Kirt Livesey & Marcus Rae leading the race
The day came, the weather looked good and everyone was fired up for the race. Kirt and Marcus were on the first leg and both are renown for making a fast start and they were both trying to talk each other into setting off at a steady pace. However, at the off, natural inclinations took over and they lead the field away towards the first climb.
There were some good runners in the first leg and we knew that it was only a matter of time before they were passed. The considered opinion amongst the spectators at the Kirkstone Inn was that a tenth place at the end of the first leg would be a good start for us. In the event, when they came into view, coming down Red Screes, they were in 9th place, which they maintained to the finish, despite some dramatic forward rolls from Marcus on the descent.
Andy and Jason set off on the second leg with a determination to build on this excellent start. This they did and finished the leg in 10th place, again having dropped only one place against strong opposition.
We now came to the legs where we thought that we might regain a place or two. Sam and Goldie set off strongly and looked like they might catch the team in front. However Goldie, maybe feeling the strain of running on the previous day, was obviously struggling at the finish, although Sam Watson finished very strongly. They did not gain any places, but by the same yardstick, they did not lose any either.
We therefore started the last leg with great hope for Mark Horrocks and Ted Mason. They started about a minute behind Todmorden and catching them and securing a 9th place finish looked on the cards. However, Ted had also been racing the previous day and he started struggling on this very hard and long uphill run up St Sunday Crag and they dropped another place to eleventh.
When they reached the summit of Fairfield, it was shrouded in mist and it can be a most disorienting place at the best of times. They started their descent from the summit and then realised that they were heading towards Rydal. They quickly corrected their mistake, but it had cost them another two places and they finished in 13th place. However, this is the best result in the past three years. We came 26th in 2006 and 21st in 2005.

However, it was a good race and there were some good performances all round from the Wharfedalers.

When the open team had finished at the Kirkstone Inn, everyone stood around wondering what they mixed team would do. Eventually, they came into view, at the top of Red Screes, but had obviously picked a bad line for the descent. Everyone could only watch and hope for the best when Pete Jackson appeared to sit down. Watching from by the changeover point, one could only assume that he had suffered some serious injury. However, he shortly started running again, although he was obviously suffering from some discomfort.

As he came nearer, it became apparent that not only was he limping, but that he had what looked like a pair of jeans tied round the bottom of his leg.

What had happened is that in descending, he had caught his leg on a rock and it started bleeding profusely. He therefore stopped and tied Shaun's cagoule round his leg to stem the flow of blood and he manfully continued to the finish. Immediately, Shaun took him off to the local first aid post who thought he had broken his leg. However, when he eventually got to Penrith Hospital, driven there at high speed by Shaun, they diagnosed that it was not broken but that he would need to have the wound stitched. However, when they came to do so, they realised why the first aid post thought that it was a break. Embedded in his leg was a piece of slate which was about one and a half inches long by one inch wide! No wonder he was bleeding and in some pain, in fact, it is great tribute to Pete that he carried on so determinedly to the finish. He left Penrith hospital with forty stitches in his leg and a piece of slate as a souvenir. Luckily, there is no serious damage to his leg and he should be running again in three weeks.

Because of the delay, we are not too sure of the finishing position of the mixed team. Tamara and Judy had a good second leg run, even though they got a bit confused about their position at one point. At the Hartsop check point they were in fifty first place overall, but their place within the mixed teams is not know at this point.

We have no news at this stage of how Kate and Vicky did on their stage. On the final leg, Kev and Neil found the pull up to St Sunday Crag very hard and they too struggled with the navigation on the top, although they managed to stay on course by asking directions from passers by and by Neil taking the odd compass bearing.

Overall, it was a good day out and everyone enjoyed it very much.

The results are now in the results section.

This event saw two Wharfedalers take part. Lucas Payne and new member James Harrison. Lucas has sent the following report:

This event is a 4 mile run, a 23 mile bike ride and another 4 mile run.
The weather was superb and we all set off on the first leg which was a four mile run. In all honesty, I did not warm up, but we were off. I had to run as hard as possible to make sure James Harrison and Paul Hesketh were behind going onto the bike. Paul is a Clayton Runner, so I wanted to thrash him. I got back in at 24.09 which was ok and fifth place.I cycled off, but felt awful. Heskey got past me and I chased him all the way, only to lose by 40 odd seconds! As we all know, the scenery was spot on. I am looking forward to the Three Peaks next year now. Our new member, James, did well considering he has only had a bike for three weeks. I could almost hear his chuckles all the way round. Perhaps the Pendle full tour will quieten him....

