Darwen Dashers
Summer Fell Races
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Summer Fell Races |
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Diary Archive January - June 2004 Thursday 24th June 2004 - Aggies Staircase The clash with the Euro 2004 quarter final meant that the field for 2004 was the smallest I have ever known for this race, with only 46 runners. I'm sure that those of you who stayed at home to watch the match had a thoroughly miserable time of it. Next time there's a clash between a Fell Race and an England game (or a Rovers Game for that matter), you'll remember that you would be better off at the race. Actually most of us got to the White Lion in time for the last quarter of an hour of the first half so we were all able to be miserable with the rest of the country in the end. Weather conditions were truly awful just before the start, with the course flagger barely able to stay on his feet in the wind and rain, so that might have had something to do with the low turnout too. Luckily it eased off a bit for the runners and on the bright side, it did keep the midges away for the timekeepers. Two local runners, both of whom have been trying to win this race for years, battled it out for first place until the last descent, where Richard Thomas put in a big effort to pull away from Paul Thompson. Richard knew that he could make an impression on the descent because he knew that Paul was running with a broken collar bone and that if Paul fell over it would really, really hurt. That thought must have slowed Paul down at least a little bit. Last year's winner, Brian Cole, finished fourth because, he said, he was still recovering from some stupidly long endurance event. 100km if I heard right.
Richard leads on the first descent, fortuitously hiding Paul's injured shoulder from the photographer.
This is Gary Taylor finishing in tenth place at Aggie's. Only fair to show him looking at his best.
Saturday 19th June 2004 - Vatternrundan What a stupid idea that was. Absolutely knackered. Lesson learnt - don't accept a challenge from your brother who's been training all hours because he's been living away for the last six months and at a bit of a loose end most evenings. Technical note - click the union jack symbol in the corner of the Vatternrundan website unless you are fluent in Swedish. Tuesday 1st June 2004 - Paddy's Pole Race six in the Dashers Fell Championship and that man Gary Taylor does it again. Maximum points for the sixth time, this time by six seconds from me in eighteenth place overall. From the top of Fair Snape Fell there is a fantastic view down over Parlick, with Longridge Fell on the horizon but all I could see when I looked up were Gary's heels in the distance. Try as I might I just couldn't make up the ground between us. My quest to beat him this season is becoming an obsession! Dave Naughton came in next having pressed hard on the descent, then Derek Ashcroft, Dave Shorrock, Kevin Smith, Paul Lawrence and Jim Taylor. Jim told me he even enjoyed the race for the first time in ages which is great to hear. Pie and peas were served in the village hall after the race whilst we waited for Darwen Welshman Richard Thomas to collect his prize for third place overall, Richard having beaten us Dashers by over five minutes. Does anyone know how they do that? Tuesday 25th May 2004 - Stanhill Fell Race Wow - a team win for the Dashers men for the first time I can remember. Gary Taylor, Nigel Barnes and Nick Murphy did it in 10th, 11th and 13th places respectively. I was pushed out of the team into 14th place with Dave Naughton in 15th. Mark Walsh, Anthony Hayes, Don Ashton, Jamie Dowdall, Dave Shorrock and Jim Taylor were all involved too. Don Ashton and Gary Taylor also won their age classes, in fact Don was faster than the winners of the two age classes below his own which is pretty good going. Sunday 23rd May 2004 - Darwen Triathlon Yes, another event which isn't a fell race but a significant one for quite a few Dashers. Sue Corsini and Sue Taylor won the first lady and the first lady V45 classes so a brilliant result for the Dashing ladies. Andy Smith surprised nobody with his superb run time, fourth fastest overall but his swim in 12:07 puts him up with the big boys too. Mark Walsh was second Dasher with a very consistent performance across all three disciplines, with Mick Heath and I also going the distance. We both qualify for the duckling class in the swim but I reckon I deserve a badge to sew onto my trunks for being third out of the pool in the slowest wave. Saturday 15th May 2004 - Ras Moel Eilio Not in the Dashers Championships because its so far from Darwen but Darwen's two famous Welshmen - Russell and Richard were making the trip so I thought I would tag along. What a great race in the glorious sunshine - steep but runable climb, a lovely run along the grassy tops, with a view of Snowdon in front for those with enough control of their breathing to be able to look up, and a tumultuous descent to a track for the run in to the finish. Russell had a good run, taking the first Vet 40 position, I straggled in a knackered 32nd and Richard, who had been looking for a top 3 finish, had to pull out early on with a calf strain. Tough luck on the day but hopefully he will still make the Welsh World Cup Team. Thursday 13th May 2003 - Sunnyhurst Orienteering Event Here are the results of the Orienteering event in Sunnyhurst Woods, organised for Dashers by PFO members. Well done to all who took part, especially those who managed to find all the controls on the second lap. The one thing nearly everyone said at the end of lap 1 was "We know where number 14 is" - presumably because you had already been there thinking it was number 6. Oh dear, 30 seconds wasted there then. A certain competitor disqualified for punching 16 in both the 15 and 16 boxes has been re-instated because on closer inspection, it was noted that 15 had been punched in box 5, over the top of the correct punch for control 5, proving that they had in fact been to all controls. This came to light when I was told that I must be mistaken because the person who had set off before had, by the most amazing coincidence, made exactly the same set of mistakes and got away with it. All good, clean and highly competitive fun. I hope all the competitors enjoyed the event. If any Dashers would like to pursue their interest in orienteering further then please get in touch with PFO or contact Julian for details of other events. If you want to find bigger events which you can do independently then take a look at the fixture list provided by BOF. Jim and Brian consider things carefully before embarking on the second lap
