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.

Fleetwood Half Marathon | Stan Curran 5k | Padiham 5 | Burnsall | Norland Moor

Todmorden Harriers Road Championship was back on the agenda with a trip to the seaside for the Fleetwood Half Marathon.

John Lloyd and Sarah Glyde both consolidated their respective leads in the men’s and ladies standings, and with three races to go are looking strong favourites for this year’s titles.

John was the first Harrier to finish the 13.1 miles in sixth position, with nearest rival Robin Tuddenham finishing in 13th place.

Paul Alexander set a new personal best time for the distance as he crossed the line in 46th, whilst Andrew Bibby finished in 60th and Michael Harper in 73rd position.

Sarah Glyde won the ladies v35 prize and was 10th lady overall as she also improved on her best time, and Mel Robertson just beat her time from a year earlier to finish 33rd lady.

Peter Ehrhardt completed the Todmorden entry with 231st position.
Todmorden Results: 6 John Lloyd 1:17:56; 13 Robin Tuddenham 1:22:33; 46 Paul Alexander 1:31:20; 60 Andrew Bibby 1:34:33; 73 Michael Harper 1:35:30; 80 Sarah Glyde 1:36:10; 189 Melanie Robertson 1:48:49; 231 Peter Ehrhardt 1:52:13.



Other Todmorden Harriers in action included Myra Wells who was first v55 lady at the Stan Curran 5k at Whitworth on Thursday, and then repeated her prize winning form the following evening at the Padiham 5 mile Diamond Jubilee Race.

Also running at Whitworth were Richard Butterwick who finished 24th and Ray Poulter in 55th place, with Richard also going on the following night to finish 15th at the Padiham 5.

Dave Collins finished first v55 at the Burnsall Classic Fell Race, whilst Chris Preston was sixth lady over the 10 mile Burnsall road race course.

David Leslie and Julie Wyant took on the Tour of Norland Moor Fell Race on Sunday, finishing the 10.1km route in 57th and 80th places.



Many Todmorden Harriers will be looking forward to the Blackshaw Head Fell Race that takes place on Saturday 1st September at 2:00pm from the fete field, with entries taken on the day from 12:30pm.

Cowm Reservoir 4.2 | Hades Hill | Good Shepherd | Norland Moor

Todmorden Harriers' Road Championship was back on the agenda this week with the shortest of this year’s counters, the 4.2 mile multi terrain Graham Wright Cowm Reservoir Race at Whitworth on Wednesday.

After living with the early pace of Barnsley’s Shaun Dimelow, who won in a time of 23:23, Jon Wright had to settle for 2nd place in 24:00 with Nick Barber in 5th in 24:41. Paul Brannigan managed to edge in front of Martin Stork as they fought over 13th place to the end.

Mel Robertson was the first Todmorden lady to finish, followed by Myra Wells.

Tod results: 2 J. Wright 24:00; 5 N. Barber 24:41; 13 P. Brannigan 26:51; 14 M. Stork 26:52; 17 D. Tweed 27:45; 21 M. Anderton 28:35; 23 J. Riley 28:46; 31 R. Butterwick 30:07; 43 R. Blakeley 31:42; 67 Melanie Robertson 35:35; 71 N. Hanson 35:49; 74 P. Ehrhardt 37:22; 81 D. O'Neil 38:33; 91 Myra Wells 42:47; 96 I Stansfield 48:49; 98 J. Newby 56:48.


On the other side of the Whitworth valley, Sean Carey put in a strong performance on Thursday at the Hades Hill Fell Race. Organised by Harrier Derek Clutterbuck, the 5 mile route climbed up and over Brown Wardle Hill. After dropping down there was then a further climb to the top of Hades Hill, before a return via the same route to the finish near Lobden Golf Club.

Traditionally the race is the last evening fell race of the summer, and whilst held in pleasant warm sunny conditions, recent rainfall meant there were plenty of boggy patches to negotiate and it was heavy going underfoot at times.

Sean was in control from the steep start up Whitworth Rake, holding his lead throughout to cross the finish line in 34:18, 38 seconds ahead of Steve Smithies of Calder Valley. James Riley was the next Harrier to finish in 26th with Simon Galloway in 29th. Dan Taylor and Richard Butterwick completed the Todmorden men’s turnout in 43rd and 67th respectively.

Mandy Goth was the first Todmorden lady in 76th just ahead of Myra Wells in 78th.


On Saturday, the Good Shepherd Fell Race from Mythomlroyd featured in the club’s Fell Championship. The 14 mile route included over 2000 feet of ascent and runners experienced an unwelcome early drenching from a heavy shower as they climbed up from the start at Dauber Bridge through Spring Wood towards Stoodley Pike. After a loop passing around Withens Clough, a climb up to the Cloven Stone and along Warland Drain, they reached London Road for another climb towards Stoodley Pike again. A long descent into Cragg Vale led to the final climb of the day past Robin Hood Rocks and the long run into the finish at the Good Shepherd in Mytholmroyd.

