Wesham 10k

Todmorden Harriers Club Grand Prix came to a close with the final road championship fixture featuring the Wesham 10k.


A strong contingent of Harriers joined almost 500 runners for the gently undulating loop on the Fylde peninsular.

It was fitting that John Lloyd rounded off a successful year on the roads with a personal best for the distance, of 34:48 and 7th place overall, as he was confirmed the winner of this year’s road championship.

Last year’s road champion Robin Tuddenham was next over the line in 14th position, followed by Paul Brannigan sealing his place at the top of the club’s grand prix table with 23rd place, and first vet 45 on the day. Trail champion Paul Hobbs was next to finish in 38th place.

Mel Blackhurst was the first Todmorden lady to finish in 44:17, as she claimed the ladies grand prix crown.

Todmorden Results: 7 John Lloyd 34:48; 14 Robin Tuddenham 35:43; 23 Paul Brannigan 37:08; 38 Paul Hobbs 38:21; 57 Darren Graham 39:32; 75 Richard Butterwick 40:52; 82 Dan Taylor 41:07; 143 Melanie Blackhurst 44:17; 152 Kevin Coughlan 44:42; 160 Phil Hodgson 45:09; 219 Chris Drinkwater 47:22; 242 Mel Siddall 48:46; 274 Julie Wyant 50:43; 287 Peter Ehrhardt 51:40; 293 Elise Milnes 51:49; 299 Moyra Parfitt 52:03; 366 Helen Hodgkinson 57:37; 370 Myra Wells 57:49.





Todmorden Harriers festive Hot Toddy Race takes place on Sunday 30th December, with a new race HQ this year at Todmorden Cricket Club on Burnley Road.

The 8.9km hilly route remains unchanged for the main race at 11am, but the one mile fun run will now be held in Centre Vale Park at 10am.

Entries are open and further information can be found on the club’s website www.todharriers.co.uk

Shepherd's Skyline Fell Race | Through the Villages

The Shepherd’s Skyline Fell Race attracted 272 runners to the hills above Todmorden on Saturday in chilly conditions.


The race climbed up from the Shepherd’s Rest Inn to Langfield Edge and then along the skyline to Stoodley Pike. A brief descent to London Road then lead into a stiff climb back up to the ridge and a return to the finish.

Calder Valley Fell Runners claimed the first three places with Karl Grey winning in a time of 44.56, followed by James Logue and Max Wharton.

Jon Wright was the first Todmorden runner in tenth place, followed by Sean Carey in 13th and Ivan Gee in 17th place.

Chorley’s Lynne Clough won the ladies race in a time of 56:01, ahead of Holmfirth’s Lucy Needham and Wharfedale’s Gill Myers.

Sarah Warburton held off a late challenge from Kath Brierley to finish first Todmorden lady.

Todmorden Results: 10 Jon Wright 48.48; 13 Sean Carey 49.13; 17 Ivan Gee 49.41; 30 Jackson Cowie 51.38; 32 Paul Hobbs 52.12; 34 Marcel Ellison 52.4; 40 John Lloyd 53.31; 47 Steve Pullan 54.24; 71 Martin Roberts 57.38; 101 Simon Galloway 60.45; 122 Sarah Warburton 62.53; 123 Kath Brierley 62.54; 198 Jane Leonard 70.28; 214 Emma Osenton 72.5; 257 David O'Neill 89.23.

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The Through the Villages road race was the penultimate round of Todmorden Harriers’ Road Championship on Sunday.

The 8.5 mile hilly route from Wheelton passed through the West Pennine villages of Brinscall, Abbey Village and Withnell.

Nick Barber finished in fourth place for the club, behind a strong performance by Andi Jones who won in a time of 44:17.

Andy Glyde crossed the line in 80th position followed by Mel Blackhurst who finished first v45 lady, and 91st overall with Phil Hodgson making a rare foray onto the roads in 109th place.

Chris Drinkwater finished 3rd v65 man, whilst Moyra Parfitt was first v65 lady.

