Otley 10 | Buckden Pike | Cwm Pennant | Holcombe Two Towers | Cannonball Relay | Hendon Brook

The Otley 10 formed the latest round of Todmorden Harriers’ Road Championship last Wednesday.

Trevor Davies was the first Todmorden runner to complete the tough hilly course in 31^st position with a time of 1:04:39, followed by Ben Crowther in 65^th and Michael Harper in 87^th place.

Sarah Glyde recorded a time of 1:13:14 to finish ninth lady and strengthen her place at the top of the ladies standings.

Richard Blakeley finished first v70 with a time of 1:20:10.

Todmorden Results: 31 Trevor Davis 1:04:39; 65 Ben Crowther 1:08:57; 87 Michael Harper 1:10:27; 115 Paul Alexander 1:12:52; 123 Sarah Glyde 1:13:14; 177 Lee McCluskey 1:18:20; 195 Richard Blakeley 1:20:10; 269 David Leslie 1:27:17; 298 Peter Ehrhardt 1:31:45.
 

Photo by Anna Brannigan

The latest round of the English Fell Championship took place at the weekend, with the Buckden Pike Fell Race in the Yorkshire Dales.

In the ladies race Jane Leonard was the only Todmorden representative as she finished 3^rd v55 lady, and 50^th overall.

Dwayne Dixon was the first Harrier home in the subsequent men’s race, finishing in 71^st position, followed by John Lloyd and Nick Barber who were separated by just a few seconds as they finished 88^th and 89^th.

Richard Blakeley finished third v70 to keep in the running for a championship medal.

Todmorden Men’s Results: 71 Dwayne Dixon 37:48; 88 John Lloyd 38:41; 89 Nick Barber 38:47; 155 Dave Collins 43:26; 177 Garry Quested 44:27; 219 Mark Whitaker 47:30; 252 Richard Blakeley 51:18; 268 Ray Poulter 57:04; 276 Peter Ehrhardt 59:46.

 

Lauren Jeska finished first woman in the Cwm Pennant Horseshoe Fell Race in North Wales, recording 3:07:29 for the 24km race.

At the Holcombe Two Towers Fell Race James Riley completed the 5 mile route in 43:45 for 31^st position, whilst Clare Kenny claimed the v50 prize with a time of 47:05 and 43^rd place overall.

 At the Cannonball Hill Roller Relay Myra Wells, Ian Stansfield and Jackie Hesketh finished second team.

Mel Blackhurst finished fifth lady at the Hendon Brook 13.5mile road race with a time of 1.53.52 and Kevin Coughlan stopped the clock at 1.58.20.

Calderdale Way Relay | Pinhaw Trail race

On Sunday, Todmorden Harriers fielded three teams in the Calderdale Way Relay with the men’s team finishing in an excellent 4th place and the ladies team finishing 6th ladies team, just ahead of the mixed all stars team.


The 50 mile loop is split into six legs, each run by a pair of runners.

The men’s team got off to a solid start with Sean Carey and Nick Barber handing over in 5th place. Dwane Dixon and Andrew Wrench then moved the team up to 3rd position at the change over at Todmorden Sports Centre.

Trevor Davies and Paul Brannigan then edged the team up to 2nd place behind eventual winners Wharfedale Harriers on the mainly uphill leg 3 to Blackshawhead.

Paul Hobbs and Marcel Ellison on leg 4, and Ben Crowther and Dave Collins on leg 5, then faced stiff competition as Leeds City and Bingley Harriers posted fast times to relegate the club down to 4th position.

John Lloyd and Ivan Gee reduced the deficit on leg 6 as they finished in a total time of 6:36:01 and 4th overall.

The all stars team had held the advantage over the ladies team for the first three legs, before Lucy Hobbs and Hatty Nylan reduced the deficit by 12 minutes on leg 4 so that only a few seconds separated them.

Helen Wilson and Mandy Goth then overhauled the all stars on leg 5 to move the ladies ahead.

Ladies team captain Elise Milnes and Fiona Armer ran the final leg to take them to 60th overall in 8:46:25, with the all stars just one place behind in a total time of 8:57:55.


On Friday evening, the Pinhaw Trail Race featured in the club’s Trail Championship. The 5 mile multi terrain route started off on a farm track before crossing moorland. A short road section then led runners to the final moorland climb to Pinhaw Beacon, before returning the reverse route back to the finish.

Paul Hobbs was the first Todmorden runner to finish in 12th place, a minute ahead of Paul Brannigan in 16th. Dan Taylor won a close battle with Darren Tweed as they finished 24th and 27th respectively, separated by just 11 seconds.

Simon Galloway finished in 52nd place, holding off a late charge by Richard Butterwick who finished just 9 seconds behind in 54th position.

Richard Blakeley finished first v65, in 83rd place overall, followed by the first Todmorden lady Helen Hodgkinson with Julie Wyant completing the course in 100th position.

