Yesterday, four Harriers took part in the Calderdale Way Ultra 30 mile option. The route, which starts at Brighouse and finishes at Heptonstall, traverses some of Calderdale’s most picturesque, and challenging, scenery. This is a race not for the faint-hearted as it takes in some technical descents and some challenging ascents.
Tom Paget had a superb run finishing in 4th (5.45.00) Sarah Cumber finished 9th and 3rd lady (6.03) and Steve Sladdin finished 10th (6.03). Rob Hick, who made his ultramarathon debut, finished strong to complete the quartet in 26th position (7.28).
Adopting the ethos of the CWR relay race, Steve and Sarah ran it as a pair. This was Steve’s first time racing long distance since Covid, and becoming a dad. Steve said, “Sarah was amazing. There were times in the race she was far stronger than I, equally, there were times in the race I thought I had been overoptimistic that my general fitness would carry me through as the longest run I had done was 15 mile, and that was the recce. Sarah was patient and I think we made a good team although she could have easily been 2nd on the podium. Testament to the person she is.”
It goes without saying, the true star of the day was Geoff Cumber who was at every aid station, and various places around the course, offering his support and encouragement.
The weather was certainly on our side and, perhaps next year, we might all do the 50…..or not.
Today I took part in the Calderdale Way Ultra. A superb race organised by ‘She Strides Events’. The 50 mile route started and finished in Heptonstall and follows the paths and trails of the Calderdale boundary. It has around 9000ft of elevation and takes in the wonderful views of moorland, hills and the local towns and villages, it is dominated by Stoodley pike in the West and Wainhouse tower in the East.
When the race set off, I inadvertently found myself at the front as I knew the way and the other front runners didn’t. I managed to keep the lead for over half the race, but had pushed myself too hard and struggled from Ripponden to Stoodley Pike. I was overtaken by 3 runners who were in a group, running together and suddenly found myself moving from 1st to 4th. I had some encouragement from a fellow ultra runner from Queensbury at Withens Clough (I love the ultra runners of Calderdale, they are wonderful supportive people) and managed to regroup, never give up – I retook 3rd place by Todmorden.
I was able to hold on to this and am absolutely delighted with 3rd place at this event. It was great to have Halifax Harriers support at the finish – from those who had completed and were supporting the 30 mile ultra from Brighouse to Heptonstall. What a great way to spend the day running through wonderful Calderdale. I think that I am ready to lead the recce run for leg 4 of the Calderdale Way Relay (CWR) next weekend. The CWR is a special event and a highlight of the running calendar – 19th May 2024, I am very excited.
The 8th Annual Harriers Quiz was held in the upstairs room of the Kobenhavn bar in the Westgate Arcade. The quiz was totally sold out with 48 quizzers in attendance over 12 teams. The diabolically hard quiz was set by Debbie Kirkbride with Chris as question master.
There was a charity raffle which together with profits from the quiz raised £257 for the Happy Days charity in Halifax. The total raised included a generous donation of £40 from the half time break pizza suppliers, All Pizzetto on Union Street.
The winning team members included Mark Clements and Stewart McConnell and their partners. The runners up were the doctors team of Marc Rocheteau, Annie Killeen and David and Jane Ingle. In third place was Tim Slow, Ellen Limebear, Jack Melia and Amy Radford.
More photos can be found on the Gallery page of this website. https://www.halifaxharriers.co.uk/gallery/harriers-quiz-night-2024/