Todmorden Results: 4 Nick Barber 49:40; 80 Andrew Glyde 1:03:08; 91 Melanie Blackhurst 1:04:12; 109 Phil Hodgson 1:06:10; 119 Chris Drinkwater 1:07:03; 153 Nigel Hanson 1:12:50; 162 Elise Milnes 1:13:47; 164 Moyra Parfitt 1:14:05; 171 Mandy Goth 1:15:30; 176 Ray Poulter 1:16:25; 190 Peter Ehrhardt 1:19:03; 195 Graham Milnes 1:21:34.

Preston Half | Snowdonia Marathon | Yorkshire Coast 10k | OMM

Todmorden Harrier’s Club Road Championship was back on the agenda, but it was the recently crowned Club Fell Champion who was leading the way for the club at the Preston Guild Half Marathon.


Nick Barber recorded a time of 1:19:02 as he finished in 9th place out of over 2300 runners, in wet and windy conditions on Sunday.

Martin Stork continued his return from injury with 26th place, followed by Paul Alexander in 135th place.

Mel Robertson was the sole Todmorden lady, finishing 3rd in her age category.

Todmorden Results: 9 Nick Barber 1:19:02; 26 Martin Stork 1:24:31; 135 Paul Alexander 1:35:13; 244 Guy Whitmore 1:40:44; 302 Phil Cook 1:43:14; 467 Mel Robertson 1:48:34; 693 Nigel Hanson 1:53:44; 1107 Peter Ehrhardt 2:01:33.

In the simultaneously held Guild event, Joe Daniels took on the full Marathon distance and finished 125th in a time of 3:24:01.



A trio of Harriers were in Wales for the Snowdonia Marathon, with Darren Graham completing the 26 mile circular route around the base of Mount Snowdon in 3:40:07, whilst Julie Wyant finished in 4:24:24 and Elise Milnes completed the tough course in 5:12:00.



Robin Tuddenham finished first at the Burnley parkrun, the third different Todmorden Harrier to do so in the last three weeks.



Two Todmorden runners enjoyed a weekend double starting with the Sewerby parkrun on the cliffs above Bridlington on Saturday, with Richard Butterwick finishing first and Myra Wells in 20th place.

The following day they joined 1200 runners for the Yorkshire Coast 10k in Scarborough, with Richard crossing the line in 40:22 in 74th position and Myra stopping the clock at 57:30 in 805th place.



At the OMM Mountain Marathon, several Todmorden Harriers took on the two day navigational test in the Howgill Hills, with particularly challenging conditions on the second day.

Phil Hodgson teamed up with Calder Valley Fell Runner Phil Scarf to finish in 3rd place in the long class and first veteran pair, just ahead of Dwane Dixon and Ben Crowther who were fifth overall.

Mandy Goth and Sue Roberts finished first female pair and 35th overall, with John Crummett and Kath Brierley in 78th position, and 5th mixed vets, and Dave and Helen Wilson in 83rd place, and 6th mixed vets.

Trevor Smith teamed up with Dave Prentice in the medium class for 93rd position overall and 11th veteran pair.

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.

Eccup 10 | Royton Trail Race

Todmorden Harriers Road Championship continued with the Eccup 10 mile race on Sunday, in fine conditions.


John Lloyd led the way for the club in 12th position, consolidating his lead in the club standings, with Paul Brannigan in 67th position.

Sarah Glyde ran a strong race to finish in 162nd, strengthening her lead in the ladies standings.

Todmorden Results: 12th John Lloyd 59:45; 67th Paul Brannigan 1:05:49; 162nd Sarah Glyde 1:12:42; 386th Fiona Armer 1:25:05; 413th Julie Wyant 1:26:47; 427th Peter Ehrhardt1:27:21; 571st Louise Abdy 1.39.07.



A quartet of Harriers enjoyed some evening sunshine at the Royton Trail Race last Wednesday, a 5.5 mile multi terrain loop around Tandle Hill Country Park.

Paul Alexander completed the course in 38:34 for 51st, with Mark Anderton stopping the clock at 38:59 and Simon Anderton finishing in 39:19 for 57th and 62nd places respectively.

Ian Stansfield finished in 182nd place in 1:06:11.

Coledale Horseshoe | Wardle Skyline | Steve Rothwell Memorial 4

Lauren Jeska claimed a course record breaking victory, in the British and English Fell Running Championships, for Todmorden Harriers at the Coledale Horseshoe Fell Race on Saturday.


