Calder Valley Fell Runners – 5 February 2024
A piece of cake!!!
A busy week saw Calder Valley Fell Runners excel at home and away. Birthday boy Martin Howard and Charlotte Jackson made it a red and white double at the Wadsworth Trog (so an extra slice of birthday cake for Martin this year). CFVR teams also excelled in Pendle, Blackburn and Appletreewick. And James Sackley carried the red and white stripes the furthest, taking on an epic personal challenge around the Cornwall coast.
The Wadsworth Trog
Affectionately known by locals as ‘The Beast’, the Wadsworth Trog is one of the highlights of the Calder Valley racing calendar. It clocks in at just under 20 miles, with an overall ascent of 3,624 feet and it is well-known for presenting runners with incredibly challenging conditions. With Storm Ingunn skirting the British Isles on its way to Norway this weekend the main feature of this year’s race was a strong wind. The day itself was largely dry, but insistent rain in the weeks before ensured that there was plenty of surface water and boggy conditions on the moors.
Martin out front from the start. Credit Woodentops
CVFR dominated this year’s race, taking first place in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Martin Howard was in imperious form, leading from start to finish and his time of just over 2 hrs 30 mins saw him cross the line around 11 minutes before his nearest competition.
Cornish girl Charlotte looking strong on her way to top spot. Credit Woodentops
In the women’s race it was Charlotte Jackson who came out on top – an incredible achievement considering 2023 was Charlotte’s Trog debut. Charlotte ran an excellent race, occupying third place for the first part of the race before picking up the pace after checkpoint three. By checkpoint nine (of 12) she had taken the lead from Hinda Hardaker of Keighley & Craven Athletic Club and she never looked back – eventually taking 23 minutes off her 2023 time. CVFR’s Susannah Richardson (who took third place in the women’s race) had a perfect vantage point for the battle for the front. She shared afterwards “I had Hinda in sight until just after checkpoint five, which was a surprise as she’s usually out of sight by then! Charlotte then powered past me and accelerated like a machine up the hill. I knew that if I maintained my pace I might hold onto third place, and I’m delighted to have managed this.”
Ever smiling Gill digging in to make the cut offs and she did.
Pos |
Name |
Category |
Time |
1st |
Martin Howard |
OSEN |
2:30:54 |
9th |
Mark O’Connor |
O40 |
3:06:23 |
17th |
Charlotte Jackson |
WSEN |
3:15:41 |
24th |
Susannah Richardson |
W40 |
3:25:51 |
35th |
Kieran O’Prey |
OSEN |
3:36:31 |
37th |
Toby Cotterill |
O40 |
3:38:08 |
38th |
Bill Johnson |
O50 |
3:40:42 |
44th |
Stella Chrisanthou |
W50 |
3:42:43 |
56th |
Helen Curtis |
W40 |
3:50:35 |
60th |
Claire Hanson |
W40 |
3:52:14 |
70th |
Mark Barnabas |
OSEN |
3:56:53 |
84th |
George Kirk |
OSEN |
4:06:23 |
93rd |
James Lindley |
O50 |
4:13:41 |
107th |
Louise Williamson |
W50 |
4:28:46 |
118th |
Gill Dickson |
W50 |
4:54:58 |
121st |
Helen Flage |
W50 |
4:57:23 |
122nd |
Ailsa Nicholson |
W40 |
4:57:46 |
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Pendle Way in a day
The Pendle Way In A Day is an ultra event that presents participants with two options: a full circular of the Pendle Way that clocks in at 45 miles, or a slightly less taxing 30-mile version. Calder Valley runners put in a sterling performance in both events. Peter Heywood took on the 30-mile race and managed an impressive 19th place overall, securing a fourth place in his age category. Francis Woof, Andy Collier, Fiona Lynch and Helen Buchan tackled the longer distance. Andy is one of CVFR’s newest members, and he will certainly be one to watch, as his time of 7hrs 40mins secured him second place overall. Fiona and Helen stuck together for the nine and a half hours of their race and teamwork paid dividends with a 4th and 5th place in the overall women’s standings, and the top two spots in their age category.
Francis with his well earned hobnob
For Francis, the chance to run over Pendle Hill in the dark and mist was a highlight, along with a well-earned hob nob biscuit at the end of the race.
