dash thedashers.org.uk/uploads/dash/jun-17.pdf · shakatak wordsearch 21 parkrun results contents ...

June 2017

The

Dash

Camp Off Champs 2017

How beautiful is the cover picture taken on Robinson by Amy Freeman on a

training run of leg 5 of the Bob Graham? As I drive to and from work each day my vista is the hills of Pendle, Hameldon, Rossendale fells and of course the gorgeous Darwen Moors and I often think how lucky we are to have this beautiful landscape on our doorstep. I personally am not a fan of fell races because I am such a wuss and scared of falling, but I can appreciate how you can enjoy the freedom and exhilaration that fell racing must provide. If you would like to try a Fell race please speak to Ciaire Hardy the Fell Captain who will be more than happy to advise you and possibly run with you in a non-Championship race.

Taking fell running to another level Amy Freeman and Gareth Davies will be taking on the Bob Graham Challenge from 21st to 22nd July we all wish them the best of luck and there will be many Dashers who will be supporting, pacing and providing refreshment and provisions en route. I will be doing a supplement issue in a week or two with details of the route and expected arrival times. Running on the moors is not everyone ‘s cup of tea and Michelle and Alison who lead the Improvers group on Thursday have shown initiative by arranging for their group to meet at DLC and car share and run round Entwistle Reservoir, providing an alternative to the moors during the light nights.It really is a busy time at the moment with lots of different races and event is taking place, from Triathlon to fell races, Parkrun to night races but whatever you are doing share it with your fellow Dashers and put it in the Dash. It doesn’t have to be epic it can anything from half a page. It is your magazine

and all contributions are welcome, and it has been brilliant to see the publicity that the club has enjoyed lately in the Lancashire Telegraph thanks to Fliss Watson. I am sure we will be receiving more publicity soon as our very own Kerry Elliott is guest of honour at the Blackburn “Race for Life” on Wednesday 28th June where she will be starting the race and hopefully she will be supported well by many Lady Dashers and any male supporters will be very welcomed too.Keep on dashing until next month...

From theeditor...

Debbie Biscuit

1 www.dashers.org.uk

Darwen Dashers Running Club: Founded 1990Club Committee ChairmanChris [email protected] Tayor07837 [email protected] SecretaryVacantTreasurerRebecca Simms01254 [email protected] CaptainAlison Abbott 07971 [email protected] CaptainClaire Hardy07515 377734 [email protected] CaptainFran [email protected]

When/where to meet us:

TuesdayThe Sunnyhurst, Tockholes Rd, Darwen BB3 1JX19.00All Welcome

WednesdayDarwen Leisure Centre18.30Beginners

ThursdayThe Sunnyhurst, Tockholes Rd, Darwen BB3 1JX19.00All Welcome

Check our Facebook page for details of runs which are taking place on club nights.If you have not run with us before, please get in touch before you come so we can arrange for somebody to meet you.

The Dash

Editor Debbie BevittContributors Fran Bury, Chris Cash, Gareth Davies, Calvin Ferguson, Claire Hardy, Ady Humphrys, Barry Ross, Barry ShackletonDesigner Sophie Atherton

Darwen Dashers Running Club

@DarwenDashers

On Facebook:Darwen Dashers Parkrun Information Page

All contributions for the The Dash to be sent by 1st of each month to:[email protected]

1 Editors Letter3 Chairman’s Chat 254 From the Captains5 Darwen Dashers Committee Meeting7 Two Tribes Go To Traw...

10 Doing the ‘Bob’11 The Don Ashton Tockholes Memorial Evening Race13 Marathon No.216 Just an average Dasher

19 Lytham Beer Run20 Two Tribes Cash vs Shakatak Wordsearch21 parkrun Results

Contents

2www.dashers.org.uk


Well summer has arrived at last, or should I say it had until yesterday.

