April 2025 & barely a drop of rain all month!
The seniors had 2 races to enjoy, with different challenges to overcome. First up on Saturday 5th was the short, sharp Pendle race, organised by Clayton Harriers from Barley, in the shadow of Pendle Hill. With 1500 feet of climb in just 4.5 miles, this is a tough AS race, made trickier by the strength of the wind on the tops. We had another decent turnout, with 11 Harriers on the start line, and with a few of the usual suspects either injured or racing elsewhere, there was an opportunity for others to pick up some valuable championship points. First back for the club & continuing her strong start to the season, Katie Walshaw flew round to finish 22nd overall & 1st lady in an excellent time of 37.49, scooping a splendid trophy for her troubles! Close behind, Curtis (Charles) Firth also ran well, coming back 35th overall in 39.02, ahead of Adam Sunderland (who enjoyed the 2 steep climbs rather more than the long sweeping descent), finishing 46th overall in 40.08. Making a welcome return to racing on the fells, Helen Haigh was pleased to get round unscathed, finishing 67th overall & 2nd FV50 in 43.14, ahead of Fran Whitworth (97th in 46.44) & Sophie Cromwell (120th in 48.30). A little further back, Jim Durrans dug in to finish 144th in 50.42, whilst Phil Hobbs was cursing the closing road section as he finished 157th in 53.04! Diane Lee prefers the longer races, but hung on in there, coming back 170th in 56.59, whilst Rob Kersey belied his Super Vet status, clocking 58.07 in 179th place and, completing the Holmfirth contingent, Mark Henderson also broke the hour mark, finishing 182nd in 59.11. Overall, there were 216 finishers, with Oli Murphy of Ilkley Harriers the race winner in a cracking time of 31.37.
We then had the small matter of the Three Peaks AL race on Saturday 26th April, which this year was celebrating its 70th edition, so sold out pretty quickly. They also put on some junior races and introduced a relay for the first time, so it was very busy in the start/finish field at Horton. Despite having a few out injured, there were still 14 Harriers lining up for the 10.30 start (& we even managed to get most of them on the group photo before they set off)! Richard Anderson was hoping to improve on his 2 previous top 30 finishes in 2023 & 2024 and on a warm, breezy day, ran very strongly to come home 13th overall in 3.28.17, which is one of the best Holmfirth placings for many a year on the 24.2 mile, 5330ft course. Tim Brook had some unfinished business after struggling in his last outing at this race in 2023 and made up for any past disappointment as he stormed round to finish 40th overall & 12th MV40 in 3.42.50. Phil Hinchcliffe was making his debut at the event & spent the first half of the race alongside his twin brother Lewis (running for Saddleworth), but pulled away on the descent of Whernside & never looked back, finishing 87th in 4.03.12 (with Lewis 109th in 4.10.48).
Patrick Needham was also taking on the Peaks for the first time & although he probably went out a little too quickly, hung on well to finish 114th in 4.11.43, which meant that Holmfirth finished 5th team (Richard, Tim, Phil & Patrick to count). Close behind, Helena Croft was returning to the race after a 9 year absence & had a great run to finish 125th overall & 13th lady in 4.14.53 (just don’t mention the Scouts)! Michael Sanderson ran a very tactical race, gradually picking up places as he went on & saved himself for a real blast on the descent from Ingleborough (where he was 58th fastest) to come home 131st in 4.15.52. Curtis Firth & Phil Hewitt both ran pretty even-paced races, finishing in 167th (4.22.13) & 176th (4.24.30) respectively, whilst not too far behind, Bob Dickinson was aiming for a 4.30 race & timed it to perfection, finishing 201st in 4.30.50 – respect! Chris Beadle has been coming to this race for many years & despite only limited long-distance training this time, was very pleased to break 5 hours, coming home 356th in 4.55.40. Conversely, Sophie Cromwell (our final finisher) was tackling the distance for the first time & had been training well, having been for a couple of recces in the weeks leading up to the event. She ran a well-judged race & gradually moved up the field, from 594th at the top of Pen-y-ghent, through 466th on Whernside, to finish 384th (60th lady) in 5.00.12 and in a surprise at the prize-giving, found that one of the sponsors had a spot prize for the closest finishing time to 5 hours, so scooped a voucher & some cash, which paid for the Saturday night beers! Unfortunately, Diane Lee & John Field were timed out at Ribblehead, whilst Jon Burdon had to retire at Hill Inn – unlucky guys, there’s always next year! At the sharp end, Ilkley’s Ben Rothery held off the challenge of the sponsored Inov-8 team’s 2 French runners, as well as international triathlete Alistair Brownlee, to win by over 7 minutes in 3.00.00, whilst in the Ladies race, Nichola Jackson pulled back a deficit of over 3 minutes at the top of Ingleborough to win in 3.45.55. There were 618 finishers, from 744 starters, which shows how tough a race it is. Elsewhere, Helen Haigh was part of the Inov-8 Ladies Vets team in the relay event, running the glory leg 3 from the Hill Inn, over Ingleborough to the finish (where they finished 2nd Ladies team). I must admit it was slightly disconcerting to see the relay runners amongst the main field, as they were generally running much quicker, knowing they only had 1 hill to conquer, so not sure what the other competitors thought!
