Howard and Jackson celebrate victories at Wadsworth Trog
Calder Valley Fell Runners celebrated a sensational double at the Wadsworth Trog event, claiming first place in both the men’s and women’s races.
Martin Howard led the 20-mie race with 3,624 feet of climb, from the start to cross the line in just over 2:30, around 11 minutes ahead of his nearest rival.
And leading the women’s race was Charlotte Jackson who picked up the pace after checkpoint three and took the lead on checkpoint nine.
She took 23 minutes off her 2023 time to finish ahead of Hinda Hardaker, from Keighley and Craven AC, and Calder Valley’s Susanna Richardson, in third.
The Pendle Way In A Day ultra event comprises two events of 45 and 30 miles and theValleyrunnerstakingpart produced fine performances in both.
Peter Heywood took on the 30-mile race and claimed an impressive 19th place overall, securing a fourth place in his age category.
Francis Woof, Andy Collier, Fiona Lynch and Helen Buchan tackled the longer distance race and Collier recorded a time of 7:40 to secure a superb second place overall.
Lynch and Buchan stuck together for the nine and a half hours of their race and it paid off as they took fourth and fifth places in the overall women’s standings and the top two spots in their age category.
Mr Sparkle’s Dark ‘Un takes place in darkness and covers 8k with just over 200 metres of ascent. It is also the first race of the year that contributes to Valley’s club championship.
Lee Shimwell finished second overall, missing out on the top spot by just 30 seconds.
Cass Chisholm and Catherine Holden were also in top form on the day, taking second and third spots in the women’s race.
With Carolyn Shimwell also securing a spot in the top 15 women, Calder Valley claimed top spot in the women’s team ranks.
Excellent times from Jim Cooke and Phil Wells also secured second place for the men’s team.
The Runners and Riders event sees cyclists and runners compete on a five-mile circuit in Appletreewick.
Layla Wray Hirst and Stephen Smithies represented Valley, with Smithies clocking 40:45 and Wray-Hirst recording 45:02 to claim sixth place in the women’s race.