Foley Luke’s Sharp in Seville!

In the best club marathon performance since 1989, Luke Foley took on the Seville Marathon in southern Spain, famously one of Europe’s flattest marathon courses and off the back of some heavy-duty mountain training. At the very sharp end, the two leaders were split at the finishing line and Foley made the top 100 of a top-class international field in an excellent time of 2:24:19, less than five minutes away from Nigel Barlow’s club record of 2:19:48 at the 1989 London Marathon.

A few Harriers were out on the fells over the course of the weekend. Lindsey Brindle and Samantha Sale took on the Windy Hill fell race near Oldham over an almost 12-mile course featuring 2,100 feet of ascent. Brindle showed her class by winning the F45 prize in 1:45:15 and Sale won the F50 prize in 1:55:47. Four Harriers popped over to the other side of the Pennines to Mirfield to take on the Hoppits Hill fell race. Kitty Crossland took on the senior race which was 4.8km and featured 600 feet of climb, coming home comfortably in the middle of the pack in 30:01. Younger brother John-Paul Crossland ran splendidly in the U12s race over 2km with over 300 feet of ascent, coming over the line just 15 seconds behind the winner to take third place in 10:55 whilst in the U14s race Louis Yates faced a 3km course with 500 feet of climbing to handle, finishing safely in the middle of the pack in 20:44.

Danny Hope headed into the Forest of Bowland to take on the Bleasdale Circle fell race where snowy conditions almost put the “fell” into “fell running” over 5 miles and more than 1,250 feet of ascent. As Hope quipped, the winner, young phenom Evan Allan, certainly was fast, coming home three-and-a-half minutes ahead of second place, but everyone else wasn’t as Hope crossed the line in 6th in a still very fine time of 42:57.

There weren’t too many Horwich parkrunners this weekend, but it was a pleasingly scattered collection across the country. Nick Leigh went over the Pennines to Skipton parkrun, coming home third in 18:05, young Oliver Hughes ran an excellent personal best at Ormskirk in 24:03 and Chris Charnley headed up to Blackburn to run Witton’s course in 24:17. Brendan Bolland fancied a scoot around the prom in Morecambe and finished in 26:35.

Steve Jackson’s resurgence continued apace at Peel as he was over thirty seconds faster than his previous run there four weeks ago, clocking 29:15. Isaac Parker took on a different Cambridge parkrun at Brook Heys in a remarkably quick field where his time of 18:41 saw him finish 27th overall. Jamie Rockcliffe wandered down to Worsley Woods and pleasantly surprised himself by being over two minutes faster than the previous week, handing over his barcode after 34:51. Adam MacDonald went to Bridgnorth for the Severn Valley event and took first place by over a minute, finishing in 19:58 and Grace Freary clocked a personal best at Heaton Park in 20:34.