Des Walkden took part in this race and finished 58th out of 374 competitors and was 6th in his age group. In addition, he knocked 2 mins 33 seconds off his previous best time to set a pb of 41:55. As Des put it, "I think that the Sgt Chew training sessions are starting to pay off."
Any Witch Way, But Loose
Simon Franklin travelled a fair distance to get to this event, but he thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that he has written an account of his night.
There was a turnout of 33 runners for the first of this type of orienteering event. Competitors ran it as individuals, in pairs or in teams. Once your time had started, you were given a map with locations marked on it, each with a varying points value and you quickly had to decide your strategy to amass the most points by visiting various check points. Penalty points were deducted for being over the allotted time of one hour. It was a fun event, with much debate in the pub afterwards about the choice of route and check points visited.
The winner was Mark Nutter of Clayton who has a history of excelling in this type of event. He finished just ahead of Peter Stobbs with Sam Wadsworth in third place. A good run saw Jean Brown finish 1st lady and 4th overall and the first pair were Debbie Gowans and Vickie Mousley, who were fifth overall.
Two Barlick members, Andy Berry & Michael Thistlethwaite, along with ten other attendees, went along to this course, which was held in the Peak District. When the course was concluded, a competition was held and each member had to go out into the Peak District and visit 15 locations. The Barlickers took the first two places. It will be interesting to see how these two fare in the Night Points Scoring Event.
Barlick Fell Runner vests are now starting to appear all over and another one was spotted at this race, worn by Junior Member, James Daggett. He finished the U12 race in 51st position in a time of 14:26.
Another impressive outing from Karl Gray who just managed to pip Tim Ellis to the post. With Alex Whittem coming third, this gave Calder Valley the top three places.
Of the Barlickers, Shaun Chew was in 12th position approaching Flower Scar Summit and then, having taken a different route to the majority of runners, he found himself in 22nd place. However, he clawed his way back through the field to finish in an impressive 5th position. The positions of all the Barlick runners were as follows:
5 Shaun Chew 53:46
39 Sam Wadsworth 57:44
40 Andy Berry 57:55
93 Luke Wallwork 64:09
129 Dave Halliday 68:41
139 Pete Jackson 69:42
153 Craig Childs 71:49
162 Glenn Whittaker 72:38
Des Walkden is the latest member to take part in this Saturday morning 5K race. For his first attempt, he finished in 15th position in a time of 20:50.
Another good turnout of at least twenty five runners for the popular pub run evening. The more experienced runners went up Sharp Haw, whilst the beginners took an easier off road route. The post run beer and chilli con carne went down well.
Andrew Carson entered this event and was rewarded with a PB, knocking a minute off his previous time.
The racing season is starting to get under way and Barlick Fell Runner shirts are starting to be seen up and down. These were the three Barlickers in this race.
Everyone started well. Sam was leading the club out of Old Town towards the fells, a few seconds in front of Scott. Pete was following on behind, a little further down the field. After check point 2, Sam followed a group that did not take the best line, which allowed Scott and the main body of runners to pass them. However, at this point, both were running well, in the top thirty.
When they had passed check point 4, Sam started to feel a lack of energy, but he kept going and he maintained his position. However, as the race progressed, this lack of energy began to take its toll and he gradually dropped down the field, going slower and slower until at Check point 10, he decided to pull out.
However, Scott Baistow was continuing to run a cracking race and at one point he was in 17th position. On the return, he was 24th as he went through check point 11 and looked to be on for a good finish. But once he was out onto the open moor, because of the terrain, he decided to walk for a spell and he could not get running again. He was suffering the same as Sam - he had just run out of energy. He did keep going until the finish, but on that last spell, he lost nearly 70 places.
In the meantime, Pete Jackson kept going at his steady pace to finish in 82nd place and lead the Barlickers home. He has written an interesting account of the day and it describes this race from a runner's perspective.
The final positions were:
82 Pete Jackson
92 Scott Baistow
DNF Sam Wadsworth
Our long distance enthusiast was out again this weekend. This time, Mick Plummer took part in this 23.5 mile /3200 ft event and he completed it in a time of 4 hours 49 minutes.
Because of the weather, this year, the race was not run on the traditional route, but on an alternative route that went up to The Stoop.
At the front of the field, it was a close battle between Tom Addison of Helm Hill and Tom Adams of Ilkley. On the run back, Tom Adams was in second place, but he looked like he was poised, waiting for his moment to take the lead. However, Tom Addison held him off to take victory by one second. Mark Addison of Helm Hill was third.
Five Barlickers entered the race and finished as follows:
13 Shaun Chew 42:58
41 Sam Wadsworth 46:06
81 Andy Berry 49:35
114 John Boothman 51:18
176 Derek Walkden 56:35
Ilkley Harriers were first team.
The day also saw the first Barlick junior out in a race. James Daggart completed the U12 course in 14:03. Not bad for his first race. (Picture in the gallery).
In this half marathon, Stephen Chew (running for Blackburn) finished in 15th place in a time of 1:21:20.
Mick Plummer, the long distance specialist, took part in this 22 mile race and finished in 63rd place in a time of 4:28.
Twenty five runners turned out for this race in very snowy and windy conditions. The leading finishers were:
1 Ian Holmes 36:57
2 Sam Watson 37:01
3 Martin Peace 38:58
The two Barlickers finished:
6 Jonathan Boothman 45:03
7 Scott Baistow 45:30
The left hand picture is the back of the vest and the other two are alternatives for the front.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact Stephen Chew on:
Tel 01282 544417 or 07896 210388.
Alternatively, you can always leave a comment on the club facebook page.
However, if you have any particular views on the new vest, please make them know as quickly as possible, as we should like to place an order by the end of the week.
Local Girl Lucy Horrocks Causes Upset to Win Silver
At the British Cyclo Cross Championship, riding for Hope Factory Racing, Lucy Horrocks came second in the U14 Girls Event. She had aleady moved up into second place by the second lap and she rode a very cool race to retain this position and take silver, surprising many in the sport. She will still be in this age group next year, so expect to hear more about this talented young cyclist in the future.
The turnout for this social run was magnificent. Ten runners went on the beginners run with Shaun Chew, whilst a further twenty five went on the longer more conventional pub run. At the summit of Pin Haw, this group split up, with one group taking a longer route back. It was a large turn out, but there was something for everybody.
When everyone returned to the pub, they were joined by a further three none running members, a total of 38 people on the night.
This race was won by Ian Nixon of Pudsey & Bramley in a time of 25:25, with Ian Holmes of Bingley 2 seconds behind him and Nick Charlesworth of Wharfedale 3rd.
On what was a fast course, Scott Baistow of Barlick was 11th out of a large field of 51 starters.
One of the items on the agenda for this meeting will be the design of the club vests. Any club member who wants any input as to the colour and design of the running vests is welcome to come along and chip in. Terry Lonergan will be there to provide some professional input. The meeting is due to start at 7:30 pm.
Despite an outbreak of man flu and some still not recovered from the New Year celebrations, there was a good turnout of 13 runners, including 2 ladies, for this first social run of the year. Expect a few more next week, when everyone is back to normal.
The main aims of the club are to increase the participation of running in Barnoldswick and to keep organised running as accessible as possible.