2013 results - January to March
2013 Results
This page only contains race results for Spectrum Striders RC members. Included are all results from Striders club championship races, plus some other races where Striders ran.
If you are looking for results for one of the Spectrum Striders RC races, please look under the "Our races" menu at the top of any page on this web site.
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Jan - Feb - Mar
January
Saturday 5-Jan-2013: Cheshire Cross Country Championships at Reaseheath College, Nantwich
Well done to our Cheshire Cross Country Champions for this year:
- Karon Forster (LV50)
- Anne Hewitt (LV65)
- Alan Peers (MV70)
Full results are on the Cheshire AA web site.
Senior & Vet men – approx 7¼ miles
| Pos | Name | Cat | CatPos | Time | |
| 1 | Chris Perry | M | 1 | 39:42 | winner - Vale Royal AC |
| 37 | Colin Martin | V55 | 2 | 46:21 | |
| 57 | Adam Leadbetter | M | 27 | 48:30 | |
| 117 | Neville Griffiths | V65 | 4 | 1:00:37 | |
| 121 | Dave Thompson | V55 | 6 | 1:01:13 | |
| 126 | Alan Peers | V70 | 1 | 1:09:52 | 1st MV70 |
Spectrum vets were 14th out of 16 teams.
Senior & Vet ladies – 4.62 miles
| Pos | Name | Cat | CatPos | Time | |
| 1 | Olivia Walwyn-Bush | L | 1 | 28:12 | winner - Altrincham & District AC |
| 18 | Karon Forster | V50 | 1 | 35:08 | 1st LV50 |
| 40 | Shirley Anderson | V40 | 4 | 38:46 | |
| 43 | Caroline Hemming | V45 | 7 | 39:32 | |
| 55 | Heather Garland | V35 | 7 | 45:15 | |
| 62 | Anne Hewitt | V65 | 1 | 53:07 | 1st LV65 |
Spectrum ladies were 10th out of 15 teams.
Spectrum vet ladies were 7th out of 12 teams.
U20 men – 4.62 miles
| Pos | Name | Time | |
| 1 | Mike Vennard | 26:43 | winner - Vale Royal AC |
| 7 | Chris Owens | 29:07 |
Sunday 6-Jan-2013 at 11am: NWSCCL #6 at Walton Park, Liverpool
This was the 6th and final race of the 2012/3 season.
Striders men finished 4th in the league this season and the women finished 5th.Thanks to all who ran this season, also to all who supported. Particular thanks to Liz Whitfield & Les Hewitt for doing times & finishing positions at all of the races, also to Julian Spencer for typing up the results for each race and for organising the teams.
Individual results
Full results are available on Steve Saunders' web site.
| Pos | Runner | Pos | Runner |
| 18 | Karl Steinegger (32:38) | 4 | Alison Draper (37:56 cf 37:49) |
| 21 | Chris Millington (33:01 cf 32:08) | 19 | Debbie Read (42:48) |
| 24 | Colin Martin (33:28 cf 33:02) | 37 | Sue Buck (46:48) |
| 25 | Chris Dawson (33:38) | 60 | Total (58 in 2012) |
| 31 | Mike Welsby (34:02) | 40 | Heather Garland (47:21) |
| 61 | Tim Murphy (37:04) | 51 | Anne Hewitt (58:26 cf 56:55) |
| 180 | Total (cf 165 in 2012) | ||
| 64 | Albert de Jong (37:12) | ||
| 86 | Tim Lewis (38:58) | ||
| 96 | Neil Atkinson (40:22) | ||
| 109 | Neville Griffiths (42:44) | ||
| 114 | Dave Thompson (43:18 cf 39:46) | ||
| 119 | Richard MacIlwaine (43:33) | ||
| 120 | Mick Charman (44:16 cf 38:41) | ||
| 124 | Ken Black (46:36) | ||
| 126 | Alan Peers (47:08) | ||
| Jim Dawson (35:53) |
Team results for this race
| Men | Women | ||
| Club | Score | Club | Score |
| Knowsley Harriers | 77 | Penny Lane Striders | 14 |
| Penny Lane Striders | 85 | Liverpool RC | 19 |
| Liverpool RC | 116 | Warrington RR/Helsby RC/Lymm | 22 |
| Warrington RR/Helsby RC/ Lymm | 168 | Spectrum Striders | 60 |
| Spectrum Striders | 180 | Skelmersdale BH / Parbold PP | 75 |
| Newburgh Nomads | 298 | Birkenhead AC / Pensby RC | 86 |
| Birkenhead AC / Pensby RC | 417 | Knowsley Harriers | 104 |
| Skelmersdale BH / Parbold PP | inc. |
Final league standings after 6 races
Best 5 of 6 races to count
| Men | Women | ||
| Club | Score | Club | Score |
| Knowsley Harriers | 40 | Warrington RR/Helsby RC/Lymm | 40 |
| Penny Lane Striders | 35 | Penny Lane Striders | 34 |
| Liverpool RC | 31 | Liverpool RC | 34 |
| Spectrum Striders | 27 | Skelmersdale BH / Parbold PP | 26 |
| Warrington RR/Helsby RC/Lymm | 22 | Spectrum Striders | 22 |
| Newburgh Nomads | 15 | Knowsley Harriers | 15 |
| Birkenhead AC / Pensby RC | 10 | Birkenhead AC / Pensby RC | 12 |
| Skelmersdale BH / Parbold PP | 8 |
Saturday 12-Jan-2012 at 12:30pm: Ashurst Beacon fell race (nr Skelmersdale, category BS, 5.9 miles, 950ft climb)
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time | |
| 1 | Tim Ellis | M | 00:37:23 | winner - Calder Valley |
| 12 | Amanda Crook | L | 00:41:54 | 1st lady - Southport Waterloo |
| 99 | Mark Walsh | M40 | 00:55:28 | |
| 113 | Neville Griffiths | M65 | 00:57:57 | |
| 159 | Stephanie Charman | L60 | 01:19:43 | 1st LV60 |
159 finishers, last finisher in 1:19:43. Full results are on the FRA web site.
