Month: July 2021

The Montane Lakeland 100 is renowned for being one of the hardest and most challenging events on the Ultra running calendar. The circular route encompasses the whole of the Lakeland fells, includes in the region of 6300 m of ascent and consists entirely of public bridleways and footpaths. The route starts in Coniston and heads south before completing a clockwise loop which takes in the Dunnerdale fells, Eskdale, Wasdale and Buttermere before arriving in Keswick. From here the route heads to Matterdale and continues over to Haweswater before returning via Kentmere, Ambleside and Elterwater to the finish at Coniston.

Peel Road Runner Martin Hollamby took on this unique challenge, starting on Friday 23^rd July at 6.00 pm and finishing 29 hours 48 minutes and 14 seconds later, having run 100 miles with minimal stopping through the night and day! This was Hollamby’s first attempt at the Lakeland 100 and he finished in 75^th place out of a starting field of 524 (of whom, only 338 finished). When asked to describe his adventure he said, “It’s difficult to put a nearly 30 hour journey into words. I had a massive smile on my face all the way around – even in the last 20 miles when I slowed somewhat. The scenery was inspiring, made all the better by clear skies and a full moon on Friday and Saturday night. I’d thoroughly recommend this to anyone!”

The winner of the race was Mark Darbyshire (one of the top ultra runners at this distance in the country) in a time of 19:10:27.

Meanwhile following in their dad’s footsteps (or showing him how it’s done?), Sally and Emma completed the Lakeland 1 (mile) event on Friday, collecting their medals without a blister or broken toenail in sight!

Closer to home, but also taking on their own endurance challenge, a group of Peelers were camped out at Catton Park running the Conti Thunder Run 24 hour race starting on Saturday and finishing 24 hours later on Sunday. The Challenge requires runners to complete as many laps of the 10k course in the time as they can. The route is a great mix of terrain and surfaces keeping it engaging lap after lap, covering twisty trails, technical woodlands, open fields, stone tracks, climbs and descents. The race can be entered as either solo runners, pairs or teams.

Running in the solo categories, Ian Cooper completed an impressive 70km whilst Tanya Murphy managed 40 km before frustratingly having to withdraw due to shin splints.

In the team event, Team Peel Road Runners (comprising of Sophie Galloway, Sandra Ingram, Kathryn Adams, Jo Insley, Natalie Walker, Ash Goodman, Darren O’Leary and Andy Pickard) completed 23 10k laps, with an average lap time of 1:02:33. They finished 33^rd out of of 146 mixed teams of between 6 and 8 runners. Meanwhile, Team Peel Pips 1 (comprising Chris Norris, Sarah French, Ann Hill, Chris Bennett and Ian Grigg) and Team Peel Pips 2 (comprising Alison Dolphin, Kelly Porter, Claire Guffick, Stephen Andrews and Lee Guffick) both completed 14 laps, finishing 133^rd and 134^th out of 146 teams. “We are completers, not compeeters!” said Club Secretary, Alison Dolphin, demonstrating the inclusivity of the Peel Road Runners for runners of all abilities.

Finally, the long-awaited return of parkrun was celebrated by runners all over the country on Saturday. Running for the first time since parkrun was cancelled due to the Covid19 pandemic, five Peelers tested out the course at Kingsbury Water Park. First home was Rob Mace in 20:28, followed by Garth Cox in 23:52, Lisa Stretton in 24:41, Tim Mudd in 30:31 and Jacqui Tierney in 31:20. Doing a spot of parkrun tourism, Mick Stevenson represented the club at Northallerton parkrun finishing in 32:31.

Peel Road Runners meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 6.45 pm at the skate park car park in the Castle Grounds.

Temperatures of 31° and high humidity did nothing to dissuade some enthusiastic Peel Road Runners from taking on road and trail challenges last weekend.

Travelling north west to Chester, Malcolm Bembridge ran the popular Aldi Chester 10k finishing in a time of 48:14, which put him in 26^th place in a very competitive M50 category. Overall he finished 359^th out of a total field of 2232 runners.

Closer to home, four Peelers ran the Brooksie’s Bash 10 mile trail race based at Foremarke Hall in Repton. This scenic and undulating course raises awareness and funds for the charity Mind (Derbyshire) and appeals to runners of all abilities. Wayne King was first Peeler to cross the finish line in a time of 1:12:25, which put him in 8^th place overall and 4^th in the M40 category. Next Peeler home was Emma Pick who finished in a time of 1:22:41, 4^th lady and 2^nd in the FSEN age category. She was closely followed by Zac Gibbons in a time of 1:25:40, 30^th overall and 12^th in the MSEN age category. Carl Hole-Maloney had a brilliant race; the Bash being his first trail race and his first 10 mile race. He finished in a creditable time of 1:44:56 and 113^th overall out of a total of 242 runners, stating that it was the hardest running event he had ever done!

