A very busy weekend of racing ends in success for CVFRs

In a busy weekend of fell running, Calder Valley members were to the fore at various events across England & Wales.

Main event was Sunday’s Calderdale Way Relay. A highlight of the calendar and expertly staged as usual by Halifax Harriers, the race comprises pairs of runners completing the 6 legs of the picturesque trail. Defending champions Calder Valley A were in no mood to relinquish their crown and led from start to finish, despite a slightly below strength team. Ben Mounsey and Gav Mulholland yet again got proceedings off to a flyer and built a comfortable lead across Norland Moor, handing over to Darren Kay and Cannonball John Lloyd. These two put in a solid leg from Cragg Vale over to Todmorden, handing over to new pairing of Richard Pattinson and Royd Rocket Mark O’Connor. These two ran one of the legs of the day, a heroic run within a whisker of the course record, and one that left O’Connor visibly spent at the handover. Veteran maestro Karl Gray and new signing Math Roberts breezed round leg 4 over Midgley moor in the fastest time of the day and Joe Washington and James Logue continued the procession with an outstanding leg 5 between Wainstalls & Shelf. Joe Crossfield and Matt Pierson completed the job with a comfortable leg 6 between Shelf and West Vale to bring Calder home in 5hrs and 53 minutes, with minutes or so ahead of second place Barlick A fell runners.

Happy fastest ladies leg 5 pair Anne & Lindsey. www.woodentops.org.uk

Happy fastest ladies leg 5 pair Anne & Lindsey. www.woodentops.org.uk

Calder Ladies were also in prime form, finishing second to a very strong Holmfirth Ladies A. Helen Buchan was the lioness once more as she ran two legs, legs 1 & 3, leading by example as club captain and set the tone for outstanding runs from Jackie Scarf, Karen Forster & Rachel Johnston who ran a brilliant leg 2, Molly Traviss who pulled Helen along on leg 3, Gayle Sugden and Jo Buckley who flew round leg 4 in a fine fastest leg time. Anne Johnson and Lindsey Oldfield were the fastest ladies round leg 5, a full 3 minutes quicker than their Holmfirth rivals, and the closing leg was smartly dusted off by Rachel Crossland and Bryony Baron, to give the ladies a finishing time of 7:57:23, just 6 minutes or so behind Holmfirth.

Calder men B can be happy with their 17th place overall, but it could have been so much better if Steve Smithies and Ian Wood not gone on safari on closing leg 6, getting themselves in a right old muddle navigation wise and losing a costly seven places in the process – a schoolboy error for runners of their calibre. This undid some excellent work by Adam Breaks & Andy Thorpe (leg 1), Lee Shimwell & Jon Smith (leg 2), Tristan Sheard & Toby Cotterill (leg 3), Rob Rawlinson & Ben Frechette (leg 5) and Giles Simon and Richard Sunderland(leg 6) and cost a low-teens finish overall.

Ben & Rob working hard up the steep steps on leg 5. www.woodentops.org.uk

Ben & Rob working hard up the steep steps on leg 5. www.woodentops.org.uk

Calder Men C can also take heart from a solid 45th place overall, with last minute replacement Nathan Kennaugh carding an excellent first leg with new member Craig Hall. Blair Garrett and Darren Sugden gained a superb 12 places and handed over to Richard Kellet and Brian Shelmerdine who ran a steady leg 3. The baton was picked up by old hands Dave Beels and Andy Clarke who kept the hammer down over Midgley Moor, hovering up eleven places in the process, and the flying fireman Jake Ackroyd and Jim Mosley picked up four places on leg five. It was left to Dave Webb and Phil Beecroft to consolidate matters with an excellent run with a total time of 8:00:58.

The successful gold medallists. www.woodentops.org.uk

The successful gold medallists. www.woodentops.org.uk

On Saturday, several Calder elite runners were picked for Yorkshire it he inter counties race held at Betwys-y-Coed in north Wales. Fantastic weather and a challenging course around trails in nearby forestry with a 12km route with 488m of climbing, it was fast and furious. The race was won by Scotland’s in form Andrew Douglas, who led from start to finish. Tom Adams was first Yorkshireman in 3rd place and just 30 secs behind was Calder Valley’s main man Ben Mounsey in 7th place. Despite struggling with a hamstring strain over the last 2 weeks Ben destroyed himself for the Yorkshire team and was so close to a to a top 3 finish. Despite missing out on an individual medal it’s a result which gave Ben a great chance of gaining England selection as two of the guys in front were Scottish.

Fastest V40 Gav Mulholland. www.woodentops.org.uk

Fastest V40 Gav Mulholland. www.woodentops.org.uk

Calder’s Gav Mulholland finished in 11th place after yet another fantastic run. He was 1st V40 overall and 1st back for the Northern Ireland team. Karl Gray was 3rd V40 and finished 16th for Yorkshire. Calder country member Jason Williams also finished 35th for Leicestershire.