The full results are in the results section.

Two Wharfedalers entered this 14 mile/4,000 ft race, with Mark Sandemas finishing in 43rd place in a time of 2:44:22 and Andrew Hirst, who finished in in 91st place, with a time of 3:02:38. Andrew has competed in all of the six Lakeland Classic races this year and he won a spot prize of a £10 Pete Bland voucher for doing so. Andrew has sent in his description of this race, which takes in some of the finest tops in Lakeland. It is a long, hilly and sometimes very rocky route and it is a tribute to the fitness, athleticism and sure footedness of all the contenders.

Read Andy's Report

Full results are in the results section.

This was a club championship race and it was nice to welcome back some old faces to the racing scene and a good up and coming youngster. It also attracted two members who were running in the Ian Hodgson, the following day. There was some strong competition in this race and the highest place we could manage was Ted coming home in 22nd place. The full results are in the results section.

The finishing positions of the Wharfedalers was as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
22	Ted Mason	32:09
55	John Perry	36:33
64	Mark McGoldrick	37:25
77	Jack Smith	38:36	U18
98	Andrew Smith	40:27
138	Peter Melch	46:10	V50

There are six qualifying races for this Trophy. To be eligible, you have to complete either three superlong races or two superlong and one long race. Andy Hirst completed all six and therefore his best three races count. He came 54th overall and this represents a fine achievement, as these are very tough races. As Ali Gee would say - "Respect".

Final tables are in the results section.

Adam Baker on the last leg
There were problems with cars getting stuck in the official car park and runners had to park in the surrounding lanes and walk to the event. For the first leg, the visibility was dreadful and all the runners soon disappeared out of sight. As the day went on, the visibility gradually improved so that leg four had good visibility of their leg. The going was particularly tough on the tops and very energy sapping. There were good performances from all the A team runners particularly Marcus Rae and Kirt Livsey, who are looking like a good relay pair and altogether, the team came home in 17th place in an overall time of 4:08:21.
The event was won by Borrowdale in a time of 3:33:23, followed by Dark Peak in 3:34:14 and Horwich in 3:35:00.
Our B team Leg 1 runners were Lucas Payne and Sam Wadsworth, who came in at the last minute for Mark McGoldrick who is injured. Sam Wadsworth battled with the uphill stretches, reflecting his lack of race fitness, although he did manage to make up for it on the down hills. Judy & Vicky looked to be going well on the last hill before the final descent, although they had dropped a few places. Adam Baker managed to keep the team place, although he found the first and final ascents very hard.

Full results are in the results section.

The times and positions of the teams out of 117 finishers were as follows:

Leg	Name(s)	Time	Pos
1st	Ted Mason & Mark Sandamas	1:28:56	18th
2nd	Andy Black	0:47:53	21st
3rd	Marcus Rae & Kirt Livsey	1:05:31	15th
4th	John Perry	0:46:01	17th

Leg	Name(s)	Time	Pos
1st	Lucas Payne & Sam Wadsworth	1:51:10	81st
2nd	Glenn Whittaker	0:58:30	87th
3rd	Judy Howells & Vicky Rae	1:40:34	98th
4th	Adam Baker	0:57:48	98th

Mark Horrocks	Bruce Elsworth & Sam Watson

It is a long drive back from Wasdale, but even though it was late when he got back, Neil Taylor still managed to type out a report before going off for his bath. All the above results are provisional. The headlines are that Wharfedale had three runners in the top four. Mark Horrocks won the race outright. Bruce Elsworth came third and in doing so, one could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that he was making a point about being left out of the Ian Hodgson team. Fourth was Sam Watson, who is continuing his recent good form.

Read Neil's Report

Full race results are in the results section.

