Red Rose had a fine turnout at the Utterley Butterley fell Race which was recommended as a nice introduction to fell running. A third is on tracks, a third on paved footpaths and a third on grassy / gravelly footpaths. It is a scenic route starting at Butterley Reservoir Dam visiting five reservoirs in 5 miles. The team enjoyed a brilliant afternoon.
With six out of the top 20 runners the men took the team prize. Ben Donoghue was fifth in 35.12, Alan Jolly V50 winner in 37.25, followed by a competitive finish for John Naylor 13th in 37.48,Stuart Cann 14th in 37.49, Chris Charnley 15th in 37.50 and Gareth Bell 18th in 38.23. Frank Nightingale had good run for 23rd place 16 seconds ahead of Barry Wheeler (39.26). Results: P.Davidson 43.20,M.McCrea 45.17,P.Plowman 48.55,J.Ross 49.12,S.Taylor 49.25, D.Porter 49.26,E.Johnson 53.35,J.Fairclough 56.08, P.Oates 58.53, S.Scanlon 58.53,T.Hilton 72.59.
The eventful Yarrow River 10k Trail race took place earlier the same day with some runners doing both events. Mark McCrea was the first Red Rose home in 53.38. Next was Ray Taylor taking the V65 prize in 54.07. Steve Taylor ran 55.54 before heading off for the fell race. Joan Gouldthorpe took her age group prize in 61.23 followed by Debbie Porter, 62.54, also going on to run in the afternoon race. Peter Rothwell and Michael Jeffryes came in consecutively in 67.01 and 67.05. Pita Oates ran the course 4 minutes faster than last year and then completed the Utterley Butterley fell race. Josephine Walsh ran 70.44 and Sarah Haslam 76.03. Both men’s and women’s teams won the team prizes.
At the Lancaster Castle 10k with 172 runners, Steve Bladon took 14th place with a time of 41.54 with Mark Billington in 21st in 43.10. Ian Wharton was well up in 33rd with a time of 46.27. Catherine Newton and Anneke Crosby tackled the race together for good times of 50.13 and 50.15. David Orritt was next in in 51.49 and Deborah Orritt also in the top half of finishers in 52.52. Anees Shaikh finished in 53.31 followed by Lorraine Houghton 54.56, Judi Ingham 57.41 and Nina Colquhoun 68.39. The ladies performed well enough to take second ladies team. Two members tackled the more strenuous distance of 13.1 miles. Alice Hartley did well with a time of 2.02.06 with Ramona Mulligan learning that castles are normally built on hills presenting a difficult finish in a time of 2.53.34. Well done ladies.
Cuerden Valley Parkrun saw 11 PB’s for the club members. Dan Hughes crossed the line first in 19.09 with excellent performances from Gareth Bell 21.31, Stuart McNair 23.13, Matt Cowan 23.42, Stephen Robertson 24.30, Emma Johnson 26.36, Jonathan Butterworth 27.07, Judi Ingham 29.28, Andrew Melvin 36.19, Eric Ward 38.02. At Preston, Ciaron Roddy stormed round in 17.41, Richard Maughan improved to a time of 20.26, Julie Palmer ran a great 24.01 and Andrea Davison continues to improve with a time of 29.45. At Burnley Vicky Gore ran 25.24 and daughter Megan Gore took 44 seconds off her best time to finish in 34.58.