Hi folks,
Lots happening around the club as we finally put those headtorches away and dig out those summer vests and shorts. As you will probably know, our offerings change as we move into spring summer and we’ll detail all that below as well as lots of other interesting things to keep you motivated….
- Summer Calendar Updates
- Summer BDL League Race Dates
- Summer Club Handicap
- Road Champs Update
- Fell Series Update
- Higham Hill Race
- Winter offroad 630pm Socials lookback
- Haworth Hobble Write up
Summer Calendar Updates – The club calendar (on the homepage) is now updated all the way out to when it starts getting dark again in early October so you can now see what’s when. On that you will see that Tuesday’s move offroad at 7pm but still from the Marketplace. We will aim to offer up to 5 groups at progressive pacing most weeks but of course that depends on our lovely bunch of leaders being around and not injured. You will also see out Summer BDL league races move from the Winter Sundays to a Tuesday night at varying locations – of course we as a club will be hosting the Denby Race. The other addition to the summer calendar is our Club Handicap from the Bluebell Inn, Farnah Green more on this below. Thursdays carry on of course but move to different venues.
Summer BDL League Race Dates – All dates and info for newer members are available from the main menu “Training tab“. There you will see all dates but of course don’t forget that club vests / tee shirts are mandatory and available in the club shop.
Summer Club Handicap Dates – Our lovely Summer Handicap leaders have come forward once again to help coordinate this monthly club social from the Bluebell Inn Farnah Green. Slower runners go off first (7pm ish) with faster runners going off last all aiming to finish at the same time. There’s details of the route under “Training / Tuedays and Thursdays” . Dates in the calendar starting 29th April.
Road Champs Update – We are already 3 races into the Road Champs which started off with Gordon Humphries, Mark Stevens, Jan Forrester and Margaret Mason all completing the Long Eaton Park Run in January and Alvaston Park Run in February. Last weekend saw Rob Pearce and Margaret Mason complete the Retford Half Marathon and it’s the Ashby 20 this weekend on the 23rd March so there is lots going on at the moment.
You can find the full list of the races and up to date results on the club website under the Training tab and don’t forget to join the Road / Champs WhatsApp group to keep up to date with results, when races open etc
With 16 races left in the series and with your best 6 races to count there is plenty to go at. A lot of the entries are already open with limited entries so get your entries in sooner rather than later.
Fell Series Update – The 2025 Fell Series kicked off on New Year’s Day with over a dozen Harriers running in The Holly Bush fell run, followed by Tigger Tor and Wolfs Pit. Chris Wilshaw, Ash Flint, Anthony Marchant and Emma Vincent have completed all 3 races in the series but don’t worry if you haven’t run a race in the series but want to take part as there are 13 races left with your best 10 to count. Emma Vincent, Joanne Howett and Jan Forester head up the women’s league table with Chris Wilshaw, Andy Young and Matty Brennen heading up the men’s table.
You can find the full list of the races and up to date results on the club website under the Fell Races tab and don’t forget to join Fell Race Chat WhatsApp group.
Entries are open for the Cressbrook Crawl and Pommie Panter so don’t forget to enter as these races do have a limit on the number of runners. The Bluebell Inn race isn’t being organised by David Denton this year so we are looking to arrange our own club race which will count to the series. Date tbc.
Higham Hill Race – Every year we all look forward to the clocks going forward and this local informal race is always on the first Tuesday when the clocks go forward. This year that is Tuesday 1st April. Free to enter and just turn up to the Greyhound Inn in Higham with plenty of time to enter and pay. NOTE it’s an early start at 630pm. The race is a 2 lapper and can be muddy. It’s only about 4 miles so how hard can that be?!? We normally get a very good turnout at this and we may not be offering a Market Place run on that night as an alternative.
Winter offroad 630pm Socials lookback – The downside of moving into lighter evenings is that of course we say farewell to our winter 630pm pub social runs.
