Sean Farnsworth does the Beverley Half Marathon

25th August 2026

On Sunday 23rd August 2026, Sean Farnsworth headed over the Pennines to the Yorkshire Wolds and the quaint market town of Beverley for the Beverley Half Marathon. This is a brand new race on closed roads through the heart of the town, past the impressive Beverley Minster and onto quiet country lanes to form a neat loop. Sean finished in 2 hours, 4 mins (chip time). Despite being advised that this was a flat course, Sean found to his surprise that the first 10k was all uphill with 360 ft (110m) of elevation! All good fun, I’m sure! Almost 1,600 competed in the event, which is likely to only grow from strength to strength in the future.

Last Wednesday evening (19th August) saw two of Rochdale Harriers’ experienced fell runners, Mark Walker and Pete Butterworth, venture up to the Rossendale Valley to take part in Pilgrims Cross fell race. Starting near the historic village of Helmshore, famed for its rich textile industry heritage, the fell race takes its name from the Pilgrims Cross, which dates from 1176, marking a medieval way for travellers and pilgrims to Whalley Abbey. This race consists of a tough figure-of-eight course across Holcombe Moor, covering just over 6.5 miles with almost 1,300 ft (396m) of elevation. The course involves the testing climbs you would expect from a fell race, along with the obligatory fast descent to the finish. Pete Butterworth finished in 58th position in 1 hour 11 mins, with Mark Walker coming in closely behind in 62nd place in 1 hour 12 mins. A creditable performance from both, among a strong field of 133 runners. Experienced as Mark and Pete are, they still contrived to go a little ‘off-course’, adding an extra 1km onto their runs. So let’s say it was an even better performance from them to finish so strongly in the field!

Onto the road races at the weekend and Richard Lee competed in the Birchwood 10k on Sunday. This race is well established and well organised, now in its 41st year. The race features a fast, flat course, and attracted over 500 runners in this year’s edition. The race is notable for the quirk that runners receive a fluffy towel as a race memento at the finish line instead of a medal! Richard finished in 51 mins 19 seconds. The race also strives to be the ‘greenest’ in the north west, minimising its impact on the environment by donating to The Mersey Forest tree planting campaign, reducing waste and sending all plastics for recycling.

Coming up for the Harriers over the next week or so are two midweek fell races in the RHAC and the Run the Moors Fell Grand Prix series. First up will be the Holcombe Two Towers race, followed by our very own Hades Hill fell race, which is always a highlight in the calendar. Hades Hill is the penultimate race in the fell championships and some might say an invigorating way to enjoy the remaining evening light towards the end of summer!