It has not stopped being persistent ever since. I wonder if it will have an effect upon club nights in June, or not? We will see.It’s certainly been a busy time for running races this last month with no less than four championship fell races taking place, numerous long and short road races, and the weekly parkruns keeping all the Dashers busy.Personally I continued with my training and completed the Windermere Marathon in just under a very leisurely 5 hours, whilst enjoying the company of new boy Iain Asher for the first 15 miles and even Paul Brindle turned up for a mile or so later on. The only sight I had of the only other Dasher, Michael Wilding was when he was driving past me on his way home! Meanwhile in Liverpool Viki Walsh and Bruce Elliot completed the Rock and Roll Marathon over the bank holiday weekend with a few keen Dashers completing the half to keep them company along the way.I cannot thank Francesca Bury enough for her Monday evening Pilates classes. Both as part of marathon training and certainly post-marathon

recovery, these classes have managed to help me maintain some flexibility and looseness in both my joints and muscles which can all too quickly stiffen up over longer distances.Now that the marathon is out of the way I have been fortunate enough to remain injury-free and have competed in both the 5.8 mile Bowley Hill Trail Race and the 7.4 mile Henderson’s End Fell Race. Which should help me to achieve my next goal, the Two Tribes V60 Race Off against ‘king of the parkruns’ Barry Shackleton on 2nd July at the Trawden 7 Trail Race. More of which is elsewhere in the Dash.This together with the Heritage Half Marathon and Claire’s Quiz Night amongst other social occasions are continually raising funds for many local and national charities including Crohns and Colitis, East Lancs Hospice and now the Manchester Bomb Victims. Something that I am very proud of as a Darwen Dasher.I am just going to flag up a few impending running events that you may either wish to race in or be part of in a voluntary capacity:

Aggies Staircase Fell Race on 22nd June. This local race starts on Punstock Road and is organised by our own George

Thomson. Your time is always appreciated to marshal or undertake another role on this event, so give him a call if you are free.Tockholes Evening Don Ashton memorial Fell Race on 6th July. This race starts on Weasel Lane at Tockholes and is organised by me. Again any offers of help would be appreciated to ensure that it is another successful event.The Bob Graham Challenge on 21st to 22nd July. Both Amy Freeman and Gareth Davies are to attempt this mammoth event and need lots of support over the 62 mile event. Again if you want to be involved then let them know. It will truly be a fantastic achievement for them both, and the club. More details elsewhere in the Dash.

So until the next time, enjoy your running and remain injury free.

Chairman’s Chat 25

Chris

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From the Road Captain

From the Fell Captain

May 2017 saw a great turn out for the Blacksticks Blue 10k and Crazy

Cow 10k. Some excellent performances on both including PBs and a great turn out of diddy Dashers at the Crazy Cow who also made the Telegraph J If you are reading this and haven’t entered any road championship races yet then all you need to do is check the website for the list and click to enter! I have been posting the entry links on Facebook and in the Dash one race at a time but you could also jump ahead and book a few at once to give you something to aim for in your training.The next championship race is the Morecambe Half Marathon on Sunday 25th

June at 11am. I know a few of you have already signed up. Would anyone like to write a race report? No experience necessary! Thanks to Barry Ross for his write ups so far this year, always a great read.The following week we have the Trawden 7 trail race on Sunday 2nd July at 11am. This one is all about the pie! It is 7.1 miles with 450ft of ascent, but has a lovely flat (ish) finish on the road and then across a field so get your race face ready for a sprint finish!If anyone is wanting to increase their mileage for the half marathon and 10 mile events coming up on the championship I can recommend googling “Asics Run” or downloading their app. It will ask you some questions and then give you

a programme. I have use it to guide my training. It’s good for knowing what distance to run and increasing distance is more about time on your feet; for example, my longest run before my last half marathon was 11 miles. Other Apps and programmes are available just find one that works for you – and we have an abundance of knowledgeable people at the club whose brains you can pick!Happy running,

Well... It’s been a busy few months with one thing and another

unfortunately this has meant I have had to forfeit running some of the championship and mid-week fell races. But things are settling down now so I will get back to the fell championships and will endeavour to update the website after each race.A little update from a couple of the more recent fell races... Hutton roof crags so a decent turnout from the Dashers on a very wet Saturday afternoon. Comedy ensued with golf ball like hail on the steep climb and Stuart Ryder completing more

than half the race with only one trainer on. In true dasher spirit though he made it to the finish line and is now raiding his lad’s money box for a new pair.At Blackstone Edge fell race Amy Freeman finished second lady and won every fell runners dream prize - a colander. This of course has many uses including wearing as a hat. This weekend I ran the Bolton Hill Marathon in Time of 4.45 and was 10th lady which I was over the moon with. Conditions can be best described as soggy and bloody hilly. So far I have raised over £1200 for Chrohn’s and Colitis UK.Next up in the Fell Championship is Settle Hills

on the 18th June. Look out for our very own Aggies Staircase race on the 22nd June.

