Chairman`s Chat 2

The Dash
June 2015
Editorial
There I was thinking that this month’s Dash was going to be a rather svelte offering and then
‘wallop’, and I find I’ve got loads of stuff to share with you. Thanks to all you lovely
contributors for making it a belting issue.
As you know there’s been a hell of a lot going on this month so I will just cherry pick a few
things to mention. Firstly I must yet again congratulate Jo Nelson on a magnificent run at
the Liverpool Marathon. She won the Women’s event outright in 3;00:20!! Darwen Dashers
on the podium ahead of Italy and Australia!
While in congratulatory mode let’s hear it for Sarah Quinn who was recently awarded a ‘life
saver’by BwD Public Health award for saving two residents lives.
Cath and I took a keen interest in Chris C, Debbie Biscuit and Rebecca taking part in the Red
Rose 100. We managed to catch them in a couple of places during the early stages of the
event. Congratulations to all 3 of them – Chris and Rebecca completed but Debbie too put in
a magnificent effort. More about this inside.
Anyone who has taken place in any of the Woodentops fell races in Yorkshire will be aware
of the enthusiasm and hard work that Dave Woodhead and his wife Eileen put in to all their
events. They have now been recognised for services to fell running in the Queen’s Honours
List.
I’m going to write a piece for next month’s Dash about the two charity events that Cath and
I organised to raise funds for the Nepal disaster so I will just say for the present that
everyone who took part and supported them that you did yourselves and the club proud.
Thank you. Jonathan has shared some of his photographs of the Everesting that you will find
inside.
George Thompson and I cycled over to Ramsbottom to watch Dashers taking part in
Holcombe Harriers ‘Two Towers’ fell race. It was a lovely evening and it was good to cheer
on the competitors (and then beat the rush to the bar!). It seemed to be quite a well
organised event and it’s good to support one of the smaller local clubs. Talking to some of
their members they were very keen to promote their forthcoming duathlon in September.
It’s an unusual mix of a fell run and a road cycle. More details here:
http://holcombeharriers.com/holcombe-mountain-trial-duathlon/
That’s more than enough from me so..
Until next month,
Keep on keeping on!
Mr Sparkle
Cover pic: Simon Taylor and Stu Smith at Two Towers race by the Editor
Please welcome the latest new members!
Jane Allen
Paul Allen
Launa Bibby
Laura Cameron
Hannah Caulfield
Norman Cookson
Janet Davies
Nicola Dooley
Carmel Ellicott
Hannah Fielding
Laura Gillett
Andrea Hopwood
Saskia-Mai Kuczer
John Lowe
Fritha Quirk
Rebecca Renshaw
Joanne Ruddock
John Sharratt
Rebecca Smith
Vicky Spencer
Paul Thompson
Viki Walsh
Leanne Walsh
Norman Walsh
Hayley Woods
Mark Bamber
Chairman’s Chat 2
It’s difficult to know where to start this month as so many events have taken place together
with some outstanding results from the Dashers in races.
Firstly can I thank everyone who turned out on the Red Rose 100 to offer their support to
Rebecca, Debbie and me en-route. It is all too easy to let your confidence down and quickly
become morbid when things don’t always go to plan when running ultra’s, the constant pain,
exhaustion and sleep depravation all take their toll both physically and mentally so all forms
of encouragement are really appreciated. I must mention Jonny Bromilow who turned up at a
few locations on the Saturday with his son, and then cycled over to Dunsop Bridge on the
Sunday to keep our spirits up.We all did this to raise funds for East Lancs Hospice and will
continue to bring up the bucket on club nights for donations –particularly following Debbie’s
latest baking successes.
Speaking of which, I have noticed that we have been having some great successes at races
recently. The Crazy Cow for example saw Sean Proctor pick up male vet 40, Brian Morris
male vet 50, and Andy McAllister male vet 60. Plus the male team prize. With 31 Dashers
taking part, what a turnout! Brilliant running everyone!
Closer to home, the first of the off road timed runs took place on Tuesday 19th May with 31
enthusiastic runners all pitching themselves against a set 4.6 mile route – and nobody got
lost! This will be repeated on a Thursday night in July with 2 nights on Tuesdays in June and
August. So everyone gets the opportunity to improve upon their original times. A small prize
will be awarded to the most improved in recognition of their achievement at the end.
May I take this opportunity to thank all of the 10 week beginners who graduated at the end of
May. By the look of the membership applications it looks like many intend to keep up with
their running on a Tuesday or Thursday nights. In recognition of this I have just put in
another order for running vests before we run out again.
A big thank you to everyone who turned out for the walk up to the tower and over to
Tockholes, to raise funds for the Nepal earthquake victims. This netted just short of £300.
Thanks to Simon and Cath Fox for taking the initiative and organising this successful event,
despite the less than favourable weather.
By the time this goes to print the Everest Challenge from the bandstand in Sunnyhurst Woods
will have taken place, followed by the Magnificent Seven at night starting at The Swan on
Bolton Road on 13th June. So lets hope that both receive as much support as the walk to
Tockholes did. Being in the Dashers isn’t all about running you know, remember the club
motto -- the drinking club with a running problem!
Chris Cash
From the secretary’s typewriter
June’s committee saw the approval of 26 new members! Renewals are streaming in and at the time
of writing the following are paid up until 31/3/16
If you are not on this list but think you should be, please let me know!
There are still 41 Dashers who have not yet renewed. Can you please get cash, cheque orBACS
payment to us so we can register you with UKA as soon as possible.
Thanks, Jonathan
Alison Abbott
Jane Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Astin
Donna Astley
Kathryn Bamber
Mark Bamber
Debbie Bevitt
Launa Bibby
Paul Brain
Emmie Brindle
Paul Brindle
Jonathan Bromilow
Marjorie Brownson
Alex Buckland
Vladimira Buckland
Laura Cameron
Alice Capstick
Anna Capstick
Barry Carrigan
Chris Cash
Hannah Caulfield
Barry Clark
Dean Clarkson
Don Clarkson
Linda Clarkson
Samantha Clarkson
Tracey Connell
Matthew Conner
Michelle Connolly
Norman Cookson
Russ Corsini
Susan Corsini
Janet Davies
Carol Dodds
Nicola Dooley
Sue Duckworth
June Eastham
Sue Eastham
Russell Egan
Carmel Ellicott
Ellie-Mai Fallon
Janine Fallon
Catherine Ferro
Hannah Fielding
Jennifer Fielding
Amy Freeman
Joel Freeman
Nerina Gill
Laura Gillett
Chris Gosling
Janet Greenhalgh
Bill Hodson
Andrea Hopwood
Ged Johnson
Helen Jones
Orin Malachi Jones
Saskia-Mai Kuczer
Tina Kuczer
Mick Leigh
Paul Livsey
Vikki Livsey
John Lowe
Joanne Lynch
Andy McAllister
Kieran McCann
Kevin McGrath
David Moir
Tracey Morante
Joanne Nelson
Joshua Nelson
Louise Oldfield
Martin Oldfield
Allison Pickup
Dave Ponton
Leanne
Postlethwaite
Sean Proctor
Sarah Quinn
Fritha Quirk
Rebecca Renshaw
Calum Rigby
David Robinson
Debbie Robinson
James Robinson
Leah Robinson
Alex Ross
Barry Ross
Charlie Ross
Joanne Ruddock
Dave Rushton
Barry Shackleton
Karen Shackleton
John Sharratt
Brian Shaw
Hannah Shaw
Jacqueline Shaw
Naomi Shaw
David Shorrock
Rebecca Simms
Andrea Skelton
Lee Smalley
Andrew Smith
Rebecca Smith
Stuart Smith
Vicky Spencer
Jonathan Stubbs
Alexander Sunter
Gareth Taylor
Gary Taylor
Jim Taylor
Paul Taylor
Simon Taylor
Steven Thomas
George Thompson
Paul Thompson
Brian Tull
Elaine Turner
Holly Turner
Jeremy Turner
Aiden Walsh
Luke Walsh
Mark Walsh
Norman Walsh
Viki Walsh
Steve Whitehead
Lisa Whittaker
Michael Wilding
Hayley Woods
Chris Worsley
Darwen Dashers Committee Meeting 11/06/15
Present Chris, Jonathan, Rebecca, Barry, Brian & welcome Alison.
Actions from 5/03/15
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£300 donation to Bolton Mountain Rescue has yet to be cashed. To be chased
up. Action RS
£100 to be donated to East Lancs Hospice. Action RS
Secretary’s Update
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91 members have renewed to date
45 members have yet to renew
Reminder letters to go out at the end of July to prompt outstanding renewals.
Championship points can only be awarded to existing members, should
members not renew it could affect their results.
The following membership applications have been received and all approved.
A warm welcome to Jane & Paul Allen, Laura Bibby, Laura Cameron, Hannah
Caulfield, Norman Cookson, Janet Davies, Nicola Dooley, Carmel Ellicott,
Hannah Fielding, Laura Gillett, Andrea Hopwood, John Lowe, Fritha Quirk,
Joanne Ruddock, Rebecca Smith, Vicky Spencer, Paul Thompson, Viki
Walsh, Hayley Woods, Saskia-May Kuczer, Rebecca Renshaw, John Sharratt,
Norman Walsh & Leanne Walsh.
Treasurer’s Update
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
Money has been pouring in and banked for memberships and clothing.
WASP have been paid for a new order of running vests.
Beginners Group
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Don Clarkson and James France attended run leaders training last Saturday. It
is envisaged that they will jointly take the lead with the next intake of
beginners at the end of July.
We now have 7 trained run leaders for the Wednesday beginners group and
many regular runners who help out.
There are 31 beginners in the current group. Expected Parkrun graduation date
being Saturday 1st August.