Sunday 20-Jan-2013: Four Villages Half Marathon at Helsby
The race was cancelled due to snow & ice on the course.
Saturday 26-Jan-2013: Northern Cross Country Championships at Knowsley Safari Park
A muddy, snowy course but still & relatively mild. Les Hewitt and Mick Charman were taking photos.
Results
Full results are available via the Northern Athletics web site.
2:15pm - Women - 4.72 miles
| Pos | Time | Name | |
| 1 | 00:30:29 | Hatti Archer | winner - Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield |
| 82 | 00:39:15 | Karon Forster | |
| 121 | 00:43:15 | Alison Draper | |
| 136 | 00:44:34 | Shirley Anderson | |
| 154 | 00:46:19 | Debbie Read | |
| 187 | 00:51:30 | Sue Buck | |
| 194 | 00:53:10 | Heather Garland | |
| 212 | 01:02:12 | Anne Hewitt |
217 finishers, last finisher in 1:11:14.
Striders were 18th team out of 27 teams.
3:05pm - Men - 6.93 miles
| Pos | Time | Name | |
| 1 | 00:40:01 | Steve Vernon | winner - Stockport Harriers & AC |
| 144 | 00:50:35 | Karl Steinegger | |
| 235 | 00:54:16 | Adam Leadbetter | |
| 284 | 00:56:04 | Chris Millington | |
| 301 | 00:56:35 | Stephen Pilditch | |
| 360 | 00:58:33 | Dave Hudd | |
| 389 | 00:59:50 | Julian Spencer | |
| 426 | 01:01:45 | Jim Dawson | 2nd claim |
| 434 | 01:02:07 | Andy Garnett | |
| 451 | 01:03:25 | Tim Murphy | |
| 489 | 01:04:56 | Graham Driver | |
| 499 | 01:06:04 | Neil Atkinson | |
| 509 | 01:06:56 | Tim Lewis | |
| 557 | 01:14:12 | Dave Thompson | |
| 576 | 01:22:53 | Alan Peers | |
| 580 | 01:26:20 | Mick Charman |
583 finishers, last finisher in 1:34:24.
Striders were 32nd and 56th teams out of a total of 58 teams.
Sunday 27-Jan-2013: Miami Marathon at 6:15am
| Pos | Name | Time | Pace | |
| 1 | Luis Rivero Gonzalez | 02:26:14 | 05:34 | winner |
| 12 | Mariska Kramer | 02:46:07 | 06:20 | 1st lady |
| 508 | Alan Brady | 03:45:41 | 08:36 | PB |
3784 finishers, last finisher in 6:43:07. Full results are on the race web site.
February
Sunday 10-Feb-2013 at 10am: Winter Hill fell race, Rivington near Horwich (category: BM, 11 miles, 2700ft climb)
Race report from Neville Griffiths:
"This has always been a tough race round Winter Hill as it is mostly off the main paths, taking direct routes between the checkpoints. The ground is mostly bog or tussock grass. This is the hardest race we have had in our championship for many years.
Eight Striders turned up, to get this year’s fell championship off to a good start. Conditions were not good, with snowflakes in the air and visibility down to 200m. Everyone was wearing full body cover and this stayed on for the whole race.
Karon was an early casualty, twisting her ankle badly, and she managed to hobble into checkpoint 3 where she got a lift back.
Because of the wet winter most of the route was ankle deep in mud or water and with the thin covering of snow the slopes down to checkpoints 3 and leading down from 6 were very slippery."
| Pos | Name | Cat | CatPos | Time | |
| 1 | Ricky Lightfoot | M | (001/057) | 01:40:08 | winner - Ellenborough AC |
| 24 | Jo Waites | F40 | (001/004) | 02:02:20 | 1st lady - Calder Valley Fell Runners |
| 49 | Chris Millington | M40 | (012/036) | 02:08:36 | |
| 66 | David Hudd | M | (025/057) | 02:11:27 | |
| 89 | Phil Daintith | M40 | (022/036) | 02:19:56 | |
| 109 | Geoff Hand | M55 | (006/011) | 02:27:58 | |
| 116 | Ranald MacKay | M40 | (027/036) | 02:30:16 | |
| 157 | Robert McHarry | M45 | (022/025) | 02:43:13 | |
| 173 | Neville Griffiths | M65 | (004/007) | 02:51:24 |
189 finishers, last finisher in 3:09:56. Full results are on ukresults.net.
Kenny Forster was taking photos.
Sunday 10-Feb-2013 at 11am: Liverpool & District Cross Country League Championships at Clarke Gardens, Liverpool
Liz's GPS clocked the course at 9.71k (6.03 miles).
| Pos | Name | Time | Cat | ||
| 1 | Tartt | James | 34.02 | winner - Southport Waterloo | |
| 72 | McEneany | Kim | 43.59 | Lady | 1st lady - Wallasey |
| 75 | Martin | Colin | 44.49 | V/55 | |
| 93 | Whitfield | Liz | 48.45 | L/35 | |
| 119 | Thompson | Dave | 53.02 | V/55 | |
| 126 | Macllwaine | Richard | 55.57 | V/55 | |
| 132 | Peers | Alan | 57.21 | V/70 | |
| 133 | Black | Ken | 62.16 | V/65 |
134 finishers, last finisher in 68:52. Full results are on the L&D League web site.
