New year’s eve saw 10 Belle Vue Racers travel to Poynton for the annual and excellent Bowstones Fell Race organised by Bramhall Runners. For this Belle Vue-er, it’s my favourite race of the year. It has a bit of everything – trail, forest, views, enough downhill for the up, a fast downhill finish and a bottle of beer at the end. Hooray! Ruth managed to take some photos of the view.

Happy new year from the Belle Vue Racers!

On Sunday 23rd December in the pouring rain, 14 intrepid Belle Vue Racers braved the elements for the traditional Christmas Run around Reddish Vale and other off-road destinations. It was a bit wet, VERY muddy and only a couple of falls. All in all I think we did really well.

Happy Christmas everyone and see you in the new year!!

We salute our champion runners for the 2018 Spring/Summer season: Annie Hirsch and Frank Rogers.

Congratulations also to Damien Tolan and Yana Anderton for their second-place spots and Vic Walsh and Ruth Amin taking third.

Julia Foy and Phil Wilcoxon were our Progress Award Winners.

Congratulations to all runners who competed in and completed the season.  All the best for Autumn/Winter 2018-19.

Time to dig out the spikes:

Dates for the coming cross country season…

Manchester Area Cross Country League (www.maccl.co.uk)

Saturday 13th October: Wythenshawe Park

Saturday 10th November: University Playing Fields / Kenworthy Woods

Saturday 1st December: Woodbank Park

Saturday 12th January: Heaton Park

Saturday 9th February: Venue tbc

South East Lancs Cross Country League (www.selcc.co.uk)

Saturday October 20th: Heaton Park (Middleton Harriers)

Saturday December 15th: Tandle Hill

Saturday January 19th: Heaton Park (East Cheshire)

Saturday February 16th: Yarrow Valley Park, Chorley

Stockport provides the local racing calendar with a number of highlights each year.  The Stockport 10, the Hatters Half, the Offerton 10k and our very own Hit the Trail and Mad Hatters to name but a few. The Marple Runners Trail 10k is a relative newcomer on the scene so I wasn’t sure what to expect as I proudly donned my shiny new and improved BVR vest for its first outing of the year. Experts say that these premium quality updated classics with their black panelling and soft, stretchy, lightweight Qwick-Dri™ wicking fabric will shave seconds off our finishing times. Having read the label attached to the vest, I left the house convinced of its special powers.

Anyway, back to the race. It had been described as a multi terrain, mainly off road 10k Trail race. In need of a tune up before the Wilmslow Half Marathon, this would be just what I needed. The race did not disappoint. With climbs and steep descents; twists and turns; there was plenty to challenge the 250 or so runners. In return we were offered a scenic route along the country lanes of Chadkirk and the towpaths of the Peak Forest Canal. Friendly and vocally supportive marshals dotted the route. In fact, the organisation of the race as a whole seemed faultless.

A high point of the race for me was crossing the Marple Aqueduct. Unusually for me, I found I was able to pick up the pace at this late stage of the race. Although, I’m pretty sure that this had more to do with my fear of heights than my sensible pacing strategy.  The River Goyt and surrounding woodland 100 feet below provided a stunning backdrop to the closing stages. Nonetheless, I didn’t stop to take it all in and pushed on nervously.

At the end we were rewarded with a medal, a bag full of snacks, a buff and even a copy of the Beano (a nod to the Marple Runners’ Dennis the Menace style colours). I hope to be back at this one again next year. All in all, a great race to have on the doorstep.

Damien

Well done all who ran over this long week into weekend of running. Particular slaps on the dogged backs of James, Julia, Yana, Annie, and Emma as Full Tameside Tourists. Congratulations to Emma for a strong performance across all four days of her first Tour, which followed another run at Round the Resers. Five races in five days. Respect. And she leads the Championship.  Mentions also to Yana, who turned in four PBs, and Frank, who scored PBs in each of the three races he ran.

And a last item of news was that Annie yet again won her age category at the Tour. This not only makes her a professional in being able to stuff some prize money into the key pocket of her shorts, but also a legend in Tameside, from Denton to Stalybridge. Well done Annie.

The next race is the rescheduled Wilmslow Half Marathon (in Wilmslow) next Sunday.

Hosted at Colshaw Hall in Upper Peover this 10k follows leafy Cheshire lanes in a circular route, passing the iconic Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank.  With just over a 1000 runners this was a popular run with local clubs, on what was a busy weekend in the race calendar with Hyde and Marple taking place on the same day.

A single BVR runner took part (new member Karen), concentrating on running a steady pace following an epic heat-related fail at Anderton the previous month.  Really enjoyed the run, which was well supported by those in the few (very swanky) houses along the route.

A gentle route, great horse-themed medal and kit bag, along with loads of free parking made this an enjoyable run. Organisers are currently offering a limited £5 off next year’s race: https://cutefruitevents.niftyentries.com/Colshaw-Hall-10K-Knutsford-2019

Congratulations to our Men’s and Women’s Champions for the 2017-18 Autumn / Winter season – Derrick Watson and Kath Horwill.

In the men’s competition, it was Men’s Captain Patrick O’Brien who was squeezed into the second spot with Phil Wilcoxon taking third.   Among the women, Ruth Amin took the runner’s up spot while Julia Foy and Annie Hirsch tied for third.

Our progress award went to Elaine Mottershead.

Congratulations to all runners who completed the season!

Belle Vue Racers’ own living legend, Andy Wood, was recently presented with a Special Achievement Award by the club, to mark his completion of fifty marathons.  Halfway to a century of 26.2s and a constant inspiration, well done Andy!  Pictured here with our Honorary Chair Lynda Guy and Club Secretary Ruth Amin.

Congratulations to our Men’s and Women’s Champions for the 2017 Spring/Summer season – Damien Tolan and Ruth Amin.

In the men’s competition, it was Andy Wood who took second spot, with Ross Pettigrew, Patrick O’Brien, Derrick Watson and Vic Walsh caught in an unseemly skirmish for third place – just four points separating the four men – with Vic coming out on top to take the bronze.

The women’s competition saw a familiar trio on the podium with Annie Hirsch taking second spot and Julia Foy third.  Not far behind we saw Yana Anderton, Rachel Watson and Deborah Maskell leading the chasing pack, perhaps manoeuvring themselves for a tilt at the title next year?

Congratulations to all runners who completed the season!  Best of luck for the forthcoming season, starting at Congleton Half and Gin Pit 5 on Sunday.