Alex Buckland to be approached to check that all beginners are registering
with Run England properly.
Half Marathon



Jonathan tabled a paper outlining what needs to be in place for the half
marathon to take place.
A sub-committee is needed with specific responsibilities delegated to each
member of the sub-committee and Jonathan welcomed suggestions as to who
would be willing to take up these responsibilities. The sub-committee would
feed into the monthly committee meetings.
In the meantime approx £5,000 would be needed to pump prime the event and
without agreements on sponsorship and funding streams the event cannot be
further progressed. A number of people/organisations have been approached
and he is just awaiting their responses.
Second Claim Members
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Chris explained that some clarification was required over second claim
members representing the Dashers, or their first club at road and fell races.
Jonathan had checked with England Athletics who confirmed that members
who held dual memberships with running clubs could elect at each race which
club they would be representing unless it’s a national event where points are
awarded, in which case the first claim club must be used.
Barry explained that when collating statistics for parkruns it was getting
increasingly difficult to identify people who are not registered as Dashers, and
that second claimers are being awarded championship points when they are
entering races representing their primary club, which could have a detrimental
affect upon many of our members.
In view of this all new second claim members will need to enter races as
Dashers if they wish to be included in future championship points. Existing
second claim members will be unaffected.
25th Anniversary Celebration Ideas
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Darwen Dashers are 25 year old in September.
To celebrate one suggestion, from Joanne Nelson, has been to organise a
family sports day complete with egg and spoon race, sack race etc together
with a barbeque.
To enable this, a venue would be needed with a playing field and a decent
indoor space in case of wet weather, Darwen Football Club to be approached
as to availability and cost.
Club Clothing
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Summer mesh type running vests are currently being sold off at £10 each.
A new order for running vests has been placed with both larger and smaller
sizes due to increasing demand.
T shirts, hoodies and soft shell are on an order only basis.
Dashers cotton T shirts to be offered at £5 in July for the summer.
AOB
Litter Pick. A suggestion has been made, by Paul Brindle, for the Dashers to organise
a litter pick up on the moors and around the tower. A date shortly after the August
Bank Holiday would be the most appropriate. Alison to contact the Community
Engagement Officer for Darwen for publicity and resources. Date to be announced
once known.
Witton Park Relays. Alison is co-ordinating volunteers who haven’t yet sorted out
their own teams.
Support with the Website. Jonathan asked for some support to take this on as he is
currently involved in many club events. Alison volunteered to update the road
championship and Rebecca volunteered to update the fell championship.
Publicity Rep. Sarah Quinn very kindly volunteered to take on this vital role and we
have already seen increased publicity due to this. Publicity to be tabled as a standing
committee item in future. Chris to touch base with Sarah each month the ensure
communication is maintained.
Date and Time of Next Committee Meeting. 7/07/15 20.30 at the OldChapel.
O Captain! My Captain!
It’s been another brilliant month
for the Darwen Dashers with our
attendance records being
smashed at road races, fell races,
ultra races and parkruns. It is
incredible that our lovely little club
have had over 150 different
members running at a parkrun at
Bolton, and over 130 of them have
done so in 2015. On a personal
note, this photo was in the
Lancashire Telegraph to celebrate
my 200 parkruns. The paper
produced an excellent feature which was brilliant publicity for the Dashers and thanks to
Sarah Quinn for arranging it. The photographer took quite a number of posy photos (of
which this was the best, yeah, really), some of which were quite vomit-inducing. The
interview was also longer than was shown in the newspaper so here is the lost transcript of
the rest of it which they chose not to publish:
Interviewer: If you could give one message to the many beginners, improvers and youngsters
at the club, what would it be?
Captain Baz: Don’t do drugs. If you think that taking thousands of drugs is going to make you
run faster and help you achieve lots of Personal Bests, well ….. I suppose it is …… but don’t do
them anyway. It’s taking me about 60 minutes to run 10k these days, but at least I’m clean.
I’ve just got out of the Henry Ford Clinic ….
Interviewer: Don’t you mean the Betty Ford Clinic?
Captain Baz: No, the Henry Ford one at Ellesmere Port is a much tougher regime. You have to
build a Mondeo before they will let you out. So don’t do it.
Interviewer: So that’s your message to all the beginners, improvers and kids.
Captain Baz: Well, I suppose it could be that. Or maybe it could be to be patient with your
running, to work your way up from the beginners group, to the improvers, then the
intermediates and finally the 62-club.
Interviewer: Are you making this up? Are you feeling OK? I have to ask you, do you think you
can get back to those sub-40 minute 10k days?
Captain Baz: Well, what can I say?
Interviewer: Well, Yes or No would be handy.
Captain Baz: No then. But that doesn’t drive me anymore.
Interviewer: So what does drive you?
Captain Baz: 1,000 parkruns. I’ve worked out that if I don’t miss another Saturday parkrun
for 15 years I should do my 1,000th parkrun in February 2030.
Interviewer: And will you do that at Bolton?
Captain Baz: No chance. You can’t get a wheelchair around that course.
Interviewer: Well, Good luck to you, and see you in 2030. The chase is on.
Captain Baz: It certainly is. Go Dashers.
Interviewer: Yes, Indeed
The arrival of summer for
racing on the fells and roads
is an unmitigated joy. The
warmth is nice, of course, as
are the fresh leaves on the
trees and the general sense
of rebirth and renewal after
a dismal soaking and cold
winter. There are delightful
parks, lovingly tended by
others, and wild fells,
violently nurtured by
nature, in which to run
semi-naked in the sun. And
so the season progresses; the daffodils have been splendid, as were the snowdrops
before them, but they are over now and the nettles are rapidly taking over. My own
initiation into summer came the other evening when I was running up diagonal path
and a bee, still sleepy from a bellyful of nectar, flew into my mouth. The bee made
no effort to escape from the moist warmth so only one of us was panicking. I
coughed and spat it to the floor and immediately felt guilty as it appeared to be
dying on the ground, but it recovered as quickly as I did, had a quick shit on a flower
and floated away. So there are pleasures and pains to training and racing at this time
of the year. In the season of winter all is now peace and quiet, but for those who
want to race, summer is no respite as this is the time to put in the hard work to get
those Personal Bests and take on new challenges. Both fell and road championships
are coming up to their half-way point, but there is still time to get in the required six
races needed to qualify starting now with ……………..
FELL RUN CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS The ninth race of the 2015 Fell Race championship
takes place on 9th July and is Bull Hill. It will probably have been run by the time you
read this so if you need details, go to the Dashers website.
The tenth Race takes place on Sunday 19th July and is the 40th Kentmere Horseshoe
starting at 13:00. The exact venue is Kentmere Village Hall and if you put LA8 PJJ into
your sat nav it will take you to the place I work, which is very close. Just carry on
along the road from there. There isn’t much parking in the area so leave a little early
(say, Thursday afternoon). Its difficulty category is AM. The distance is 19.8Km with
1006 metres of climb. You must pre-enter to take part at a cost of £10 and there is
no entry on the day.
After the first six races the tables are currently led by Stuart Smith (Mens), and
Rebecca Simms.
ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS – The eleventh (and next) Road Championship race of
the season is the Trawden Trail Race on Sunday 5th July starting at 11:00. The race
starts and finishes at Trawden Recreation Ground and there is 450 feet of climb.
After the first ten races the tables are led by Brian Morris and Karen Atherton.
MAUREEN ROBERTS TROPHY Top 33 places (Updated 2/6/15)
The Maureen Roberts trophy will be awarded to the Darwen Dasher who completes the most
st
th
competitive races between December 1 2014 and November 30 2015. In order for the race to
count it must be published in The Dash so if you take part in an event, make sure you send the details
to the editor of The Dash. (You will see similar examples above.) Please note that parkruns, relay races
and cross country events do not count, but Road, Trail, Ultra and Fell events do, regardless of whether
they are part of our championships or not.
NAME
Calvin Fergusson
Brian Morris
Simon Taylor
Jim Taylor
Anna Capstick
Jamie Dowdall
Carly Edwards
Rebecca Simms
Chris Cash
Martin Oldfield
David Barnes
Louise Oldfield
Tina Kuczer
Dave Shorrock
Karen Atherton
Cath Fox
Don Clarkson
Alison Abbott
Barry Shackleton
Paul Brindle
Stuart Smith
Leanne Postlethwaite
Lee Shorrock
Jonny Bromilow
Debbie Bevitt
Sue Eastham
James McGarry
Carol Butterworth
Dave Rushton
Steve Whitehead
Jonathan Stubbs
Joanne Nelson
Barry Ross
# of Races
28
19
14
14
10
10
9
9
9
8
8
8
9
8
9
8
8
8
7
7
7
7
7
8
6
6
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
Last Race
Crazy Cow
Crazy Cow
Crazy Cow
Crazy Cow
Mearley Clough
Wardle Skyline fell race
Astley Trail Race
100-miler
100-miler
Cake Race
Trimpell 20
Mearley Clough
Crazy Cow
Caldervale 10
Crazy Cow
Mearley Clough
Crazy Cow
Crazy Cow
Blacksticks Blue 10k
Geoff Doggett
Mearley Clough
Mearley Clough
Hamledon Hill Fell Race
Crazy Cow
Mearley Clough
Mearley Clough
Crazy Cow
London Marathon
Cake Race
Astley Trail Race
Mearley Clough
Geoff Doggett
Blacksticks Blue 10k
Races added since last month – Astley Park Trail 1, Geoff Doggett, Pinhowe Fell Race, Blacksticks
Blue 10k, Mearley Clough, Foe Edge Fell Race, Avenham Park 5k, Hamledon Hill Fell Race, 100-miler,
Crazy Cow 10k
PARKRUN REPORT FOR MAY 2015
Week one 2/5/15: In the week when we were all
torturing ourselves with doubts about which way to
vote in the General Election, and loads of Dashers were
wearing the ebony and gold at the Cake Fell race, we
had 24 Dashers running at 7 different events. Barry
Ross ran a Personal Best at Bolton by taking 31
seconds from the time he set 6 weeks ago. He finished
in the Top 20 (19th) for the first time and his time of
20:50 is good enough for him to become the 436 th
fastest person ever to run a Bolton parkrun. Stuart
Ryder ran a Personal Best by taking 10 seconds from
the time he set last week. This was his 10th parkrun, all
of which have been at Bolton. Andy McAllister was a
First Timer at Bolton in his second parkrun and he is
the 122nd Darwen Dasher to run a parkrun at
Leverhulme Park. Brian Tull ran a Years Best time
taking 24 seconds from the time he set 2 weeks ago. He
finished in 149th position on his 149th parkrun. Jeremy
Turner ran his 6th parkrun of the year and qualifies for
the Championship Table. Elaine Turner ran her 6th
parkrun of the year and qualifies for the Championship
Table. Barry Carrigan ran a Personal Best taking 1:10
from the time he set 3 months ago. Holly Turner ran
her 9th parkrun and Jim Taylor ran his 35th parkrun at
th
Bolton. Cath Fox ran her 10 parkrun of the year at Burnley and her grading of 72.45% was the
highest on the day. It moves her Championship average up to 73.94% and this is enough to regain 2 nd
place in the table from Brian Morris. Paul Allen was a First Timer at Burnley and following Cath Fox
home he becomes the 130th Dasher to finish a parkrun at Towneley Park. Joanne Ruddock was a First
Timer at Burnley. This was her third parkrun, all three at different events. Charlie Rennie was a First
Timer at Burnley and a first ever parkrun, and becomes the 43 rd Dasher to run a parkrun at Burnley.
