Evening all – September’s Fell Report to mull over!
So, into September & an occasional hint of an Indian Summer, before reverting to type, with yet more rain!
First up, we had the Cross Keys Road & Fell Relay on Saturday 14th, with teams being organised by Michael Sanderson & he did a splendid job, as we had 7 teams (28 Harriers) battling it out amongst the 40 registered. And it was a very successful afternoon out for the club, with the Mens Open team of Tim Street, Ben Kellett, Fionn Kerry & Tommy Holroyd finishing 2nd overall, the Mens Vets team of Gareth Vickers, Adam Sunderland, James Washington & Mark Wilson finishing 7th overall & 1st Mens Vets, the Ladies Open team of Julia Jagger, Katie Walshaw, Amy Sanderson & Tessa Billups finishing 8th overall & 1st Ladies and the Ladies Vets team of Helen Standing, Fran Whitworth, Liz Woodfield & Diane Lee finishing 20th overall & 1st Ladies Vets. We also took 3 of the 4 fastest leg prizes, with Julia & Katie the fastest ladies on the road & fell respectively, whilst Tommy was fastest on the fell for the men. It was great to see so many taking part, and to welcome some new faces, resplendent in their new style vests! True Amber Grit, as Ted might say…!
A week later, on Saturday 21st, it was a day-trip to Kettlewell for the AS Great Whernside race. With some of the usual suspects otherwise occupied at the Road Relays & elsewhere, just 3 of us made the journey, so serious Championship points were up for grabs on a lovely afternoon in the Dales. This is a cracking, tough, low-key race that has in the past hosted the Yorkshire Fell Champs, and offers something for dogged climbers & demon descenders, being 2 miles up and 2 miles back down for a total ascent of over 1500 feet! First back & so picking up 25 points for the first time this season, was Adam Sunderland, who relished the long climb and didn’t lose too many places on the descent, finishing 21st overall & 2nd MV50 in 43.16. Next back we had Fran Whitworth, looking strong running up into the wind & enjoying the racing again after a stop-start summer, to great effect, as she finished 42nd overall, 5th lady & 1st FV50 in 49.57. Finally, it was your 60-something Fell Captain gradually getting back on the hills after a summer blighted by injury & happy to run at a much reduced pace, coming back 65th in 54.28! The race was comfortably won by Ilkley Harriers’ MU23 Sam Bentham in 33.00, over 2 minutes ahead of 2nd place – I hadn’t even got to the top! Fastest lady was Helen Smith, 15th overall in an excellent time of 39.55.
In terms of the Championship, with two races & the autumn fell relays left to come, nothing has been decided yet, with Tim Brook (currently on 205 points from his best 7 races) leading Adam Sunderland (179 points) & Michael Sanderson (on 174 points), with Phil Hewitt & Jon Burdon also qualifying at present. Adam will need to run at the Roaches race in November to ensure he completes his 2nd Long race & qualifies for the Champs, so no pressure! For the Ladies, Fran Whitworth is currently leading on 199 points from her best 7 races, with Diane Lee (179 points), Stef Dickinson (171 points) & Becky Burdon (157 points) close behind.
Coming up for the seniors we have the Hodgson Brothers Fell Relay from Patterdale on Saturday 5th October, where we have 2 teams, which this year are an Open & a Mixed team, whilst at the British Fell Relays at Appletreewick in the Yorkshire Dales on Saturday 19th October, we have finally been awarded 3 team places, which will be the Mens Open, Ladies Open & MV50’s teams. The juniors have the Withins Skyline Rat Runs on Sunday 13th, so hopefully there will be a few there, particularly as it doesn’t clash with the West Yorkshire Cross Country.
Congratulations to Julian Rank, who completed his 21st Ben Nevis race on Saturday 7th September & proudly received his Connachie plaque to recognise the achievement. It was a sweltering day on the hill, with many runners dropping out due to the heat, but it didn’t stop Julian from finishing 99th overall & 2nd MV60 in 2.37.27, so well done to him. Andy Shaw made a flying visit from his new home in France and, in his 18th race, was just pleased to finish, having had his preparation disrupted by injury. He’ll be back!
Elsewhere, great to see a few out & about in Amber, including Katie Walshaw at Longshaw Sheepdog Trials (where she was 10th overall, 1st lady and broke her own record by 3 seconds), Tim Brook at The Lap AC (where he was 2nd overall & 1st MV40), Tim Street & Elspeth Taylor at Stanage Struggle (where Tim was 8th overall), Matt Crompton at Shelf Moor and Richard Anderson & Curtis Firth at Five Trigs (where Richard was 2nd & Curtis was 8th). They haven’t published the final results for Trunce 9, so I’m not sure who ran, but congratulations to Janet Foreman & Adam Sunderland, who were 1st & 2nd V50 respectively over the 9-race series.
On the admin side, you will be aware that Andy Hauser is looking to step down from organising the Holme Moss race, so we need someone to take over from him or the race will not be able to continue. He would like someone to shadow him for the 2025 race, with a view to taking over completely in 2026. As the planning for the 2025 race starts fairly soon, please can you let me or Andy know if you’d be willing to step up – full support given!!
Finally, as the nights draw in, just a couple of local(ish) races that you might be interested in over the next few weeks:
Castle C’Alf (BM) – Old Town, above Hebden Bridge – Sunday 6th
Withins Skyline (BM) – Haworth – Sunday 13th
Andrew Heywood Memorial Windgather (BL) – Burbage – Sunday 13th
Race You To The Summit (BS) – Summit, nr. Littleborough – Saturday 26th
Shepherd’s Skyline (BS) – Lumbutts, nr. Todmorden – Saturday 2nd November
Soyland Moor (BL) – Cragg Vale – Sunday 3rd November
See you on a hill sometime!
Cheers,
Phil
