Gilbert flies up the Alpine Climbs & Fielden Cup Finish is a Thriller
In this week’s “Dan-tastic” report, we have three races, three great runs, and three “Dans”. First up is club fell running captain, Dan Gilbert, taking on the infamous Jungfrau Marathon. A standard marathon distance with the twist of 6,407ft of ascent. The course begins with a brief flat section in Interlaken, Switzerland, and meanders through picturesque villages before a steadily rising and punishing climb that culminates in a final ascent beneath the north face of the Eiger. Gilbert did not go out hard and, to quote, went to “enjoy the climb”—three words that rarely feature in the same sentence. His race took 4 hours 36 minutes, placing him 32nd from 313 Vet50s after gaining an astonishing 286 places in the last 15km. The Counsels, Mike and Jane, were also in attendance, crossing the finish line in 5 hours 4 minutes and 5 hours 52 minutes respectively. That’s Dan one, done.
Onto Dan two, featuring club stalwart Danny Hope in his 9th completion of the Ben Nevis race. A legacy race with a tradition started in 1898 by William Swan, it is an out-and-back sprint from Fort William up the famous steep zig-zag rocky tourist trail to the summit of Britain’s highest and most iconic mountain, then turn around and back again. Hope completed the approximately 14km course with 1,340m of ascent in 2:09:34. Two Dans down, one to go.
And onward to our international press reporter, Steve Thomasson in Germany, who has been training his partner Dani Soundso. She completed her first 5k in 36:15, smashing her sub-40 target at the Piatka Praska in Poland. I can only report that Coach Thomasson was a DNF in the half marathon event after falling over a speed bump.
Blackleach County Park hosted the next event in the Central Lancs Grand Prix series, and the leading protagonists Marcus Taylor (Vet50), Richard O’Reilly (Vet55) and Mary White (L70) retained 1st position in their respective age categories.
On a cooling Thursday evening, 16 Red Vests amassed on Georges Lane to contest the historic Fielden Cup. An out-and-back course along Georges Lane, it’s a handicap race based on recent 5k times and designed so that, in theory, all runners return at the same time. In a closely fought finish, Julie Goudge pipped Steve Jackson to the line by mere seconds.
As summer draws to a close and the autumn/winter season approaches, entries are being prepared for the ever-popular XC series. Horwich will be fielding a number of teams for the South East Lancs, Manchester and Red Rose competitions. We all can’t wait to don those spikes and romp around fields in the mud. Roll on Autumn.
