00; 7 Nick Barber 31.06; 10 Paul Hobbs 32.20; 13 Andy McFie 33.16; 18 Ben Crowther 33.43; 25 Peter Bowles 34.59; 28 Alastair Rhodes-Dawson 35.28; 29 Dave Collins 35.33; 39 Martin Stork 37.15; 48 Lee McLuskey 39.24; 49 Peter Clarke 39.27; 69 Jane Leonard 42.13; 73 Richard Blakeley 43.57; 74 Jeanette Dowling 44.16; 79 Isobel Pollard 46.49; 80 Peter Ehrhardt 47.06; 83 Maria Prescott 47.15; 84 Fiona Armer 48.00; 85 Louise Abdy 48.40; 87 Paula Haworth 48.45; 91 Barry Chapman 49.33; 93 Hannah Godden 50.50; 94 Amanda Jackson 50.51; 95 Petra Davey 50.57; 97 Melanie Robertson 51.28; 98 Andrea Marshall 51.50; 100 David O'Neill 54.15.

Flower Scar Fell Race | The Fellsman | Mytholmroyd Fell Race | Pendle's Clough | Fred Whitton

The first of Todmorden Harriers’ series of summer fell races began with the Flower Scar Race, incorporating 1400 feet of ascent and descent and a wide variety of terrain into its short 4 mile distance. With free entry and a tough but enjoyable course the race is a growing hidden gem in the fell calendar.
In mild and dry conditions the 102 runners set off with a dash across Todmorden High School’s playing field before beginning the relentless climb up to Flower Scar Hill on grassy paths, muddy tracks and open moorland. After turning at the summit the route plunges down into the valley and traverses back to the start, with a short sting in the tail climb above Robinwood to test tiring legs.
Todmorden’s speedy postman Alex Whittem quickly established a lead from the start over Calder Valley teammate Steve Smithies and gradually extended it during the race to cross the line one and a half minutes clear in a time of 30:34. First Todmorden Harrier to finish was Sean Carey in 4th place after a well judged run. Alistair Rhodes Dawson and Nick Barber followed in 8th and 9th places. The club was well represented in the top twenty with Paul Burnett, Dave Collins and Paul Brannigan all placing well. First Todmorden lady was Lauren Jeska as 3rd lady behind Wigan Phoenix’s Deborah Wright.

Ultra distance event The Fellsman, a 60 mile plus fearsome undertaking in any conditions was all the tougher this year with gales, torrential rain and hail showers to contend with. A trio of Todmorden tough guys – Rhys Watkins, Colin Duffield and Jeff Walker - battled their way around the Yorkshire Dales to complete the course, achieving a time of just over 20 hours.

Dave Collins was close to recording a 2nd win of the year on Sunday, at the Mytholmroyd Fell Race after the leading group of runners went slightly astray. However the leaders quickly rejoined the optimum line, leaving Dave to settle for an excellent 6th place. Dan Taylor finished in 34th place, having set a 5k PB at Salford the previous day, and Lucy Hobbs was 52nd, also winning the ladies 3rd prize, with Mick Craven finishing in 59th.

Helen Hodgkinson added another ladies 3rd prize at the Pendle’s Clough navigational fell race at the weekend.

A sizeable group of Harriers hopped on their bikes for the Fred Whitton Challenge, a gruelling 112 mile sportive cycle ride around the Lake District taking in several steep mountain climbs and exhilarating descents. With unfavourable windy conditions, and rain and hail showers, Emma Osenton had an exceptionally strong ride to finish as 4th lady, and 155th overall, in time of 7 hours 11 minutes just 20 minutes behind the ladies winner. Sarah May was next to finish, as 7th lady followed by Keith Parkinson.