Claire

Fran


Present

Alison, Amy, Chris, Francesca, Jim and Rebecca.Apologies: Claire.

Actions from Last Meeting

Amy has designed the new Dashers poster. It just needs forwarding on to Claire for printing and laminating. Surplus half marathon T shirts have been given to Andy O’Sullivan for distribution at his charity races. Francesca has applied for the off-road coaching from England Athletics.Amy has had some difficulty with registrations at England Athletics. Some runners who have been registered are showing up as discontinued on the website, which has caused a few problems when they have attempted to register for their discounts at races. Amy

continues to inform EA of this whenever she is made aware of this.A warm welcome is extended to new members Scott Walker, Sally Durdin and a belated welcome to Louise Lang.

Treasurers Update

The Dashers current account remains healthy at the moment with income from both memberships and clothing offsetting payments to England Athletics registrations and donating the Dark-Un profits to the Chrohn’s and Colitis charity. The Half Marathon account is currently very healthy with the £5,000 donation to East Lancs Hospice to be handed over next week.Rebecca has investigated who are signatories on the Dashers account and is to have this reduced to the Treasurer ( Rebecca) and the Secretary (Amy) only with each available to deposit and withdraw independently with a bankcard.Action: Rebecca to organise bank cards.

Beginners Captain Update

The last group of beginners ‘graduated’ on 20th May at Bolton parkrun and a few have

been attending the Dashers on club nights. 50 T shirts are on order at Gibsons to be handed out to the beginners at week 8 in preparation for their graduation parkrun.Brian and Jim attended their Run Leaders training on 21st May and are currently awaiting their DBS clearances. The date for the next 10 week course is yet to be finalised.Action: Alison to provide Amy with exact wording for the leisure centre beginner’s poster.

Road Captain Update

Both the Blacksticks Blue 10k and the Crazy Cow 10k were very well attended by the Dashers.Barry Ross attended both and did some excellent write-ups of the races in the Dash.The next Lancaster Castle race is to offer a marathon and a 10 k race

.Fell Captain Update

Francesca updated the meeting in the absence of Claire. Thornthwaite Farm campsite near Braithwaite is booked for the Bob Graham Challenge weekend on 21st-23rd July for Amy, Gareth and all supporters

Committee MeetingJune 2017

Darwen Dashers Thursday 8th

and navigators. Claire has posted the teams for the Witton Park Trail relays on Facebook.

Club Publicity

Two recent articles have been publicised in the Telegraph. One highlighting the Dashers in local races in the sports pages and the other showing Dashers children who competed in a fun run at the Crazy cow Rebecca aired a word of caution over having children publicised as we are strictly registered as a running club for 16+ only. In the past some parents have simply drove up to the Sunnyhurst and dropped them off for the night which we had to intervene in.

Bob Graham Challenge

Both Amy and Gareth are to set out on this epic challenge at 18.30 on Friday 21st July outside Moot Hall in Keswick. Amy is organising

a BBQ beforehand for all the volunteers and supporters involved primarily to fine tune what everyone will be doing and to check upon timescales etc.

Fundraising

Charities which are to benefit from the Dashers many events include:Bolton mountain rescue – Aggies Staircase RaceCardiac Risk in the Young- David Staff Memorial RaceChrohn’s and Colitis – Dark-Un, Quiz Night and cake salesKidasha – Everest ChallengeEast Lancs Hospice – Heritage Half Marathon and Tockholes Don Ashton Memorial RaceOne Love Manchester - Two Tribes Vet 60 Race off at Trawden 7 Trail Race.

