Sunday, May 29, 2011

Hutton Roof Crags

The fast, sometimes technical tour of Farleton Fell attracted 209 runners on a decent day. The course has been slightly extended to 7.3 miles (1300ft of ascent) with plenty of variety and no need for any navigational skills.


1 Morgan Donnelly Borrowdale Fell Runners 47:42
2 Rob Jebb Bingley Harriers & Ac 48:20
3 Chris Steele Borrowdale Fell Runners 48:40
28 Andrew Slattery V40 Keswick Ac 59:18

Intercounties Championship - Broughton Heights

The results from yesterday's race can be found HERE
Great runs from Steve Hebb and Pippa!!.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Half-price sports massage

To celebrate my return to work following my recent injury (collar bone break!) I am offering half-price sports massage treatments + free consultations. Offer ends 30/6/11.
contact John on: 07870195441 email: johnbeetham@hotmail.com facebook: search for 'john beetham personal training & sports massage'.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Lambfoot Loop 10k - 24 May

Another successful outing for KAC, with 3 in the top 4, 4 in the top 6 and 5 in the top 10. Russell Maddams won, ahead of Phil Winskill, with Ian Davies finishing in 4th to confirm his recent return to form following injury. A great run from Libby Graham, too, finishing a close 2nd in the women's race. (Just think what she'd do if she trained properly, said Dan!) Times were down on last week's Moorclose 10k, but this course is a couple of mins slower thanks to the beast of a hill from Embleton up past the golf course. Plenty of good performances elsewhere from KAC men and women - well done to all. For full results, see here.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Room available in shared house

£180 per month plus bills. Sharing with two professionals 25-35, both interested in sports and the outdoors. Available from 1st July 2011. If interested please contact Jenn on 07985215998 or Nick 07967600670

Saturday, May 21, 2011

From today's Lake District Herald


Not just one member getting great press but three!!. Well done Pippa, Russell and Phil.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Moorclose 10k - 17 May

There was a good KAC turnout for the Moorclose 10k on Tuesday. The race was run in fine and breezy conditions over a slightly altered course - starting well down the cycleway, going beyond the bottom of the hill before the 'halfway' turn and then finishing in the football field just in front of the sports centre. Phil Winskill led from the start (as far as I could see from my none-too-advantageous vantage point!), had a slight lead at halfway and pulled clear on the way back for a comfortable win in 33:28. Ian Davies showed he is coming back into form by clinching 6th place in an excellent time of 35:21. Dunc Overton also had a fine run, winning the MV60 prize in 41:13. In the women's race, Sarah Bailey finished 3rd overall in 44:27, while Hayley Hodgson and Sue Wilkinson won the FV40 and FV45 categories in 46:24 and 46:03 respectively. There were also good performances from some of the other KAC runners:

27 - John Curran (39:48)
43 - Quentin Merritt (43:31)
60 - Annabel Holmes (46:46)
63 - Di Shaw (47:12)
66 - Chris Clark (47:32)
67 - John Shaw (47:41)

Full results can be found here.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Fairfield Horseshoe - 14th May 2011

The mountains above Rydal and Grasmere provide the setting for the popular Fairfield Horseshoe fell race. Beginning at Rydal there is a congested start as the runners jostle for positions as they head towards the fells. The majority of the 3000’ of ascent is found in the first climb up Heron Pike. With this first climb out of the way the running becomes good and the field spreads out.

There follows a loop over Great Rigg, Fairfield, Hart Crag and Dove Crag before the descent starts in earnest down the eastern side of the horseshoe. This drop drags on over High Pike and Low Pike down to Low Sweden Bridge. The race contains a sting in the tail with a brutal flat run in back to the finish; this is torturous for runner’s legs which have already taken a battering over the Rydal fells.

This year the weather was clear but a fairly strong wind was blowing. With an English Championship counter taking place on the same day near Clitheroe a number of local runners were missing. But there was still a healthy field of 296 taking place and some real quality at the head of the field.

Borrowdale’s Morgan Donnelly, despite going slightly astray towards the end of the race, recorded a comfortable win in a time of 1:20:19. He was some way ahead of Simon Deakin of Leeds City AC (1:23:39) and first veteran Craig Roberts of Kendal AAC (1:23:55).

Ladies victor was Claire Russell of Cumberland Fell Runners (1:49:04). She had just over a minute over second placed Angela Armstrong of Carlisle Tri (1:50:24). Third place and first female veteran was Kathleen Aubrey of Helm Hill (1:53:55).

Chris Robinson was first Keswick AC runner coming in 18th in 1:32:26. Daniel Barton, in a prolific period of racing was next in 40th (1:37:36). Narrowly behind Daniel was Craig Smith (46th, 1:38:34). Colin Valentine was 63rd in 1:41:28, Nick Ogden 85th in 1:46:40 and Peter Bailey was 124th in 1:52:09.