The 9 mile circular route from Braithwaite near Keswick featured over 3000’ feet of ascent.

Lauren reached the top of the main climb to Grisedale Pike, with just Sarah O’Neil of Hunters Bog Trotters for company.

After a brief respite with a short downhill section, the two runners then reached the highest point of the course at Crag Hill.

The pair stayed clear of the field on long descent back to the village, before Lauren was finally able to extend a winning lead on the final climb over Barrow, to complete the course in 1:22:40. That time was well inside the former course record and over half a minute ahead of second placed O’Neill, with Catriona Buchanan of Ochil heading the rest of the challengers a further three minutes behind.

Lucy Burnett was Todmorden’s next finisher in 31st with Jane Leonard in 70th position.

Todmorden Ladies results: 1 Lauren Jeska 1:22:40; 31 Lucy Burnett 1:39:01; 70 Jane Leonard 1:51:10; 77 Becca Marshall 1:52:34; 83 Melanie Blackhurst 1:55:19; 95 Helen Hodgkinson 1:59:47; 98 Fiona Armer 2:01:43; 119 Helen Wilson 2:13:13.



In the men’s race, Sean Carey had a fine run to finish in 71st position and 5th under 23 runner.

Dwane Dixon was the next to complete the course in 91st with John Lloyd in 132nd position.

Todmorden Men’s results: 71 Sean Carey 1:20:51; 91 Dwane Dixon 1:23:09; 132 John Lloyd 1:27:40; 192 Marcel Ellison 1:34:00; 211 Dave Collins 1:36:38; 251 Phil Hodgson 1:41:00; 310 Richard Leonard 1:51:21; 352 Chris Drinkwater 2:02:06; 358 Richard Blakeley 2:05:44; 371 David Wilson 2:21:26; 375 Peter Ehrhardt 2:23:46.



Closer to home on Saturday, a number of Harriers tackled the 7 mile Wardle Skyline Fell Race.

Todmorden Results: 33 Clive Greatorex 57:11; 40 Rob Gray 57:59; 55 Michael Harper 59:45; 60 Geoff Read 1:00:04; 75 Mick Craven 1:01:44; 98 James Riley 1:03:58.



On Wednesday evening, the focus was on the club’s Road Championship with the Steve Rothwell Memorial 4 mile road race near Rochdale.

John Lloyd set the pace from the off eventually finishing in 3rd place, with Nick Barber in 6th and Robin Tuddenham in 10th place.

Helen Wilson was the first Todmorden lady, followed by Mandy Goth.

Todmorden results: 3 John Lloyd 21:36; 6 Nick Barber 21:54; 10 Robin Tuddenham 22:37; 21 Paul Brannigan 23:52; 29 Darren Graham 24:39; 48 Joe Daniels 26:10; 51 Richard Butterwick 26:41; 72 Simon Galloway 28:16; 89 Richard Blackley 29:27; 105 Helen Wilson 31:47; 107 Nigel Hanson 32:02; 117 David Wilson 32:53; 124 Mandy Goth 33:42.

Caldervale 10 | Pendle Fell Race

Todmorden Harriers’ John Lloyd finished in second place for the second successive year at the Caldervale 10 mile road race, despite an impressive four minute improvement on his previous time.


The undulating race, near Garstang, formed the latest round of Todmorden Harriers’ Road Championship on Good Friday.

Last year’s winner Robin Tuddenham also improved his time but had to settle for 6th place on this occasion.

Trevor Davies finished in 22nd position, with Dan Taylor 50th and Joe Daniels in 74th place.

Simon Galloway bettered last year’s time by eight minutes for 85th place, with Peter Ehrhardt in 137th position.

Helen Wilson completed the course in 1:27:12 for 144th place, with Julie Wyant also recording a notable advance of three minutes on last year, for 154th position.

Todmorden Results: 2 John Lloyd 58:46; 6 Robin Tuddenham 59:55; 22 Trevor Davis 1:05:01; 50 Dan Taylor 1:11:09; 74 Joe Daniels 1:14:48; 85 Simon Galloway 1:16:45; 137 Peter Ehrhardt 1:25:49; 144 Helen Wilson 1:27:12; 154 Julie Wyant 1:30:38.