Any Other Business

Jim asked that both the fell and road race calendars are put into the Dash to show all upcoming races for the year.Action: Claire and Francesca to publicise in the Dash.The committee discussed Carly Edwards request to advertise her sports therapy services on the dashers facebook page which nobody objected too.

Action: Chris to contact Carly with permission.Chris informed the meeting that the Hospice, a rep from heritage and local press will be visiting the Sunnyhurst next Thursday at 6.45 pm to receive a donation of £5,000 from the Dashers.The Two Tribes Race Off between Chris and Barry is a fundraiser for the Manchester Bomb Victims (plus bragging rights of course) it is hoped that all Dashers will back a runner and donate to this charity. The race-off is on Sunday 3rd July at the Trawden 7 trail Race. No doubt much publicity will follow on the Dashers facebook page.

Date and Time of the Next Meeting

Due to a number of impending night time fell races the meeting is to be on Tuesday 11th July 8.30pm in the Old Chapel.

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Committee MeetingJune 2017

www.dashers.org.uk7

When Two Tribes Go To

Traw...It’s the Dashers challenge

EVERYONE is talking about... and it could go either way.

Cash and Shakatak are going head-to-head at the Trawden 7 trail race on the 2nd July, and as this is a Dashers Championship race, the Ebony & Gold are expected to be out there in force to see the battle live... as it happens!To make things interesting we have had a little wager on the side which will go towards the Manchester appeal. The winner will give £10 to the fund while the loser will contribute £20.And now, you can join in the fun by selecting who you think will win. If you pick the winner, then you give £2 to the fund, but if you pick the loser, you give £5 to the fund. Keep a look out on the Darwen Dashers Facebook page at the end of June to make your selection.

8www.dashers.org.uk

To help you, here is the current Shakatak/Cash running form:

A long time in the planning but now it is just around the corner, Friday 21st July sees

Gareth and Amy begin their Bob Graham (BG) round from the Moot Hall, Keswick at 6.30pm. For those that aren’t aware of the BG it involves running approximately 66 miles over 42 Lakeland peaks, taking in 27000 feet of ascent in under 24 hours. No mean feat with just over 2000 people in the official BG Club.They will be supported by several pacers from our very own club and some other helpful folk who will carry bags, navigate, record summit times, cajole, shout, scream, feed, water and encourage both Gareth and Amy around each of the 5 legs.Both Gareth and Amy have trained extremely hard over the past 6 months, spending vast amounts of their weekends doing recces of each leg and putting the hard miles in through wind, rain, hail and snow. Each have managed to spend a day in the company of Nicky Spinks (double BG record holder) who has provided advice on nutrition, line choices, logistics and

all things Bob Graham. Her input and support has been invaluable.The way this club comes together to support each other on these challenges is nothing short of amazing and once again people have rallied around to support their BG attempt. Below is the schedule of what they will be working to. One schedule is working towards a finish time of 23 hours and 30 minutes and the other to 22 hours – training has gone well but until the day it is hard to say exactly what time we will be working too. Whilst each “leg” is covered with pacers, if you wish to join the fun and run any part of it please make contact with either Gareth or Amy – your help will be most welcome. Likewise if you don’t wish to run but want to support you can do so in the following ways:

1. Provide transport to and or from leg starts/finishes for pacers.2. Take water up to the col between Pillar and Kirk Fell (there is limited water on Leg 4).3. Be part of the road support

crew, supporting them through each of the road crossings at Threlkeld, Dunmail Raise, Wasdale or Honister.4. For the roadies out there who don’t wish to run on the mountains there is a 6 mile road run at the end of the round from Newlands Church to Keswick.5. Be at the top of any of the summits providing valuable vocal support (taking extra food and water to any of the summits could be a huge boost too)

To those who have committed their support in training for the BG and in supporting on the day – we are extremely grateful. COME ON DASHERS GET BEHIND THEM.For the weekend of the round we have booked a campsite just outside Keswick. Saturday night will hopefully see a celebration Dashers style in a local pub – all welcome.

