Tandle Hill Trail Race | OMM | Marathon Eryri | Bronte Way Fell Race

by Richard Butterwick (Final report, hanging up keyboard after 5.5 years)

Todmorden Harriers’ Trail Championship reached its conclusion at the Tandle Hill Trail Race on Sunday with the top three men in the standings all in attendance.

Dan Taylor, who was lying in second place in the table beforehand, was the first Todmorden Harrier to finish the 5.8 mile route in 39:28 for 9^th place, closely followed by Trevor Davies in 11^th who kept the gap between them small enough to enable him to clinch the men’s Trail Champion title.

Rob Gray finished in 40:47 which cemented his third place in the Championship.

Issy Pollard was not racing but previous results meant she claimed the women’s Trail Championship.

On the day, Bev Wright was the first Todmorden woman, finishing 17^th woman in a time of 53:28.  She was followed by Louise Abdy who battled on with a suspected broken finger after a fall to finish 21^st woman and Andrea Marshall who was 23^rd woman.

Todmorden results:  9 Daniel Taylor 39:28; 11 Trevor Davis 39:41; 16 Rob Gray 40:47; 21 Jon Wright 41:45; 44 Phil Cook 47:09; 48 Nick Barber 47:25; 53 Kevin Coughlan 48:48; 73 Bev Wright 53:28; 83 Peter Ehrhardt 55:59; 85 Louise Abdy 56:19; 89 Andrea Marshall 57:01.

Mandy Goth and Rachel Skinner finished first female pair in the long class at the OMM Marathon Mountain in the Brecon Beacons.  After holding a 5 point lead overnight after the first day, they completed the two day navigational event with a 15 point lead over their closest rivals.

Mel Blackhurst was also in Wales for the Marathon Eryri, completing the 26.2 mile route in Snowdonia in a time of 3:53:05, finishing 44th woman, and 7th in the v45 age category. 

Closer to home, a trio of Harriers tackled the Bronte Way Fell Race, an 8 mile point to point race from Wycollar to Haworth.

Martin Roberts finished in 46th place in a time of 1:06:30, followed by Chris Preston in 125th at 1:20:54 and Sue Roberts crossed the line at 1:32:32 for 159th position.

British Hill & Fell Relays | Chorley Cross Country | Race You to the Summit | Yorkshire Marathon

Todmorden Harriers had four teams competing in the British Hill and Fell Relay Championships at the weekend. The event is split into 4 different legs, with 2 individual runners and 2 pairs competing as a team of six.

The venue for this year’s relay was Llanberis in North Wales and runners were greeted with some very autumnal wind and rain making for tough conditions.

Todmorden Men’s A team finished in 23^rd place with an overall time of 4:50:44, with the B team completing with a time of 5:28:29 for 47^th position.

The Women’s team finished 16^th women’s team at 6:14:43 and the club’s mixed team finished 88 overall in the open category with a combined time of 7:07:26. 

At the second fixture of the Red Rose Cross Country League, Paul Brannigan was the first Todmorden runner in 41^st place, followed by Martin Stork in 55^th position.  Dan Taylor was 72^nd and Darren Tweed finished in 108^th position.

Jack Crummett put in a fine performance in the Under 15’s, finishing in eighth place.

At the Race You to the Summit Fell Race, Andrew Wrench battled his way into third position, and first veteran with a time of 31:53.

Elise Milnes completed the course in 47:29 for 42^nd position, just ahead of husband Graham who was 45^th with a time of 48:16.

Robin Tuddenham finished in 20^th position out of almost 4000 runners at the inaugural Yorkshire Marathon, completing the 26.2 mile distance in 2:47:03.

Blackpool to Fleetwood 10 | Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay | Chester Marathon | Saddleworth Edges

Todmorden Harriers enjoyed a successful trip to the seaside with the Blackpool to Fleetwood 10 mile road race featuring in the club’s Road Championship.

Paul Brannigan and Robin Tuddenham battled it out for second and third places, with both improving their best time for the distance by a few seconds, crossing the line in 57:05 and 57:13 respectively.

The performance of the day was undoubtedly Sarah Glyde who finished second woman, in 1:07:14, with a huge improvement of 4 minutes on her previous best for 10 miles.  Sarah is now assured of retaining her title of Women’s Road Champion.

Andrew Bibby finished first v60 in 28^th position overall with a time of 1:10:08.  Simon Galloway was 40^th in 1:13:53 and Peter Ehrhardt was 108^th in 1:27:53. 

