Another week of racing for club members. Last Monday was the final Trunce of 2024 and saw 3 members complete the final one Nick Boxall, Tara Petch and Heather Lindley who also got 3rd F60 for the entire series.
Saturday saw a big club turn out at parkruns. With 3 members reaching personal milestones. Down at Hillsborough David Downs hit 100 parkrun milestone, Colin Mansell hit a 100 parkruns at one venue (Hillsborough) joining them there was Jolene Allen in 26:24 who ran a personal best, Steven Watts rn 23:17 and Victoria Patterson & Heather Lindley both ran 30:08.
Over in Wales David Napier ran his 50th parkrun in 22:19 at Y Promenade, Abermaw. Nick Wright ran 23:00 at Peel. Finall at Selby Molly Hayes finished 3rd female in 22:42 and Richard Hayes finished 5th overall and first V40 in 17:38.
Saturday also saw 3 runners take on the High Peak 40 ultra marathon.An ultramarathon covering 40 miles of the Peak district. Returning after 8 years away, the High Peak 40 is an Ultramarathon run around the Peak District starting and ending in beautiful Buxton.
Taking in some of the best trails, paths and roads around the area, the route will take you through Goyt Valley, Eccles Pike, Mam Tor, Cave Dale, Tideswell, Monsal Trail, and not one but two Deep Dales! Well done to Rachel and Val Vernon and also Garry Harding for taking on this tough race!
Finally our every glamours ambassador Narni Fulford ran a new 10 mile personal best at the Defeat Delamere as one of her tune up events for her upcoming marathon.
Defeat Delamere report
Sunday the 15th of September saw a somewhat soggy start as yours truly fired up the Mustang and tootled over toward Liverpool for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation’s ‘Defeat Delamere’. With 5k, 10k and 10 mile options to choose from, spirits were not dampened by what can only be described as ‘less than baltic’ weather, as a gaggle of some 600 runners took up position on the trail in Delamere Forest, Cheshire. Parking was plentiful and there were hordes of cheery volunteers to see us safely towards the registration area and then start line. I felt that being assigned number ‘321’ was surely an auspicious omen.
9.30am and the 10-milers set off, quickly to be greeted by a hill that could have come straight from Stocksbridge. Thank goodness for Monday night club runs and some enforced hill training. We puffed and panted our way up a winding gravelly path for about 2km: happily I had scouted the course elevation beforehand and knew that it was downhill and then relatively flat for the rest. We zipped past gorgeous fields and greenery, although the path being so holey meant that I spent most of the race staring intently at the floor, trying not to fall over.
There was a lap and a half around Blakemere Moss lake, where we tootled past a cheerful giant inflatable pair of lungs (a nod to the race’s charity partner). Two water stations offered us ample opportunity to slosh had a paper cup of Cheshire Champagne down our fronts, before we dove back into the forest, on a pleasantly undulating route. Tough Mudder experience and a good pair of Pegasus Goretex trail shoes made light work of muddy puddles, and I sploshed determinedly past the 10k mark and on towards the finish.
Coming up to the finish we realised that the course was about 350 metres short of the 10 mile mark, but we tore over the line regardless, happy to be handed a small but snazzy gold medal and a somewhat scratchy black and gold t-shirt that served as confirmation that we had, in fact, ‘defeated Delamere’. If you love a trail, don’t mind a cruel hill to start, and want to immerse yourself in gorgeous forests, then Roy Castle’s ‘Defeat Delamere’ is the one for you.