10www.dashers.org.uk

Gareth Davies

Doing the

‘Bob’


Don Ashton 3rd December 1938 – 18th August 2016• 1990 & 1992 British V50 fell running champion• 1989 & 1992 English V50 fell running champion• 2:38 marathon (as a vet & while running for the Dashers)• 1993 - 11 hours 7 minutes – Joss Naylor Challenge

Listed above are just some of the achievements of Don from his running days. For those of you who don’t know by now, I am the Grandson of former British & English vet fell running champion, Don Ashton. Don was known by many around Blackburn & Darwen, particularly in the sport/fitness industry and the running world, he also actually won the Blackburn

with Darwen sports personality award in 1992 and the shield is still on display in Darwen Leisure Centre to this day, in fact.Running, fell running in particular was a family thing. He had me running from an early age, my Uncle Chris was fell runner who ran at county level and my Grandma enjoyed the roads and even dabbled in a fell race or two as well! I have very fond memories of training runs, race days and spectating in places such as Borrowdale, when Grandad was at his best.Don was at another level from most. His dedication to the sport and to being fit, to a ridiculously high standard, was something he was very proud of, albeit quietly. He first took up the sport after a friend challenged him to beat a race winner who was seemingly unbeatable. Grandad (Don) entered the race and won it a few years on the bounce, igniting his passion for a sport that would become his life and soul.Much of his success was in a Blackburn Harriers vest in his 50’s. For his age he was a superb athlete, even up in to his 70’s he was still more athletic than 99% of 20 something’s. I can vouch for that as we were gym partners for many years and he was always outdoing me at anything that required some cardiovascular fitness! He ran for the Dashers for many

The Don Ashton Memorial Tockholes Evening Race

years after changing from the Harriers and despite being born in Liverpool, he was a very proud adopted Darrener who loved “Donning” the ebony & gold (excuse the pun!).The 2009 David Staff memorial race was the last time he raced, winning his V70 category in the Dashers vest that day.Darwen tower was by far his favourite spot on the moors. Living just a stone’s throw away always helps but his daily runs, which turned in to daily walks, were always a highlight for him, come rain or shine. When he wasn’t running any longer, he would always be spectating at the races on the moors, many of you will have seen him down the years but you may not have known exactly who he was. The Tockholes Evening race brings the tower in to view on numerous occasions, something he would admire.

Despite his obvious ability as a runner and a fell runner, he would never admit that he was actually a good runner. He always said that an ever growing passion for the sport and lots and lots of hard work was the reason he got to the top. Many hours of speed work, hill reps, long runs and racing got him to where he once dreamt of being.Many of us will never reach those heights, but having the desire and the thought is where it all starts, right!... but, one message he was ALWAYS keen to relay, was that it doesn’t matter how “fast or slow” you may be, as long as you enjoy yourself, then that’s all that counts! For those of you that ran the Darwen Heritage half marathon, you may know that the funds this year went to the East Lancashire Hospice, in memory of Don, a gesture that I & the family are very grateful

for. The Hospice and their staff were absolutely fantastic in Don’s final days with us and I cannot praise them all enough.As well as this, Chris Cash proposed to me & the family that the Dashers would like to rename the Tockholes Evening race in his memory. We gratefully accepted the thoughtful gesture and the 6th July 2017 fell race will now be known as the Don Ashton Memorial Tockholes Evening race. We as a family are putting together some trophies, prizes and gifts and in the true fell running/Don Ashton spirit, all runners are in our thoughts, not just the fast lot!

Thursday 6th July 2017 7:15pm start from the Rock Inn, Tockholes – see you there!


Calvin Ferguson


Well, as you may be aware, I completed my first marathon in November last year,

at the “Hell of a Hill” marathon series based around Rivington Pike. As this year started, I began to think of my next challenge. I had nothing in mind, until I was chatting to Amy Freeman on a club night head torch

session. She mentioned to me the White Peak Marathon that she had completed a couple of years before, and she said it was a really enjoyable off-road trail race in the Peak District. So, I did a little research, liked what I saw and entered.As I’m a premium member of Strava, I started a session of marathon training plan in the middle of February. It

