A good turn-out assembled for this week's cornerstone of the BFR training schedule, this time in sunny Embsay, a new one to me and what turned out to be an excellent training route, good climbing with lots of runnable ground to make it quite a varied challenge of just over 10K.
Plenty of regulars and some rarer attendees rocking up made for plenty of catching up prior to departure. I wasn't feeling too battered after the Tuesday night track pummeling and armed with my state-of-the-art Hope Technology R4 head-torch I was going to be unstoppable and have a 'break-out' run from my usual calamitous efforts.
This seemed to be quite attainable until about four minutes in when the light on the head-torch began flickering before going kaput. After a quick inspection from several fellow runners it was confirmed it was not working, we had come too far to go back and get a replacement and I was condemned to running using the other lights around me. Turns out the cables weren't connected and I hadn't charged it up, so instead of it being a roaring success my 'memorable-for-all-the-right-reasons' Embsay pub run was set to end up as an hour or so of stumbling about in bracken and maybe down a bottomless ravine.
Fortunately the BFR spirit is strong and several of my co-runners took it in turns guiding me with their lights. Pete, Jen and Rachel were reeling off their 'to-do' lists of races ahead in the next twelve months with lots of big numbers relating to distance and ascent being casually tossed around. I confirmed if I made it back alive from the run we currently were on I would be very happy and would have fulfilled all my fell running ambitions.
Things seemed to be ticking over nicely until we caught up with the sprinters up front who confirmed Mr Halliday could not continue and would have to either be accompanied back or left to spend the night on Embsay Moor. Usual speed demon Andy Collins must have decided he'd set off too quickly and with no Sellors to battle with anyway was already bored of the run and offered to walk back with Dave to an early pint. The great Craig Child also headed back with them in case Andy decided to put on a burst of speed and leave injured Dave in his dust.
The rest of us soldiered on round the route, through raging torrents and impenetrable neck-deep foliage that would halt lesser, softer running clubs. Apart from Jock who was whinging he's done too much walking recently and not enough running, until he was back in his comfort zone on the descent back down to Embsay which is also worth a mention, like the emerald green carpet Steady was reminiscing about coming off Blencathra, it was a quick zoom back to the Elm Tree with all accounted for.
It had been a tough run but worth the effort, though possibly not if you ask Nick K who had come off worse in a collision with a rock somewhere on the route and urgently required medicinal chips and Guinness to stop gangrene setting in.
After last week's pub confusion (well, just me being impossibly slow getting changed) and no beer-fussy road runners out on this excursion we all settled into a quiet corner with Screw magically appearing after expertly dodging the evening's run and with no Chew present it was civilized, pleasant and even magnanimous with hardly any jokes at anybody's expense... Which defeats the object of having a pub run at all, really. Swell and Jen were off into the night without even a half being partaken, popular opinion is that Jen was looking forward to a well-earned drink but Swell needed to catch up with the evening's installment of Eastenders, and Rachel's early exit also means I've still got the club presentation twenty quid screaming out to be squandered irresponsibly.
Luckily we had the recent DNF's to laugh at and my head-torch balls-up to ridicule, before I was spared any further ribbing when the weekend's navigation leg at the relays was brought up. As I got lost finding checkpoint one of the Tour Of Pendle on Sunday and completely failed miserably to recce the first half I am in no position to comment on the difficulty of tackling a navigation leg in race conditions.
We supped up, sodded off and I wandered out in my usual absent-minded state thinking of food and bed, leaving my coat on the seat, which I still need to get back...
See you all next week at the Hare & Hounds in Lothersdale for a cheerful and friendly welcome from everybody's favourite landlord.
This was a four mile run, a 23 bike round around Ingleborough and then another four mile run.
9 Mark Sandamas 2:03:27
38 Derek Walkden 2:21:54
86 starters
See results section for splits.
Emma Bailey was first lady in this race and Andrew Chew came third.