Striders were 11th team out of 13 complete teams and 2 incomplete teams.
Sunday 10-Feb-2013 at 10:40am: Mad Dog 10k (Southport)
| Cat | Chip | Chip | |||||
| Pos | Name | GunTime | Category | pos | time | pos | |
| 1 | Ian McBride | 00:32:32 | MOPEN | 1 | 00:32:32 | 1 | winner - Royton Road Runners |
| 8 | Amanda Crook | 00:35:35 | FOPEN | 1 | 00:35:34 | 8 | 1st lady - Southport & Waterloo AC |
| 17 | Charlie Sharpe | 00:36:57 | MOPEN | 9 | 00:36:50 | 17 | |
| 174 | Chris Falls | 00:42:44 | MOPEN | 89 | 00:42:28 | 173 | |
| 257 | Timothy Lewis | 00:45:05 | M40+ | 77 | 00:42:57 | 197 | |
| 599 | Vincent Alcock | 00:50:37 | M40+ | 160 | 00:49:38 | 606 | |
| 819 | Peter Samuelson | 00:53:46 | M60+ | 15 | 00:49:45 | 615 | |
| 849 | Carolyn Arber | 00:54:09 | F55+ | 6 | 00:52:52 | 841 | |
| 1002 | Martine Jarman | 00:56:38 | F35+ | 82 | 00:55:20 | 992 | |
| 1092 | Rob Cant | 00:57:48 | M50+ | 133 | 00:55:57 | 1055 | |
| 1240 | Sandra Lewis | 00:59:59 | F45+ | 73 | 00:57:51 | 1186 |
1736 finishers, last finisher in 1:39:16. Full results are on the TDL Events web site.
Saturday 16-Feb-2013 at 2pm: Parbold Hill Race
The race was back to the traditional 6¾ miles route for 2013.
| Pos | Name | Time | Cat | CatPos | |
| 1 | James Tartt | 00:40:57 | M | (001/131) | winner - Southport Waterloo |
| 21 | Chris Millington | 00:49:52 | M40 | (007/060) | |
| 29 | Kirsty Longley | 00:50:30 | F35 | (001/018) | 1st lady - Liverpool Pembroke Sefton |
| 39 | Neil Garnett | 00:51:20 | M50 | (005/055) | |
| 63 | Ian Pudge | 00:54:28 | M40 | (014/060) | |
| 79 | Andy Garnett | 00:55:35 | M55 | (004/025) | |
| 90 | Julian Spencer | 00:56:05 | M50 | (012/055) | |
| 113 | Karon Forster | 00:57:09 | F50 | (001/011) | 1st FV50 |
| 142 | Liz Whitfield | 00:58:32 | F35 | (005/018) | |
| 186 | Janet Robertson | 01:01:49 | F45 | (003/024) | 2nd claim |
| 260 | Michael Charman | 01:07:16 | M60 | (008/010) | |
| 298 | Debbie Read | 01:10:42 | F55 | (002/004) | |
| 392 | Sue Buck | 01:17:53 | F45 | (014/024) | |
| 453 | Stephanie Charman | 01:29:25 | F60 | (003/004) |
481 finishers, last finisher in 1:54:47. Full results are on ukresults.net.
Sunday 17-Feb-2013 at 11am: Village Bakery Half Marathon (Wrexham)
| Pos | Name | Cat | CatPos | Time | |
| 1 | Tom Charles | SM | 1 | 70:23 | winner - Trafford AC |
| 17 | Kelly Crickmore | W35 | 1 | 78:32 | 1st lady - Chester Tri |
| 53 | David Hudd | M35 | 7 | 83:49 | |
| 61 | Robert Hough | M40 | 18 | 84:31 | |
| 63 | Colin Martin | M55 | 1 | 84:36 | |
| 144 | Andy Gaskell | M45 | 16 | 93:06 | |
| 154 | Stephen Ward | M50 | 14 | 93:48 | |
| 213 | Louise Dempster | W45 | 4 | 100:05 | |
| 233 | Lee Dugdale | M40 | 56 | 102:03 | |
| 282 | Duncan Forrest | M45 | 34 | 108:17 | |
| 287 | Michael Bradley | M55 | 24 | 109:05 | |
| 291 | Helen Caldwell | W45 | 7 | 109:18 | |
| 300 | Karl Alldred | M40 | 64 | 110:42 | |
| 308 | Sarah Lee | W40 | 11 | 111:18 | |
| 345 | Carolyn Arber | W55 | 5 | 116:02 | |
| 397 | Linda Owen | W55 | 6 | 124:19 |
455 finishers, last finisher in 181:17. Full results are on ukresults.net.
Sunday 17-Feb-2013 at 10:30am: Central Lancashire 5k (Bolton)
| Pos | Name | Cat | Perf% | ChipTime | GunTime | |
| 1 | Paul Freary | M40 to 44 | 84.52 | 00:16:25 | 00:16:25 | winner - Belgrave Harriers & AC |
| 32 | Rachel Jones | F40 to 44 | 84.04 | 00:18:25 | 00:18:26 | 1st lady - Horwich RMI Harriers |
| 89 | Chris Falls | M | 64.35 | 00:20:17 | 00:20:22 | PB by 5 sec |
295 finishers, last finisher in 39:12. Full results are on ukresults.net.
