Sam and Lindsey Make the Podium at Old County Tops
The Club’s inaugural Spring 5k race took place on the athletics track at Bolton Arena on Tuesday, May 5th. Tom Rigby was victorious in a sprint for top honours with the wily old fox Nick Leigh. Both finished on a time of 16:54 and provided an exciting finish after 12 and a half well-judged laps. The first female finisher, in a fantastic time of 19:19, was young Amelia Wormald. It will be exciting to see how her talent develops over the coming years. The event was a great success and stoked excitement for a rerun for the Club 5k championship in Autumn.
The Old County Tops is a prestigious long-distance fell race with a storied history. A pairs race, teams of two must run the roughly 37-mile (10,000ft of ascent) course together. Both must finish and report to each checkpoint for a result to be posted. The route visits the three loftiest summits of the old counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire, these being Helvellyn, Scafell Pike, and Coniston Old Man respectively. Whilst the fastest route is widely agreed upon, it remains the competitors’ responsibility to safely navigate the open, often pathless and rugged fells by themselves with no GPS aids. Whilst the last few editions have seen clear blue skies and oppressive heat, this year the weather deteriorated as competitors reached the Old Man of Coniston. Heavy rain began and the clag descended, making navigation tricky and the final descents treacherous. Ably negotiating the tricky conditions, good friends Sam Sale and Lindsey Brindle finished 3rd in their age category, winning a pair of coveted mugs baked especially for the event. Marcus Taylor, no stranger to a tough day in the mountains, competed with a friend. Tom Rigby, in an event which couldn’t be further removed from the track 5k he prevailed in just days earlier, was a last-minute entry with a friend from Bowland Fell Runners. Comprehensive results are yet to be published.
Round 2 of the English Junior Fell Championships was the Esk Valley Fell Race at Chop Gate on the North York Moors. In the U18 girls’ race, Millie Reid was 5th and Isobel Reid 6th. The twin sisters could hardly be separated, finishing at 46:17 and 46:18 respectively. In the U18 boys’ race, Mark Titmuss was 4th in 35:51, just 19 seconds off the podium.
In the Adidas Terrex 25km Trail Race at the Kendal Mountain Festival, Adrian Bramham was the top MV60. He stopped the clock at 2:27:20. Rob Seddon was 17th overall (2:21:25) and his father Mark, also a V60, finished in 3:03:08. Lawrence Pinnell finished in 2:28:50 at the popular Essar Chester Half Marathon just a week after the gruelling 18-mile Five Trigs fell race.
Julian Goudge was once again first finisher at Haigh parkrun in a speedy 17:55. Jason (25:02) and Janet (33:51) Middleton were down in Bristol at Blaise Castle parkrun. Milly Lever was 4th female finisher at Trentham Gardens, whilst Mr. Consistent Rob Jackson clocked 18:52 at Peel.