With a strong ladies team traveling to the Championship race at Mearley Clough it was down to a trio of runners to represent Keswick AC at Fairfield; Rachel Slattery (2:02:15), Siobhan Brewer (2:10:24) and Victoria Haworth (2:12:54).

Mearley Clough - 14th May 2011

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.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Russell wins at Forest of Dean Ultra

Congratulations to Russell Maddams for a great run on Sunday, taking a win in the 31.76 mile trail Forest of Dean Ultra Marathon which doubled as the England Athletics trial race for the Commonwealth Trail Championship to be held in Newborough Forest, Anglesey on 25th September as part of the 2nd Commonwealth Mountain and Ultradistance Running Championships.

Russell ran a strong race to finish in 3:15:48 and 3 minutes clear of a quality field that included second placed 2:28-marathon runner Paul Halford, and England internationals Julian Rendall and Allen Smalls. Well done Russ!

Full results HERE.

Training this week

For those not racing at Moorclose or Latrigg on Tuesday/Wednesday and looking for a training session, I will be running the following:

Tuesday 17th -offroad hill session, meet Rawnsley Pavillion at 6pm for 6.15pm start.
Thursday 19th -km/mile reps/threshold session on the railway line, meet as above.

For those interested in a run at the weekend, there will be a session on Saturday following the England Athletics Endurance Half-Day at Braithwaite Village Hall. This event, which is comprised of a speed/agility or core session followed and then discussion and practical on the topic of flexibility, is open to all and is a really good opportunity to learn some practical skills to further your running. The 'Half Day' runs from 9.30am-11.30am. A training session, again open to all will follow at 11.30am, meet at Braithwaite Village Hall.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

10K on TV -Sunday 15th May

More athletics coverage on the BBC tomorrow -live coverage of the Great Manchester Run at 10.00am with Haile Gebrselassie, Chris Thompson, and an impressive domestic field over 10K. Worknesh Kidane, Charlotte Purdue and Helen Clitheroe will feature in a decent looking ladies race.

At 3.30pm coverage continues with the Manchester City Games -Tyson Gay, Allyson Felix, Jessica Ennis and Andy Turner feature in a star line up for the sprints/hurdles on a straight 200m track laid along Deansgate in the city centre.

Coverage details here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/6107744.stm

Athletics Weekley preview here: http://www.athleticsweekly.com/news/gebrselassie

Friday, May 13, 2011

Kendal fell runner chases suspect in her pyjamas

I love this story (from the Wezzie Gezzie) - click here.

Well done, Natalie White!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Buttermere Sailbeck

Some great Keswick performances on Saturday at this tough medium hosted by Mike and Hazel Robinson.

The route packs an impressive 4650' into 9.5 miles starting and finishing in Buttermere and taking in the summits of Knott Rigg, Causey Pike, Sail, Crag Hill and finally Whiteless Pike.

The weather didn't seem to dampen spirits (everything but!) and first home in the mens race was Simon Booth (Borrowdale), Becky Law (Eryri) took the honours in the ladies race. No other results to hand but I am sure these will be available soon.

Well done to all who ran.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Club Fell Championship race #2: Dockray-Hartside -results

Below are results from tonights 'race' at Dockray, the second fixture in the 2011 Club Fell Championship.

Well done to all those who raced -a great turnout and some hotly contested battles for club championship points made for an entertaining race. More photos like those below are online at www.athletesinaction.co.uk. An updated Club Championship table should be online soon.








Above: Dunc Overton Right: Ian Davies, Daniel Barton and Dave Prosser climb to Hartside Below: Rachel Mellor Bottom: Craig Smith, Dave Loan and Andrew Slattery. All photos © www.athletesinaction.co.uk. (Click pictures to view larger image).




The next race in the 2011 Fell Championship is the 8m/3000' Tebay race on the 15th of next month, followed by the Blisco Dash (Wed 20th July), Loweswater Show (Sun 4th Sept) and Three Shires (Sat 17th Sept).