Sunday 9th May 2004 - Pennine Bridleway Mountain Bike Challenge I know this isn't a fell race but its got to be worth a mention - 47 miles off road is certainly a challenge to most of us. We had a team of 7 Dashers pottering round as a group and enjoying the day out, the weather and the copious supplies of free chocolate at each checkpoint. I put on two pounds. Some of us had proper bikes too - not my old oversize Raleigh with an inappropriate fork or Vince's worn out freeride set up from a second hand shop in Blackpool. Despite two breaks of his chain, a puncture and a fall, I think that even Vince had a good time of it though - especially as it was all rounded off with a post ride analysis in the Black Horse. Saturday 8th May 2004 - Belmont Winter Hill This is a great local race up the biggest hill in our immediate area. Many Dashers take Winter Hill in on a long training run - I met Russell Owen up there the other week on a Sunday morning, but this race is a quick up and down blast from Belmont village. The under foot conditions were very difficult on the stretch from the summit out to Noone Hill and I was one of the many to sink past my knees in a bog. The hapless Jamie Dowdall came back covered from head to toe having taken a complete nosedive. Gary Taylor again took maximum championship points but he was neck and neck with Nick Murphy for the first three quarters of the course. He surged on up the second nasty bit of climb, to break Nick's will to contest the first Dasher spot, but Nick continued steadily as second Dasher, holding me back to third, with Mark Walsh and Jamie Dowdall behind. Monday 3rd May 2004 - Wray Caton Moor Why do I always find this race so hard? The weather is always nice, there isn't too much road on the route and there is a lovely view from the top yet I always feel rubbish at the finish. We all went the wrong way from the summit but once the leader had cut a corner the rest of us had to follow. Hope this doesn't cause too much problem for the landowner. I was second Dasher, again, behind Gary Taylor with Roy Ashcroft and Dave Shorrock also in the running. The kid's races are nice too and it's good to get some Dashlings involved in the running. The scarecrow festival makes it a really nice family day out but it gets more and more crowded every year. Saturday 3rd April 2004 - Pendle Fell Race We returned to Pendle for the second race in the Dashers Fell Championship, this time for the short event. The first climb is tough and the descent from it can be tricky in the wet - and it was certainly wet - but the second climb catches out the unwary every time. Gary Taylor now tops the table being first Dasher home by 9 seconds in 23rd position overall, with me in 25th. Nigel Barnes, Mark Walsh and Jamie Dowdall made up the Dashers contingent. Just like the last race on Pendle, we had to contend with heavy rain and strong winds during the first part of the race, which meant fairly slow times all round. Sunday 28th March 2004 - Bolton Blast Aquathon From time to time I have to go to London from work, which is good because it reminds me how lucky I am not to live there. In the same way, I sometimes do an event which isn't a fell race. Fourth from last out of the pool is actually a triumph for me and since I was in the first wave of swimmers, (really crap swimmers), I managed to overtake all the other slugs on the run to finish first. Imagine how my illusions were shattered when I saw the times of the proper athletes who started later. I eschewed the hot showers and in the absence of a cold stream, didn't get cleaned up until later. Road running doesn't make you dirty anyway. Sue Taylor was the other Dasher at this event and turned in a great time in the swim. Saturday 20th March 2004 - Half Tour of Pendle I've done a fair few fell races in the past but I have never had to run with my eyes shut because of hail blasting into my face before. It's normally such a lovely downhill from the top to the Nick of Pendle too. Where else can you get that much pain and discomfort for £2? Some people even ran in vest and shorts - nutters and that includes Gary Taylor who finished so far up the field he was gone by the time any of us mortals struggled in to the finish line. Derek A took a tumble and finished in a mildly bloodied state so I hope that doesn't do any damage to his London Marathon Training. Mark Walsh, Jackie Shaw and Dave Moir all ran too so they have all racked up a score in the new Dashers Fell Championship. I was nearly five minutes slower than I was in 2000 but not bad in the conditions I suppose. I was pretty fit then too, by my standards. Sunday 7th March 2004 - Black Combe Fell Race Guess what I saw today? To the West, across a sparkling sea, the skyline of
the Isle of Man, to the North, over the Solway Firth, Merrick and the Range of
the Awful Hand. Looking East and North East I had the high Cumbrian Fells,
beneath a threatening and forbidding sky and to the South the picturesque
holiday haven of Millom, nestling on the edge of Duddon Sands. Sunday 22nd Feb 2004 - Ilkley Moor Cycled over to Ilkley from home for this one, 40 miles in a fair bit of wind so the legs didn't work properly at first in the race - but isn't that always the way. Woke up a bit in the second half and still managed to beat Jamie Dowdall, as did Dave Shorrock. Jamie overtook me three times in his car on the way over so we'd better be careful not to pick him for the navigation leg in the FRA relay. Thankfully I got a lift home.
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