Saturday 23-Feb-2013 at 2:30pm: Standish Hall Trail Race 10k
| Pos | Name | Cat | CatPos | Time | |
| 1 | Glen Groves | M40 | (001/021) | 00:38:25 | winner - Liverpool Harriers |
| 6 | Kirsty Longley | F35 | (001/011) | 00:41:21 | 1st lady - Liverpool Pembroke Sefton |
| 22 | Ian Pudge | M40 | (006/021) | 00:44:12 | |
| 78 | Debbie Read | F55 | (001/001) | 00:52:14 | 1st FV55 |
167 finishers, last finisher in 1:15:51. Full results are on ukresults.net.
Sunday 24-Feb-2013 at 11pm: Great North West Half Marathon (Blackpool)
| Pos | Name | Cat | ChipTime | GunTime | Perf% | |
| 1 | Matthew John | M | 01:08:53 | 01:08:54 | 86.57 | winner - Otley AC |
| 58 | Diane McVey | F35 | 01:23:44 | 01:23:55 | 78.65 | 1st lady - Wilmslow Running Club |
| 223 | Chris Falls | M | 01:34:41 | 01:35:02 | 62.77 | PB by 13 min 12 sec! |
1140 finishers, last finisher in 3:54:34. Full results are on ukresults.net.
March
Saturday 2-Mar-2013 at 12 noon: Black Combe fell race (nr Millom, Cumbria, 8.1 miles, 3280ft climb, category AM)
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time | |
| 1 | Ricky Lightfoot | M | 1:08:26 | winner - Ellenborough AC |
| 24 | Helen Fines | L | 1:23:27 | 1st lady - Calder Valley Fell Runners |
| 89 | Karon Forster | LV50 | 1:43:10 | |
| 104 | Ranald Mackay | MV40 | 1:48:30 | |
| 121 | Kenny Forster | MV50 | 1:53:57 |
160 finishers (+ 7 DNF), last finisher in 3:01:13. Full results are on the Black Combe Runners web site.
Sunday 3-Mar-2013 at 11am: Cloud Nine Hill Race (Congleton, 9 miles, 1250ft climb, category BM)
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time | |
| 1 | Simon Bailey | M | 00:54:54 | winner - Mercia Fell Runners |
| 25 | Chris Millington | M40 | 01:04:31 | |
| 45 | Kerry Marchant | L | 01:06:50 | 1st lady - Staffordshire Moorlands AC |
| 61 | David Hudd | M | 01:08:51 | |
| 75 | Ian Pudge | M40 | 01:10:13 | |
| 85 | Phil Daintith | M40 | 01:11:27 | |
| 101 | Karon Forster | L50 | 01:12:52 | 1st L50 |
| 157 | Geoff Hand | M55 | 01:17:02 | |
| 242 | Liz Whitfield | L | 01:24:05 | |
| 266 | David Thompson | M55 | 01:25:22 | |
| 309 | Carol Stynes | L40 | 01:29:28 | |
| 336 | Debbie Read | L55 | 01:34:10 | |
| 340 | Richard Macilwaine | M50 | 01:34:32 | |
| 351 | Sue Buck | L45 | 01:36:09 |
421 finishers, last finisher in 2:17:16. Full results are on the race web site.
Sunday 3-Mar-2013 at 11am: Northern Vets AC Club Cross Country Championships
Please note that this is not the Northern Cross Country Championships (i.e. the regional championships). This is the Northern Vets AC club x/c championships. There is both a 10k and a 5k race.
The races were held at Victoria Park in Warrington.
Race report from Ken Black:
"I am pleased to inform the Club that the over 60s won their age category in the team event at the annual Northern Vets cross country championship which has been held at Victoria Park now for many years. First marker was Mick Charman, who ran like Seb Coe and wore glasses similar to Jenny Meadows; I was second marker and Iain Fortune third.
I thought I concentrated all through the 10k, but my times are still not what they should be. The main thing is that I enjoyed it.
Warrington is a flat course and the ground was very dry, which is pleasant change after all the waterlogged courses we have run on this winter.
I was pleased to talk to Mike Smith and the other Bingley runners. They are going to the BMAF X.C. Championships held at Sunderland and staying over for the weekend. With a bit of luck I may meet up with them on the Saturday.
Mike and his wife, are also going to San Sebastian, Spain, the following week [for the European Veterans Indoor Champinships]. Mike is in my age category, he is also competing in the same X.C. as me which helps, although when you run in British colours you all close ranks with your fellow Brits."
10k race
Mick, Ken & Iain won the Men's over 60 category. The official race results show them in 2nd place but one of the other teams runners was in the wrong age group.
| Pos | Name | Time | Cat | |
| 1 | Darren Newbold | 34:44 | M40 | winner - Hallamshire Harriers |
| 24 | Michael Charman | 48:34 | M60 | |
| 31 | Kenneth Black | 57:00 | M65 | |
| 32 | Iain Fortune | 57:44 | M65 |
35 finishers, last finisher in 1:10:23. Full results are on the NVAC web site.
Sunday 3-Mar-2013 at 9am: Anglesey Half Marathon ("The Island Race")
| Pos | Name | Category | GunTime | ChipTime | CatPos | 10k split | |
| 1 | Alun Vaughan | MOPEN | 01:09:56 | 01:09:56 | 1 | 00:31:48 | winner - Eryri Harriers |
| 11 | Ali Lavender | FOPEN | 01:21:59 | 01:21:59 | 1 | 00:37:24 | 1st lady - Oswestry Olympians |
| 304 | Brad Ehlen | M40+ | 01:50:03 | 01:49:24 | 45 | 00:50:26 |
690 finishers, last finisher in 3:01:48. Full results are on the TDL Event Services web site.