Todmorden fielded two teams at the Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay in the Lake District, with poor visibility making for some difficult navigation and several teams going astray over the 4 leg course.  Unfortunately this included the club’s mixed team who missed a checkpoint and joined the list of disqualifications.

The men’s team fared slightly better although they also lost several places on the second leg, but recovered well to finish in 30^th place. 

Two Todmorden runners tackled the Chester Marathon, with Paul Alexander improving his personal best for the distance by a few seconds to finish in 3:26:03 and Kevin Coughlan crossing the line in 3:43:07. 

A pair of Harriers were also present at the Saddleworth Edges Fell Race, with Dave Collins finishing the 10 mile route in 1:14:03 for 26^th place and first v55.  James Riley followed him in at 1:23:07 for 72^nd place.

Ron Hill 5k | Edale Skyline | Leigh Cross Country | Thieveley Pike

Todmorden Harriers joined almost 400 runners in Littleborough to celebrate the 75th birthday of Dr Ron Hill MBE, with the annual 5k road race that is held in his honour.

Over thirty Harriers took to the hilly course along Rochdale Road, Smithy Bridge Road, along the side of Hollingworth Lake and finishing with a downhill section back into Littleborough.

Nick Barber led the way for Todmorden, finishing in fifth position with a time of 17:04, ahead of Paul Brannigan at 17:33 for 11th place and Martin Stork in 30th place stopping the clock at 18:36.

Sarah Glyde was the first Todmorden woman, collecting the v35 prize with her time of 20:36.  Kath Brierley completed the distance in 22:18 and Mel Blackhurst in 22:36.

Derek Clutterbuck enjoyed a rare race appearance and crossed the line first v80, after a race long battle that saw him claim a 13 second advantage over his nearest rival.

Todmorden results:  5 Nick Barber 17:04; 11 Paul Brannigan 17:33; 30 Martin Stork 18:36; 38 Dan Taylor 19:05; 41 Paul Alexander 19:24; 45 Robert Gray 19:28; 51 Ben Crowther 19:38; 79 Sarah Glyde 20:36; 88 Michael Harper 20:51; 97 Andrew Bibby 21:08; 104 Simon Galloway 21:31; 110 Richard Butterwick 21:34; 135 Kath Brierley 22:18; 138 Kevin Coughlan 22:26; 143 Phil Cook 22:34; 145 Melanie Blackhurst 22:36; 152 Keith Parkinson 22:59; 176 Richard Leonard 23:28; 210 Bev Wright 24:40; 224 Jane Leonard 25:28; 233 Nigel Hanson 25:41; 242 Mandy Goth 25:56; 246 David Leslie 26:02; 248 Julie Wyant 26:06; 258 Ray Poulter 26:28; 263 Andrea Marshall 26:42; 271 Peter Ehrhardt 27:03; 306 David O'Neill 29:00; 346 Derek Clutterbuck 35:26; 349 Ian Stansfield 36:21. 

Steve Bateson's Ron Hill 5k photos...

After being rearranged due to snow drifts on the original scheduled date in the spring, the Edale Skyline Fell Race was blessed with sunshine and blue skies at the weekend as the 34km Peak District race made up the final round of this year’s English Fell Championships.

Nick Barber recorded his highest finish in a Championship race, with 29^th place after 3:09:01, with Paul Brannigan finishing in 49^th position in 3:22:27.  Rob Tyson completed the route in 3:58:09 for 129^th place.

Mel Blackhurst was the first Todmorden woman in 160^th with a time of 4:08:01, followed by Kath Brierley in 201^st in a time of 4:21:37 and Jane Leonard in 251^st at 4:51:00.

David Leslie completed the Todmorden finishers with 270^th position in a time of 5:35:20.

A trio of Todmorden runners were present at the first fixture of this year’s Red Rose Cross Country League held on a fast dry course at Leigh Sports Village.

Martin Stork completed the course in 62nd place in a time of 38:59, followed by Dan Taylor in 85th with a time of 40:23.

Andrea Marshall was 83rd in the women’s race, with a time of 27:45.

There was a large entry for the Thieveley Pike Fell Race, with Andrew Wrench finishing in 6th place, and first v45.

Stephen Pullin just edged out Jamie Wrench as they finished 27th and 29th respectively, with Jamie claiming the first u18 prize.

Martin Roberts was 41st, with James Riley 59th and Phil Cook in 81st place.

In the junior races, Mayah Brooks finished first U12 girl, whilst Jaden Riley was second U12 boy.

Todmorden runners dominated the U8 boys race with Alex Duffield finishing first.  Noah Lane was second, with Harvey Riley third and William Beresford in fourth place.