was going okay, I did struggle getting long runs in at the weekend, it was hard as I’m a shift worker (not for long, thankfully).The wheels sort of started to come off in April. Sadly, my father passed away, he’d been ill for a long time and it was a bit of a rush trying to arrange a funeral, just before Easter, as me and my partner had booked a trip to Cuba for ten days. Anyway, we managed to sort things out and we got away on time.Then, the wheels did come off. We’d booked a resort in Cuba that had full gym/fitness centre facilities and so on my second day there (my birthday!), I decided to check out the gym. When I got there, there were a couple of treadmills and various other pieces of equipment, all in a nice air-conditioned room (it was 30 degrees outside!). I walked over to the treadmills and found they were switched off. So, in not very good Spanish, I asked somebody if they could switch them on. They replied they would ask someone to sort it out, and off they went. So, I’m stood there twiddling my thumbs for

Marathon No.2


around five minutes, and then I noticed there were no belts on the treadmills!! (I felt like an apprentice being told to go to the stores for a long stand!!)So, off I went outside and thought I would try a short run along the front of the hotel resort and managed around 5k. It was too hot and with high humidity, I struggled. So, I thought I’d try an early morning run, it was still too warm and humid but I did manage a paltry 10k.Anyway, we got back and I had four weeks to get back into vigorous training ready for the marathon. Everything went well and the day arrived for the race. I got my chauffer (my friend) to drive us down to Matlock at the rugby club based in Cromford. A quick bacon sandwich and coffee

in the clubhouse and then a coach drove us over to the start.The marathon starts at Thorpe and follows the Tissington Trail, up the dales to north of Parsley Hay, where it does an about turn then takes a left fork to follow the High Peak Trail. From here it undulates level till it joins the half marathon part of the route at Friden. After this the track descends in three stages, at about 21, 22½ and 24½ miles, the last descent being about 1-mile-long down the steep incline to the Cromford canal at High Peak Junction. At this point it crosses the canal, turns left along the tow-path and then right into Cromford Meadows, approximately ¾ of a mile from there.On the drive down, it was

glorious sunshine with not a cloud in the sky, and I’m thinking to myself, “It’s going to be a hot one” but thankfully at the start, it started spitting. So, at the start, I had a time in mind, around 3hours 20 minutes, it would be a PB but the time on the “Hell of a Hill” marathon couldn’t really compare, different race and conditions underfoot and weather etc.The trail was nicely compacted limestone on a former rail line all the way until the last couple of miles. It was a steady climb for the first 6-7 miles and then it was undulating until the last couple of miles where it ended in a steep descent to the canal. I started off well with a steady pace and was running with a couple of athletes, chatting etc. like you do. After around


7 miles, the rain got a little heavier, which was good for me, a little cooler. The only trouble with the rain, my glasses were steaming up, so I had to take them off and then I couldn’t take in the view!! Oh well, onwards and upwards as they say.Anyway, I was going okay until I got to around 19 miles, my energy levels started to drop and so my pace slowed down. I reached the next water station and managed to throw some wine gums (What, no jelly babies!!?) down my neck and a few minutes later and was away again. As I reached 24 miles, I looked at my watch and saw that the time was at 3 hours 2 minutes, so that gave me 18 minutes to complete the

last 2.2 miles. The last couple of miles were downhill, around 650 feet of descending so I had a great chance of getting a good time at the finish. After giving my quads some severe punishment, the last ½ mile was along a canal towpath, so off I trotted towards the finish. I could see a crowd of people crowding under a bridge, for shelter, shouting encouragement and so I kicked to the finish. I crossed the line in 15th place with a time of 3:19:51; I’d beaten my target time by just 9 seconds. I was ecstatic with the result and just missed out on a prize of £20 for V40 veteran age group. Never mind, I was very happy with the result but

not with the mug for finishing instead of some bling. Amy had mentioned not long before the marathon that she had recently broken her mug for finishing the White Peak Marathon a couple of years previously, so I gave her mine as it was too small for a decent cup of tea. Anyway, if you want to try a decent off-road trail marathon, I would highly recommend the White Peak Marathon, but if that’s too much they do a half-marathon instead, which sets off at the same time as the full race but at the halfway point.

