Blackstone Edge Fell Race and Backyard Ultra
A dozen Harriers could be found over the weekend at the Blackstone Edge Fell Race near Littleborough. This counts towards the English Fell Running Championships and is a 5.6km race with over a thousand feet of ascent. Horwich came 4th out of 14 teams; Luke Foley was first counter home in 29:28, Rob Hope was second Harrier home and first V50 in 30:46, and Sam Fairhurst followed in 32:56. Nick Leigh was close behind in 33:14 as third V45, with Danny Hope just 25 seconds further behind him. Mark Titmuss and Julian Goudge delivered a thrilling in-club battle, with Titmuss finishing in 34:34 and Goudge just five seconds behind while taking second V55. James Titmuss crossed the line in 36:46, Marcus Taylor ran 38:41, Mark Walsh came home in 39:19, Alison Mort produced a solid run in 46:39 and Helen MacDonald ran 49:17.
Ryan Snee produced a sparkling performance to win the Rivington Backyard Ultra. This was a 12-hour event where runners had to run the same 4.2-mile loop with 620 feet of ascent within one hour; if they took over an hour, they were eliminated, and the fastest on the 12th and final lap was the winner. Liv Burke also took part and was the second lady finisher. Meanwhile, on the road, secretary Glynne Lever dusted off his racers and tackled the Manchester Marathon while raising money for Derian House, coming home in 4:04:05. Hayley Winder was also out on Mancunian roads and finished in 3:50:01, while Stephen Winward finished in a very fine 3:28:37.
Horwich’s parkrunners were found at a wide range of locations, yet relatively clustered. Michelle Mortimer was found on the wrong side of the Pennines in York, handing over her barcode in 33:06. Janet Middleton was on border ground at Centre Vale parkrun in Todmorden, running 33:17. Brendan Bolland was up at Keswick where he just missed the half-hour mark in 30:24, while somewhat closer to home, Andrew Crickmore ran Clitheroe in 26:26. Graham Schofield clocked a fine 23:15 in Burnley, Adele Lever took on Preston in 31:48, and Stephen Wibberley went to Widnes and put in a speedy 20:34.
James Scott-Farrington slipped off to Sale and took the tape in 24:22, Rob Jackson got under 20 at South Manchester in 19:24 and Steve Jackson went under 30 at Peel in 29:52. Gary Porteous went to Bolton’s tough route and got home in 22:27, and Richard Pollitt took on Alexandra Park’s much faster course and did 19:37. However, Haigh Woodland was, as ever, the unofficial Horwich training ground as seven Harriers took to the start there. Alistair Murray ran the weekend’s fastest time in 19:07, followed by Chris Charnley (22:11), Andrew Storey (26:49), Jeanette Lewis (27:19), Tony Hesketh (29:58), Paul Lewis (30:17) and Gail Maxfield (30:34).