Andy Smith was a First Timer at Cuerden Valley and his finish position of 2 nd was the highest by a
Dasher on the day. He just missed running a sub-20 on the North West’s official toughest parkrun but
still managed the fastest time of the day in 20:02. He was the 99th Dasher to finish a parkrun in the
Valley. Barry Shackleton ran a Personal Best at Newby Bridge by taking 56 seconds from the time set
4 weeks ago. He has run 5 times at Newby Bridge and registered 5 Personal Best times. He is the 10th
Dasher to finish a parkrun at Newby Bridge. Rebecca Simms was a First Timer at Newby Bridge and
is the 4th Dasher to run there. She is the 109th Dasher to run a parkrun this year. Karen Atherton ran a
Personal Best at Newby Bridge by taking 51 seconds from the time she set 21 weeks ago on her first
visit to Fell Foot park. Gareth Taylor ran at Preston and was the fastest Dasher there on the day. His
finish position of 19th place means it is his 3rd consecutive top 20 finish. Alex Buckland ran a Personal
Best at Preston by taking 23 seconds from the time he set 36 weeks ago. Rebecca Smith ran a Personal
Best at Preston by taking 21 seconds from the time she set 2 weeks ago. Gary Taylor ran his 31st
parkrun at Preston, and Janet Greenhalgh completed her 4th parkrun at Avenham Park. George
Thompson ran a Personal Best at St Albans by taking 1:28 from the time he set 141 weeks ago. It was
his first time ever over 70% on the course and was his highest grade of the Championship year. Linda
Coffey ran her first event at Worsley Woods this year in her best time for 37 weeks on the course.
Burnley parkrun chalked up their 150th event. Cuerden Valley parkrun registered a new attendance
record by adding 13 and seeing over 200 finishers for the first time. They have seen Dashers finish 99
times – the next Dasher to finish a parkrun there will be the 100 th. They are also closing in on their
2,000th different runner in the valley where Andy Smith was #1,931. St Albans parkrun was just six
runners short of an attendance record.
The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running today was 896.
Week two 9/5/15: In the
week when we saw the
Conservatives given five
more years to govern the
country, we had 23 Dashers
running at 5 different
parkruns. Andy Smith ran
the fastest time of the day
at Bolton and his 19:53 was
the only sub 20-minute run
by a Dasher on the day.
This was a Years Best
time, taking 5 seconds from
his time of three weeks
ago. It was his 10th parkrun
of which 9 have been at
Bolton, and he has finished
in the top 10 each time
(once as winner, twice in
second and once in third
place). Brian Morris also ran at Bolton and raised his Championship average to 73.98% which moves
him back into second place in the table above Cath Fox. Calvin Ferguson ran a Personal Best taking 3
seconds from his time of 2 weeks ago. It was his 4 th consecutive PB. Stuart Ryder ran at Bolton and
finished in the top 40 for the third consecutive event. Jeremy Turner ran a Personal Best by taking
2:23 from the time he set 5 weeks ago, and recording a grading above 60% for the first time. He also
finished in the first 100 for the first time. Brian Tull ran a Year’s Best time taking 8 seconds from the
time he set last week. This was his 150th parkrun of which 147 have been at Bolton which is the most at
any one parkrun by any Dasher. Anna Capstick ran at Bolton in her first event for over 10 months.
Chris Gosling ran at Bolton and is the 932nd Dasher to finish a parkrun at Leverhulme Park. Yasmin
Gosling ran her first ever parkrun and became the 4,752 nd different runner at Bolton. She was the 113th
different Dasher to finish a parkrun this year. Maddie Nelson ran at Bolton for the first time in her
second parkrun. Joanne Nelson ran her 30th parkrun of which 16 have been at Bolton. She has run at 8
different events, winning at all of them. Cavan Brindle ran at Bolton for the first time is his second
parkrun and is the 125th different Dasher to appear there since the event started. Paul Brindle ran at
Bolton and is the 39,502nd runner to finish there as they close in on that 40,000th finisher. It is probable
that the 40,000th finisher will happen during our graduates week so it may be someone in the ebony and
gold. Leanne Postlethwaite was a First Timer at Pendle and was the 846th different runner to appear
there. This was her 6th run of the Championship and she qualifies. Carly Edwards ran her first parkrun
of the year and was a First Timer at Pendle, and her grading of 59.99% was as close as possible to
reaching 60%. Sue Eastham ran at Pendle and her time of 30:02 was just a fraction away from a sub30. She was the 10th Dasher to appear at Pendle. Gareth Taylor ran at Preston and his 13th place was
the second best finish ever in 24 parkruns. He is finisher #22,501 at Preston. Norman Walsh ran a
Personal Best at Preston by taking 2:11 from his time of 6 weeks ago. This was his 6 th run of the
Championship and he qualifies. Viki Walsh ran a Personal Best at Preston by taking 31 seconds from
her time of 6 weeks ago. George Thompson ran at St Helens as a First Timer and was the 7,047 th
finisher on the course. Karen Atherton was a First Timer at St Helens and completed her 150 th
parkrun, of which 57 have been at Bolton, 25 at Preston and 23 at Burnley. She has also run at 27
different events. Barry Shackleton was a First Timer at St Helens where he was the 1,544 th different
runner to take part there. Catherine Ferro was a First Timer at Cuerden Valley where she became the
36th different Dasher to run in the Valley.
Cuerden Valley parkrun are closing in on 2,000th different runner. Catherine Ferro was #1,976. St
Helens parkrun have had more than 7,000 finishers. The Darwen Dashers have run at 50 different
parkruns by having representation at St Helens.
The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running today was 768.
Week three 16/5/15: In the week when Barry Shackleton and Karen Atherton missed a parkrun due to
honeymoon (no commitment!) we had 18 Dashers running at 4 different events.
James France ran a Personal Best at Bolton in his 10th parkrun, 9 of which have been at Leverhulme
Park. His time of 19:50 takes 9 seconds off the time he set 6 weeks ago. He moves up 29 places on the
all-time fastest 500 to be the 246th fastest ever runner at Bolton. Dave Rushton ran a Years Best time
at Bolton taking 17 seconds from the time he set 3 weeks ago. Brian Tull ran a Years Best time at
Bolton taking 6 seconds from the time he set last week. Vikki Livsey sacrificed her own run at Bolton
by pacing her sister in her first ever parkrun. Andy McAllister was a First Timer at Burnley in his 3rd
parkrun, which have been at 3 different events. His time of 22:14 was his fastest parkrun ever by 17
seconds. Carly Edwards was a First Timer at Burnley and ran her fastest ever parkrun by 1:24. Linda
Clarkson ran at Burnley and continued her record by finishing in the Top 10 Ladies in her last 10
parkruns. Paul Allen ran a Personal Best at Burnley taking 1:33 from his time of 2 weeks ago and
registering over 60% for the first time. Jim Taylor was a First Timer at Burnley running away from
Bolton for only the second time in 36 parkruns. Viki Walsh ran a Personal Best at Burnley taking 36
seconds from the time she set 3 weeks ago. This was her 6 th race of the year and she qualifies for the
championship. Jane Allen was a First Timer at Burnley where she ran her fastest ever parkrun by 34
seconds. She was the 47th Dasher to run at Burnley where the Ebony & Gold tide are closing in on 50
representatives at Towneley Park. Brian Morris ran a Personal Best at Preston where his 19:40 was
the fastest time of the day by a Dasher and takes 15 seconds from the time he ran 5 weeks ago. His
finish position of 16th was his highest placing. He moves up 45 places on the all time fastest runners list
to #291. Barry Ross ran a Personal Best at Preston in his 10th parkrun taking 27 seconds from his time
of 5 weeks ago. He is the 392nd fastest runner ever at Avenham Park. Calvin Ferguson ran 21:55 at
Preston which was his 3rd fastest parkrun time ever. Holly Turner was a First Timer at Preston where
she completed her 10th run (7 of which have been at Bolton) as a Junior Dasher and she becomes the
first Dasher ever to win the coveted white parkrun t-shirt. Her time of 26:45 was her fastest ever
parkrun by 12 seconds. Jeremy Turner was a First Timer at Preston where he ran his 2nd fastest
parkrun time ever. Elaine Turner finished as 60th Lady at Preston which was her highest placing for 3
months. Mick Heath returned to parkrunning at Inverness running 31:25 and it was the 23 rd time a
Dasher has finished a run there.