Todmorden Results: 12 Paul Hobbs 34:43; 16 Paul Brannigan 35:44; 24 Dan Taylor 36:32; 27 Darren Tweed 36:43; 52 Simon Galloway 40:03; 54 Richard Butterwick 40:12; 83 Richard Blakeley 44:11; 92 Helen Hodgkinson 47:27; 100 Julie Wyant 49:49.

August Round-up

Todmorden Harriers saw out August in fine form, including several winning performances.


Sean Carey won the Rossendale Harriers mid week series of fell races, with a measured 6th place at the final event, the Golf Ball Fell Race, being sufficient to take the series after a 1st and 2nd in earlier races.

Despite missing the last race - at Worsthorne Moor - of the 12 race Pendle & Burnley GP, Ian Stansfield won the v65 category after completing all of the first 11 races.

Alistair Rhodes-Dawson won the v40 trophy at the Grasmere Sports Senior Guides Fell Race, a short and steep up and down featuring a 900 foot climb in its 1.5 mile course.

Dave Collins won the v50 category at one of the longest standing fell races, the Burnsall Feast Sports Classic Fell Race which has been a fixture since the mid 19th century. It also covers a 900 foot climb over a 1.5 mile up and back course. James Riley, Peter Clarke and Peter Ehrhardt were Todmorden’s other representatives in the 150 strong field.

Robin Tuddenham finished 6th overall, and first v40, at the Round Latrigg fell race in Keswick on Wednesday – to follow his first place at the Oldham Parkrun the previous Saturday. Elise Milnes was first lady v50, with Ali Richards and Graham Milnes also completing the 5.5 mile course, which featured over 800 feet of ascent.

Also on Wednesday, Todmorden narrowly missed out on the ladies team prize at the Chunal Fell Race in Glossop. The 4 mile route included 950 feet of climb and Sarah Warburton led the way for the Harriers in 2nd place, only 8 seconds behind ladies winner Mary Edgerton of Pennine Fell Runners. Kath Brierley was a few seconds further back in 3rd with Emma Osenton finishing 10th lady.

On Saturday, five Harriers travelled to Clitheroe for the five mile Pendleton Fell Race, with Jon Wright in 7th and Dwane Dixon in 15th place.
Mick Craven finished 78th, with Dan Taylor making a return from injury in 104th and Andrea Marshall in 166th.

Sarah May meanwhile has been setting the triathlon world alight with two consecutive wins. First up was the Lakeland Triathlon, made up of a 1500 metre open water swim in Bassenthwaite Lake, and a hilly 40km cycle and a 10km run. She then followed that up just a week later with first female at the Clitheroe Triathlon over a slightly shorter course with a 400 metre swim, 30km bike and 9km run.

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.

Midsummer Madness [Whicken Hill Whizz, Reservoir Bogs,Tom Tittiman] | Hendon Brook 13.5

Todmorden Harriers were well represented at the Midsummer Madness Series, organised by Calder Valley Fell Runners, with five Harriers completing all three races, which took place on consecutive days. Starting from Mytholmroyd on Friday evening the opening race was 3 mile Whicken Hill Whizz, a steep climb up to the Sheepstones trig point and back down.

Sean Carey finished in 4th, and 1st U18, for the Harriers with Paul Hobbs in 9th and Jackson Cowie 14th, and 1st U16. Todmorden Ladies added another team prize, with Jane Leonard 3rd lady, Fiona Armer 7th and Louise Abdy 9th.

The following day saw a move to Chiserley for the 7.5 mile Reservoir Bogs race, which was also a counter in the club’s fell championship. The race route was unmarked and runners did not find out the location of the checkpoints until the morning of the race. They were then faced with a quick decision as to which route to take between the checkpoints.

This time it was the turn of the Todmorden Men to take the team prize with Jon Wright in 2nd, Andrew Wrench in 4th and Andrew Horsfall in 7th.

The ladies finished 2nd team with Chris Preston 3rd lady, Jane Leonard 4th and Louise Abdy 8th, leading the way. Sean Carey continued his challenge as he won the U18 race.

The final race on Sunday was the 4 mile Tom Tittiman Race from Chiserley, with Sean Carey finishing 3rd to take the Series U18 win and new Harrier Robin Tuddenham made a flying start with the club in 7th. Paul Hobbs finished 11th to place him 3rd in the senior Series ahead of Ben Crowther in 5th.

Jane Leonard finished the ladies Series in 3rd, with Fiona Armer narrowly pipping Louise Abdy for 6th.

On Sunday, the 13.5 mile Hendon Brook road race was a counter for the club’s Road Championship. The hilly race is highly rated as one of the most scenic, and toughest, races and despite a change of date this year once again was run in hot and sunny conditions.

Darren Tweed and Kevin Booth ran a close race with Darren eventually crossing the line in 1:44:30, a half minute ahead of his team mate as they finished 32nd and 33rd respectively.

Keith Parkinson was the next Harrier in 51st with Mel Blackhurst just behind, winning the FV45 category. Elise Milnes finished 2nd LV50, followed by Nigel Hanson and Ian Stansfield 1st V65.