Saturday 9-Mar-2013 at 9:30am: Yorkshire Terrier "10k" adventure race
This is a night adventure race, held at Coxwold near York, over "a 10k(ish) course with water, hills, trails and obstacles aplenty".
| Pos | Name | Time | Cat |
| 1 | Jayson Cavill | 00:49:17 | Whippet |
| 18 | Anna O'Hare | 01:02:45 | Lady Whippet |
| 516 | Bill Bradley | 01:53:46 | Old Grumpy B |
| 516 | Michelle Bradley | 01:53:46 | Lady Whippet |
646 finishers, last finisher in 3:10:42. Full results are here.
Race report from Shelle Bradley:
"How Daft do you need to be?
It started as a joke; posting a picture onto my Facebook page of a person head to foot in mud, so covered you couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman! I posted the link along with the immortal words “How daft would you need to be?” The answer came back in a matter of minutes when it appeared we had a team! “I can’t go” I said “I work Saturdays’” and the consensus was that I needed to book the day off as Bill was the team leader and I should be there too (this was news to Bill as up to that point he didn’t know he was going!)
However, it was deemed that you needed to be as daft as we all obviously were and a team was signed up consisting of regular parkrunners and Running with Bill runners, Bill Bradley, Shelle Bradley, Susan Downs, Cat De’Ascendis, Paula Llewellyn, Gareth Llewellyn, Stuart Hamilton, Annemarie Craven, Rob Wilson, James Love, Daniel Bolton, Pete Medlicott, Neil Armstrong with two other team members Xan Donagher and Susan Holt unable to make it on the day.
As it was up in Thirsk and there was to be an after party some bright spark (not me) thought the free overnight camping would be ideal as after a couple of pints no one would be fit enough to drive home! And so it was that on the 9th of March the gang set off with camping gear and many thermal layers to see what exactly was in store for us!
We found the venue easily with the help of satnav and good signage; parked up in a field and found as it had been raining all day (and still was) it was already quite muddy and the walk to the camping area was a good five minutes away (the race info did warn you of this and told you that it might be an idea to think about trolleys for heavy camping gear) we chose to ignore this warning and do our donkey impressions through mud and rain.
Camp set up we set off to collect our race numbers. The first job was signing a disclaimer along the lines of… are you really sure you are fit enough for a race of this nature as if you’re not you are going to have a whole heap of trouble descend on you!! Disclaimer duly signed we were given our wrist bands and all the race information, which was well organised and only took minutes. That done we had about an hour and a half to visit the lovely loos (not) and stand about getting wet and worried.
The race had 3 waves and our team were in the 2nd with a 6.45pm start. We arrived at the start shivering in our fancy dress, head torches at the ready and feeling very nervous as within 100 yards of the steep uphill start line was the first obstacle, a line of hay bales 3 high to climb over with another two similar fences immediately after. We weren’t kept waiting long and we were off, all nerves disappeared as we set about laughing at each other trying to pick our way over haystacks, we decided that we had started together we would finish together and ran as a team, we picked our way through ankle deep mud (bit like parkrun really) over fallen trees, through bungee ropes tied around trees, cargo nets with and without muddy rivers underneath them, all good so far, in fact the obstacles gave you a bit of a breather from the course which never got less than ankle deep mud and more often was more than ankle deep and was constantly climbing upwards.
Darkness descended and torches were lit; we ran were we could or climbed or scrambled and slid about until we saw a queue; heard screams and saw an area bathed in light….THE RIVER! (It made Julian’s pond look like a puddle and a dried up puddle at that!) Carefully we picked our way across the freezing waist high water, Susan said we needed to be careful as she had figured the screams came from an area where runners disappeared into a deep section in the crossing and ended up to their chests in the freezing cold water… no sooner had she said it, than yes, found it, the men turned falsetto and us ladies, screamed, (although now I know the benefit of the ice bath after a workout) finally with the river crossed we found… THE BOG. I picked my way along putting one foot down, sinking up to the knee and repeating until James said watch it I think there’s a deep bit, and yes with my next step I was waist high in bog and trying to haul myself out which is hard when you can’t stop laughing!
As we ran through forest our head torches lighting the way (along with the reflective course markers and plenty of marshals) there was just the sounds of nature, some rather odd gloopy noises as trainers were lifted out of leg sucking mud and the calls of wild runners “tree!” “log!” “bog!” until finally after running through ditches across fields with biting wind and driving snow we got to the last obstacle at the finish; a ramp with a rope. Up the rope a couple of feet to jump down the other side and, as one big team, we crossed the finish together, cold, a bit tired but elated!
Was it hard? Goodness yes it was, I don’t think of myself as being fit, but when I think of how our team got through, kept running and dealt with the obstacles there is no way you could do that without being fit. I don’t think I could have done that a few years ago. The only time I thought I wouldn’t be able to carry on running was when I was laughing so hard it was seriously affecting my ability to put one foot in front of the other!
This is not a race if you want glory, or a fantastic finish (although the winner did it in 40 minutes and I wonder how on earth he could have done it) It took our team the best part of 2 hours (and there were still plenty behind us!) for just an 11k route; but, we helped each other through the obstacles and we waited regularly for the team members at the back to catch up, we had a hell of a lot of fun and I’m sure finished slighter fitter than we started! (If not slightly more bruised)
The event was well managed, well marshalled the route was as ‘safe’ as it could possibly be given the type of race it was. The obstacles where not the sort you would need to have spent 3 years in the gym preparing for and there was a warm hospitality tent, bar and food readily available afterwards. OK there were no showers but to be honest we were so cold that after drying off the wet mud the dry mud added another layer of warmth!
