Pendle 3 Peaks Fell Race, 18 Aug
The weather in Barley at the start of last Saturday’s Pendle 3 Peaks race felt much like it does for the full Tour of Pendle in November – raining with low cloud obscuring the top of the hill, albeit slightly warmer. It is a tough medium length race of 9.4 miles and 2838 feet of ascent; the route follows 3 major climbs up and over Pendle Hill including the crawl up Big End to the Trig before the last descent and the fast painful track into the finish. The rain did stop and the clag lifted after the first climb and of the 142 runners that took part, Chris Holdsworth of Ribble Valley Harriers won the race comfortably in 1.17.23 with Caitlin Rice, also of Ribble Valley Harriers winning the women’s race in 1.37.16 and 22nd overall. First back for Tod Harriers was Graeme Brown, who had an excellent run to finish in 4th position and first V40 in 1.24.55. A jet-lagged Jon Wright was next in 10th position (1st V45) in 1.32.10. Rebecca Patrick put in another strong performance to finish 43rd in 1.48.25, coming in as 4th female and 1st FV45. Tod’s Kate Mansell finished in 73rd overall and 11th female in 1.59.12 whilst Nigel Jamieson ran well to complete the course in 113th place in 2.18.18.