Burnley parkrun set a new attendance record adding a fantastic 51 runners to reset
their total to 328. Preston parkrun completed their 150th event. Cuerden Valley
parkrun registered a new course record which had been in place since their first
event 90 weeks ago. The record has been reduced by 5 seconds to stand at 16:57.
They also registered their 10,000th finisher.
The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running
today was just 379. Only Brian Tull from the Big 6 was running which was the lowest
total for over a year.
Week four 23/5/15 In the week when
Sweden won
Eurovision again,
and Simms, Biscuit
and Cash set off on
their 100 mile event,
we had 44 Dashers
running at two
parkruns. All
references refer to
Bolton parkrun
(except where
stated). James
France finished 3rd
which was his
highest ever finish
position. It was his
10th run at Bolton
th
and this was his 6 run of the campaign so he qualifies for the Championship. Brian Morris finished
in 5th place which was his highest position for 31 weeks. Dave Rushton ran a Years Best time taking
11 seconds from his time of last week. Jonathan Stubbs completed his 20th parkrun of which 12 have
been at Preston. Carly Edwards ran a Personal Best taking 2:29 from her time of two years ago (which
was her last Bolton parkrun). It was her first time grading over 60% and her 10 th parkrun, which
includes 5 different events. Andy McAllister ran a Personal Best taking 37 seconds from the time he
set 3 weeks ago. Calvin Ferguson finished in 22:32 which was his 3rd fastest time on the course.
Linda Clarkson completed her 10th parkrun at Bolton. Barry Shackleton ran his 75th parkrun at
Bolton. Brian Tull ran his 2nd fastest time this year. Catherine Ferro ran a Personal Best taking 55
seconds from her time of 4 weeks ago. Jim Taylor equalled his Years Best time of 28:47 and this was
his 6th run of the year so he qualifies for the Championship. Sarah Rimmer, Ken Greenham, Karen
Duckworth, Fergus McKeefery, Nigel Lewin, Sara Emberley-Smith, Louisa Salt, Patricia
Grimshaw, Laura Gillett, Evie Salt, John Salt, John Lowe, Nicola Dooley, Janet Davis, Jennifer
Rigby were First Timers in their first ever parkruns. Leah Robinson ran a Personal Best taking 52
seconds from her time of 12 weeks ago. Viki Walsh ran a Personal Best taking 1:51 from the time she
met 16 weeks ago. Norman Walsh registered a grading over 50% for the 2nd successive run. Vicky
Spencer completed her 9th Bolton parkrun of the year and Qualifies for the Championship. Gill Fram
ran a Personal Best taking 1:06 from the time she set 5 weeks ago. Chris Worsley ran a Personal Best
taking 7 seconds from the time he set 45 weeks ago. Launa Bibby was a First Timer in her first ever
parkrun and by being the 28th Dasher to finish today, she becomes the 1,000 th Dasher to cross the finish
line at Leverhulme Park. Alison Abbott completed her 13th parkrun at Bolton and as this was her 6th
run of the year she qualifies for the Championship. Calum Rigby completed his 9th parkrun at Bolton
and as this was his 6th run of the year he qualifies for the Championship. Jamie Dowdall was the only
Dasher to tour away from Bolton making his 3 rd appearance at Widnes.
Bolton parkrun have had over 40,000 runners complete a parkrun at their event. Sarah Rimmer was #
40,007. Ormskirk parkrun broke their attendance record raising it by 4 to reach 163. Widnes
parkrun broke their attendance record raising it by 3 to reach 209. They also set a new course record
reducing it by 22 seconds to 16:28. They have had more than 3,000 finishers where Jamie Dowdall was
#3.008. Worsley Woods parkrun broke their attendance record raising it by 4 to reach 337. The
Darwen Dashers have had 1,012 runners finish a parkrun at Bolton. Launa Bibby was the 1,000 th
Dasher to cross the finish line. The next milestone for the club to achieve at Bolton will be the 150th
different runner. We are currently on 144 so it could go next week with the Graduates Part II. Other
records falling today: 43 - Most Dashers in a day; 42 – Most Dashers at One parkrun; 16 – Most first
timers at one parkrun
The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running today was 920.
Week five
30/5/15 In
the week
when FIFA
President
Sepp Blatter
rang up
Jonathan
Stubbs for
advice on
how to turn
around an
organisation
which is
troubled, we
had 29
Dashers
running at 2
events.
th
George Thompson was a First Timer at Inverness in his 75 parkrun, of which 32
have been at Bolton and 19 at Preston. There have been 18 different events in his total
which is the third best tourist rating in the club. George was the 2,392nd different
runner to appear at Inverness. The remainder of the results refer to Bolton. Sean
Proctor ran a Personal Best taking 11 seconds from the time he set 41 weeks ago. His
finish position of 12th was his highest ever. His time of 20:19 was the fastest time by a
Dasher on the day. Paul Brindle ran his second fastest time of the year and as this
was his 6th race of the year he qualifies for the Championship. Kierann McCann was
a First Time ever parkrunner and finished in 25th place. Cath Fox ran a Years Best
time taking off 1 second from her time of 22 weeks ago. It was her 60th parkrun at
Bolton and her grading of 70.40% was the highest by a Dasher on the day and the
only Dasher above 70%. Calvin Ferguson registered his 6th consecutive event with a
grading higher than 50%. Rebecca Smith was a First Timer at Bolton in her 3rd
parkrun. Launa Bibby ran a Personal Best taking 9:57 from the time she set as a First
Timer last week. Seth Greenhalgh was a First Timer and ran his fastest ever parkrun
by 3:06. Chris Worsley ran his 3rd fastest parkrun this year and it was enough to lift
his Championship average over 40% for the first time (40.01%). Yasmin Gosling ran
as part of the Graduates Group in her second parkrun. Deb Robinson completed her
10th parkrun, of which 9 have been at Bolton. Lynne Hetherington ran her First Ever
parkrun. Vikki Livsey ran her 10th Bolton parkrun and as this was her 6th run of the
year she qualifies for the Championship. Amy Hasler ran her 5th Bolton parkrun and
as this was her 6th run of the year she qualifies for the championship. John Lowe ran
a Personal Best taking 1:41 from the time he set last week. Sue Eastham ran her first
parkrun in 41 weeks. Kate Johnson ran in her first ever parkrun and became the 150th
Darwen Dasher to run at Leverhulme Park. Nicola Dooley ran a Personal Best taking
45 seconds from her time of last week. Janet Davies ran a Personal Best taking 35
seconds from her time of last week.
Bolton parkrun are closing in on 5,000 different runners at their event. Kate Johnson
was # 4,888.
The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running
today was 490. The record is 1,031 which was set on 21st March.
