Chris Essex-Crosby Flies Around “The Lap”

A bumper weekend of action saw Chris Essex-Crosby take on the formidable challenge known simply as “The Lap” – an ultra-marathon of 47 miles and over 8,000 feet of ascent on ungroomed trails around Lake Windermere. With a 24-hour time limit, over a thousand runners finished the challenge. Essex-Crosby required less than half the allotted time, placing 177th in 11:06:20.

Still in the Lake District, Luke Foley and Sam Fairhurst tackled a classic in the fell-running calendar: the Fairfield Horseshoe. The course is just over 10 miles and features over 3,000 feet of climb requiring keen navigational skills. Foley was the first Harrier home in 1:28:33, while Fairhurst finished in 17th position, just breaking the 1:35 mark.

From hilly ultras to ultra-flat 5Ks, the Middletons travelled to Christleton, near Chester, for their famously fast event. Jason’s fleet feet were in fine fettle as he flew home in 23:46, while Janet broke the half-hour mark with a 29:16.

In a heart-warming example of the camaraderie in the running community, Lawrence Pinnell competed in the 5 Trigs Race—a tough 18-mile event covering five trig points and 3,000 feet of ascent around Saddleworth. While Pinnell finished in 6:35:58, the real story involved a fellow competitor, Gary Smith of Royton Road Runners. Smith had gotten into difficulties on the moors with two miles remaining and asked Pinnell for help. Lawrence stayed alongside him for the rest of the event, guiding Smith until both men had safely crossed the finish line.

The juniors also got their seasons going in fine style at the Howgills Junior FRA Championships in Sedbergh. Mark Titmuss finished 14th overall in the U18 race (7km/1500ft) in 40:55. Isobel and Millie Reid came home together in 34th and 35th in 53:47. In the U16s (5.5km/1150ft), Kitty Crossland finished mid-pack in 37:43. Louis Yates was 25th in the U14s (4.8km/1050ft) in 30:51, and Sophie Mason was 48th in the U12s (3km/920ft) in 29:18.

On the track, the junior squad produced promising results at the Greater Manchester Championships at Leigh Sports Village, securing seven gold medals, two silver, and one bronze, alongside sixteen personal bests. Jack Fletcher reached the England Schools standard in the U16 300m with a PB of 40.3 seconds. At the Lancashire Championships in Blackpool, Alistair Sharrock achieved a personal best and a championship record of 21.5 seconds in the U20 200m.

Finally, in the parkrun results, Andrew Crickmore ran in the unusual location of Hockgraben parkrun in Konstanz, Germany, finishing in 24:48. Locally, Julian Goudge led a gaggle of Harriers home at Haigh Woodland, finishing first in 17:33—the fastest Harrier parkrun time of the week.