Ady Humphrys

Despite having never run the Crazy Cow 10k before it was all very familiar. It

started in Avenham Park very close to the Preston parkrun start. The route also shared some similarities with Run Preston 10k course which I have previously run. So I knew, that as it started and finished in the park it meant there were no hills, that’s right, no hills! Despite getting to the park in plenty of time the car park was already full when we got there. Luckily though there was still plenty of street parking available. It was great to see

loads of runners milling around in the sunshine and once in the park the number of people was even more impressive. The number pickup/registration was very well organised and took no time to collect our numbers leaving plenty of time for a warm-up. As expected there was a big Ebony and Gold turnout and after a group picture it was soon time for the start. The Crazy Cow start was close to the one used for the parkrun so I knew it would be a fast and frantic start so I wanted to get quite close to the start-line. Luckily there was a group of

Dashers starting together quite close to the front so I shuffled in. As expected the start was manic and after getting a little held up I managed to catch up to Dale, who I was hoping to keep up with, as he sped ahead. As we headed out of the park I was surprised to see another Dasher up ahead. I didn’t recognise him at first but it was Richard Marsden who had set off like a rocket! He’s definitely one to look out for in the future. Once out of the park and over the river I tried to settle into a steady pace this sort of coincided with Dales pace although he was

www.dashers.org.uk

Just an average Dasher...

16

teasingly a few paces in front of me but not pulling away. We occasionally shared a few words of encouragement as we made our way through the long straight and through the first mile marker. It got a bit tougher after that and was struggling to keep the pace. It was still relatively flat but felt tougher. As we reached the road and took a left it looked like Dale had opened up a lead he took the opportunity to give me some encouragement which helped and after half a mile or so on the road it was another sharp turn left and back onto the lanes. Apparently this point meant the hard part was done and this was great news and gave me lots of encouragement. It still felt tough though! As we reached the halfway point we re-joined the long straight back towards the River Ribble. At two miles to go I found myself

once again side by side with Dale and after more words of encouragement I was ahead of him for the

first time. This surprised me as he had been looking super strong I tried to give some encouragement back and then looked ahead and plodded on still close together. Running through the ‘park and ride’ bus station was a bit surreal but after coming out of it I felt strong again knowing we were almost done. Once over the bridge I tried to get the pace going again luckily I was to-ing and fro-ing with another runner which got the pace up. I was waiting for the bridge to take me back into the park now and once I got there it was full gas! The finishing straight was brilliant, there were loads of people lining the path and it was easy keeping the pace with all that support. I was delighted crossing the line and not only had I got a new PB I was first Dasher over the line! There was a steady stream of Dashers crossing the line as I stood getting my breath back with my cowbell, water and banana! This included a brilliantly determined finish by our Road Captain Fran. After sharing post run stories of battles on the road we joined

the crowds on the finishing straight. It is great watching the sprints for the line. There were some brilliant finishes from the Dashers including an excellent determined finish by Lisa Moran. There were lots of great performances today with loads of PB’s being smashed. Linda Coffey also won her age category. Well done everyone!This was an enjoyable well organised race mostly off road and on good paths. The next championships road race is the Morecambe Half Marathon on 25th June. The next championship fell race is the Settle Hills on the 18th June.


Barry Ross

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Start Time: 1830 on Friday 7th July 2017.Start place: Fairhaven Lake. Registration: Fairhaven Pub, Lytham St Anne’s. Entry includes t shirt, medal and small beer at 5 pubs.Transport from Darwen at 5pm and return approx 10.30pm. £5 each payable to Rebecca Simms. Online entry at book it zone.

Lytham Beer Run


Two Tribes WordsearchCash vs Shakatak

A bit of fun before the showdown at Trawden 7.

Wordsearch Clues1. Surname of Antarctic Polar Explorer2. What Tennis tournament did Pat Cash win in 19873. Discovered America in 1492

4. Patron Saint of travellers5. Country music legend6. My first, My first, My everything singer7. Her name was Lola singer

8. Venue of the Two tribe’s showdown9. Radio 2 DJ10.Member of the Bee Gees.

By Chris Cash


ResultsMay 2017

By Barry Shackleton

The Dash

Chris Cash and Iain Asher on the

Windermere Marathon May 2017

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