Here are the facts and figures for May 2015, the sixth month of the championship:
Venue
Cuerden
Preston
Bolton
Preston
Bolton
Burnley
Bolton
St Albans
Preston
Newby Br
Newby Br
Burnley
Newby Br
Preston
Bolton
Preston
Worsley
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Burnley
Burnley
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Preston
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Pendle
Bolton
Pendle
St Helens
St Helens
St Helens
Bolton
Preston
Preston
Pendle
Bolton
Cuerden
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Preston
Bolton
Preston
Bolton
Preston
Burnley
Burnley
Burnley
Burnley
Date
2/5/15
9/5/15
Dashers
Andy Smith
Gareth Taylor
Barry Ross
Gary Taylor
Stuart Ryder
Cath Fox
Andy McAllister
George Thompson
Alex Buckland
Barry Shackleton
Rebecca Simms
Paul Allen
Karen Atherton
Rebecca Smith
Brian Tull
Janet Greenhalgh
Linda Coffey
Holly Turner
Jeremy Turner
Jim Taylor
Joanne Ruddock
Charlie Rennie
Elaine Turner
Barry Carrigan
Andy Smith
Gareth Taylor
Brian Morris
Calvin Ferguson
Stuart Ryder
Leanne Postlethwaite
16/5/15
Jeremy Turner
Carly Edwards
George Thompson
Karen Atherton
Barry Shackleton
Brian Tull
Norman Walsh
Viki Walsh
Sue Eastham
Anna Capstick
Catherine Ferro
Chris Gosling
Yasmin Gosling
Maddie Nelson
Joanne Nelson
Cavan Brindle
Paul Brindle
Brian Morris
James France
Barry Ross
Dave Rushton
Calvin Ferguson
Andy McAllister
Carly Edwards
Linda Clarkson
Paul Allen
Time
20:02
20:31
20:50
21:55
22:18
22:52
23:05
23:21
23:41
25:18
25:28
25:56
26:19
27:53
27:58
28:04
28:13
28:22
28:23
28:49
31:21
32:17
33:03
37:36
19:53
20:04
20:57
21:57
22:36
23:58
24:34
24:42
25:25
26:32
26:33
27:50
28:35
29:56
30:01
30:22
30:42
36:39
36:39
36:56
36:57
40:09
40:26
19:40
19:50
20:14
21:14
21:55
22:14
22:20
23:52
24:23
Grading
71.88%
62.88%
66.00%
68.37%
62.11%
72.45%
70.11%
71.81%
54.54%
62.32%
64.27%
56.88%
66.18%
53.08%
62.34%
54.51%
69.76%
63.87%
51.97%
58.76%
47.85%
50.44%
48.06%
37.15%
72.42%
64.29%
71.52%
58.77%
61.28%
61.82%
60.04%
59.99%
65.97%
65.64%
59.38%
62.63%
57.08%
50.28%
54.53%
53.90%
51.25%
39.93%
44.43%
44.09%
42.26%
39.31%
34.54%
76.19%
65.04%
67.96%
68.92%
58.86%
72.79%
66.34%
67.88%
60.49%
PB ever
First
19:57
20:50PB
20:33
22:18PB
22:26
First
23:21PB
23:41PB
25:18PB
First
First
26:19PB
27:53PB
24:06
27:27
27:17
26:57
26:57
26:27
First
First
31:15
37:36
17:38
19:57
19:43
21:57PB
22:18
First
24:34PB
First
First
First
First
24:06
28:35PB
29:56PB
First
29:08
First
24:32
First
First
19:11
First
18:33
19:40PB
19:50PB
20:14PB
21:14
21:35
First
First
22:56
24:23PB
YB 2015
Timer
19:57
20:50
21:33
22:18
22:26
Timer
23:21
23:41
25:18
Timer
Timer
26:19
27:53
27:58YB
27:27
28:13
26:57
26:57
28:47
Timer
Timer
31:15
37:36
19:53YB
19:57
19:43
21:57
22:18
Timer
24:34
Timer
Timer
Timer
Timer
27:50YB
28:35
29:56
Timer
30:22
Timer
26:58
Timer
Timer
19:32
Timer
19:05
19:40
19:50
20:14
21:14
21:35
Timer
Timer
22:56
24:23
# Run
9
23
9
31
10
85
2
72
17
201
13
2
149
2
149
4
54
9
6
35
3
1
7
3
10
24
16
12
11
11
7
8
73
150
202
150
6
6
4
6
4
15
1
2
30
2
18
17
10
10
41
13
3
9
12
3
Preston
Preston
Bolton
Burnley
Preston
Inverness
Burnley
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Widnes
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Inverness
23/5/15
30/5/15
Holly Turner
Jeremy Turner
Brian Tull
Viki Walsh
Elaine Turner
Mick Heath
Jane Allen
Viki Livsey
James France
Brian Morris
Dave Rushton
Jonathan Stubbs
Carly Edwards
Andy McAllister
Calvin Ferguson
Jamie Dowdall
Linda Clarkson
George Thompson
Barry Shackleton
Karen Atherton
Brian Tull
Holly Turner
Jez Turner
Catherine Ferro
Jim Taylor
Sarah Rimmer
Leah Robinson
Viki Walsh
Norman Walsh
Ken Greenham
Orin Jones
Vicky Spencer
Gill Fram
Chris Worsley
Karen Duckworth
Fergus McKeefery
Nigel Lewin
Launa Bibby
Barry Carrigan
Sara Embley Smith
Louisa Salt
Fiona Salt
Patricia Grimshaw
Laura Gillet
Evie Salt
John Salt
John Lowe
Alison Abbott
Nicola Dooley
Janet Davies
Jennifer Rigby
Calum Rigby
Sean Proctor
Paul Brindle
Dave Rushton
Kieran McCann
Joanne Nelson
Cath Fox
Calvin Ferguson
George Thompson
26:45
26:46
27:44
28:56
31:19
31:25
33:36
36:14
20:13
20:24
21:03
21:09
22:16
22:28
22:32
22:53
24:35
27:03
27:13
27:47
27:49
27:51
27:54
28:28
28:47
29:13
30:05
31:02
31:05
31:31
32:24
33:21
33:29
33:37
33:43
34:53
34:54
38:07
38:09
38:16
38:18
38:20
38:26
40:04
42:49
42:50
43:08
43:09
43:26
43:26
60:12
60:14
20:19
20:47
21:23
21:36
22:22
23:32
24:25
25:11
67.73%
55.07%
62.86%
52.02%
50.72%
53.90%
46.48%
44.25%
63.81%
73.45%
69.52%
70.29%
66.54%
72.03%
57.25%
59.21%
65.90%
61.98%
57.93%
62.69%
62.67%
63.02%
52.87%
55.27%
58.83%
52.65%
52.30%
48.50%
52.49%
54.73%
47.22%
47.18%
54.06%
41.20%
46.66%
51.03%
43.31%
39.35%
36.61%
39.20%
47.30%
39.91%
47.09%
37.56%
38.85%
31.87%
33.66%
36.46%
34.42%
40.10%
24.83%
22.83%
68.17%
67.20%
68.43%
59.72%
69.82%
70.40%
52.83%
66.58%
First
First
24:06
28:56PB
First
29:20
First
29:39
19:50
19:43
20:56
20:55
22:16PB
22:28PB
21:57
20:52
22:43
22:29
20:52
24:15
24:06
26:57
24:34
28:28PB
26:27
First
30:05PB
31:02PB
30:43
First
30:17
33:00
33:29PB
33:37PB
First
First
First
First
37:36
First
First
28:57
First
First
First
First
First
30:32
First
First
First
31:11
20:19PB
18:33
20:56
First
19:11
22:20
21:57
First
Timer
Timer
27:44YB
28:56
Timer
31:25
Timer
29:39
19:50
19:43
21:03YB
21:09
22:16
22:28
21:57
20:52
23:52
25:40
24:32
25:58
27:44
26:57
24:34
28:28
28:47YB=
Timer
30:05
31:02
30:43
Timer
30:17
33:06
33:29
33:37
Timer
Timer
Timer
Timer
37:36
Timer
Timer
31:50
Timer
Timer
Timer
Timer
Timer
30:32
Timer
Timer
Timer
33:43
20:19
19:05
21:03
Timer
19:32
23:32YB
21:57
Timer
10
8
151
7
8
26
4
11
11
18
42
20
10
4
14
26
13
74
203
151
152
11
9
5
37
1
5
8
7
1
7
28
3
23
1
1
1
1
4
1
1
14
1
1
1
1
1
17
1
1
1
14
8
19
43
1
31
86
15
75
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Bolton
Rebecca Smith
Launa Bibby
Jim Taylor
Vicky Spencer
Seth Greenhalgh
Janet Greenhalgh
Chris Worsley
Yasmin Gosling
Deborah Robinson
Chris Gosling
Lynne Hethrington
Vikki Livsey
Amy Hasler
John Lowe
Sue Eastham
Kate Johnson
Leanne Postlethwaite
Nicola Dooley
Janet Davies
Alison Abbott
Brian Morris
28:09
28:10
29:16
33:24
33:46
33:47
34:37
37:29
37:30
37:30
40:45
40:46
41:08
41:27
41:28
42:30
42:30
42:41
42:51
42:51
42:52
52.58%
53.25%
57.86%
47.11%
50.39%
45.29%
40.01%
43.44%
39.47%
39.02%
44.42%
39.33%
35.98%
35.02%
39.47%
35.29%
34.86%
35.03%
40.65%
36.72%
34.95%
First
28:10PB
26:27
33:00
First
28:30
33:37
36:39
27:38
24:32
First
29:39
38:19
41:27PB
29:20
First
23:15
42:41PB
42:51PB
30:32
19:43
Timer
28:10
28:47
33:06
Timer
28:30
33:37
36:39
31:57
26:58
Timer
29:39
38:18
41:27
41:28
Timer
23:15
42:41
42:51
30:32
19:43
3
2
38
29
2
5
24
2
10
16
1
12
9
2
5
1
12
2
2
18
19
PARKRUN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 2015 (Updated 1/6/15) [Qualifiers only]
# of runs
(Q = >6)
0
1
0
0
2
4
1
5
0
0
3
2
1
3
8
0
2
3
0
0
1st
Timers
2015
2
2
2
5
1
0
1
2
4
2
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
1
4
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
4
0
5
3
3
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Pos
Name
Grade
Best
2015
PB’s
2015
YB’s
2015
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Joanne Nelson
Brian Morris
Cath Fox
Jonny Bromilow
George Thompson
Dave Rushton
Linda Clarkson
Karen Atherton
Holly Turner
Barry Ross
Linda Coffey
Dave Shorrock
Gareth Taylor
Barry Shackleton
Brian Tull
Stuart Ryder
Nerina Gill
Jim Taylor
Calvin Ferguson
Leanne
Postlethwaite
Debbie Bevitt
Jeremy Turner
Paul Brindle
Chris Cash
Norman Walsh
Elaine Turner
79.43%
74.88%
73.94%
69.44%
68.72%
68.45%
67.84%
67.36%
66.31%
66.09%
65.81%
64.19%
64.00%
62.78%
62.28%
61.10%
59.36%
58.82%
58.76%
58.57%
83.66%
76.19%
75.89%
71.16%
71.81%
68.92%
70.64%
68.21%
67.73%
67.96%
69.76%
65.88%
64.66%
63.72%
62.86%
62.11%
63.96%
59.94%
59.77%
64.89%
1
3
2
4
1
0
1
0
2
4
0
0
3
3
0
4
0
0
6
2
55.97%
55.16%
53.98%
53.57%
53.17%
50.18%
60.27%
60.04%
73.19%
56.31%
57.08%
50.88%
2
2
0
1
3
3
21
22
23
24
25
26
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Viki Walsh
Vikki Livsey
Don Clarkson
Vicky Spencer
Alison Abbott
Chris Worsley
Amy Hasler
Paul Brain
Calum Rigby
49.44%
48.67%
48.64%
47.19%
44.43%
40.01%
37.93%
36.84%
36.24%
52.02%
54.08%
50.87%
47.87%
55.66%
41.20%
39.73%
38.28%
41.85%
4
2
2
0
2
1
3
0
0
Full table of all parkrunning Dashers available on the Darwen Dashers website
0
0
1
4
0
1
0
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
2
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Everesting
Loads more pictures on Facebook.
