Wadsworth Trog

by PB

Brutal winds and a wind chill of minus 6 degrees made the already tough Wadsworth Trog fell race an extremely difficult challenge. This was proven by 5 of Tod’s 19 athletes unable to finish the race. Of the 14 finishers, in this opening race in Tod Harriers’ fell championship, Craig Stansfield was Tod’s first counter finishing in an excellent 11^th place. First lady back was Jane Leonard in 20^th in the ladies race.

The 20 mile race incorporated 14 checkpoints manned by some dedicated and hardy marshals. With the wind behind the field the run up to checkpoint 5 was straightforward, but boggy conditions between 5 and 6 sapped the soul as well as the body, but the worst was to come on the return journey from checkpoint 11 at Cock Hill where a headwind and boggy conditions reduced many to a walk. The wind was strong enough to blow out the contact lense of Tod’s second counter Paul Hobbs, who along with Andy McFie’s beautifully measured run secured 3^rd team place.

Great credit must go to Beverley Holmes, Tod’s last counter, who returned to Old Town Cricket Club 5hrs 36 minutes after starting. The general feeling amongst competitors was finishing the race made you a winner.

Results:

Craig Stansfield 11^th 3:32:25

Paul Hobbs 28^th 3:45:11

Andy McFie 29^th 3:45:19

Paul Brannigan 41^st 3:51:59

John Allan 56^th 4:00:21

Rob Tyson 70^th 4:12:53

Ben Beckwith 79^th 4:20:11

Phil Hodgson 80^th 4:21:03

Geoff Read 111^th 4:46:53

Richard Leonard 112nd 4:52:09

Jane Leonard 129^th (20^th) 4:57:02

Mandy Goth 144^th (28^th) 5:17:27

Helen Wilson 148^th (29^th) 5:19:38

Beverly Holmes 156^th (34^th) 5:33:23

Todmorden Harriers welcome and look after runners of all ability. Check out www.todharriers.co.uk for details.

Winter Warmer 10k | Winter Hill | Wadsworth Trog

Todmorden Harriers Road Championship opened with the Blackburn Winter Warmer 10k on Sunday, but with sleet quickly turning to snow there was little warmth to be found on the hilly course for the twenty Harriers who made the trip.


John Lloyd continued his strong start to the year with sixth position out of the 400 runners. Paul Brannigan was the next Harrier to finish, despite nursing fractured ribs, completing the course in 19th place with Trevor Davis coming across the line in 31st position.

Sarah Glyde set the pace for the Todmorden ladies finishing seventh lady and 91st place overall. Elise Milnes and Issy Pollard then crossed the line in quick succession for 225th and 226th positions respectively.

Todmorden Results: 6 John Lloyd 36:16; 19 Paul Brannigan 38:21; 31 Trevor Davis 39:39; 58 Richard Butterwick 42:20; 73 Paul Alexander 43:11; 91 Sarah Glyde 44:07; 94 Jonathan Daniels 44:24; 105 Andrew Bibby 45:08; 118 Phil Cook 45:45; 134 Guy Whitmore 46:30; 178 Paul Cruthers 48:53; 225 Elise Milnes 51:40; 226 Issy Pollard 51:47; 241 Julie Wyant 52:38; 265 Nigel Hanson 54:32; 275 Moyra Parfitt 55:14; 285 Mandy Goth 55:31; 308 Melanie Whitmore 57:12; 324 Graham Milnes 58:20; 344 Myra Wells 1:00:12.


A few miles down the road at Rivington, the Winter Hill Fell Race certainly lived up to its name, with cold and snowy conditions as two Todmorden Harriers took on the tough 11 mile race.

Despite poor visibility on the hill, Dan Taylor put in a strong performance to finish the course in 20th position in a time of 2:01:49, just ahead of 35th placed Andy McFie who recorded a time of 02:04:13.


On Saturday, five Todmorden runners undertook the Wadsworth Trog Fell Race, a 20 mile course from Old Town.

Craig Stansfield finished in 18th place in 3:35:59, followed by Darren Graham in 57th in a time of 3:51:11 and Rob Tyson in 89th place with a time of 4:13:55.

Elise Milnes finished 17th lady in 5:04:19 and Bev Holmes was 20th lady with a time of 5:30:47.


Ben Crowther recorded a narrow win at Calder Valley Fell Runners invitation night score orienteering event last week, beating Calder Valley’s Phil Scarfe by 2 points, whilst Mandy Goth was the top scoring lady.

Around 50 runners had to navigate themselves between the controls on the hills above Hebden Bridge and having to contend with not only the darkness but strong winds bringing wintery showers.


At the Calderdale Schools Cross Country race, one of Todmorden Harriers’ junior runners ran a well paced race to move through the field and battled across the line in first place.

Maebh Logue, a Year 3 pupil at Walsden St Peters School, was rewarded for her performance by earning selection for the West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Race.

Wadsworth Trog | Winter Hill Fell Race | Liversedge Half | Tarren Hendre

The Wadsworth Trog proved an even harder event than usual with just 135 starters tackling the fell race from Old Town above Hebden Bridge on Saturday.


