Mytholmroyd fell race was back on this year after last year’s hiatus. The classic short fell race never lets off, with a tough climb right out of the valley right from the off, with the legendary ‘Luddenden steps of doom’ in the middle of the race for good measure. At the time of writing, results are not yet available, but the race was won by Todmorden’s Doni Clarke with another stellar performance who lead the race early on to finish in first place.
Photo credit: Woodentops.org.uk
Red Rose Cross Country: Marl Pits
Saturday held the 4th and final fixture in the red rose cross country league at Marl Pits in Rossendale. The course’s reputation for being a mudbath was even further surpassed this year due to adverse weather conditions, but this didn’t stop a few hardy Todmorden Harriers from turning out. In the Women’s race, Rebecca Patrick put in an excellent performance, taking 11th place, just missing out on a top 10 position by less than 30 seconds. Mel Blackhurst wasn’t far behind, showing great consistency and also winning the cross country championship in the Todmorden Harriers end of year awards ceremony later that evening. Kate Mansell and Kim Ashworth also put in great performances to take 3rd place in the team standings. In the men’s race, Graeme Brown came in 16th in 38:39 with Jon wright in 23rd and Dan Taylor in 32nd.
West Yorkshire Winter League – Dewsbury
Several members of Todmorden Harriers attended the Dewsbury fixture of the west Yorkshire winter league on Sunday morning to clear their heads after a night of awards and celebrations on Saturday evening. First for Todmorden was Andrew Worster who came 3rd overall. Dom Leckie had a great run for 30th place. Zoe Dijkman’s dancing shoes paid off as she was first Woman over the line for Todmorden Harriers. Special mention to Kim Ashworth who showed typical endurance and resilience as she had raced at Marl pits the day before as well as attending the awards do and then put in an excellent run at Dewsbury too.