Jonathan
Fell race preview- Bull Hill. 8.8km / 335m Thu 9th Jul 2015 at 19:30
Entry on day fee £4.00 . Pre-entry fee: £3.50
Registration at Wagon & Horses, Bolton Road West, Hawkshaw, Bury
Only classed as a ‘B’ as it’s not too steep. The route takes us on tracks and paths that
you may never have seen, even though we are only six miles from Darwen. One
section on the moor top is on a very narrow path and it is followed by a steep grassy
descent that will tone the thighs. There are no climbs as steep as we have recently
seen at Mearly Clough or Paddy’s Pole.
Note – The start line is a mile from the registration in the pub. That’s a good distance
for a warm up, but make sure you arrive in time!
Click map for better
image
Jonathan
Fell race preview- Kentmere Horseshoe. 19.8km / 1006m Sun 19th Jul 2015 at 13:00
£10 PRE ENTRY ONLY. Kentmere Village Hall.
This is the first Lake District race of our championship and it might seem obvious, but
the Lake District mountains are a lot more challenging than the Lancashire hills we
are used to. I don’t want to put anybody off, but if the weather is bad, this is a
difficult race: We could be in cloud for most of the route with no other runners in
sight so you need to be able to find your way around without relying on others. The
wind and rain can be a real problem, especially when we are wearing shorts and
vest. The organiser, Pete Bland, will insist we carry full kit even if the weather is good
when we set off.
However if the weather is good this is one of the best fell races, in my opinion. The
climb from the start is long and steady, so don’t set off too fast. The run across the
tops has fantastic views and
the paths are generally good.
The rocky sections can be
tricky if they are slippery, but
otherwise the descent is
great fun if your legs are not
too tired. The route after the
descent back to the finish is
not very well flagged so
concentrate and look for the
sparse marker flags.
It is a Dashers tradition to
stop off at the brewery on
the way home and treat your
designated driver to pop and
crisps.
Click map for a better image
– you will need one!
Jonathan
Fell race preview- Turnslack. 12.9km / 610m Sat 25th Jul 2015 at 14:30
£4 entry on the day only.
Venue: Calderbrook Church, Calderbrook Rd, nr Summit.
Superb challenging race. Starts of on easy tracks but soon gets more interesting. Not
a particularly well flagged course – I saw a fast, irate runner coming towards me as
he tried to re-join the route last time I did this. Expect to be running on pathless
moorland, scaling unusually high dry stone walls, hanging on to a rope as you wade
through a deep stream and battling in the wind through some waist high peat hags.
The prizes (not that I’ve ever won one) are rubbish, but the cakes are good.
Jonathan
Fell championship update - Men
Bleasdale Circle
Liver Hil
Pendle
Cake Race
Mearley Clough
140
135
10
115
110
150
10
140
145
135
140
125
120
110
10
10
125
10
145
140
135
120
110
100
95
90
85
100
140
125
120
145
115
130
120
110
150
95
120
125
115
105
145
145
150
105
140
145
135
125
115
145
150
100 110
135 130
150
105
130
115 120
115
140
150
150
135
130
130
130
125
120
95
90
85
Holcolme 2 Towers
Ashurst Beacon
865
865
810
750
685
590
560
540
450
425
380
360
335
285
150
150
135
130
130
130
125
120
Paddy's Pole
TOTAL
Stuart Smith
Simon Taylor
Jonathan Stubbs
Calvin Ferguson
George Thompson
Brian Shaw
Jim Taylor
Brian Morris
Paul Brindle
Chris Cash
David Ponton
Lee Shorrock
David Shorrock
Martin Oldfield
Mark Walsh
Paul Taylor
David Robinson
Neil Tattersall
Jamie Dowdall
David Rushton
Gareth Taylor
Dave Rushton
James McGarryStanley
Joel Freeman
Barry Shackleton
Don Clarkson
145
150
140
135
125
120
130
Fell championship update - Ladies
135 125
140 135
145 150 150
140
145
130 130
145
125
120
115
Holcolme 2 Towers
Paddy's Pole
145
Mearley Clough
145
150
Cake Race
150
Pendle
Liver Hil
285
235
235
235
150
150
140
140
135
135
130
125
Bleasdale Circle
695
575
445
430
405
Ashurst Beacon
TOTAL
Rebecca Simms
Cath Fox
Amy Freeman
Jacqueline Shaw
Janet Greenhalgh
Leanne
Postlethwaite
Sue Eastham
Anna Capstick
Louise Oldfield
Carly Edwards
Joanne Nelson
Karen Atherton
Vikki Livsey
Debbie Bevitt
Nerina Gill
Tina Kuczer
Helen Jones
140
150
145
140
110
115
120
150
150
140
140
135
135
130
125
The points allocation is 150 points for first dasher, 145 points for second place etc...
Your best six scores will count plus 10 points for each additional race completed up
to a maximum of 7 more.
Last year’s winner, Rebecca, has established a commanding lead but there are quite
a few ladies snapping at her heels. Stuart has completed every race so far and is joint
head of the table with Simon who has move up this month. Will we see Stuart’s love
of mountain biking and beer start to affect his standing? Only time will tell. Take a
look further down the tables for the sleeping dragons who have scored very well but
not got their six in the bag yet.
Fell championship remaining races
Bull Hill
BS
9/7/15
Hawkshaw
Kentmere
AM
19/7/15
Lake District
Turnslack
BM
25/7/15
Summit
Whittle Pike
AS
5/8/15
Waterfoot
Pilgrims Cross
BM
12/8/15
Helmshore
Pendle
Memorial
Withins
Skyline
AS
Sep
Clitheroe
BM
11/10/15
Haworth
Tour of
Pendle
AL
14/11/15
Barley
Horseshoe
A = steep, very little tarmac
S = less than 10km
Proper fell race with some running on pathless
moorland. Some reasonably tough climbs and steep
descents.
Challenging race around this beautiful horseshoe.
Steady climb up, some challenging rocky sections,
superb grassy descents and a tricky stream bed just
when your legs are tired. Just like all Lakeland races,
navigation is a challenge when the cloud base is low.
Bit of everything in this one. Easy tracks, rough
moorland, bogs, stream crossings and peat hags.
Tougher than it looks!
Cakes in the church hall are good. To avoid
disappointment, ask them to put your favourite under
the counter before the race.
Mostly on narrow tracks, but there is some open
moorland that can be a bit wet underfoot. What else
would you be doing on a Wednesday evening?
Narrow start so make sure you don’t get held up /
trampled on. Soon opens out on to good moorland
tracks. Expect to see a few sprint finishes on the
tarmac road to the finish line.
New race. I don’t know anything about it.
Windswept Bronte country. Bits of Pennine Way,
narrow tracks and boggy moorland. Free Curly Wurly
for each finisher.
It’s a monster and not one for the ill prepared! A great
way of finishing off the championship.
B = not as steep
M = from 10 to 20 km
L = over 20km
Dashers races in 2015



Aggies Staircase 18/6/15
Tockholes Evening
2/7/15
David Staff Memorial
29/11/15
Timed fell run
Vicky Walsh
Brian Morris
Norman Walsh
Rebecca Renshaw
Lee Shorrock
James France
Andrea Skelton
May
June
July
Improvement
01:00:45
00:53:59
00:06:46
00:32:42
00:30:03
00:02:39
00:49:51
00:47:26
00:02:25
00:51:14
00:49:37
00:01:37
00:38:00
00:36:31
00:01:29
00:30:51
00:30:42
00:00:09
00:52:15
00:52:50
-00:0035
Congratulations to Vicky W who has shown the biggest improvement. Watch out for
July’s timed run to see who has improved the most since May.
