Crow Hill Reverse Fell Race | Todmorden 5k | Whittle Pike | Boulsworth | Sierre Zinal

Todmorden Harriers were out in force at the Crow Hill Reverse Fell Race in Mytholmroyd on Tuesday, which attracted a record 123 entries.

Twenty four Harriers tackled the 4.5 mile route with Nick Barber finishing in fourth place in a time of 33:37, with Paul Brannigan in sixth place 15 seconds behind.

A strong descent lifted Dan Taylor into 14th place, a few seconds ahead of Peter Bowles in 15th position, one of many battles between club mates throughout the race.

Richard Blakeley claimed the v70 prize with 73rd place overall.

Todmorden won the women’s team prize, after Clare Harris finished fourth woman, winning the v50 prize in the process, with Jackie Holden in eighth place and Kirsty Pattern crossing the line ninth placed woman.

Race organiser Ali Mills, of Mills Physiotherapy, was pleased to announce that over £700 had been raised for Ovarian Cancer Research.

Todmorden results: 4 Nick Barber 33:37; 6 Paul Brannigan 33:52; 14 Dan Taylor 34:27; 15 Peter Bowles 34:31; 23 Robert Tyson 35:24; 24 Robin Tuddenham 35:34; 26 Trevor Davies 36:23; 29 Dave Collins 36:42; 40 Paul Alexander 39:26; 45 Andrew Bibby 40:43; 58 Clare Harris 43:02; 71 Keith Parkinson 44:23; 72 Jackie Holden 44:27; 73 Richard Blakeley 44:32; 75 David Leslie 45:04; 78 Richard Butterwick 45:44; 79 Richard Leonard 45:51; 80 Kirsty Patten 46:36; 82 Kevin Coughlan 47:22; 85 Andrea Marshall 48:22; 91 Peter Ehrhardt 50:41; 102 Natalie Yates 53:33; 110 Reg Czudek 57:11; 115 Dave O’Neill 58:55.

The final race in the Todmorden 5k series attracted over 100 runners to Centre Vale Park the following evening.

Robin Tuddenham finished fifth on the night in 17:21 to end the series in third place overall.

Martin Stork was 15th with a time of 18:24, followed by Dan Taylor in 18:44 for 21st position.  Paul Alexander stopped the clock at 19:35 for 31st place and Richard Butterwick was 65th in a time of 23:36.

Bev Wright was the first Todmorden woman crossing the line in 23:47, followed by Andrea Marshall in 26:08.  Myra Well finished first v55 woman in 27:58 and Ian Stansfield was first v70 man in 33:49. 

Marcel Ellison finished in 23rd place at Whittle Pike Fell Race on Wednesday, and went one better with 22nd place on Sunday at Boulsworth Fell Race.

At the World Police and Fire Games in Northern Ireland, Mel Siddall won the v50 age category of the Triathlon. The event was completed over a 1500m swim, a 37km cycle ride and a 10k run.

Craig Stansfield was also on his travels to Switzerland, finishing in 129th place out of over 1100 competitors at the 31km Sierre Zinal Mountain Race.

Whittle Pike [English Champs] | Harakiri Mountain Race | Lakeland 100 | Cowm Reservoir 4.2m

Todmorden Ladies clinched the English Fell Championship team gold medal at the Whittle Pike Fell Race on Saturday. With one race to go in the six race series they now hold an uncatchable lead.

The 5.1 mile race started with a half mile road section, before the first of three steep climbs, the second of which took the runners to the high point of Whittle Pike.

In hot and sunny conditions Sarah May led the way for the Harriers in the ladies race finishing in an excellent 5th place, behind Holmfirth's Katie Walshaw who won in a time of 45:47.

Jane Leonard was the next Todmorden lady in 44th place.  After a close battle Lucy Hobbs edged out Fiona Armer on the final run in to finish 51st and 54th respectively.  Karen Gray completed the course in 69th place.

In the men's race, Dark Peak's Lloyd Taggert won in a time of 37:30 after catching the early leader Rob Jebb, of Bingley Harriers, who retired after a late fall.  Jon Wright was the first Todmorden runner in 28th, ahead of Sean Carey in 49th, who was also 2nd U18. 

A strongly finishing Paul Brannigan edged out Alistair Rhodes-Dawson as they finished 59th and 68th respectively.
 
Todmorden men's results: 28 Jon Wright 42:38; 49 Sean Carey 44:59; 59 Paul Brannigan 45:49; 68 Alastair Rhodes-Dawson 46:36; 90 Dave Collins 48:46; 102 Peter Bowles 50:19; 122 Marcel Ellison 53:27; 125 Andrew Bibby 53:36; 141 Mick Craven 56:17; 161 Richard Blakeley 59:34; 167 Phil Cook 1:00:22; 184 Peter Ehrhardt 1:05:15; 188 Kevin Coughlin 1:07:30.