I would thoroughly recommend anyone giving an event like this a go if you want adventure rather than results, although from the winner’s time it is obvious you could have both if this kind of race is your chosen event. You aren’t going to find the obstacles too difficult either, the hardest obstacle was a set of ‘gates’ you had to climb over which were road barriers in the shapes of triangles and even these were easily negotiated when you climbed the corners rather than tackle each barrier.
My only other recommendation would be a good head torch, lots of warm clothing for afterwards and make sure you take me with you!"
Sunday 10-Mar-2013 at 9:30am: Trafford 10k
| Pos | Name | Gun Time | Category | Chip Time | |
| 1 | Richard Weir | 00:29:51 | M20-39 | 00:29:50 | winner - Derby AC |
| 39 | Non Stanford | 00:32:41 | F20-34 | 00:32:39 | 1st lady - Swansea Harriers |
| 90 | Graham Houghton | 00:35:00 | M20-39 | 00:34:56 | |
| 150 | Colin Martin | 00:37:05 | M55-59 | 00:37:00 | 1st MV55 |
| 235 | Julian Spencer | 00:40:24 | M50-54 | 00:40:17 | |
| 271 | Andy Garnett | 00:41:46 | M55-59 | 00:41:39 | |
| 322 | Louise Dempster | 00:43:30 | F45-49 | 00:43:21 | |
| 344 | David Gleave | 00:44:03 | M20-39 | 00:43:41 | |
| 378 | Michael Charman | 00:45:03 | M60-64 | 00:44:54 | |
| 415 | Dave Thompson | 00:46:36 | M55-59 | 00:46:20 | |
| 416 | Brad Ehlen | 00:46:37 | M40-44 | 00:46:21 | |
| 478 | Paul Harrop | 00:49:15 | M60-64 | 00:48:58 | |
| 551 | Anne Fortune | 00:52:33 | F60-64 | 00:52:12 | Club FV60 record |
| 587 | Iain Fortune | 00:54:43 | M65-69 | 00:54:22 | |
| 655 | Linsey Bullock | 00:58:40 | F20-34 | 00:58:27 | |
| 682 | Stephanie Charman | 01:01:02 | F60-64 | 01:00:33 | |
| 707 | Peter Samuelson | 01:04:37 | M65-69 | 01:04:18 | |
| 743 | Paul Lynch | 01:33:19 | M20-39 | 01:33:19 |
745 finishers, last finisher in 1:33:20. Full results are on the HS Sports web site.
Anne Fortune's time of 52:12 was a new Club FV60 record, beating the time of 57:28 set by Steph Charman at the Sutton 6 10k on 16-Sep-2012 by 5 min 16 sec.
Sunday 10-Mar-2013 at 9:30am: Bolton Hill Marathon (3000ft climb, 26.2 miles)
This is a tough hill marathon, 30% on country roads and 70% on trails. It was very cold and very windy! Officially, there was a time limit of 8 hours. For more information, see the race web site.
| Pos | First Name | Surname | Time | |
| 1 | Charlie | Sharpe | 3.22.34 | winner - Spectrum Striders RC |
| 12 | David | Hudd | 3.46.41 | |
| 13 | Chris | Millington | 3.48.43 | |
| 14 | Daniel | Chadwick | 3.50.18 | |
| 27 | Isaline | Kneale | 4.03.23 | 1st lady - Burnden Road Runners |
| 35 | Caroline | Hemming | 4.14.49 | 2nd lady |
| 42 | Andy | Gaskell | 4.17.34 | |
| 103 | Guy | Lambert | 5.11.32 | |
| 112 | Duncan | Forrest | 5.24.24 |
150 finishers, last finisher in 8:07:28. Full results are on the race web site.
Sunday 10-Mar-2013 at 9am: St Helens 10k
| Pos | Name | Cat | CatPos | GunTime | ChipTime | |
| 1 | Thomas Stecher | Senior | 1 | 00:35:31 | 00:35:31 | winner - Cambridge Uni H&H |
| 26 | Charlotte Wilson | Senior | 1 | 00:40:19 | 00:40:19 | 1st lady - Liverpool Harriers |
| 88 | Chris Falls | Senior | 53 | 00:43:48 | 00:43:48 | |
| 327 | Norman Partington | Vet 50 | 21 | 00:49:52 | 00:49:52 | |
| 509 | Allan Bird | Vet 50 | 38 | 00:53:53 | 00:53:53 |
1162 finishers, last finisher in 1:57:52. Full results are on the race web site.
Sunday 10-Mar-2013 at 9am: St Patrick's Day 5k (San Francisco)
| Pos | Name | Age | Time | Pace | |
| 1 | Sloane Cook | 23 | 17:01 | 05:29 | winner |
| 14 | Valerie Young | 46 | 18:38 | 06:00 | 1st lady |
| 51 | Philip Tugwell | 48 | 21:51 | 07:02 |
350 finishers, last finisher in 60:53. Full results are on the San Francisco DSE runners web site.
Saturday 16-Mar-2013 at 2pm: Cartmel 18k Trail Race
Adam's GPS showed the course as 17.78k with 380m climb.
| Pos | Time | Name | |
| 1 | 01:07:33 | BELL, Carl | winner - Keswick AC |
| 16 | 01:24:55 | LEADBETTER, Adam | |
| 18 | 01:25:01 | HOLMES, Christine | 1st lady - Trentham Running Club |
177 finishers, last finisher in 2:49:14. Full results are on the race web site.