Just May
Alison Abbott
00:47:05
Gareth Taylor
00:34:12
Amy Hasler
01:07:22
Ged Johnson
00:41:11
Andy McAllister
00:37:08
Janet Greenhalgh
00:42:56
Anna Capstick
00:45:57
Jim Taylor
00:46:51
Becky Smith
00:45:48
Jonathan Stubbs
00:31:56
Calvin Ferguson
00:37:02
Kieran McCann
00:32:43
Carmel Ellicott
01:14:39
Laura Cameron
00:42:42
Catherine Ferro
00:49:22
Louise Oldfield
00:45:49
Chris Gosling
00:37:12
Luke Skelton
00:40:04
Dave Ponton
00:35:04
Sean Proctor
00:34:09
Don Clarkson
00:50:25
Sue Eastham
00:46:42
Fritha Quirk
00:47:37
Vladka Buckland
01:00:43
Just June
Carol Dodds
00:49:14
Mark Lomax
00:39:20
Chris Worsley
00:57:04
Matesa McKeefey
00:53:41
George Morini
00:38:16
Nigel Lewin
00:55:00
Janine Fallon
00:36:37
Paul Briggs
00:39:24
Jez Turner
00:40:18
Paul Brindle
00:39:57
Joanne Nelson
00:39:57
Rebecca Jepson
00:46:39
Karen Duckworth
00:54:17
Russ Egan
00:40:09
Karen Shackleton
00:40:53
Stuart Smith
00:31:54
Linda Clarkson
00:39:06
Tracey Morante
01:01:52
Mark Bamber
00:41:49
Wendy Shepherd
00:42:57
Jonathan
Road championship
10
140
115
120
120
Catherine Fox
720
140
140
145
145
Alison Abbott
690
10
125
95
105
105
130
120
Tina Kuczer
600
100
120
100
90
115
75
Leanne Postlethwaite
575
135
145
Debbie Robinson
560
110
105
95
125
125
Catherine Ferro
535
120
145
Linda Coffey
465
115
100
120
Joanne Nelson
450
150
150
150
Sarah Quinn
435
105
110
110
110
Janet Greenhalgh
410
135
145
Hannah Caulfield
400
Helen Jones
385
75
Amy Hasler
385
75
Fiona Salt
130
150
125
150
130
150
145
150
135
150
145
130
110
Crazy Cow 10k
765
Blacksticks10k
145
140
Bolton10K
Anna Capstick
Caldervale10m
10
Accrington10K
Roddlesworth
890
Wilmslow Half
Lostock 6
Garstang10k
Winter Warmer
TOTAL
Karen Shackleton
140
135
130
135
85
65
50
80
70
105
55
365
90
85
110
80
Jo Maxwell
350
100
Nerina Gill
290
Alice Capstick
265
Louise Oldfield
260
120
140
Kathryn Bamber
260
85
115
Michelle Connolly
250
Vikki Livsey
250
Sue Eastham
240
Vickie Pilkington
220
Kymberlee McGarry
220
Andrea Skelton
180
Carol Butterworth
150
Carly Edwards
145
Rebecca Smith
140
Debbie Bevitt
130
Sue Taylor
125
Carmel Ellicot
105
Joanne Lynch
105
105
Hannah Fielding
95
95
110
140
150
140
130
135
60
135
115
135
125
115
115
125
95
80
75
65
80
100
150
145
140
130
125
105
90
90
Viki Walsh
85
85
Saskia-Mai Kuczer
70
70
Brian Morris
905
10
10
150
145
150
145
150
145
Simon Taylor
860
135
10
140
140
145
140
140
10
Calvin Ferguson
860
115
10
130
115
120
125
120
125
Jonny Bromilow
725
150
150
145
135
Jim Taylor
665
10
105
105
100
Barry Ross
620
105
Barry Shackleton
615
Stephen Whitehead
590
Russ Corsini
555
Brian Tull
545
Don Clarkson
460
90
David Shorrock
455
110
James Mcgarry-Stanley
425
105
90
115
Calum Rigby
420
95
70
80
90
David Rushton
380
125
130
Lee Shorrock
300
Paul Brindle
300
Martin Oldfield
285
James France
285
Lee Smalley
270
Chris Worsley
260
Gareth Taylor
255
Andy McAllistair
245
Dave Ponton
225
Chris Gosling
205
Derek Reilley
150
Mick Leigh
145
Dale Dacre
140
Sean Procter
140
Jonathan Stubbs
135
Paul Taylor
130
100
10
120
130
135
130
95
95
95
110
100
95
120
110
125
145
120
`
110
145
120
150
135
105
105
115
90
90
100
105
125
85
125
110
110
110
90
130
115
85
115
150
150
140
135
135
150
135
85
115
95
80
140
125
125
Crazy Cow 10k
Rebecca Renshaw
145
Blacksticks10k
90
145
Bolton10K
Caldervale10m
Accrington10K
90
100
Wilmslow Half
Roddlesworth
Lostock 6
Garstang10k
Winter Warmer
TOTAL
Jennifer Fielding
120
100
100
105
150
145
140
140
135
130
Norman Walsh
95
Paul Brain
90
Paul Astin
80
Barry Carrigan
75
Crazy Cow 10k
115
Blacksticks10k
Chris Cash
Bolton10K
120
Caldervale10m
David Robinson
Accrington10K
125
Wilmslow Half
Gary Taylor
Roddlesworth
130
Lostock 6
David Barnes
Winter Warmer
130
Garstang10k
TOTAL
Daniel Haworth
130
130
125
120
115
95
90
80
75
Run To Rest
I run to rest, the mountains an unlikely couch
But what form of meditation is this?
Dancing feet, a pounding heart
The terrain contorting my body
Into countless, never repeated poses
Yet thankfully, mostly upright
The mountains move me, more so for their stillness
Problems hitherto unsolved, dissolved
Rocks as pixels, summits are icons
Never a truer perspective gained
Fashioned as an escape
It is, in truth, a homecoming
I run to grow, dwarfed by the peaks
Winning and losing, yet always gaining
Leaving energy, blood and studmarks
Taking intangible succour
Standing taller for being worn down
Such is the runner's pact with the fells
by "OneOffPoet"
Diary of a Wimpy Runner!
Well the Red Rose 100 has been and gone. Chris and Rebecca
completed the event but unfortunately I retired at Checkpoint 7.
The atmosphere was brilliant at the start from the Anderton centre
and the starter informed us that there was someone taking part in
their 41st 100 mile event and also that an 83 year old was a
competitor. As we headed off through the paths of Rivington we
were passed by Louise Oldfield who was taking part in a Duathlon
at Rivington. Up to the Pigeon Tower before descending towards
Belmont where we took the road across the dam of Belmont
Reservoir and were met by two familiar cyclists wishing us well,
Simon and Cath Fox. The first checkpoint was at Slipper Lowe Car
Park where Simon and Cath were again and Chris was grateful for
Cath’s assistance when he decided that the long trousers were not
needed as it was turning into a very warm day. Russ Egan wished
us well as we left the checkpoint slightly ahead of schedule. As we
approached Lyons Den Barry Clark was taking in the ambiance on
a bench as we made our way to the Tower. Many well wishes
greeted us as we came down the steep path from the Tower Jonny
Bromilow and son were taking photos, promptly followed by Cath
and Simon at Waterman’s cottage before we headed down the
lane and over the dam where my Mum and brother waited to say
good luck.
Donkey Brew took us up and over to Tockholes before descending
to Feniscliffe for checkpoint 2. Again we were ahead of schedule.
As we set off through Witton Park and headed up through the
woods Jonny and son we enjoying the sunshine and again wishing
us good luck. The next checkpoint was at Whalley but some very
kind people were outside their home in Wilpshire offering water to
runner/walkers as we past. We were applauded by a crowd at
Whalley and we arrived here 45 minutes ahead of schedule. I had
blistered by now and I think Chris and Rebecca were suffering too.
It was such a hot day.
Whalley to Barley saw us go up Pendle before descending into
Newchurch and a rough rocky path down to the checkpoint at
Barley were there was a kit check. We were asked to choose a
ping pong ball with the item of kit written on it that needed
checking which was a brilliant idea as it saved having to get
everything out of your bag and repack it.
As we left Barley my head torch wasn’t working so Chris kindly lent
me his and he had to keep in the middle of Rebecca and myself as
we climbed up Pendle to be met by a REAL WITCH handing out
spooky sweets.
The decent down of Pendle was awful for me I found it traumatic,
as I felt under pressure to move quicker due to the amount of
people behind me and uneven terrain in the dark was just hard
going. By the time we reached the next checkpoint I didn’t know
what I wanted or needed. I felt sick, weary and couldn’t face
anything to eat. At Bolton by Bowland checkpoint I ate and felt
slightly better and as we set off from this checkpoint it was dawn
and beginning to come light, but it had started to rain now. The
checkpoint at Tosside was at the top of a very long and winding
tarmac road and Chris was trying his best at this point to keep me
motivated but by the time I checked in a just know I’d had enough.
So my tally was cut off my bag and I slumped in a chair.
I waited for over an hour for the “body bus” to come a collect me
and another person. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if
someone had told me that I would have to wait an hour for the bus
and then spend 3 hours on it before getting back to the start,
perhaps I could have made it another 7 miles to the next
checkpoint where I had a bag of a full change of kit and shoes, but
who knows. I was actually sat on the bus when it stopped at
Slaidburn, when I saw Chris and Rebecca setting off. I really
wanted to cry but just didn’t have the energy to do so.
I got back to the start, had something to eat, a hot shower and took
myself of for a sleep in the motorhome. I woke after 3 hours to so
many lovely messages from Dashers, friends and family. My
lovely Mum came to pick me up and I went home and had the
longest hot bath I can remember. I didn’t really sleep well that
night as I was worried about Chris and Rebecca and I kept
checking their progress every time I woke.
I’m glad I did it, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the training and
recceing the route, and we have raised over £550 for East
Lancashire Hospice in the process. Lastly I would just like to thank
all dashers, friends and family for your support and good wishes.
Debbie Bevitt
Ali’s Amble
Well it’s been a good few weeks since the Dashers AGM where I nervously stuck my
arm in the air to make known that I was willing to stand as Ladies Captain, and I’ve
got to say I was genuinely overwhelmed by the support shown and hope that I can do
as good a job as our brilliant outgoing captain, Carly.
For those of you that know me well you’ll know that I’m by no means a super speedy
runner, but what I may lack in speed I can certainly make up for with enthusiasm and
the ability to motivate others.
I joined the Dashers 2 years ago. I’d run a little bit before, had never really been
consistent and although I’d taken part in a couple of races, would never have classed
myself as a ‘runner’. But losing my lovely mum suddenly after a short illness, meant
I had decisions to make – giving up was never going to be an option, 3 teenage
children and my dad to take care of plus a full time job was plenty to keep me
occupied but I needed to throw myself into something for me and just for me!!
In the beginning running was my therapy, it gave me time out from worrying about
the kids and my dad; made me forget about looming deadlines for reports at work; but
most of all it gave me chance to breathe - unless I was trying to get up a bloody big
hill on the moors!! Mind you the kids reckoned that I’d only joined because of the
claim that it was a drinking club with a running problem – who, moi??? Never hahaha
;-)
In the short time that I’ve been a Dasher the club has grown from strength to strength.
There is nothing more powerful than the feeling that you belong, we have a wonderful
club with the most brilliant, supportive, lovely, sometimes crazy (but we love it!),
caring members.
I take great pleasure in being one of the run leaders for our ever popular beginners
group, along with the other leaders I get such a lot out of helping others realise that
they can become runners too. My paid job is managing the Council’s Wellbeing
Service, so supporting others to make lifestyle changes is something that I’m really
passionate about.