Ladies results: 5 Sarah May 48:23; 44 Jane Leonard 59:18; 51 Lucy Hobbs 1:00:38; 54 Fiona Armer 1:01:38; 69 Karen Gray 1:09:02.


Lauren Jeska was in Mayrhofen, Austria for the Harakiri Mountain Race, the fourth race in the World Mountain Running GP. In a highly competitive race, Lauren finished 12th lady, and 2nd v35, completing the tough uphill only course in 1:15:09.  
 

Elise Milnes completed the Lakeland 100 in 38 hours and 49 minutes at the weekend.  The 100 mile 'Ultra Tour of the Lake District' followed a circular route from Coniston that included over 6000 feet of ascent.  With less than half the starters finishing the full distance, it lives up to its reputation as the toughest race in the UK.

On Wednesday, Martin Stork finished 4th at the Linda Crabtree Cowm Reservoir Race.  Martin completed the 4.2 mile multi terrain race in 25:49, with James Riley in 21st place in a time of 29:44.

Mel Robertson recorded 35:03 for 47th, with Myra Wells stopping the clock at 42:48 for 65th.

Crow Hill | Whittle Pike | Cliviger 6

Many Todmorden Harriers turned out to assist race organiser Clive Greatorex for the Crow Hill fell race at Mytholmroyd last Tuesday. The 5 mile race, featuring 1000 feet of ascent was run in a reverse route this year.
Chris Smale won the race in a time of 31:15, ahead of Calder Valley Fell Runners’ Gavin Mulholland and Steve Smithies.
First Harrier to finish was Paul Hobbs in 14th place, followed by Paul Burnett and Derek Donohue. Sarah Warburton finished 3rd lady and 53rd overall with Emma Osenton in 71st.


The following evening saw Sarah May win the ladies category in the 4½ mile Whittle Pike Fell Race at Cowpe as the club made a strong showing. Calder Valley’s Alex Whittem won the race overall in a time of 41:10.
Andrew Wrench was the first Harrier to finish in 4th place and 1st Vet40. Sean Carey won the under18 category, as he knocked 2½ minutes off his time form the year before, and finished 6th overall. Andrew Horsfall narrowly missed out on a win in the vet45 by just 7 seconds with Dave Collins 2nd vet50.

Todmorden Results: 4 Andrew Wrench 42:19; 6 Sean Carey 43:52; 9 Alistair Rhodes-Dawson 45:51; 16 Andrew Horsfall 47:29; 17 Dave Collins 47:49; 20 Paul Brannigan 48:09; 27 Paul Burnett 49:41; 38 Sarah May 50:49; 45 Darren Tweed 51:58; 57 Dan Taylor 53:36; 59 James Riley 53:47; 113 Richard Leonard 1:00:56; 124 Peter Marshall 1:03:33; 137 Mel Siddall 1:09:39; 141 David O'Neill 1:11:19; 154 Ian Stansfield 1:36:04.


On Sunday, it was the road championship that was the centre of attention as 21 Harriers made the short trip for the Cliviger 6 mile road race. Starting at Mount Lane Sports Field the runners had a steep uphill start, followed by a long downhill towards Burnley before turning into Towneley Park. An undulating return via the main Todmorden road followed with a short final climb up Red Lees Road.
The race was won by Marc Hartley of Staffordshire Moorlands AC, repeating his performance of last year. First Todmorden Harrier to finish was Andrew Wrench who was just edged into 3rd place in the final few paces, winning the Vet40 prize in the process. Paul Brannigan continued his rapid return to form, finishing in 16th with Dave Collins in 26th.
Sarah Glyde timed her run to perfection as she overhauled Claire Duffield just before the line to finish 7th female overall and 2nd Vet35. Mel Blackhurst finished 1st vet40 and Moyra Parfitt was 1st vet60.

Todmorden Results: 3 Andrew Wrench 34:37; 16 Paul Brannigan 37:55; 26 Dave Collins 39:22; 38 Mark Anderton 40:49; 51 Darren Tweed 41:51; 58 Richard Butterwick 42:43; 60 Martin Stork 42:53; 65 Phil Cook 43:58; 75 Sarah Glyde 44:41; 76 Claire Duffield 44:47; 83 Mel Blackhurst 45:37; 88 Kevin Coughlan 46:12; 104 Peter Marshall 50:14; 109 Lucy Hobbs 50:59; 112 Richard Blakeley 52:05; 118 Moyra Parfitt 53:49; 119 Melanie Robertson 54:07; 126 David O'Neill 57:02; 127 Barry Chapman 57:06; 129 Philip Southwell 59:13; 140 Ian Stansfield 1:07:45.

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);