Harriers Chase Down Chip Butties

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Lured by the promise of a complimentary chip butty at the finish, a horde of hungry Horwich Harriers descended on the Chip Chase fell race at Saddleworth. Ten of the RMI completed the 6.2-mile (1,312ft) course and a fried potato sandwich in the latest round of the Run the Moors Grand Prix. Matt Fawthrop led the charge with a stellar 2nd place (46:30) to consolidate his stranglehold on the overall Male standings. Also in the top 10 again, and 2nd MV40, was Adam MacDonald (50:18). Gary Chadderton was 3rd MV60 (59:10) and Doug Fleming 2nd MV65 (1:01:21). Alison Mort ran a fantastic race to place 9th female overall and 3rd FV45 (1:01:30). Chris Charnley stopped the clock at 1:04:28 after running Haigh Woodland parkrun the day before and Media City 10k on Thursday. If anyone had earned their chip barm, it was the Chorleian. Gary Porteous wasn’t far behind at 1:05:26, Helen MacDonald (1:07:06) was 2nd FV45, whilst Lawrence Pinnell clocked 01:10:43 and Katherine Newall 1:24:11.

Soggy Harriers at the start of the Chip Chase. Photo courtesy of Claire Rostron.

In the Northern Track and Field meet at Leigh, the young guns and veterans alike took on the other clubs in the West Division 1. U17 Joel Ige was 3rd (23.3) in the 200m A race and clocked 11.3 in the 100m. Fellow U17 Finlay Mann ran a 2:17.2 in the 800m A race. Amelia Green (U17) clocked 13.5 in the 100m and 29.0 in the 200m before hurling the discus 15.25m in the A competition. Another U17 multi-eventer, Emma Hope, ran 13.5 in the 100m and 29.2 in the 200m before launching the javelin 20.10m. She wasn’t far behind her dad, Rob’s, mark of 22.50m in the men’s event. Hope Snr, the MV50 better known for his exploits on the fells, also ran a sharp time of 16:29 in the 5000m.

The classic Lake District mountain test and penultimate round of the six-race English Fell Championship, Borrowdale Fell Race, was on Saturday 2nd. Dan Gilbert ran a brilliant race to break into the top 10 of his new V50 age category. Gilbert ducked under four hours (03:57:04) over the 17-mile-long course which includes a vertiginous 6,500ft of ascent and a handful of the region’s highest summits, such as Scafell Pike, Great Gable and Dalehead. James Titmuss, whose injury travails have reduced him to mountain bike rides of late, showed grit to battle round in a time of 05:04:32.

At the Run Media City 10k in Salford on Thursday, July 31st, Marcus Taylor produced a brilliant performance to place 1st MV55 and 14th overall, with a time of 39:00. Chris Charnley put in a strong performance to finish 3rd MV50 in 46:50.

Rob Jackson scored a 6th (18:30) at South Manchester parkrun. Richard O’Reilly was 8th (21:51) at Witton. Marcus Taylor bagged 5th place (18:52) at Haigh, with Isaac Parker, Chris Charnley, Mary White, Tony Hesketh and Gillian Smith all in attendance also. Father and daughter Lawrence and Heather Pinnell ran together at Sutton Manor parkrun.