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Clougha Pike Fell Race
The 20th Anniversary of the Darren Jones Clougha Pike Fell Race was marked with the races first inclusion in the English Junior Fell Racing Series. The race, which takes place annually on the day of the Quernmore Field Day and Village fête, had to undergo a series of course alterations to meet the required standard for the Series, and managed to do so with distinction, providing testing terrain, but at the same time a safe environment for all the athletes to compete in.
It must be conceded, unfortunately, that the turnout of Lancaster athletes was slightly disappointing giving the locality of the event, although in all fairness, this was probably due to the wide range of track and road fixtures on the same weekend. Despite this, the four athletes that ran represented the club well, and all achieved top five finishes,
In the U16 race, English Series debutant Callum Mason produced the best result of the day, finishing in a tremendous 2nd position, against much more experienced fell runners. He was backed up by Ryan Croasdale (5th) and Sarah Hodgson, who was 3rd, in a high calibre girl’s field, including both the North of England 3000m champion, and the UK Cross Country Challenge silver medallist. Together these three finished 2nd in the mixed team event.
In the U18 and Senior combined race later in the day, the club gained another medal, with 16-year old, Adam Bateson, finishing in 3rd. Adam appeared relatively unfazed by the fact that some of his competitors were almost two years older than him, and used his strength to capitalize on the length of the course, completing the race over a minute ahead of the fourth placed finisher.
The final fell fixture of the season will be the Lancashire Junior Fell Champs, held at Darwen Gala, on the 21st of August. Anyone who wishes to, is more than welcome to turn out to represent the club, and although challenging, fell racing can be an exhilarating experience, and if nothing else, a pleasant change from competing on the surfaces that one most regularly associates with running, such as road and track. Give it a go!
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