3 Andrew Chew 37:43
49 Emma Bailey 44:51 (PB) - 1st Lady
428 finishers
Ian Livesey finished in a great time of 2.33.30 at the Amsterdam marathon, only 15 seconds away from the club record and taking 1 minute 29 seconds off his pb he set at Preston two weeks ago. Dan Taylor also took part and he completed the course in 3:27:05.
Barley was the setting for the FRA Relays this year. We had 2 teams running but applied for 3 and got our Vet's team knocked back. It was however the first time we have got a full ladies team at the FRA Relays, which is very positive moving forward. The day got off to a great start with the in form Jimmy Craig running a very good leg to bring the men's team home in 6th place after a cracking battle with Craig Shearer of Keighley. Luke Maude and Nick Treitl were next up and again ran really well bringing us back in 8th place. Things went a bit pear shaped on leg 3 with Julian Hood and Shaun Chew taking a couple of poor routes, resulting in the team dropping to 16th. We can't put the nav on any two people, so hopefully, a gang of Barlickers will again get a nav course done for next year. Tom Corrigan ran well on the last leg and managed to consolidate 16th. Overall not to bad a day. A top 10 finish was well on the cards after leg 2 though.
The ladies got underway with Lorraine Slater on leg 1 and she was going very well until a slip, trip and a fall opened up her leg. Through gritted teeth and classic Slater grit, she managed to finish the leg. Leanne Dinsdale and Jen Hird were up next and ran well pulling quite a few places back. Again though, a few nav errors cost the team, with Rachel and Paula struggling to find check point E. Angela Donlan ran a cracking last leg and left everything out on the fell.
Overall another step in the right direction and with a bit more luck that top 10 spot would've been on the cards. Really well organised on the day, so well done to Clayton. Looking forward to next year and hopefully improving on this finish and also doing better at Ian Hodgson. It's been a busy couple of months for the club on the relay front. Taking silver and bronze in the Lancs 4 stage. Qualifying for the national six stage, 12th at Ian Hodgson and now 16th at the FRA relays. A lot to look back on and be proud of. A few tired legs today so well done guys and girls for getting out there and putting the club on the map.
Chewy
Scott Boardman ran in this race, which is part of the Lancaster Race Series. His position is not yet know, but his time of 41:38 is a PB by over two minutes.
Barlick vests were once more on display in the Florida this week as John Boothman and Jenna follow in Emma Bailey's footseps.
10 John BOOTHMAN 21:09
24 Jenna BOOTHMAN 27:52
1 Matthew LALOR 16:30
1 Lucas PAYNE 18:07
7 Nicolas KENDALL 20:01
50 Heather DRIVER 25:06 New PB
101 Emma BAILEY 28:41
110 Gary BAILEY 29:26
113 Hazel O'HARA 29:31
128 Graham WADSWORTH 30:39 New PB
145 Julie BRYAN 32:52
154 Clover EDWARDS 34:16
155 Susan HIRD 34:30
This week, the pub run took us to Kelbrook. This is usually my least favourite pub run as Kelbrook Moor is a tad boring and has a ridiculous smattering of heather on the top with no proper trods or lines to be seen. With this in mind I decided to go for a steady 5 mile run with young svelte Chew. Leading the run was perennial non turner upper, Glenn 'Palin' Whittaker. On the run this week, we had a right novelty! Females! Rachel 'The Boss' Lowther, Kirsty 'Tight Bugger' Hall and Leanne 'Terminator' Dinsdale. The only moment of note to mention from the run itself were that the group got charged by cows, which I'm glad I missed, as I'm not very fond of the black and white beasts. The cows cut Kirsty adrift from the rest of the group and she too isn't very fond of them either. It bodes well for Saturday's nav leg though, as Rachel guided them back to the Stone Trough with very little deviation. The rest of the posse made their way back but unfortunately for us, the pub was busy and they were down to the last real ale. So a quick swift exit and we ended up at the Craven Heifer. I'm supposed to be on a diet but Wainwright's was on. This is like a great white smelling blood in the sea. The only man not so sure about coming to the Heifer was Andy Collins, knowing Jax would be sat at the bar flicking the whip. Wadsworth made a welcome return after his holiday in Italy. He looks more like Boycott everyday. Banterer of the week has to go to Rachel though. Rendered me speechless with a few cracking one liners about weight and needing to lose it. They were all here this week, the back bone of the pub run reinstated. . Best night of the week if you want the craic, a run and most importantly, beer! Can't remember where we are next week but the new list was approved. Hopefully somewhere more exciting than Kelbrook Moor then I can have summat to write about.