Dockray-Hartside, 6m/2000', Dockray, Cumbria, Wednesday 4th May

1 48.42 Steve Hebblethwaite M Keswick
2 53.38 Chris Edis M Keswick
3 55.02 Carl Bell M Howgill
4 55.32 Sam Ware M Eden
5 57.01 Phil Winskill M Keswick
6 57.05 Dan Barton M Keswick
7 57.27 Steve Bennett M40 Eden
8 57.53 Pippa Maddams F Keswick
9 57.56 Dave Prosser M40 Keswick
10 58.01 Craig Smith M40 Keswick
11 58.06 David Loan M50 Keswick
12 58.33 Andrew Slattery M40 Keswick
13 58.36 Ian Davies M Keswick
14 59.03 Angus Ross M40 Howgill
15 62.18 Adam Jackson M40 Keswick
16 62.27 Lee Newton M Keswick
17 62.42 Keith Geldert M40 Keswick
18 63.17 Dunc Overton M60 Keswick
19 63.23 Richard Unwin M50 Keswick
20 63.29 Robin Gillespie M40 Eden
21 64.26 Dave Owens M50 Keswick
22 64.47 Ian Horne M40 Eden
23 65.40 Peter Bailey M50 Keswick
24 66.38 Andy Murray M40 Keswick
25 66.38 Richard Mavim M40 Keswick
26 68.40 Phil Rigby M40 -
27 68.48 Craig Dring M40 Keswick
28 69.34 Alex Kirby M Arragons
29 69.39 Sam Ayers F40 Keswick
30 69.48 Simon Veitch M40 -
31 69.59 Ben Mitchinson M40 CFR
32 70.04 Wendy Dodds F60 Clayton-le-Moors
33 71.01 Thomas Smith M Pennine
34 71.02 Dave Harvey M40 Pennine
35 71.04 Quentin Merritt M50 Keswick
36 71.38 Shaun Hardisty M40 Eden
37 71.43 Jayne Rigby F Helm Hill
38 71.48 Mike Beechey M40 Keswick
39 72.06 Rachel Slattery F40 Keswick
40 74.31 Rachel Mellor F Keswick
41 85.14 Sarah Bennett F Keswick
42 92.36 Alison Cater F40 Borrowdale


Keswick AC Fell Championship fixtures 2011 - Best 4 from 6 to count

(S) Loweswater Show, 2.6m/1000' -Sun 4th September
(S) Causey Pike, 4.5m/1780' -Sat 26th March*
(S) Blisco Dash, 5m/2000' -Wed 20th July
(M) Dockray Hartside, 6m/2000' -Wed 4th May
(M) Tebay, 8m/3000' -Wed 15th June*
(L) Three Shires, 13m/4000' -Sat 17th Sept*

Monday, May 2, 2011

Keswick Half Marathon -Sunday 1st May

A big turnout from Keswick AC for the second race of the 2011 Club Road Championship -well done to all 28 including Phil Winskill and Sam Ayers who took maximum points in the mens and ladies Championships.

Yesterday's race had looked likely to open up the competition for the Road Championship, a half not fitting into everyone's training/racing plans at this time of year, and so it proved with a few absences amongst both the men and ladies. With neither Phil or Sam having run the first race at Lancaster 3 Bridges, the 2011 Championship has opened right up at the top of the table while the competition for the age categories is also looking keen.

Full Club Championship tables to include Keswick Half will be available shortly. The next race in the 2011 Road Championship is the Lambfoot Loop 10K in Cockermouth on 24th May, before continuing with the Bodyfit 5K (also Cockermouth -13th July), Lancaster 5K Series race 4 (27th August), and Brampton-Carlisle 10 (20th November). Best 4 races from 6 to count.

1. Steve Littler (Wesham Road Runners) -1:13:18
2. Gary Jones (Morpeth Harriers) -1:16:29
3. John French (Eden Runners) -1:18:21

8. Phil Winskill -1:22:11
30. Duncan Frampton -1:29:50
41. Andrew Slattery -1:31:12
75. John Curran -1:36:28
110. Simon Thompson -1:39:18
178. Mike Beechey -1:45:01
223. Stephen Strachan -1:47:36
299. Patric Gilchrist -1:52:39
302. Nick Shaw -1:52:43
321. Paul Titley -1:54:03
414. Jeremy Anketill -1:59:42
653. David Leary -2:25:32

37. Gill Mead (Chester Tri) -1:30:44
50. Sarah Lister (unattatched) -1:32:25
62. Abey Lawrence (York Knavesmire Harriers) -1:34:50

86. Samantha Ayers -1:37:29
151. Hazel Davies -1:42:43
156. Sarah Bailey -1:43:06
176. Libbie Graham -1:44:53
204. Rachel Slattery -1:46:33
230. Deborah Edgington -1:48:01
236. Sue Wilkinson -1:48:40
247. Hayley Hodgson -1:49:16
250. Annabel Holmes -1:49:30
317. Sarah Moir -1:53:36
383. Sarah Thompson -1:57:42
447. Louise Brown -2:02:24
479. Victoria Haworth -2:04:45
507. Jennifer Butler -2:06:36
565. Karen Sturgess -2:12:51
643. Sal Pepper -2:23:19

Full results here.