Mr Sparkle’s Dark ‘Un
As the name suggests this is a race where headtorches are a key bit of kit. With a 7.30pm start time, all of the race takes place in the darkness. At just over 8km, it’s a relatively short race that takes in just over 200 metres of ascent, and as it’s the first race of the year that contributes to the CVFR club championship, there were plenty in red and white stripes hoping to get their 2024 off to a good start. Lee Shimwell did just that – coming in second overall, missing out on the top spot by just 30 seconds. Cass Chisholm and Catherine Holden were also on top form taking second and third spots in the women’s race. And with Carolyn Shimwell also securing a spot in the top fifteen women, it meant that CVFR took the crown as the winning ladies’ team. Excellent times from Jim Cooke and Phil Wells also secured second place for the men’s team. A good night’s work.
Pos |
Name |
Category |
Time |
2 |
Lee Shimwell |
M40 |
0:37:41 |
14 |
James Cooke |
M40 |
0:41:48 |
16 |
Phil Wells |
M50 |
0:42:05 |
18 |
Cass Chisholm |
W40 |
0:42:24 |
27 |
Catherine Holden |
W40 |
0:45:09 |
31 |
Andrew Wright |
M40 |
0:45:37 |
64 |
Carolyn Shimwell |
W40 |
0:59:32 |
73 |
Tamsin Cooke |
W40 |
1:02:49 |
74 |
Ali Haley |
W40 |
1:04:44 |
Runners and Riders
This is a race with a difference as it invites both runners and cyclists to come together and take on the same route: a five-mile circuit in Appletreewick. A very steep start is the perfect leveller, as the majority of cyclists opt to run and push their bikes until they find some easier terrain, and hopefully reel in the runners. Layla Wray Hirst and Stephen Smithies had their feet on the ground on behalf of CVFR. Stephen arrived home in a time of 40mins 45secs and Layla’s time 45:02 enabled her to secure an admirable sixth place in the women’s race.
Arc 50
James before the start of the Arc
Some distance from the usual Yorkshire Fells, James Sackley was taking on the Arc 50 in Cornwall for a second time. This is an extreme coastal race that takes in the stunning and dramatic Cornish Coastpath with competitors running in challenging winter conditions. The race starts off at the world famous Minack Theatre, an open-air theatre cut into the cliffside and looking out across the sea. The 50-mile route then snakes around the Cornish coastline, taking in such romantic landmarks as the Dunes of Doom and Hell’s Mouth, before finishing up in Portreath on the North Cornwall Coast. James had set himself an ambitious target of finishing in less than 12 hours, which would knock almost two hours off his previous time. An early alarm (4am) allowed him plenty of time to catch a 6am bus to the start. A quick and frantic start saw him jockey for position along a narrow coastal path but the race soon settled down into its natural rhythm. Throughout the race James was running impressively faster than last year, arriving at St Ives an hour ahead of his previous best. But even at this rate he was still a bit behind schedule for his new target. After 46 miles, it all came down to the very last stretch, where James knew he had to find something extra. Fighting exhaustion and a surge of emotions he ploughed on, constantly revising the mental arithmetic of distance versus time. Though much of it was a blur, James shared the detail of this final stretch: “I got to 1km to go and it was on the road for a while (before the final big hill) and I think I had 12 minutes to get there. That last hill is around 500 metres long, so I needed to get a move on. I just kept going and would not look at my watch. I finally reached the hill, 600 metres to go and I marched as quickly as my legs would take me! I reached the top, I looked at my watch, I had 200 metres to go and two minutes to get there. This was the very first time I knew I was going to achieve my goal, but it wasn’t time to celebrate, I sprinted with all my might and crossed the line in 11 hours 58 minutes and 56 seconds! I immediately cried and hugged the volunteers/race directors.” An epic performance by James! He is now considering the Arc of Attrition version of the race that doubles the distance to 100 miles. Good luck James!
Loughrigg Silverhow
Karl the demon descender. Credit George Foster
The Loughrigg Silverhowe fell race in the Lake district was a wet and windy affair with 2000′ of climbing in 8.5miles on Sunday 4th Feb. The low key event was £2 to enter on the day with no prizes being awarded. Karl Gray showed good form at the start of his 2024 racing calendar by being 1st V50.
CALDER VALLEY NEWS REPORTER: raymond kelly