Chewy
349 toed the line on the Stanley Park track in Blackpool for the AUTUMN BREAKER 10K which involved 2 flat, traffic free circuits. Favourable autumn weather meant dozens entered on the day to contribute to a record entry for the annual race. The event gave (just) 2 members the chance to follow in the footsteps of the elite squad which competed so well in the Northern 6 stage relay at the same venue recently.
Derek Walkden ran a solid race, but once more just failed to attain his 40 minute mark target, whilst Terry Lonergan nudged his season’s 10K time down again but he too missed his target, which was 47 minutes. Close for both, but no cigars as they say!
22nd DEREK WALKDEN 40.22 2ND M45
80TH TERRY LONERGAN 47.06 3RD M65
9 Chris Smale 45:02 1st V50
28 Andy Berry 47:06
95 Angela Donlan 54:10
U12 Girls
15 Jenna Boothman 8:55
U10 Boys
12 Jack Latham 8:25
14 Oliver Whipp 8:35
U10 Girls
12 Lilly Pickles 9:29
24 Clover Edwards 11:11
30 Tabitha Berry 11:26
U8 Girls
14 Chloe Boothman 4:03
15 Annabelle Hoyle 4:05
Jimmy Craig gave this race his best shot, setting off at his usual 100 mph, but in the end, he had to settle for 4th place, with Ted Mason easily running out as the winner and thus retaining his title of BOFRA Champion. Well done to Ted. He fought back well against the late onslaught by Jimmy and he is a worthy champion.
Further down the field, Nick Treitl came 8th and Craig Child knocked a chunk of time from last year's performance.
1 Ted Mason, 36:44
4 Jimmy Craig 39:32
8 Nick Treitl 41:00
20 Richard Lowther 46.14
36 Craig Child 52:42
Another top notch run from Luke Muade in this race. There are conflicting reports as to exactly how good. Some say he came 7th, others say 8th. Clarification follows in addition to details of the performances of the other Barlickers.
Sam Tosh was the race winner.
7 Luke Maude 2:16:29
159 Andy Driver 3:01:24
174 John Boothman 3:07:53
216 Pete Jackson 3:17:53
281 Glenn Whitaker 3:28:33
298 Michael Alexander 3:31:56
319 Dave Halliday 3:38:13
337 Paula Clark 3:45:05
Lucy Beresford was timed out by 4 minutes according to the marshal at Esk Hause, although the time was 1:54 and the official time out was 1:55, so a bit of a disappointment for Lucy.
A big welcome back to running for Sarah Tipler.