Won by the host club’s Steve Smithies in 1:57:14, Darren Tweed and Peter Bowles led the Harriers home in 6th and 7th places. Mel Blackhurst was the first lady overall, and along with Jane Leonard and Sue Roberts they won the ladies team prize.

Tod results: 6 Darren Tweed 2:10:55; 7 Peter Bowles 2:12:03; 19 Clive Greatorex 2:19:15; 22 Mick Craven 2:23:29; 27 Melanie Blackhurst 2:27:10; 31 Richard Leonard 2:33:34; 32 Jane Leonard 2:35:59; 34 Richard Blakeley 2:40:50; 35 Paul Carruthers 2:44:11; 42 Sue Roberts 2:52:32; 43 Peter Ehrhardt 2:59:30; 46 Elise Milnes 3:09:03; 47 Moira Parfitt 3:09:06.



It was another local race on Sunday with Halifax Harrier’s Norland Moor Trail Race. The 6.3 mile route started at Copley and climbed through woodland for a circuit around the moor. After a steep descent, runners returned via the Calder riverbank for the run in to the finish.

Robin Tuddenham found the terrain to his liking and finished in 2nd place, and first v40, with Martin Stork and Martin Roberts both finishing in the top 15. After Dan Taylor had crossed the line, Mel Robertson took the honour of being first Todmorden lady ahead of Andrea Marshall.

28 aug 08

Whittle Pike was the destination on a wet Wednesday evening for the 20 Harriers who joined a record field of 170 runners at Cowpe for the 4½ mile fell race. The course, which has previously hosted the English Championships, is reputed to have no flat sections and features several climbs and steep descents which were made even more treacherous by the muddy conditions underfoot.

The heavy downpour that greeted the start did nothing to dampen the pace, or the spirits, as the race started with a rapid dash up a ½ mile road section before climbing sharply into the fells. John Brown of Salford led an elite group up to the high point at Whittle Pike which was lost in cloud, with Todmorden’s Andrew Wrench and Chris Smale in close attendance. On the descent though, it was Pudsey’s Gary Devine who held his nerve on the severe ground and finished nearly a minute ahead of Brown in a time of 41:57.

Andrew Wrench crossed the line in 3rd place with Chris Smale 7th. Sean Carey continued his progress in senior races and won the U16 category, finishing 11th overall. In the team standings Todmorden narrowly missed out to Rossendale.

First Todmorden lady to finish was Kath Brierley whose lightening descent was rewarded with 2nd in the LV45 category and 7th lady overall. She was followed in by Mel Blackhurst, who won the LV40 prize, and Helen Hodgkinson which resulted in a 3rd place for the ladies team.

Prior to the main event, several junior races were held which whilst run over shorter distances were just as testing. Todmorden’s Jack Crummet again showed good promise and ran an excellent race to win the U10 race.

Full Tod results - 3 Andrew Wrench (43:19); 7 Chris Smale (44:33); 11 Sean Carey (46:19); 18 Alistair Rhodes-Dawson (47:06); 31 Dave Collins (50:27); 50 James Riley (53:26); 55 Simon Galloway (54:09); 69 Duncan Ritchie (55:28); 70 Kath Brierley (55:42); 78 Phil Hodgson (56:33); 79 Richard Butterwick (56:35); 90 Andrew Bibby (57:30); 106 Mel Blackhurst (1:00:15); 123 Helen Hodgkinson (1:02:50); 136 Sue Roberts (1:06:29); 147 Moyra Parfitt (1:09:46); 151 Dave O'Neill (1:11:38); 155 Mandy Goth (1:13:40); 166 Derek Clutterbuck (1:26:01); 169 Ian Stansfield (1:39:11)


Improved weather was welcomed on Sunday for the seven mile Norland Moor Trail Race, as many Harriers completed a double for the week. The varied terrain course started with a lap of the Old Rishworthians rugby pitch before it climbed stiffly up through woodland and along a bridleway. A short road section then led onto a loop around Norland Moor. This was followed by a stony descent down to and across the River Calder and ended with a fast flat finish that returned the runners to the rugby field. Andi Jones of Salford won the race in a new record time of 40:28, five minutes ahead of his nearest rivals.

Nick Barber led the Todmorden contingent home in 13th place in a time of 51:03, having gained several places in the latter stages. Kath Brierley was again first Todmorden lady with another dazzling descent that landed her the LV45 prize.

Full Tod results - 13 Nick Barber (51:03); 28 Richard Butterwick (53:26); 39 Duncan Ritchie (55:10); 43 Kevin Booth (56:09); 46 Phil Hodgson (56:48); 49 Kath Brierley (57:00); 53 Claire Duffield (58:36); 55 Jeremy Godden (59:44); 71 Kevin Coughlan (1:03:20); 85 Helen Hodgkinson (1:06:25); 86 Peter Ehrhardt (1:06:56); 92 Mel Siddall (1:07:37); 96 Steve Burnip (1:09:23); 107 Myra Wells (1:15:36); 108 Mandy Goth (1:16:13); 109 Dave O'Neill (1:17:36); 115 Derek Clutterbuck (1:20:54); 121 Ian Stansfield (1:33:52);