After the excitement of the club’s annual dinner and prize giving on Friday night, it was back to business at the weekend for a busy two days of racing. Highlights this week were 1st Lady for Mags Beever at Carsington Water Half Marathon, 3rd place for Ed Hyland at Midgley Moor fell race and VIP treatment for the whole club at the fabulously welcoming Lostock 6 road race.
Carsington Water Half Marathon
The unstoppable Mags Beever was 1st Lady - and 10th overall - at Saturday’s Carsington Water Half Marathon. Held in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, the race took place around the undulating, traffic-free trails surrounding Carsington Water reservoir. The route afforded stunning views of the lake and the surrounding Peak District countryside - not that Mags would have been looking at the scenery as she smashed round the course at 6½ minute mile pace.
Result: Mags Beever 1:26:33
“The Knights of 7 Lakes” Torch 10K
Not a character from Monty Python & The Holy Grail but a brand new off-road race in Lincolnshire. The inaugural race was held on Saturday night, and Rebecca O’Neill was the sole torchbearer for the Lions from a field of 300 runners. By the light of their headtorches, the runners picked their way through 10K of woods and trails. The terrain was soft underfoot and slippy in parts. Rebecca said afterwards, “Pace wasn’t important – the aim of the game was just to get round safely!”
Result: Rebecca O’Neill 56:08
Lostock 6
There was a huge turnout of Lions in Bolton on Sunday for the Lostock 6 road race, a counter in the club’s championship competition. Billed as “six miles of smiles”, the race saw over 400 runners speeding round the fast route which was all on tarmac. Host club Lostock AC delivered a fantastic friendly race and rolled out the red carpet for the Lions, awarding special prizes for 1st Male Lion (Clayton Cutter) and 1st Female Lion (Helen Armitage). The VIP treatment didn’t end there, with the club winning the prize for the largest group turn out too, with Lions comprising one tenth of the total field.
Results: Clayton Cutter 38:54, Gareth Knight 39:41, John Bannister 42:48, David Farrar 43:23, Paul McCormick 43:51, John Ingles 44:01, Steve Hallam 44:11, Helen Armitage 44:49, Jonathan Pybus 45:24, Martin O’Brien 45:32, Angela Lee 48:12, Catherine O’Shaughnessy 50:09, Sharon Marlor-Gage 50:19, Sandy Gee 51:05, Paul Butterfield 51:25, Richard Brewster 52:21, Rachel Fay 52:43, Sarah Lunt 53:29, Paula Pickersgill 53:30, Sue Cash 53:31, Ranjit Uppal 53:41, Laura Goodwin 53:55, Bill Lee 55:04, Claire Guest 55:41, John Rushworth 57:09, Sally MacGregor 57:11, Mark Preston 57:16, Dawn Medlock 57:18, Caroline Ford 58:30, Diane Thornley 58:42, Helen Shenton 58:47, Debbie Hinds 59:50, Ken Chilcott 59:58, Alex Whyte 61:22, Paul Armitage 62:14, Richard Brear 63:03, Justin Scargill 63:53, Linda Williamson 64:07, Trish Hallowell 65:19, Gail Fawcett 67:51, Jackie Barker 68:22, Hilary Scargill 72:54
Midgley Moor Fell Race
Sunday saw perfect conditions for the annual Midgley Moor fell race. The challenging 5 mile race over paths and heather moorland raises funds for Springhill Hospice in Rochdale. Five Lions raced the course, with Ed Hyland finishing in third place.
Results: Ed Hyland 44:16, Philip Moyles 54:05, Aileen Baldwin 65:55, Raymond Mooney 71:47
High Cup Nick Fell Race
James Penson and David Culpan headed to the village of Dufton in the North Pennines for Sunday’s inov8 sponsored High Cup Nick fell race. The race is the brainchild of previous British Fell Running champion Morgan Donnelly, who devised the route and organises the race. Dufton is a very small village, and its population quadruples on the day of the race, with most of the locals helping out in some form or another. This gives a unique atmosphere on the day. The race starts and finishes on Dufton village green, and the 9 mile route comprises a figure of 8 circuit taking runners to an amazing view point of High Cup before taking them steeply up to the ridge to return along the Pennine Way. Total climbing 1,800 feet.
James finished in around 1 hour 28 minutes and David in 1 hour 39 minutes. David would have crossed the line sooner but stopped part way through the race to help a fellow runner who had taken a bad tumble on the stony track from the top of High Cup Nick and damaged his shoulder. Once the mountain rescue team arrived, David was able to get back on his way. David said afterwards: “Apparently a girl face-planted on the same track. She was in a mess also, but nothing broken. Dangerous sport is fell running!”
Huddersfield 10K
Finally, over in Huddersfield, sixteen Lions raced the hilly Huddersfield 10K. Starting from Huddersfield Rugby Club at Lockwood, the route climbed steadily up to the village of Netherton, then crossed the beautiful Magdale valley before a long steady descent back to the rugby club. Darren Reece was first Lion home and 1st M40 in fourth place overall. Michelle.Eyre, who only joined Stainland Lions a few months ago and has been going from strength to strength ever since, knocked an impressive 16 minutes off her 2018 time! That is what happens when you become a Lion. There were age category wins for Derek Parrington and Judith Greenwood, while Jan King and Virginia Lewin came third in their respective age categories. Speaking afterwards, a delighted Judith said “I got 1st F70 and a voucher for Rundirect which I’ve spent already!” Judith’s win at Huddersfield capped off a memorable weekend for her, after she was voted Runners’ Runner of the Year at Friday’s annual dinner, in recognition of her contribution to the club and the inspiration she gives to other runners.
Results: Darren Reece 37:00, Derek Parrington 41:02, Gaby Ferris 49:15, Jan King 52:35, Diane Waite 55:43, David Waite 57:52, Michelle Eyre 59:25, Claire Smith 59:33, Linda Spencer 59:40, Virginia Lewin 62:07, Phil Richards 66:13, Lesley Henderson 67:34, Melissa Vincent 67:07 Judith Greenwood 68:45