Clayton-le-moors-Harriers played host to the second counter in the 2011 English Fell Running Championship. Mearley Clough in the south-west Pennines was selected as the first short counter and a new course was devised due to its Championship status.
The new route included 1200’ of ascent over 3.5 miles. The temptation for many would have been to go hard from the start considering the short distance of the race but the climb was taxing and some suffered from misjudging the ferocity of the ascent. Conditions were generally fair for running although a blustery wind was prevailing.
A strong Keswick AC ladies team had made the journey down to Worston, Clitheroe and continued their excellent start to the English Championship. Julie Carter (16th, 39:08) led the way for Keswick followed by Catherine Evans (23rd, 39:39), Samantha Ayres (29th, 41:10), Jo Gillyon (41st, 42:10), Sarah Bailey (57th, 44:25), Hazel Davies (58th, 44:42), Debbie Thompson (60th, 44:55) and Kim Clark (89th, 49:03).
Todmorden’s Lauren Jeska took the victory in a time of 34:29, the current holder of the English Championship finishing just over a minute ahead of Holmfirth’s Helen Berry. Mel Price of Mercia was third in 35:39.
In the men’s race, Mercia’s Simon Bailey was victorious in a highly competitive field. He clocked a winning time of 27:45, just ahead of Ambleside’s Ben Abdelnoor (27:58) who secured his best ever Championship placing. Pudsey & Bramley’s Rob Hope was third in 28:10.
Keswick’s Steve Hebblethwaite put in a brave run and a strong finish to break into the top ten. In a tight-packed grouping of runners he dug deep to put in a finishing kick and secure 10th place in 29:12. Chris Clark was the only other male runner from Keswick and Chris finished in 45:50, taking 14th place in the MV60 category.
The next counter in the English Championship is the Lakeland classic, the Duddon fell race which takes place in west Cumbria at the beginning of June.
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