It's Galloway glory day for Valley pairing
Calder Valley Fell Runners' Jonathan Emberton and his partner Heather Munro have won the mixed class in an elite mountain marathon in the Scottish hills.
Competitiors in the Original Mountain Marathon, held in the Galloway region, had to run over hills for two days to find hidden checkpoints while carrying a tent, food and stove and full outdoor survival gear for an overnight camp in the hills.
The pair finished 16th overall from a field of 60 teams after a shade over 17 hours of running.
Clubmates Alistair Morris and Phil Scarf came 14th in the elite section. Competitors had to contend with thick mist, rain and sodden conditions. Weather conditions were so poor that 42 teams had to retire.
In the slightly less arduous A class, Calder’s Jo Buckley and partner Wendy Dodds were first in the women’s pairs section after 14 hours in the hills, while James Williams and Gareth Pemberton finished sixth in the B class.
The Long Score class involved bagging as many controls as possible in a given time period. Calder club chairman Rod Sutcliffe of Cragg Vale and his partner Bill Johnson of Luddenden finished 10th with 365 points while clubmates Lee Shimwell and Rob Sharratt completed the Medium Score class with 195 points.
l A team from Halifax Harriers came home with a car load of prizes from the prestigeous Holmfirth 15 miles road race on Sunday.
First man to finish for Harriers was Paul Berry of Brighouse in 15th from more than 200 runners in one hour, 35 minutes and 18 seconds, closely followed by Ripponden’s Geoff Cumber who was just five seconds further back to win the over 55s award.
Queensbury’s evergreen distance specialist Raymond Hall clocked 1.40.05 to win the over 60s section.
Sarah Iannelli of Queensbury clocked 1.40.16 to win the over 35s womens category.
Peter Hughes of Queensbury Running Club completed in 1.45.43, Simon Hogan of Stainland Lions in 1.53.26, and Todmorden Harrier Jeff Walker in 1.54.09.
Halifax Harrier Linda Crabtree of Queensbury finished in 42 seconds over two hours to come second in the over 45s, one place ahead of her clubmate Dave Cooper, with Jackie Carter of Brighouse (Spenborough AC) finishing in 2.06.48.
l Chris Smale of Todmorden Harriers ran away from a quality field to win the Running Bear Race To The Summit near Littleborough on Sunday.
The 42-year-old solicitor led from the start of the four and a half mile off-road run, which was celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Smale, runner up in his previous two outings over the course, clocked 28 minutes and three seconds, his fastest time for the race.
His clubmate Andrew Wrench stayed in close contact as the leaders made their way alongside Chelburn reservoir and up to the turning point, The White House Inn on Blackstone Edge.
However, Wrench was outgunned on the return journey and had to settle for second, 15 seconds adrift. With Todmorden policeman Jon Wright taking fifth place in 29.23, the Harriers won the team prize easily.
