THE Wrekin Fell Race 2005
After a very hectic start to the morning due to
the school not being opened up until 10:30am & increased entries
of the English championship classification, things eventually
settled down. Apologies for families kept waiting especially as some
had to travel long distances.
It was therefore a relief when the races got underway on time. Special thanks here to the Woodhead’s whose enthusiasm helped immensely.
Juniors
The U10’s course
of about 1 mile in length consisted of a lap around the school
football & playing areas with some banks to negotiate. Some
parents felt that it wasn’t enough for their children, but given the
age difference in the race it was justified in doing this. The
Ercall hill could have been used but most of the course is not
visible & therefore causes other issues within this age
group.
For the other junior races the courses were all
on the Ercall hill & judged to be a good test especially with
the route reversed from previous years. This took them up the
steeper route then descended a short steep section before a fast
technical run down a wet track & into the school to finish.
The U16’s had an additional loop added to increase the distance
which included the steep climb that the seniors race has. Feedback
from parents & children on the day
were good where they felt courses were tough but right for the ages & demanding enough for the English Champs. For further reports please see the juniors section.
Wrekin Fell race – Inter counties,
Open, U18 & U20
Race entries were significantly
boosted from last year with 209 finishers, this was due to the,
inter counties, U18 & 20 categories. The inter counties
attracted some fell running big names & the long standing course
record of 34:27 set by John Wild in 1980 looked like it may be under
threat but this was not to be as 2 top namesboth Tim Davies &
Tim Austin last minute.
With the race underway Will Levett
(Shropshire) a trainee teacher, committed himself early on &
broke clear of the pack on the Ercall hill. Talking to Ian Holmes
(Yorkshire) at the finish he thought that Will would eventually fade
& be caught & was somewhat surprised at Will’s fitness
level! The gap had grown to 43 seconds at the finish. Will was
pleased with his performance & felt that if he was being more
challenged then he may have got closer to the course record,
conditions on the day were ideal.
The ever consistent Mark
Croasdale (Lancashire) was first vet in 14th overall. Mary Wilkinson
(Yorkshire 1/2 marathon champion)
won the womens race for Yorkshire in the 2nd ever fastest time. Dry & mild conditions made for fast running however the 1977 course record set by John Wilde still stands with Will commenting that if he had been pushed harder then it could have been within sight.
In the women’s race there was
an even bigger gap between 1st & 2nd with the Yorkshire ½
marathon champ, Mary Wilkinson (Yorkshire) a staggering 3 minutes
clear of Christine Howard (Matlock AC).
Sally Newman lead the
vets home in a very respectable 4th overall. The inter-counties
results were less of a surprise with the Yorkshire Men retaining
their title & the Women winning the title for the first time
ever.
Apologies for the presentations being delayed, this was due to the results taking longer than expected to process on the day, especially with the addition of the inter-counties. Some errors were noted & have now being corrected accordingly which did lead to some confusion on the day.
Andy Smith (TAC)
Organiser
Read Andys report from 2003
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