On Saturday several Harriers made the trip to Pendle Hill for the 4.5 mile short fell race.

Starting from Barley, the route takes runners part way to the summit, before a steep descent and a second climb back up the steep side of Big End, finishing with a fast descent back to the village.
Marcel Ellison led the way for the club with 48th place in a strong field as many used the race as a sharpener for next week’s British Championship race.

Dan Taylor shook off his efforts from the previous day for 131st just ahead of Mark Whitaker in 153rd.

Jane Leonard was the first Todmorden lady in 187th with Louise Abdy crossing the line for 250th position.

Todmorden Results: 48 Marcel Ellison 39:23; 131 Dan Taylor 46:34; 153 Mark Whitaker 48:02; 187 Jane E. Leonard 51:12; 250 Louise Abdy 1:01:53.

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Thirsk 10 | Wilmslow Half | Rivock Edge | Edale Skyline

Todmorden Harriers were in peak form with three personal bests recorded at the Thirsk 10 mile road race in North Yorkshire.


The race attracted a strong field of over 500 runners, and John Lloyd put in an excellent performance for 12th place and a new best time of 57:38.

Sarah Glyde was the first Todmorden lady in 200th place, also recording a new personal best for the distance of 1:12:40.

Lucy Hobbs was next over the line in 1:17:24, just ahead of Mel Robertson who stopped the clock at 1:18:23 for another personal best.

Nigel Hanson completed the Todmorden entry with a time of 1:26:08.



A pair of Harriers were in Wilmslow for the English Half Marathon Championships, with Robin Tuddenham recording 1:16:38 for 51st place out of over 4000 entrants.

Lauren Jeska finished 5th lady, and first v35, with a time of 1:19:32



Mick Craven was the lone Harrier at the Rivock Edge Fell Race, finishing the 6.5mile course in 41st place in 1:07:08.



Fiona Armer was also a sole Todmorden runner, this time at the Edale Skyline Fell Race where she recorded 5 hours 15 minutes for the tough 21 mile route.

Northern Cross Country Championships | Meltham 10k

Todmorden Harriers sent a men’s team to the Northern Cross Country Championships in Pontefract, finishing in a respectable 19th place to round off a successful return to cross country running this season, after a break of several years.
The 8 mile course attracted a highly competitive field of over 600 senior men from with Stockport’s Steve Vernon eventually recording a narrow win.

Todmorden Results: 132 Jonathan Wright 46:24; 145 John Lloyd 46:57; 163 Nick Barber 47:32; 216 Dwane Dixon 48:53; 229 Robin Tuddenham 49:08; 426 Darren Graham 54:32.

Videos of all Northern Cross Country Races by Bethany Murray on Athleticos...





The club’s Road Championship got underway on Sunday in icy conditions at the hilly Meltham 10k, with both of last year’s club champions leading the way.

The reigning men’s road champion Robin Tuddenham shrugged off the previous day’s efforts to lead the club in with fifth place overall, followed by Paul Brannigan in 38th position.

Darren Graham also showed good recovery to edge out Darren Tweed for 46th and 47th places respectively.

The first Todmorden lady to finish was last year’s ladies trophy holder Sarah Glyde in 97th place, and third v35 lady.

Richard Blakely was next over the line in 169th position, taking the men’s v65 prize.

Mel Robertson had an excellent run to complete the distance as first v50 lady half a minute ahead of Elise Milnes who was second v50 lady.

Todmorden Results: 5 Robin Tuddenham 36.59; 38 Paul Brannigan 41.53; 46 Darren Graham 42.21; 47 Darren Tweed 42.29; 61 Clive Greatorex 43.31; 96 Simon Galloway 46.42; 97 Sarah Glyde 46.50; 169 Richard Blakeley 50.53; 176 Melanie Robertson 51.24; 178 Elise Milnes 51.54; 189 David Wilson 52.27; 198 Helen Hodgkinson 52.45; 226 Nigel Hanson 54.41; 245 Helen Wilson 56.18; 276 Graham Milnes 61.20.

Meltham 10k photos by FlamingPhotography...