Victory for Parton at Midgeley Moor Fell Race

23rd February 2023

THE WEEKEND OF 19th/20th February 2023 was a busy one with Rochdale Harriers competing in a wide variety of races around the North West of England.

Pride of place goes to Dave Parton who won the Midgely Moor (Halifax) fell race in a time of 47m, 29s. This is a AS classified race (A means not less than 50m of climb per km (the hardest category), and S means short (less than 10km distance)), measuring 8.04km (5 miles) with 381mtrs (1250ft) of climb over the 5 miles. Dave was in a group of four following the lead group who had broken away at the 1^st checkpoint. Dave’s group had reined the leading group in by the final climb, then Dave’s knowledge of the route enabled him to choose the better descent. During the descent, Dave took the lead to finish in first place.

A number of Rochdale Harriers competed in the South East Lancs’ Cross Country fixture at Heaton Park. Four Juniors, five Senior Ladies and four Senior Men from Rochdale took part. In the Under 11’s Girls, Lily Hirst finished 8th in 7m 20s while in the Under 13’s Girls’ race Lottie Peacocke finished 11th in 15m 24s. In the boys races, Joseph Campbell finished 15th in the U13 Boys race (18m 50s) and Joshua Clowes came 10^th in the U15 category posting 22m 02s. Five Harriers competed in the Senior Ladies race, with Juliet Smith (L45), leading the club home in 34m 35s in 8^th position. Followed by Jennie Ransome (L55), 10^th in 35m 21s, Danielle Dignan, 22^nd, 38m 54s, Susie Hirst, 23^rd, 39m,34s and Zara Hirst, 32^nd, 43m, 23s. Finally in the Senior Men’s race, Danny Bennett (V50) finished 11^th overall in 37m 30s, followed by Ian Aitchison (V65), 55^th in 48m 48s, Neil Hirst (V50), 66^th in 51m, 6s and Chris Gee (V45), 77^th in 53m, 25s.

Meanwhile Mark Walker and John Bramwell ran in the Flower Scar Fell Race (Todmorden), This race was 13k (8.1 miles) in length and had 660m (2165ft) of ascent (Cat. AM). Bramwell finished in a time of 1hr 35m 27s and Mark was pleased to post 1hr 43m 56s.

Moving further afield, Julie Smith ran in the Bingley Bo**ocks 10 mile race, which follows the Leeds-Liverpool canal tow path to Skipton and then returns by the same route. Julie achieved a time of 1hr 49m 42s.

Then off for a day at the seaside, two weeks after running her first 10k, Izzie Brandon ran her first half marathon in Blackpool. This was the Great North West Half Marathon. Running along a largely flat but very windy prom to Bispham, Izzie was delighted to finish in a time of 1hr 47m 20s, the 18^th female out of 159.

Finally, nearer home, it was the culmination of the very successful Harriers Couch to 5k (“C25K”) training course. Five of the C25K graduates ran in the Oldham Park Run on Saturday. Eleven, plus their coaches and supporters from Rochdale Harriers, ran a celebratory 5K from Kingsway Park Sports Centre and Athletics Arena to finish on the floodlit track. A big thanks to Mike Winstanley and Dan Merlo for organising the course, and to EA-qualified Leaders in Running Fitness Diane Winterburn, Julie Smith and all of the Harriers for their support.

Next up, this Saturday is the BIG one: the National Cross Country Championships at Bolesworth Castle near Tattenhall, Chester. Thousands of runners and spectators from around the country will descend to take part and watch what is the climax of the Cross Country season.