Also in the juniors with his Yorkshire team mate Jack Denton had a great run to finish 4th for in the U18 race to take gold.

In the Lake District, the ultra distance runners were tackling the famous Old Counties Tops pairs race, a 36 mile beast that takes in the main peaks that formed the boundaries of the Old County boundaries prior to 1974, such as Westmorland and Lancaster North of the Sands. Despite not being at their best, Calder’s Kevin Hoult and Martin Huddleston were 2nd in their category (V80 – its a combined age!) and as a result won the coveted OCT Mugs that go to the top 2 in each category. Elsewhere, Ian Symington and Ed Bailey, and Bill Johnson and John Minta also carded creditable runs in what was some typically inclement Lakeland weather.

Stretton Six Summit Success

The hobbits climb the final painful hill. Photo courtesy of Andy Holden

The hobbits climb the final painful hill. Photo courtesy of Andy Holden

A large contingent of Calder Valley Fell Runners ventured south to the Shropshire hills for Saturday’s much anticipated Stretton Six Summits Fell Race. The picturesque market town of Church Stretton hosted the 2nd race in the 2015 English Fell Running Championships. Organised by Mercia Fell Runners the 6.3 mile route climbs 3200 “grassy”  feet to the six summits, showing little in the way of mercy to those who dare to rise to this “Category A” graded challenge. Calder Valley’s championship hopefuls included the likes of Ben Mounsey, Karl Gray, Tim Ellis, Gavin Mullholland, Darren Kay, and Jason Williams, all seeking to build on recent victories at races up and down the UK, but perhaps lacking the advantage of local knowledge over unfamiliar terrain. The severity of the course was best illustrated by the £200 incentive on offer to any runners able to finish in under 60 minutes; by way of comparison, if it were run on the level, the Calder guys could get round a similar distance in around 30 minutes if they ever had the inclination.

17459323301_67bb8d2c4b_kAs the race set off in near perfect conditions, Mounsey quickly jumped to the front of the 310 field, and tucked in behind Mercia elite runner, Simon Bailey hoping Bailey’s local knowledge might help avoid any embarrassing navigational errors. After recent unplanned race detours Mounsey wasn’t going to build a lead and risk getting lost. Tim Ellis tucked in just behind Mounsey and together with Pudsey and Bramley’s Rob Hope, Borrowdale’s Morgan Donnelly and Bingley’s Rob Jebb it was a pack of 7 of who set the pace for the first couple of miles. Unfortunately despite some excellent climbing, the Calder pair began to lose ground on their elite opponents. Mounsey and Elllis clung onto the back of the group for a while before Ben started to suffer with a hamstring problem  picked up after last week’s Cake Race victory. The repeated ascents of the 6 Summits then began to take their toll. On the next big climb Mounsey’s race was effectively over, forced to watch in frustration as a host of rivals breezed past, including club mates Mullholland and Gray who now took up the mantel in Calder Valley’s bid, closing in on the front runners, and catching up with Tim Ellis on the last climb. And so it was that this formidable trio raced together to the finish line, like a well drilled cycling team with Mulholland taking the honours in 9th place (1:01:04), Ellis 10th (1:01:28) and Gray 11th (1:02:20) in an impressive demonstration of Calder Valley’s strength in depth, hinting at what might have been had Mounsey and Gray been fully fit. Mounsey eventually finished in 19th (1:04:32) with Darren Kay 21st (1:04:41) securing a prestigious Calder Valley men’s team victory. With Jason Williams having another a storming run in 26th (1:05:32) the  veterans also secured 1st team place. Tom Addison was first back in 59:01, followed by Rob Hope, Morgan Donnelly, Simon Bailey and Rob Jebb all under the hour. The club reigning champion Mark O’Connor showed fine form finishing 64th in 1:11:30.

Sally as she descends the final hill

Sally as she descends the final hill

First lady was Annie Conway of Ambleside in 1:06:55. Calder’s women flew the club colours at the post race presentations, as Sally Newman (1.17.35), Gayle Sugden (1.19.18) and Karon Foster (1.33.01) took the 3rd women’s team prize and also 2nd lady vets, with Newman’s fantastic V50 victory their crowning glory. With illness hitting her earlier in the week and running on empty Ladies Captain Helen Buchan was disappointed with her run but she battled on to finish in 1.39.55. The club results were 97 Math Roberts 1.16.22 (running with a chest infection!!), 106 Iain Glendinning 1.17.05, 243 Dave Culpan 1.36.37, 270 Darren Sugden 1.40.27, 300 Andy Thorpe 1.50.28, 301 Linda Hayles 1.53.51

Beginners Sessions … come and have a go at fell running ….

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Fell-running open sessions – 14 April

Calder Valley Fell Runners will be running free, open sessions from the 14 April for 6 weeks.