Despite other sporting occasions taking precedence this weekend, an enthusiastic group of Peel Road Runners have been testing their running prowess over the distance of six miles as part of the Burton and District Summer League. Due to Covid restrictions, the midweek Worthington 6 miles race organised by Ivanhoe Runners (Ashby de la Zouch) has had to go virtual this year, but would normally be an ‘out and back’ run on the Cloud Trail (a disused railway line, but now a traffic-free cycle route) at Worthington.

First Peeler to cross the virtual line was Wayne King, who clocked a very speedy time of 36:01, closely followed by club rival Martin Hollamby in 36:53. Running well in warm and humid conditions, Richard Satchwell finished the distance in 43:44 a week after his half marathon personal best. Mike Shelton finished in 46:13, whilst Zoe Schnepp was first woman home in an impressive time of 46:24. Lisa Stretton ran strongly to finish in 47:43 followed by Jenna Colin in 48:13, Chris Bennett in 48:59, Mark Boffey in 49:52, Donna Lancaster in 51:02, George Hope in 51:03 and Simon Gordon in 51:18. Carl Hole-Maloney ran a personal best time over the distance of 51:35, taking 6 minutes of his previous best time. Stuart Hatton finished in 51:42, followed by Marcus Fairburn in 51:45, Joanne Harvey in 52:03, Rachel Browne in 52:10, Carolyne Browne in 52:28, Sophie Galloway in 54:23, Emma Livingstone in 55:24, Sandra Ingram in 57:3, Helen Manton in 60:11,Tanya Murphy in 61:05, Sarah Barber in 61:0, Claire Guffick in 61:51, Emma Petricca in 62:39, Emma Whorwood in 64:08, Alison Upton in 64:40, Owen Slater in 67:00 and Joy Sykes in 70:35.

Peel Road Runners meet in the Skate Park car park in the Castle Grounds every Tuesday and Thursday evening. Contact us for more information.

With the racing scene in the UK slowing returning to some sort of normality, the Peelers have been out in force all over the country! 

Heading north to the beautiful countryside of Northumberland, Neal Dempsey completed the 100km Heineken Race to the Castle event over the weekend of 26th and 27th June in a time of 19 hours, placing 434th out of 669 finishers. Competitors in the ultra race had to contend with difficult weather conditions, running through the night over mixed and undulating terrain, whilst running from Kirkhale to Bamburgh Castle following the long distance path of St Oswald’s Way.

Meanwhile on the south coast, Tricia Bunn completed the equally arduous North Devon AONB Marathon in aid of North Devon Hospice on Sunday, 27th June. The race advertised as “the toughest and most beautiful race in the UK” started and finished in Woolacombe and for the most part followed the coastal path with its many ups and downs! Tricia, who said that “it could be my 100th or 110th marathon … I’ve lost count!” completed the course in a creditable time of 5:16:52 and was 7th in age category and 17th lady. Richard Bunn completed the equally difficult half marathon in a time of 2:15:00.

On Saturday 3rd July, Richard Satchwell ran the Birmingham and Black Country half marathon. This is a unique point to point race along the canal towpaths from Wolverhampton city centre to Brindley Place in Birmingham. Although largely flat with locks and bridges the only inclines, the route is famous for including the 350m Coseley tunnel and for providing refreshments on canal boats along the way. Satchwell crossed the finish line in 1:45:17 and came 125th out of 636 runners achieving a personal best over the distance of 4 minutes 58 seconds.

On Sunday 4th July, the Peelers turned out in force to run the Florette Fradley 10k road race. This is a very popular local event where runners race over a two lap flat and fast course. With the hot and humid weather against them, first Peeler home was Emma Pick who finished in a creditable time of 41:16 and was 9th female and 5th in age category. She was followed by Zoe Schnepp who finished in 48:15 and was 33rd female and 16th in age category. Chris Bennett crossed the line next in a time of 53:53 followed by Clara Walton in 1:01:38; Emma Whorwood in 1:02:43; Claire Guffick in 1:04:28; Alison Upton in 1:05:25; Martyn Candy in 1:07:00; Ann Hill in 1:13:24; Sarah French in 1:13:38; Lee Guffick in 1:15:30; Alison Dolphin in 1:17:48 and Stephen Andrews in 1:23:00.

The Peelers next challenge will be the Burton and District Summer League Worthington 6 mile event. This race, which is normally held on the Cloud Trail in Worthington near Ashby de la Zouch, is a “virtual” race this year and a new distance for the runners to race over.