The Bofra Season is over and we can now see who has done what. Wharfedale have taken their share of honours as follows:

• Kate Rogan - Ladies Champion
• Sam Watson - Mens U23 Champion
• Mark Horrocks - Mens V40 Champion
• Lynn Whittaker - Lady Vets Runner Up

The final stats are now available for the Bofra Championship and can be viewed from the link below:

Bofra Championship

Several members had expressed an interest in this league and seven seniors and three juniors took part in this event. Tamara Hird sent the following brief report.

Jamie Middleton was 12th in the U11's - giving up his game of rugby to do the cross country. Ben Johnstone, coming 7th, had a good run in the U13 boys and Jonny Bradshaw had a brilliant run to finish 3rd in the U15 boys - both having very tired legs after competing at Wasdale the day before.
In the very competitive senior races, Tamara Hird was 36th, Vicky Rae 74th, and Bridget Thompson 93rd for the ladies and in the senior mens race, Marcus Rae was 34th, Jason Hemsley 82nd, Paul Harlowe 86th and David Hird 212th.
Vicky and Marcus did well after running the day before at the FRA relays and Jason had already competed in the Calderdale Mountain bike marathon that morning!

Full results are in the results section

A group of members are going to run the second half of the full tour of Pendle on Saturday. If you fancy a bit of a gentle jog out on Saturday afternoon, why not join them as you will be most welcome. Meet in the car park at Barley for a 1.00 pm start.

Kirt Livesey
Four Wharfedalers turned out for this event which was run in near perfect conditions. Kirt Livesey and Jason Helmsley got off to a good start and were well up the field, but once out on the moors they got lost and as a result dropped places. Our only female representative, Tamara Hird, had a good sound run and was 6th lady and the cheerful John Thompson thoroughly enjoyed his run out to come home in 121st place.

In the junior races, the ever present Johnstone brothers turned up as usual, with Ben being 2nd Under 12 and Robbie was 6th Under 8.

A few pictures are in the gallery

The times and positions of our runners out of over 168 finishers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
21	Kirt Livesey	48:58
23	Jason Helmsley	49:12
89	Tamara Hird	57:10
121	John Thompson	60:21	V50

Fogbound Saltergate
Marcus Rae was talking of taking part in this event, but on the day only one Wharfedaler turned up and that was Adam Baker. He had a great race and sent in the following report:

With only 60 yards visibility due to the fog, I was well up for a race and as most of you will know, I had trained hard for this one. I set off like my pants were on fire and after the initial front runners overtook me, I managed to keep a faster than usual pace. I struggled to keep to the first half of the course, as it was not marked and the fog was bad, but the second half, being marked, was much better., After running much faster than normal, I found the last climb painful to say the least, but it paid off. I have just checked the results and I came in 19th out of 78 (wow). Soon, I can be a proper fell runner.

Full results are in the results section.

The results for this race are now available and once more Bruce Elsworth has shown his prowess over the Lakeland Fells by finishing in 5th place in a time of 45:30.

Full Results

The second in the West Yorkshire Cross Country Series brought out 9 of our seniors and a few of our youngsters. In the women's race, where we actually had a team, local runner Helen Glover had a great race to come second. Tamara Hird lead our girls home in 26th place. Our team position was 11th, which is not bad when you consider that Skipton were 10th and Keighley & Craven 9th.

In the senior men, Jonathan Brownlee had a great race to come 2nd. He is still a school boy and looks set to emulate his older brother Alistair.
Marcus Rae lead our men home in 25th place, with Own Beilby, obviously still in holiday mode following on in 42nd place.

In the junior races, Ben Johnstone put in yet another good performance in the under 13s to finish in 3rd place and in the under 15s, Jonathan Bradshaw finished in 12th place in what was a closely packed finish.

The times and positions of our men were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
25	Marcus Rae	33:44
42	Owen Beilby	34:44
53	Jason Helmsley	35:22
84	Paul Harlow	36:31	V55
102	Andy Smith	37:27

And the results for our women

Pos	Name	Time	Other
26	Tamara Hird	21:11
49	Sharon Barker	22:22
50	Judy Howells	22:23
78	Vicky Rae	24:29

Once more Sam Wadsworth and his old school pal Ben Cocker have entered another mountain marathon. At the end of day one, they were lying in 5th place out of 183 entrants, with 267 points. The last hour of day one was in the rain, which meant that day two would be started in wet clothes. The rain continued through the night, which meant that they spent 15 hours in the tent.
By day two, the worst of the weather had passed and they resumed where they left off. On the day two scores, they again came 5th, but putting the two scores together, then ended up in 4th place overall, a result with which they were well pleased.
Sam has recently been on a few training runs. Let us hope that this means a return to regular fell running.