The juniors had a couple of races this time – Rivington Pike over the Easter weekend on Saturday April 19th, followed by the first of this year’s English Junior Champs races, which was over in the Duddon Valley on Sunday 27th April. It looks like Alice Parry was our sole representative at Rivington, where she finished 20th overall & 8th FU17 in 18.23, so well done to her. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as if anyone made it across to the Duddon Dash, so here’s hoping for a better turnout at the next event, the local Coiners races on Bank Holiday Monday May 5th.
In terms of the Holmfirth Senior Champs, the injury to Tommy has opened the door for others to sneak through & Curtis Firth has taken full advantage, amassing 104 points after having done all 5 races so far! Close behind, Patrick Needham is on 95 points (from 4 races), with Tommy still hanging on in 3rd (on 85 points). For the Ladies, Sophie Cromwell has completed 4 races & is on 89 points, just ahead of Katie Walshaw (75 points from 3 races) & Fran Whitworth (68 points from 3 races). We’re only a third of the way through so far though, so still all to play for!
At the time of going to press, looking good for the Calderdale Way Relay on Sunday 18th, with pretty much 4 full teams plus a few reserves. Fingers crossed it stays that way! In terms of the champs in May, as well as the Calderdale, the seniors have this year’s weekend away at the Fairfield Horseshoe on Saturday 10th, with 33 signed up to race, which is fantastic! The juniors have a very busy month, with 3 races to go at – the next English Champs fixture at Sedbergh on the 18th, as well as the Yorkshire Champs at Coiners on the 5th & the Austwick Amble on the 26th.
Elsewhere in the month, we had plenty out & about, including Richard Anderson, Joe Brereton & Diane Lee at the Haworth Hobble (in March), where Richard was 5th overall, Tim Brook, Ben Kellett, Phil Hinchcliffe & Helena Croft at Five Trigs (where Tim was 2nd overall & 1st MV40, Ben was 3rd overall, Helena was 12th overall & 2nd lady and with Phil 11th overall, we also won the Mens Team prize), Dave Milton at the Calderdale Hike, John Ewart giving blood at the Black Dragon Challenge, Bob Dickinson at Lad’s Leap, Ben Jarvis at Newlands Memorial (2nd of English Champs races), Tim Brook at Peak District Birthday Bash (which he won by over 25 minutes), Matt Crompton, Adam Sunderland, Bob Dickinson & Mark Henderson at Herod Farm, Katie Walshaw, Andy Shortt & Paul Hadin at Tiger’s Trail (where Katie was 12th overall, 2nd lady & 1st FV40), Jean Shotter, Andy Hauser & Kevin Yewlett at the Half Manx Marathon (where Jean was 3rd FV60 & Kevin was 1st MV70), Nick Helm at Burnsall Trail Half Marathon, David Milton at The Fellsman, Katie Walshaw, Mark Wilson, Adam Sunderland, James Washington & Mark Henderson at Bleaklow Blitz (where Katie was 2nd overall & 1st lady, in a new record time) and taking on Trunce 2, we had Sophie Cromwell (2nd lady), Helen Ilsley (1st FV40), Craig Sheard, Hannah Austin, Logan Anderson, Barbara Hinchliffe (1st FV70) & Janet Foreman trying to beat the queue at the first stile!
Finally, some local(ish) races to have a look at:
Coiners (BM) – Mytholmroyd – Monday 5th
Hartcliff Hill (BS) – Penistone – Tuesday 6th
Trunce 3 (BS) – Oxspring – Monday 12th
Hayfield May Queen (BS) – Hayfield – Friday 16th
Mount Famine (AS) – Hayfield – Saturday 17th
Lantern Pike Dash (AS) – Hayfield – Sunday 18th
Blackstone Edge (AS) – Lydgate, nr. Littleborough – Tuesday 20th
Bamford Sheepdog Trials (BS) – Bamford – Monday 26th
Trunce 4 (BS) – Oxspring – Monday 2nd June
See you on a hill sometime.
Cheers,
Phil