The 20 mile route featured an amended start and finish to miss some of the ice, but after last week’s freezing rain much of the route was frozen solid with the moorland heather and grass coated in ice, and stiles and tracks treacherously glassy.

Jon Wright led the way for Todmorden in second place behind Calder Valley’s James Logue. Nick Barber finished in fifth and Dwane Dixon in 11th position as the club narrowly lost out to Dark Peak for the team prize.

The ladies team also finished second, with only a single place the difference between themselves and Abbey Runners. Chris Preston continued her return to fitness, finishing 5th lady and 57th overall, with Helen Wilson in 105th and Fiona Armer in 199th position the other counters.

Todmorden Results: 2 Jon Wright 2:57:02; 5 Nick Barber 3:01:40; 11 Dwane Dixon 3:12:01; 24 Ben Crowther 3:25:44; 25 John Lloyd 3:27:07; 33 Phil Hodgson 3:33:46; 39 Ozzy Kershaw 3:40:35; 57 Christine Preston 4:08:43; 79 Darren Graham 4:18:07; 81 Andrew Bibby 4:18:52; 105 Helen Wilson 4:46:52; 108 David Wilson 4:53:33; 119 Fiona Armer 5:22:40; 122 Elise Milnes 5:25:44.



On Sunday, a pair of Harriers had the added challenge of very poor visibility, with low cloud hugging the ground, on a similarly icy course for the Winter Hill Fell Race.

Clive Greatorex finished the 11 mile route in 2:20:25 for 94th place, with Andy McFie in 131st position with a time of 2:34:56.



At the Liversedge Half Marathon, Jayne Williams completed the hilly 13 miles in 1:47:27 with Kevin Coughlan not far behind in 1:48:57.



Lauren Jeska finished first lady at the Tarren Hendre Fell Race in North Wales, completing the 6 mile route in 57:54, over two minutes ahead of her nearest rival.

Liversedge Half Marathon | Wadsworth Trog

Todmorden Harriers club Road Championship got underway on Sunday with the Liversedge Half Marathon. Starting and finishing at Roberttown, the route followed an undulating course with several tough climbs as it weaved its way through Liversedge, Bailiff Bridge and Brighouse en route.
Martin Stork was the first Harrier to cross the line in 23rd place in a time of 1:27:12 with Sarah May three minutes behind in 35th overall and 2nd lady.
Mick Craven and Mel Blackhurst were the next Harriers to finish just 11 seconds apart.

Todmorden Results: 23 Martin Stork 1:27:12; 35 Sarah May 1:30:26; 130 Mick Craven 1:43:59; 134 Mel Blackhurst 1:44:10; 223 Kevin Coughlan 1:52:14; 239 Mel Robertson 1:54:13; 252 Peter Ehrhardt 1:55:41; 293 Nigel Hanson 2:00:57.


On Saturday, Todmorden had a good showing with three runners in the top twenty at the Wadsworth Trog. The 20 mile fell race features over 4000 feet of ascent as it winds around the moors to the north of Hebden Bridge.

Jon Wright led the way for the club in 5th place, behind race winner and Calder Valley runner James Logue who completed the course in 2:48:25.
Nick Barber continued his fine form from last year with 10th place and Dave Collins finished in 20th.
Kath Brierley led the way for Todmorden ladies in 85th, and 6th lady.

5 Jon Wright 2:55:27; 10 Nick Barber 3:14:58; 20 Dave Collins 3:29:37; 43 Ozzy Kershaw 3:52:21; 60 Richard Bellaries 4:02:53; 95 Kath Brierley 4:22:45; 114 Richard O'Sullivan 4:38:43; 116 John Preston 4:40:30; 117 Christine Preston 4:40:32; 120 Elise Milnes 4:43:21; 124 Jane Leonard 4:48:19.

Wadsworth Trogs

Todmorden Harriers 2010 Club Fell Championship opened with the Wadsworth Trog on Saturday. The local 20 mile race features 4000 feet of ascent as it weaves its way across the moors above Hebden Bridge.
A formidable undertaking under any circumstances, this year’s runners also had to contend with hill fog over much of the course testing navigational skills to the limit.

First Harrier to finish was Dave Collins in 19th place, with Phil Hodgson next across the line just ahead of first Harrier lady Chris Preston.

Todmorden Results: 19 Dave Collins 03:40:13; 40 Phil Hodgson 03:59:37; 41 Christine Preston 04:00:14; 56 James Riley 04:19:03; 58 Clive Greatorex 04:23:30; 78 Richard Leonard 04:28:29; 96 Melanie Blackhurst 04:35:23; 97 Richard O'Sullivan 04:35:53; 116 Helen Hodgkinson 05:19:50; 117 Elise Milnes 05:19:51.

Three Harriers tackled the 9 mile Half Trog and they combined to take 2nd place team behind host club Calder Valley. Andrew Horsfall finished in 6th place, Mark Anderton in 8th and Paul Hobbs in 26th.