Full results are in the results section.

Judy Howells	Adam Baker

It has been a quiet weekend for fell running, but two Wharfedalers were determined to get in a proper race, one of whom was Judy Howells who, also had a run out yesterday in the cross country. The other runner, Adam Baker has sent in this report.

My race report for the Race to the Summit 4 miles, 800ft from the Summit Inn Near Littleborough. A warm clear day. I was still very tired from Saltergate and Wednesday but thought I would give it a go, as it was the only race in the calendar. The only Wharfedale runners were myself and Judy, who had a couple of potential new recruits with her.
I set off quite fast and soon started to feel the pace when I got to the first climb, where I was passed by Judy, who also passed 4 others in front of me. I tried my best to keep up to her to the top. On the way down I managed to pass Judy again, who then passed me again on the the way back up to the farm yard. On the last downhill leg, I put what little energy I had left in to a final spurt and finished in about 38 mins. Thanks to Judy who kept me on my toes. A tough little race.

Full results are in the results section.

Video Footage of the Run

Andy Holden shot some video of the night as he ran. There are two short clips below. One, approaching the summit, with a shot of Ted Mason descending like a ghostly wizard and the second one at the summit itself. These are large files and are not suitable for download on a dial up connection.

Approaching the Summit
The Summit of Ingleborough

The rules for this event were simple. Set off from Ingleton and get to the top of Ingleborough and back by either running, bike or broomstick. As it was a 7:30 pm start, some sort of illumination was essential. In Ingleton, the weather was quite nice. There was a gentle breeze, but it was not cold, in fact, it appeared to be ideal conditions for the event. However, as you got on the fells proper by the farm house at Crina Bottom, it became obvious that visibility at the top would be minimal. In actual fact, not only was the visibility on the top very poor, but it was blowing a hOWLing gale.

About ten minutes after the off was announced, lights appeared in the sky through the mist on the summit and it looked like the broomsticks had the race sewn up. But it was not to be the case. You would think that the top of Ingleborough on a dark, misty and windy night would at least be a place where you could enjoy some (inhospitable) solitude. The lights turned out to be another set of fell runners! It seems that Dallam decided to have a training run up Ingleborough on the same night. (Is a slight mental imbalance an essential qualification for fell running?) Along with our marshal, the Dallam lads looked for the triangulation point in vain. The top of Ingleborough is a grim featureless landscape on a good day in the light and so a decision was made to turn everyone round, just as they reached the summit plateau as otherwise there was a danger that people would have ended up in Horton or Ribblehead.

Eventually, a figure appeared out of the mist, regaled in traditional costume befitting the day. The facial hair gave it away. Not only had Ted Mason entered into the spirit of the event, he had also put in a damn good run.
After Ted, the runners and bikers came through in dribs and drabs. No one was showing any signs of being in a hurry as care was needed on the wet and slippy rocks and visibility was minimal. At the top, Peter Keron, the only official biker was 6th. Could he make up the difference on the return? The unofficial bikers were Dave Ferguson and his friend, who just did the event without officially entering. This enabled them to leave their bikes as they neared the summit and walk to the top to collect them again on the way back.

The winner of the event was Ted Mason who maintained his lead throughout the event. Pete Keron, the biker, managed to gain a few places on the return, finishing in 3rd place and knocking back Sam Watson and Mark Nutter of Clayton back to 4th and 5th places respectively. However, he could not catch Jason Helmsley who maintained his second place to the finish.

All in all, it was a good fun event and brought a bit of light enjoyment to the dark winter training months and thanks must go to the several entrants who entered into the spirit of the event and wore appropriate clothing (and horns).

Full results are in the results section

There will be another Owl event on the 28th of this month, which will be up Pendle. Further details follow.