Tuesday nights, 6:45pm, meet at Mytholmroyd Community Centre.

If you’d like to try fell running in a safe, supportive environment, this is your chance – get fit, have a laugh and make friends!

You need to have a fairly good level of fitness, e.g. do a gym session/cycling/football twice a week.

Bring the grippiest trainers you have and a cagoul, it gets cold on the tops!

Drinks in the Shoulder of Mutton afterwards.

For more information contact
Charlotte: oxygenplease@hotmail.com
Thirza:  thirzahyde@icloud.com.
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Ben shows the rest of the field a clean pair of heels

www.woodentops.org.uk

www.woodentops.org.uk

Another Saturday, another comfortable win for Calder Valley’s star man Ben Mounsey. Ben claimed a trouble free victory at Saddleworth Runners’ Cake Race (10miles, 1700ft climb), held out of Diggle and run across Marsden & Saddleworth Moors. Perfect wet and chilly fell running weather greeted the field and the predominantly trail and Yorkstone route meant a tough ten miles lay ahead.

However, the race was over as a contest after about ten yards as Ben blasted out in trademark fashion and was not seen again for another hour or so, returning to Diggle in a course record time of 1:01:04 and leaving a decent field in shreds. Team mate and training buddy Gavin Mulholland was home in second place and looked stunned by how much Ben is taking out of fields at the moment. Gavin, Northern Ireland international and no slouch himself, commented, “Fair play to Ben, I can’t live with him at the moment, he’s taken things to the next level. He deserves all his success for the amount of training and preparation he puts in. He’s on fire.”

With reigning club champion Mark O’Connor finishing 7th Calder easily took the men’s team prize yet again to emphasise the club’s dominant presence in local races. First lady home was Joanne Nelson from Darwen Dashers, with Gillian Wisbey being first Calder lady home in the impressive time of 1:37:21.

Other notable runs were had by Richard Sunderland, Ben Frechette and Iain Powell. Further back, Toby Sydes shone once more, Dan Biggs carded another fine run and Graham Davy and Carolyn Shimwell ran well in the mixed pairs.

This charming and lovingly staged race takes its name from the open invite for all involved to provide a cake for post-race consumption. Your correspondent can happily confirm that few did not oblige. Reminiscent of a Dad’ Army scene, Diggle Village Hall resembled Mr Kipling’s as a plethora of home baked beauties adorned the main table, and with tea and coffee aplenty to be had, the athletes took a welcome respite from energy gels and glucose drinks to tuck into the more traditional feast in front of them. Overall prize went to the dreamy Lemon Drizzle, with the Malteser Cake in second and Diggle Ladies’ Victoria Sponge a close third.

Sally concentrating as she goes for 2nd lady at Coniston

Sally concentrating as she goes for 2nd lady at Coniston

While runners were enjoying cake in Saddleworth some of our other hardy members were fighting the elements in the Lakes on the Coniston Horseshoe Race (8.7miles,3494ft ascent). Conditions were described as wintery with snow, high winds and very low visibility making it a proper challenge for the runners. Sally Newman had a fantastic race placing 2nd lady overall (1.36.18) but did admit to being scared in the conditions as she battled the elements and found it hard going on the very slippery rocky route. Another great run from Jon Smith placed him 27th (1.27.41) with Lee Shimwell snapping sat his heels in 30th place in a time of 1.30.22. Karon Forster who’s coming back from injury had a good solid run in 146th place in a time of 1.55.58.

Anne J making a steady start. www.woodentops.org.uk

Anne J making a steady start. www.woodentops.org.uk

On Bank Holiday Monday, the popular Coiners Race (7.5miles, 1330ft ascent) was run once more out of Mytholmroyd. However, fun and games ensued with many leading runners forgetting that the route was changed last year to incorporate extra climb. In the monkey see, monkey do mindset that often takes hold mid race when adrenalin, race pressure and fatigue scramble even the best minds, many of the leading group tootled merrily on from Dick Lane towards Stoodley Pike, rather than dropping down to London Road. Twenty seven runners were thus disqualified leaving the marvellous outcome of a victory for a vet 60 category runner, the spritely Keith Holmes from Dark Peak. Closely followed by first lady in overall second place, Jordan Mullinger from Holmfirth Harriers. The rejuvenated Anne Johnson of Calder Valley was second lady in 11th overall, with Fiona Hall from Trawden in 12th.

Calder Valley took the men’s team prize once more thanks to Jon Emberton, Iain Powell and Jake Ackroyd, with Holmfirth taking the ladies spoils.

On Tuesday night the week before at the local Orchan Rocks (3.4miles, 920ft ascent) race in Todmorden Alex Whittem had a ding dong of a battle with only 13 seconds separating him and Joe Crossfield as they crossed the finish line. Whittem just edged out his younger team mate to take the win. Mark O Connor was 5th and this sealed the team with Lee Shimwell taking the honours as 1st local home.