This weekend saw Fast Ed win the Sowerby Scorcher, Andy Baird take an improbable 48 minutes out of his course pb at Windermere Marathon (well done Andy, every three quarters of an hour counts!), and dozens of Lions take on the epic 50 mile Calderdale Way Relay.
Hollingworth Lake 5K
Two Lions finished in the top ten at Race 3 of the Hollingworth Lake 5K series this week. Ed Hyland finished in 5th place (clocking the exact same time as he did in Race 2 last week), whilst Stephen Hall managed to shave 22 seconds off his time to finish in 7th place.
Results: Ed Hyland 16:58, Stephen Hall 17:00
Sowerby Scorcher
Just a couple of days after the Hollingworth Lake race, Ed Hyland was back in action, leading a pride of Lions round Saturday’s appropriately named Sowerby Scorcher to finish in first place. Speaking after his win, Ed commented, “I got a bit lucky. I was 20 metres or so behind the leader when he started fading in the last kilometre and I drew closer. I think he must then have pulled up with an injury - but still, a win’s a win!”
The Scorcher takes runners through breathtaking countryside above Sowerby, following quiet country roads, bridleways and paths with panoramic views over the Calderdale and Ryburn valleys. Around 40% of the 10K route is off-road on tracks and paths.
Results: Ed Hyland 39:04, Clayton Cutter 45:10, Michael Dunning 51:41, Jan King 56:14, Paul Wallis 61:50, Emily Wilson 63:32, Ian Threlkeld 64:47, Anne Cawdron 73:47, Jackie Barker 74:24, Linda Williamson 74:46, Peter Cawdron 78:32
Windermere Marathon
Regularly voted the most scenic marathon in Britain, this breathtakingly beautiful run starts, amidst a carnival atmosphere, in the grounds of Brathay Hall with its stunning views over England’s largest lake. The route around Lake Windermere takes in the honeypot sites of Hawkshead, Newby Bridge, Bowness-on-Windermere and Ambleside. Andy Baird and Sean Thompson both achieved fantastic sub 3½ hour times despite the undulating terrain and the hot weather on the day.
Results: Andy Baird 3:20:46, Sean Thompson 3:26:37
Great Manchester Run
Wendy Paulson was the sole Lion at the Great Manchester Run, the third largest mass participation race in Britain after the London Marathon and the Great North Run. Wendy did the half marathon distance in the morning – there was also a televised 10K on the same course later in the day which was won by Mo Farah.
Result: Wendy Paulson 2:32:58
Liverpool Rock n Roll Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K and 1 Mile
The Lions were out in numbers for the Liverpool Rock n Roll races on Sunday. Whilst most opted for the half marathon, two completed the full marathon distance. Gluttons for punishment, many of them also took part in the 5K sharpener on the day before the main races, and a hardy few even had enough energy left over for the post-race 1 mile fun run!
Results (Marathon): Rebecca O’Neill 4:15:06, Derek Doyle 4:20:30
Results (Half Marathon): Steve Ashworth 1:43:25, Michelle Rogerson 1:46:02, Ian Hoskins 1:48:58, Claire Guest 1:51:51, Lesley Hodgson 1:52:51, Catherine McHugh 1:58:51, Kim Ison 2:03:36, Zoe Mallinson 2:04:19, Diane Thornley 2:06:00, Debbie Hyde 2:08:32, Graham Robertshaw 2:11:28, Paul Butterfield 2:14:28, Justin Scargill 2:21:11, Helen Shenton 2:25:20, Simone Zoledziejewski 2:25:47, Zoe Lunn 2:26:30, Ken Chilcott 2:28:30, Alex Whyte 2:30:21, Manjit Ahiar 2:31:32, Cheryl Hill 2:34:43, Colette Croft 2:37:12, Hilary Scargill 2:49:57, Sandra Robertshaw 2:54:54
Outlaw Half Ironman
Meanwhile, down in Nottingham, Tony Mott completed the Outlaw Half Triathlon. This gruelling event comprises a 1.2 mile open water swim, 58 mile bike ride and half marathon. Tony was going well until part way through his run, when he started to feel ill, and he did well to finish.
Result: Tony Mott 6:03:20
Calderdale Way Relay
Sunday saw half the runners in Calderdale taking part in the Calderdale Way Relay, a six leg relay event run in pairs, which covers 50 miles of the Calderdale Way. Andrew Laird Boldy did a fantastic job of pairing together Lions of similar speeds, so that each team could run together effectively. Cameron Rushworth and Amjid Khan both deserve a special mention, having been drafted in at the eleventh hour to replace injured runners – and in Amjid’s case having only joined the club this week and wearing borrowed club kit. The results are to follow, but in the meantime here are some pictures from the day.