Throughout the winter we’ve consistently had 15-20 runners in one group starting from a different pub each week. We run for 1 hour and there’s been a strong backbone of about 15 regulars with up to 30 others who dip in and out when the timings permit. We’ve had some lovely memories and shared experiences so a special “Thanks” from Alan B for making them all a pleasure to put into the timetable. Roll on next October!
Howarth Hobble Write up – Thanks to Rachel for penning words and photos – sounds like a fab weekend! We have a separate WhatsApp group for this weekend ready for next year…..
Having enjoyed the Hobble so much last year, I was really pleased to return again in 2025, this time, with more Harriers for company and better weather.
We had a leisurely journey up early on Friday, with myself Dan and Kathy travelling in convoy with Clare, Sarah and Helen. We then met Mark and Michelle in Hebden Bridge for lunch, before travelling on to Haworth. Marcel joined us for dinner and I followed his lead and enjoyed a nice glass of wine, which is most unlike me the night before a race. Then it was back to the B and B for an early night. Strangely, although I had done the race before, I felt really anxious all night , slept badly and woke up in a bit of a state. My nerves soon dissipated however, once we’d collected our numbers and I had bolted down some Special K and coffee.
Clare and Kathy took advantage of the early start and myself, Dan, Mark ,Helen and Marcel arrived at the packed start line at the Fleece at 8am , where we met Simon L, Tim G ( who for some reason introduced himself as Gareth) Simon B and Sarah. Peter and Ruth were also there to support us. Most Harriers quickly went to the front to get a fast start, whilst myself, Dan and Sarah hung around at the back, hoping not to get trampled by some over-enthusiastic racers or passing wildebeast. After a bit of faffing about, the one and only Jasmin Paris started the race for us and we were off! It was a slow start with such a big field, up the narrow cobbled street, but it wasn’t a problem as it was such a lovely day and it made a pleasant change to be running in shorts and T -shirt.
It was great to see the brass band and bag piper up at Top Withens, and to be able to enjoy the spectacular views from the moors that we had missed the year before. I’m not going to do a detailed course description , as that was in last years account, but the highlights for me were the perfect weather conditions and the whisky at the bottom at Stoodley Pike, which gave me a real spring in my step and helped me power up the hill. I know that Clare enjoyed this too! Simon B also highlighted the early climb out of the mist and into the sun which felt great and down to the first reservoir.Low points were getting to Heptonstall and them having run out of chips and Tom Yum soup . According to Mark, this was because Helen had ate them all, earning her the nickname, Salty Chips. However, he did admit that running with Helen was one of his race highlights, along with hearing the Bagpiper, so all good! I also seemed to have forgotten the amount of climbing in the race, which did catch me out when I was confidently telling Dan, “its all flat and downhill from here!”, which I’m sure he appreciated. I did enjoy plenty of pizza at the end and it was great to have Mark, Michelle, Helen, Marcel, Peter and Sarah to cheer me in.
There were some fantastic times from both Simon’s and Marcel who finished near the front and an excellent performance from Mark and Helen, who decided to enjoy the checkpoints more this year. Tim also whizzed round, making short work of what was his longest distance run to date.
Clare, Kathy, Dan and I were content to bring up the rear, but I’m pleased to report that we all ran quicker than the Pantomime Pony on the course, which was a great relief.
After a shower and short recovery, it was down to the bar for drinks and then a meal at the White Lion with other Harriers and their families, which was really lovely (thanks to Helen’s excellent organisational skills). A few of us went onto the Fleece, by which time, I’d got my second wind and could have even considered the famous Todmorden disco, but everyone else who’d run a bit faster was tired, so we called it a night.Just like last year, I found it a really friendly and well organised event, with the map being a great souvenir, even though I didn’t have to use it on the day. Dan has barely taken off his Hobble Hoodie since.
It was great having a big group of us going along and I hope more Harriers will join us next year for a fantastic weekend away.
Rachel Clark