Sport England launched the This Girl Can campaign earlier on this year to inspire
more women to participate in sport/exercise. The campaign was created because the
fear of judgement stops many women from taking part in exercise. But as thousands
of women are now proving, it really doesn’t have to.
The website, national TV adverts and social media posts celebrate active women and
girls up and down the country that are doing their thing no matter how well they do it,
how they look or even how red their face gets!!
Check it out on www.thisgirlcan.co.uk – can this girl? You bet she can!!!
Until next time, happy running
Alison x
WHO ARE YER??
When did you first start running and why?
My first run was in June 2014. Tina signed up for the Edgworth 5k after her
beginner’s sessions finished. I decided to support her and run with her; after all, how
hard could it be??
Well, I couldn’t believe how hard it was !! Result – 5k in 44:58.
What races do you compete in and what are your PB’s?
I do whatever races Tina books me on! Mostly 5 and 10k’s; and the odd fell race.
My best 5k was Ormskirk parkrun on Christmas Day (I know..) 30:44
Best 10k was at Garstang in January 1:06:19
Who is you hero (sporting or otherwise) and why?
Guy Martin – TT motorbike genius and all-round down to earth hero.
Which group do you most enjoy running with at club nights?
Which group? - The Improver’s Group, of course. There are other groups?
What are your running ambitions for this year?
To get under 30 minutes for 5k and the hour for 10k. Also, to complete the Run
Leader course and start leading properly.
What advice would you give to anyone new to running?
Be kind to yourself. If you enjoy it (even if it’s only afterwards; probably will be) then
you’ll stick at it and sustain the improvements.
What’s your favourite sporting occasion and why?
The Ryder Cup. Golf’s so fickle as a game anyway, and then add in the rivalry. Always
a good watch.
Do you have a claim to fame and what is it?
I was a qualified firearms instructor (handguns) – and by way of contrast I once won
the National Operatic and Dramatic Association Award for Best Musical Director for
the North West region.
A fact about you that not many people know!!
I am one of 5 children, and including mum and dad all our first names begin with ‘D’.
What’s the most embarrassing thing to happen to you when you have been drunk?
Alcohol-induced selective amnesia prevents me from bringing any specific deniable
occurrence to mind; not that there are any examples to give m’lud.
18,700 km from Coed Y Brenin
Blisters!
I get them a bit but not that much. I’ve managed to do marathons and 6 hr runs
without been troubled by them. Which I guess has made me a bit blasé on this front.
Enough to strap on my worn out pair of Walsh fell shoes (which Nige Barnes got me
a few years back – thanks Nige, they were great at the time…).
It was to compete in the Vossler Shield – pleased to see afterwards that it’s called NZ
hardest cross country race. Follows the course (I think) of the 2005 Mountain
Running world championship course. Basically some grunty uphill pieces in
Wellington’s town green belt with some really steep downhills. I remember thinking
as I was heading to the event – “hmm, these shoes were feeling a bit worn when I
wore them a couple of weeks back, probably won’t have much time left with them”.
I should really have had a look at them rather than just trusting my memory. Turns out
the back heel piece had pretty much cut right through the lining and separated out to a
nice sharp edge. I didn’t notice it too much to start with but I think all the uphill really
forced my foot back into constant contact with the sharp feel part. It started to hurt on
the first lap so I figured “go faster down hill to push my foot forward”. By the second
lap I was running uphill with my foot side on to stop myself putting contact onto the
heel.
This isn’t me – I was too busy running to take any pictures of mine
And then I wasn’t running at all. But walking didn’t stop the pain. So I took my shoes
off. Instant relief. And I found I could run uphill in bare feet on the rocky track about
as fast as those with shoes on. Up till I hit some flat rather “spikey” tracks. Till that
point I’d not noticed how sharp the gravel was on this particular track. But I certainly
now did. I’d been leading the runners from Kapiti club but had two pass me really
quickly as I found I couldn’t do much more than hobble along. I then had a go at
putting my socks back on and running in them – and that worked great. Till I came to
a very slippery grassed downhill. I’ve found that the key to running fast downhill is to
try and pick your feet off the ground as fast as you can so that you don’t put too much
force into your foot – it really tires your legs out and as soon as you’re putting too
much weight on your landing you start slipping. Don’t fight the slip – it just makes it
bigger so you need to go with it so you can run out of it. But to do that need to have
good grip on your shoes.
Socks don’t provide good grip. But I managed to finish without falling.
Part of why I took my shoes off was I didn’t want to make my feet worse as I had
another hill race the next day – the Marines run that I’ve written about before.
Getting up on Sunday I taped my blisters (I’d ended up skinning one heel entirely and
a bad blister on the other) with some Elastoplast blister patches. But I found they were
still too painful to put my normal trail shoes or road shoes on. So I opted for a pair of
really well worn road shoes as they were nice and loose. Walking around in them still
hurt and I thought “this race may not last long for me”. Starting off was about 6km of
straight uphill and it was hurting straight away.
But then a miracle happened. The pain in my heels faded. To be replaced by pain in
my legs. That I can handle! Free product placement – use blister patches. They’re
great!
And I was off at a hobble. Passed a couple on the uphill parts then hit the downhill
and passed a bunch more. Till I hit a big grassy very steep downhill. Remember what
I said about those before? Well worn out road shoes don’t give much more grip than
socks but I had some catching up to do so went for it.
Now when you fall over on steep downhills I’ve found the key to it is to go with it…
Kia ora!
Danny
Daniel.Headifen@kiwirail.co.nz
It’s good to talk about running like a Crazy Cow
Perhaps the name of this race should have given
a clue that it was going to be a bit more fun than
your average 10k. The picture on the Crazy Cow
website has two women wearing sunglasses and
cow outfits, another giveaway as to the tongue-incheek feeling of the race. Either way it was in the
Dashers road race championship so Captain Baz
and I duly entered. Sadly, everybody's favourite
Captain was struck down with pleurisy so decided
not to partake in the bovine based fun and
frivolities on the day. Which was probably just as
well considering he was having chest pain and
difficulty breathing, it’s always advisable not to run if that happens folks.
We rocked up at Factory Lane, Penwortham just after 9am on Sunday 31st May to
see lots of other runners, many wearing cow related attire. If I’m honest, I was a little
bit jealous, and found myself longing for a cow print onesie, or at the very least some
cow print knee socks. The onesie would have been very useful as it was a really cold
morning. There was a grand total of 35 Darwen Dashers taking part in the 10k race
with several Diddy Dashers doing the fun run. As usual of late, us girls outnumbered
the guys by 21 to 14.
The start of the race was
in some trees down a
narrow lane and with 499
runners on the day it was
clear it would be a slow
start……..unless we got
to the front. I was with
Brian ’Turbo’ Tull and we
all know how he likes a
fast start. I did feel a bit
out of place with all the
fast, young, skinny guys, but what the heck, it was just a bit of fun. The rest of the
Daring Dashers were led by Fiona Salt through some bushes in order to get
competitively close to the start line. In no time at all (it was ages really but as far as
I’m aware no one actually froze to death whilst we were waiting) we were off. I then
realised we were on part of the route
of the Welcome Tavern 10k which
takes place twice a year and is also in
this years road championship. We ran
through Avenham park along both
banks of the River Ribble. The tracks
were a bit slippery and muddy in parts
which added to the cow like
atmosphere and kept those who don’t
like Tarmac entertained. The cowcostume-clad marshals shouted lots
of encouragement including; ‘follow
the herd’ and ‘keep mooooooving’.
The race was made all the more worthwhile when we were presented with a cow bell
for our efforts at the finish. There were also some little sachets of something or other
so I decided to take one. I didn’t have my glasses on and for some reason, probably
due to the cow theme, I thought it was milk and popped it into my bag. Alison Abbott
thought it was a carbohydrate gel sample and when Sarah Quinn didn’t feel well at
the end of the race she tried to encourage her to eat it! #bothasblindasbats!
Despite not running Barry also
claimed his bell at the finish.
Ever since I’ve known Barry
he’s shouted ‘Nurse!’ very
loudly when he wants me to get
him something. Having been a
nurse for almost 35 years now I
respond to that title as quickly
as ‘Karen’ or ‘Mum’. I know all
Bazza’s Angels will find this
hard to believe and I’m not trying to deliberately diminish anyones high opinion of him
but yes, he really does do that. So later on in the day when Barry was having a soak
in the bath and he wanted a drink, not only did he shout ‘Nurse!’ but he rang the cow
bell!!! Just in case any other proud owners of cow bells are thinking of trying anything
similar, Barry has promised he won’t do it again after being whacked about the head
with it a few times.
Happy galloping everyone.
Karen Shackleton
Founded 1990
Club committee
Chairman
Ladies’ Captain
Men’s Captain
President
Secretary
Treasurer
Chris Cash
Carly Edwards
07881 017 426
Barry Shackleton
Brian Tull
Jonathan Stubbs 07747 398 384
Rebecca Simms 01254 692 677
chriscash56@gmail.com
carly_e@hotmail.co.uk
shakatak57@hotmail.com
brian_tull@yahoo.co.uk
jonathanstubbs@gmail.com
reb.simms@gmail.com
When / where to meet us
Tuesday
The Sunnyhurst, Tockholes Rd, Darwen, BB3 1JX. 19:00 All welcome
Wednesday
Darwen Leisure Centre, 18:30
Beginners
Thursday
The Sunnyhurst, Tockholes Rd, Darwen, BB3 1JX. 19:00 All welcome
If you have not run with us before, please get in touch before you come so we can arrange
for somebody to meet you.
www.dashers.org.uk
@darwendashers
“Darwen Dashers Running Club”
Any articles for the Dash to Simon Fox, Editor, the.dash@hotmail.co.uk, 01254 707 216, by
the 10th of the month.