Corbishley one race away from Grand Prix title
AFTER eleven of the fourteen rounds of the Burnley & Pendle Grand Prix, Barlick’s Jimmy Craig is still on top of the rankings although he will have to compete in all three of the remaining races if he is to stop Rossendale’s Stephen Corbishley from taking the overall title.
Corbishley was on holiday for the last three races but he only needs one more race to secure second spot and Jon Cleaver looks certain to secure fourth place overall and second male veteran after his two races last weekend.
The venue for Friday’s race was at the Steven Burke Sports Hub in Barrowford which usually attracts a quality field as it’s a fast 5K course although the heavy rain didn’t help the runners on this occasion.
Spenborough’s Joe Sagar cruised round the four laps in 14mins 36secs and Rossendale’s first man homein 30th place was Ben Kirkman in 16mins 11secs, a personal best for the distance and a huge improvement for the 19 year old.
Jon Cleaver was 32nd after 16mins 18secs and 17 year old Joe Hopley 40th in16mins 33secs just pipping Andrew Grenfell by two seconds.
Emma Richardson clocked 18mins 56secs and moved into second place in the overall standings behind Accrington Road Runner’s Hannah Jarvis, although Emma will have to complete the next three races to secure a podium place. James Eastwood, Will Curry and veteran Alan LundbergBury also ran.
The juniors ran much shorter distances and in the U9 race Harry Walker finished second and in the U13s Alfie Walker and
Ruby Cleaver were separated by just one place and five seconds; Ruby was third U13 girl.
Torrential rain greeted the runners at Sunday’s Boulsworth fell race and the juniors bore the brunt of the weather although it didn’t deter them as Harry Walker won the U9 race, Alfie Walker was ninth in the U13s, Alice Carr tenth and second girl followed by Ruby Cleaver one place later.
The rain held off for the senior race although the ground was very wet over the 6.5 mile course which started on trails before climbing to the summit of Boulsworth hill and returning by the same route.
Wharfedale’s Ted Mason enjoyed a convincing win after 43mins 51secs of running and Jon Cleaver in seventh place was the first harrier to finish in 46mins 42secs.
Alan Lundberg-Bury just managed a top twenty place in 50mins 41secs to secure his MV55 category win and Matthew Clawson finished in 26th place after 52mins 14secs.
Thornton Taylor won his MV60 category in 39th place from a total of 124 finishers and brother Ken was also the MV70 winner. Josephine Wells, Laura Johnston, Steven Melling, Richard Stott and Sissel Lundberg-Bury also ran.
On Saturday 14th August the harriers are organising a sponsorship event to raise funds for the track upgrade.
Club member James Eastwood will set off at 9am to run 100K on the track at Marl Pits and many juniors, friends and parents also plan to run a few laps in support.