Sunday 17-Mar-2013 at 9:30am: Liverpool Half Marathon
| Gun | Chip | 10k | ||||
| Pos | Name | Cat | time | time | split | |
| 1 | Josh Lilly | MOPEN | 01:06:23 | 01:06:23 | 00:31:55 | winner - Tipton Harriers |
| 60 | Linda Howell | FOPEN | 01:22:59 | 01:22:54 | 00:40:05 | 1st lady - Bournville Harriers |
| 981 | Graham Driver | M45+ | 01:42:10 | 01:39:28 | 00:48:37 | |
| 1395 | Colin McDonald | MOPEN | 01:46:49 | 01:45:21 | 00:52:13 | |
| 1518 | Lee Geist | M40+ | 01:47:55 | 01:39:10 | 00:49:07 | |
| 1707 | Helen Caldwell | F40+ | 01:49:33 | 01:48:57 | 00:51:42 | |
| 2035 | Simon Howarth | MOPEN | 01:52:14 | 01:48:33 | 00:52:24 | |
| 2484 | Kate Johnson | F40+ | 01:55:42 | 01:55:07 | 00:54:39 | |
| 2843 | Edward Stokes | MOPEN | 01:58:29 | 01:55:43 | 00:54:26 | |
| 6076 | Emma Johnston | F40+ | 02:35:24 | 02:25:42 | 01:07:15 |
6659 finishers (+ 25 DNF), last finisher in 3:49:03. Full results are on the TDL web site.
Sunday 17-Mar-2013 at 11am: Trimpell 20 miles (Lancaster)
| Gun | Chip | 10 mile | ||||
| Pos | Name | Cat | time | time | split | |
| 1 | Tom Charles | MS | 01:52:53 | 01:52:53 | 00:54:34 | winner - Trafford AC |
| 31 | David Hudd | MS | 02:14:36 | 02:14:33 | 01:07:37 | debut time |
| 45 | Jessica Wilson-Young | FV40 | 02:17:51 | 02:17:50 | 01:08:12 | 1st lady - Edinburgh AC |
| 54 | Daniel Chadwick | MS | 02:22:16 | 02:22:12 | 01:11:59 | |
| 115 | Andy Gaskell | MV45 | 02:35:57 | 02:35:47 | 01:17:32 | |
| 246 | Karl Alldred | MV40 | 02:57:36 | 02:57:24 | 01:25:06 | |
| 384 | Tony Fillingham | MS | 04:25:55 | 04:25:24 | 02:00:36 |
386 finishers, last finisher in 4:44:35. Full results are on UK Road Races.
Sunday 17-Mar-2013 at 11am: St Annes 10 miles
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time | CatPos | mins per k/mile | |
| 1 | Graeme Taylor | M | 00:53:52 | (001/030) | 03.21/05.23 | winner - Tyne & Wear Fire Service |
| 14 | Fiona Matheson | F50 | 00:59:37 | (001/010) | 03.42/05.58 | 1st lady - Falkirk Victoria Harriers |
| 77 | Tim Murphy | M45 | 01:10:45 | (012/028) | 04.24/07.04 | |
| 92 | Chris Falls | M35 | 01:12:50 | (007/018) | 04.32/07.17 |
255 finishers, last finisher in 1:59:15. Full results are on ukresults.net.
Sunday 17-Mar-2013 at 8:30am: Barcelona Marathon
| Pos | Name | Cat. | Time | |
| 1 | Gezahegn Abera Hunde | SenM | 02:10:17 | winner |
| 21 | Lemelem Berha Yachem | SenF | 02:34:38 | 1st lady |
| 8440 | David Rogers | M45 | 03:57:26 | |
| 8441 | Caroline Rogers | W45 | 03:57:26 |
Race report from Caroline:
"Looking for a well-organised, medium-sized Spring marathon, around a beautiful city? Then this could be the one for you! We ran this last weekend, and absolutely loved it. 15000 runners jogging along stunning wide boulevards, taking in such sites as the legendary Nou Camp, La Sagrada Familia, Passeig de Gracia, not to mention the incredible Gaudi architecture. It’s flat (well, almost......), fast and a runners’ marathon, rather than a fun run i.e. very few charity runners, and with an anticipated finishing time of 4 hours, we were in the second to last pen.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather – it was a perfect 10-12°C, with no wind and just a light drizzle every now and then. Having been glued to
the Barcelona weather forecast for the previous fortnight and seeing in horror that it was predicted to be around 20°C, we were mighty relieved. It
could have gone either way; a guy we chatted with along the route had a mate who had run it a couple of years back at 27°C! Having endured the
nightmare of Paris two years ago when it was scorchio, not to mention Edinburgh the year before when it was even hotter, we were dreading a
repeat of the same.
An amazingly efficient metro system meant that our ‘fan club’ (2 of the kids) were able to race round the city and see us 7 times. Well, they had to
earn their free weekend away............!
A combination of ideal weather, space to run, not to mention committed, if injury-impaired, training, meant that we finished in 3:57 – my (Caroline’s) first sub-4 hr marathon, with perfect 5km splits of 27-28 minutes throughout. We amazed ourselves! So now on to the next one .......................Amsterdam here we come, along with our Spectrum friends!"
