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Fell relay and cross country action galore in this week’s round-up…
British Athletics Fell and Hill Relays 2021
Club Captain Ian Crutchley reports on Saturday’s club trip to the Howgills for the British Atheltics Fell and Hill Relays.
The run up to these relays (and the Hodgsons a couple of weeks back) had been a stressful time for Immy and I; fun, but stressful. I think it’s par for the course as Captains, but as well as the usual personnel issues, we also had a couple of last minute rule changes at these relays that threw the cat right in amongst the pigeons. That solved, 24 Harriers made our way to the edge of the Howgills for the 2021 British Athletics… etc etc etc. The car parking was located 2 miles from the event, and the drizzly walk in was like a fell race route in itself.
With the tent up and teams registered, we set about the event and had as much fun as we could. It was really great to be part of it, and I think everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. I felt sorry for Nat Hicks and Bliss, whom had to loiter in shifts at the far perimeter of the event, in order to look after their dogs (one of the aforementioned last minute rules = no dogs!). The teams had a good mixture of first timers and veterans of fell relays this year, so we gave a lot of new people a taste of these things, coupled with a fairly gnarly fell run to boot.
Only a week or so after her autumn marathon effort, poor Bliss had terrible hamstring trouble in leg 1 which was a real shame, but Bliss will be back, as she’s too good not to be. Having similar marathon hangovers, Ian Jackson and Nat Hicks were both heavy legged and did really well on the beasty leg 3. Emma Rettig twisted her ankle on leg 3, but toughed it out and managed to finish the leg. Other than that, there wasn’t too much drama – the changeovers were smooth, we ran well, nobody got lost, we had a good time, and we all made it out without any major mischief. Worthy of mention was Joe Travis on leg 4 for the open men, who at the finish looked more akin to someone on the frontline at the Somme, absolutely caked in mud. But was great to see Joe, in what will likely be his last action for the club having moved out of the area. Overall the teams did great, and I thank everyone once again for turning out for the club.
I believe next year’s relays will be hosted by our friends (and this year’s winners), up at Carnethy Hill Running Club (Pentland Hills, South of Edinburgh). I’m excited by the prospect already, and Immy and I look forward to organising it (well, we mostly look forward to it!).
| Open Men | Vet Men | Open Women | Vet Women | |
| Overall Pos. | 99th | 168th | 205th | 213th |
| Leg 1 Runner | Joshua Southall | John Pollard | Charlotte Anne Bliss | Marie Williamson |
| Leg 1 Time | 38:30:00 | 58:52:00 | 01:11:16 | 01:10:51 |
| Leg 2 Runners | Dan Stinton, Luke Holme | Julian Minshull, Andy Oliver | Wioleta Wydrych, Zoe Barton | Jude Stansfield, Rachel Walton |
| Leg 2 Time | 01:31:29 | 01:23:21 | 01:37:01 | 01:49:46 |
| Leg 3 Runners | Nat Hicks, Neal Bann | Pete Daly, Ian Jackson | Sarah Andrew, Emma Rettig | Jo Brack, Alison Holt |
| Leg 3 Time | 01:37:38 | 02:08:52 | 02:18:48 | 02:34:21 |
| Leg 4 Runner | Joe Travis | Ian Crutchley | Cheryl Stitt | Sarah Johnson |
| Leg 4 Time | 42:34:00 | 41:16:00 | 46:09:00 | 46:51:00 |
| Overall Time | 04:30:11 | 05:12:21 | 05:53:14 | 06:21:49 |
Full results from the relays can be found here.
Manchester Area Cross Country League
Round 1: Wythenshawe Park
Report by Chris Webb
Photos by Donna Brierley
After a year off, cross country is back! An elite squad of 8 Glossopdale Harriers were part of a field of 306 women and 409 men arriving at a warm and dry Wythenshawe Park, which is one of the flattest and fastest courses in the calendar.
Donna Brierley was off at 1:30pm and led the Glossopdale women home making 2.5 laps of the course look easy, she stormed round finishing 167th (30th FV40) and happy with her day’s work. An hour later it was time for the men and 3 laps of the course. As usual, the field set off at warp speed and I quickly realised the ability to climb steep inclines on the fells has no bearing on your ability to run fast and hard in a local park – more speed work needed! Whilst I suffered, however, things were going well for other GDH runners; Stefan Bramwell, having joined as 2nd claim from Pennine especially for cross country showed he’s got some pace on the flat too and kept me honest with some solid, even pacing throughout. Paul ‘ultra runner’ Skuse was showing that his real skills lie on football fields and rolling woodland trails with an excellent run. When I asked Jamie Helmer how his race had gone he smiled and concisely summed it up: “awful” – I expect to see him next month to raise that standard to simply “bad”; maybe by February it will reach the dizzy heights of “average”?!
Andy Burnett, despite not having to shoot at targets, ran well – I expect him to be solid as a rock all winter. The real racing, however, was happening in the V60 and V70 categories; David Chrystie-Lowe resumed where he left off in 2019-20 with a strong 4th in the V60s, but performance of the day goes to Frank Fielding who dominated the V70s coming home first! Both David and Frank seem to defy their age and get stronger each year – inspirations for the rest of us.
- 57th (10th MV40): Chris Webb 35:17
- 80th (11th MV45): Stefan Bramwell 36:15
- 101st (17th MV45): Paul Skuse 37:13
- 167th (30th FV40): Donna Brierley 41:10
- 250th (4th MV60): David Chrystie-Lowe 43:19
- 265th (1st MV70): Frank Fielding 43:53
- 343rd (58th MV45): Jamie Helmer 47:20
- 479th (35th MV55): Andy Burnett 49:53
See here for full results.
The next round in the Manchester Area CCL is held at Sherdley Park on 13th November.
New Glossop Fell Race (October Virtual Club Championship)
This month has already seen lots of Harriers take on one of the longest routes of the year, the New Glossop Fell Race. If you’re looking for partner/group to make your way round with, take a look at (or post on) the GDH Facebook group to find people who’ll be running at a pace to suit you.
…and finally, couple of extra updates culled from Facebook
- Congratulations to Lance Hamilton-Griffiths and Rob Sheldon who ran the 20-mile Hathersage Hurtle this weekend, finishing in 2:53:07 and 3:12:08 respectively.
- Local 5-mile trail race, Hit The Trail, takes place at Reddish Vale on 9th January – enter here.
- A few members of the club have had a go at the Running Track Mile, on the trail in Simmondley. This Club Champs challenge can be attempted at any time of the year (and as often as you like, if you’re so inclined!). Details here.
And that’s yer lot! If you get up to anything interesting (ideally running-related!), send in a report to gdhweeklyreports@gmail.com and the team will include it in the next update. Thanks!