9 Sarah TIPLER 21:39 (2nd Lady)
1 Andrew CHEW 18:22 New PB
13 Emma BAILEY 21:42 (1st Lady)
22 Daniel CHEW 22:86 New PB
47 Jenna BOOTHMAN 25:34 New PB
93 Gary BAILEY 29:20 New PB
94 Hazel O'HARA 29:22 New PB
121 Clover EDWARDS 33:08
124 Susan HIRD 33:12
1 Marc HARTLEY 16:54
Eight brave souls attended the pub run in 3rd world Earbyoathia last night with a couple of stragglers trapping for drink afterwards. There were three welcome backs last night as Satnav returned, as did Lee McCash and Doc Bryan. The pace was once again set by the eager pairing of Andy Collins and Mike "Eager Spaniel" Sellors. Hoping that the gruelling ultra which took him about 5 days to complete would render the exuberant Sellors tired. This was soon dispelled as false hope as he quickly made his way up the track chatting away and slowly dropping everyone one by one as they went straight up the race route to the pinnacle on Pinhaw moor. It was at this point we noticed Satnav was struggling a tad and he quickly horrified us by showing us why. He opened his top and once we had got over the fact his chest looking like a heavily picked at carcass we saw the bruising he had from falling off his bike. Obviously in true Barlick fashion he was ridiculed for his bad fortune and once again we were on our way. The next incident of note was that of the man they call Halliday. As we were running through a bit of bog to us normal sized men it quickly became apparent that Dave had found a man trap. Quite why he squealed nobody knows. Sellors nearly stopped to help him from his self made muddle, but quickly thought better of it and continued on. The finish of the run was met with glee and a well earned beer in The Red Lion, or so we thought! Once inside the pungent aroma of damp filled our freshly emptied nostrils. The key to a good pint here is let a couple order one first and then follow them so you know it hasn't been sat in the lines all week. Usually I would be over the moon at The Doc buying me a pint but he was onto my plan and quickly despatched the first one into my shaking hand. Once arse had found chair I waited for it to clear. Sweat was literally rolling down my forehead as McCash smiled and offered me a pork scratching. The rest of lads sat down, but to our collective horror it seemed it was not just my pint. I tried to drink it but to be honest I would rather of tried one them grubs in the bushtucker trials. Quickly thinking about our bowel movements for the next day, we shot out and retired to the Punch Bowl. I have to say a very nice pub and this will be where we go on our next venture into the third world state of Earbyoathia. Greeted by a lovely young lady doing her ironing behind the bar. The first man this week to hear the crack of the whip was Big Dave Halliday. As the phones rolled out it quickly dawned on us that Screw "manflu" Driver was now present in the pub. He was obviously making sure Ingham hadn't trapped before sampling the delights of the Earby hostelries. The pub run moves to Kelbrook next week. Will Jock make it? Will Jack Ingham grow a pair? Will we have new blood to heckle? Who knows?
Sam Gibbs was visiting a friend at the weekend and his friend promptly entered him in a local race but forgot to put him down as a Barlick Fell Runner. Sam had a good run finishing in 3rd place which was a good run on the back of his good performance at the Three Peaks Cyclo Cross last week.
3 Sam Gibbs 1:03:12
This is a hard and challenging race run over a testing route, albeit with beautiful scenery, if the weather is favourable.
Each year that we have completed this race, we have managed to improve our time and this year was no exception, finishing it for the first time under 4 hours. You would think that this would lead to an improved position, but this was not to be the case. This year, there were some very competitive teams out and Barlick finished 12th out of 70 teams in a time of 3:59:06.
Gary Shaw and Marc Hartley ran the first leg, handing over to Chris Smale and Tom Corrigan in 16th place. They took just a few seconds longer for this first leg than last year, but this leg is slightly longer than previously as it now starts on the field.
Tom set off on the second leg, with a scorching pace up the hill, with Chris trailing in his wake. Chris eventually caught him up and passed him, but on the descent to the Kirstone Inn, Tom once more took the lead and they handed over in 16th position.
Shaun Chew & Luke Maude then took over the baton with Luke immediately showing his intent by leaving Shaun trailing behind up the very steep ascent and getting amongst the two teams in front of them. Once on the top, Shaun caught up his team mate, although at one stage, they ended up running on opposite sides of the beck. They handed over to the last leg runners of Jimmy Craig and Nick Treitl in 13th place.
The last pair gained another place, but couldn't quite catch Rossendale and Carnethy.
A great performance from everyone and it is a tribute to the quality of the teams out on the day that this performance was only good enough to secure 12th place.
There was tough competition at the front of the field with Borrowdale winning the race for the 19th time finishing just ahead of Keswick and Dark Peak.
2 Andrew Carson 37:41
95 Peter Wilkinson 49:41
The main aims of the club are to increase the participation of running in Barnoldswick and to keep organised running as accessible as possible.