Tuesday 19-Mar-2013 at 10am: Falesia 5k
This race is organised during the annual training camp in Portugal which many Striders attend.
| Pos | Time | Name | Age category | min/mile | |
| 1 | 00:15:37 | BUGDEN, Rob | Male Senior | 05:01.5 | winner - Bristol & West |
| 9 | 00:18:02 | JAGGER, Jenny | Female Senior | 05:48.1 | 1st lady - Bristol & West |
| 10 | 00:18:09 | MILLINGTON, Christopher | Male Vet 40-44 | 05:50.4 | 1st MV40 |
| 19 | 00:19:54 | SPENCER, Julian | Male Vet 50-54 | 06:24.2 | |
| 40 | 00:21:23 | GARNETT, Andy | Male vet 55-59 | 06:52.8 | |
| 42 | 00:21:54 | EHLEN, Brad | Male Vet 40-44 | 07:02.8 | |
| 45 | 00:22:00 | MCHARRY, Rob | Male Vet 45-49 | 07:04.7 | |
| 65 | 00:24:39 | READ, Debbie | Female Vet 55-59 | 07:55.9 | |
| 72 | 00:25:23 | GRIFFITHS, Neville | Male Vet 65-69 | 08:10.1 | |
| 73 | 00:25:26 | BRADLEY, Michael | Male vet 55-59 | 08:11.0 | |
| 81 | 00:26:13 | GARLAND, Heather | Female Vet 35-39 | 08:26.1 | |
| 86 | 00:27:25 | OWEN, Linda | Female Vet 55-59 | 08:49.3 |
Sunday 24-Mar-2013 at 10:30am: Wilmslow Half Marathon
| Gun | Chip | 10k | 10k to | ||||
| Pos | Name | Category | time | time | split | 10 mile | |
| 1 | Joe MacDonald | MOPEN | 01:04:54 | 01:04:54 | 00:29:57 | 00:18:57 | winner - Cardiff AAC |
| 25 | Julie Briscoe | F35+ | 01:15:15 | 01:15:15 | 00:34:18 | 00:22:25 | 1st lady - Wakefield District H & AC |
| 397 | Shirley Anderson | F40+ | 01:32:33 | 01:32:20 | 00:41:58 | 00:27:31 | |
| 440 | Stephen Ward | M50+ | 01:33:49 | 01:33:02 | 00:43:39 | 00:27:15 | |
| 592 | Bernard Riley | M55+ | 01:37:13 | 01:36:59 | 00:44:37 | 00:28:15 | |
| 659 | Alan Brady | M60+ | 01:38:25 | 01:37:31 | 00:45:14 | 00:28:40 | |
| 1387 | Olivia Thompson | FOPEN | 01:49:27 | 01:48:03 | 00:50:07 | 00:32:02 | |
| 2022 | Duncan Forrest | M45+ | 01:57:11 | 01:54:52 | 00:52:13 | 00:35:18 | |
| 2423 | Philip Rose | M50+ | 02:02:47 | 02:01:53 | 00:44:37 | 00:43:43 | |
| 3597 | Peter Samuelson | M65+ | 02:40:02 | 02:36:46 | 01:08:05 | 00:48:07 |
3659 finishers, last finisher in 3:15:43. Full results are on the TDL Event Services web site.
Easter Saturday 30-Mar-2013 at 3pm: Rivington Pike Fell Race (category BS, 3.2 miles, 700ft climb)
| Cat | |||||
| Pos | Name | Cat | pos | Time | |
| 1 | Tom Cornthwaite | 18:04 | winner - Northumberland Fell Runners | ||
| 23 | Katie Walshaw | L | 1 | 20:24 | 1st lady - Holmfirth Harriers AC |
| 26 | Karl Steinegger | 20:37 | |||
| 40 | Matt Cullen | 21:37 | |||
| 58 | Chris Millington | V40 | 9 | 22:31 | |
| 65 | Adam Leadbetter | 22:45 | |||
| 67 | David Hudd | 22:47 | |||
| 96 | Phil Daintith | V40 | 16 | 23:41 | |
| 128 | Julian Spencer | V50 | 11 | 24:49 | |
| 206 | Michael Charman | V60 | 6 | 28:09 | |
| 228 | Dave Thompson | V50 | 25 | 28:58 | |
| 252 | Neville Griffiths | V65 | 4 | 30:11 | |
| 259 | Richard MacIlwaine | V50 | 28 | 30:40 | |
| 266 | Carol Stynes | L40 | 5 | 30:51 | |
| 309 | Stephanie Charman | L60 | 3 | 37:17 |
312 finishers, last finisher in 38:05. Full results are on the SportSoft Race Results web site.
Easter Sunday 31-Mar-2013 at 10:15am: Air Products 10k (Crewe)
| Pos | Time | Name | Category | |
| 1 | 0:31:44 | HOLROYD, Ryan | Senior Men | winner - Staffs Moorlands AC |
| 21 | 0:36:40 | VERNON, Mandy | Ladies Over 40 | 1st lady - Trentham Running Club |
| 9 | 0:35:00 | HOUGHTON, Graham | Senior Men | |
| 249 | 0:53:19 | FORTUNE, Anne | Ladies Over 60 | 1st lady O60 |
| 265 | 0:55:58 | FORTUNE, Iain | Men Over 65 |
321 finishers, last finisher in 1:20:07. Full results are on ukresults.net..
Easter Sunday 31-Mar-2013 at 9:30am: Run The Bridge 5 mile (Runcorn/Widnes Bridge to Hale Village)
| Pos | Name | Cat | GunTime | ChipTime | |
| 1 | John McCole | MSen | 00:25:47 | 00:25:47 | winner - Liverpool Harriers |
| 20 | Kirsty Longley | F35 | 00:29:18 | 00:29:18 | 1st lady - Liverpool Pembroke |
| 33 | Colin Martin | M55 | 00:30:05 | 00:30:04 | |
| 34 | Chris Dawson | MJ | 00:30:06 | 00:30:04 | |
| 74 | Jim Dawson | M45 | 00:33:17 | 00:33:10 | |
| 80 | Shirley Anderson | F40 | 00:33:34 | 00:33:34 | |
| 225 | Debbie Read | F55 | 00:38:38 | 00:38:34 | |
| 256 | Norman Partington | M50 | 00:39:59 | 00:39:39 |
700 finishers, last finisher in 1:15:56. Full results are on the FR Systems web site.
Mick Charman was taking photos.