Meltham AC are again organising the Meltham Cop Hill Fell Race on Sunday 7th Novemeber at 10.30am. For full details please visit the Cop Hill Fell Race page where you can see all the latest details, important information and where you can download an entry form.
We look forward to seeing you in November!
A beautiful summer’s evening presented a fine show for the annual Cinnamon Lodge Chase on Weds 18th August 2010. A field of nearly 100 runners basked in the evening sun over Meltham, enjoying the course which took in a variety of paths and trails.
The men’s event was won by Mark Buckingham of Holmfirth Harriers in a time of 35:44, with a lead of over 2 minutes to Ben Crowther of Halifax Harriers, and a further minute to Jason Stevens (M40) in 3rd. Meltham AC’s top finisher was Rob James in a time of 39:30 in 6th position.
In the ladies’ section, Charlotte Sanderson came home a comfortable winner in a time of 42:38, beating Julie Buckley (F50) and Lesley Leggett (F50) into 2nd and 3rd.
Full results can be found here and links to photos and further information on the event can be found on our Cinnamon Lodge Chase page.
Thanks go out to the organiser Mike Harrison and to all members who helped out as marshalls and other guises on the day. We hope you all enjoyed the event and we hope to see you all again next year, or at one of our of other upcoming events – the Meltham Cop Hill Fell race, and the Meltham 10k.
Have you entered the Cinnamon Lodge Chase yet??
All the entry details are ONLINE NOW!! Race details can be found here, and you can enter online via the John Schofield website.
We hope to see you on Weds 18th August 2010 for this annual 6miler around Meltham, starting at 7pm. Entries are available on the day, but there is a small extra charge, so get your entry in asap. Race commences from the Meltham Sports Community Centre.
Sunday 18th July from the club. 09.30am start, so please be there for 09.00am. Bring a bike and a helmet .
For those who don’t know, this is an annual bit of fun:
It’s a handicapped race with the slower runners off first. The 1st run is 2 miles multi terrain, the bike leg is 4.5 miles on the road and then its the same run again.
Transition area is by Dathan’s gate.
Afterwards, Richard and Debbie Beaumont have once again kindly offered to host the traditional post race barbeque, please bring a bottle or 2, and some food to BBQ.
Start time for the BBQ is 1.00pm onwards.
Last Sunday saw an excellent local event at Marsden, taking in many of the local roads and paths us Melthamers should know so well from training. And this local knowledge paid off for Rob James, as he took his maiden race victory in Meltham colours, completing the 10mile course in a fantastic time of 1hr 6mins 37secs, with a winning margin of over 7 minutes. Andy Beardsley also powered round the course in 3rd and Graham Sykes finishing 2 and a half minutes behind in 5th. There was further domination in the female category, with Penny Ditchfield coming home as the first female, and Hayley Lomas in second, five minutes later. Full results are here.
| Rank | NAME | Time Taken | GENDER | R/W |
| 1 | ROB JAMES | 01:06:37 | M | R |
| 3 | ANDREW BEARDSLEY | 01:14:25 | M | R |
| 5 | GRAHAM SYKES | 01:16:54 | M | R |
| 16 | PENNY DITCHFIELD | 01:24:06 | F | R |
| 19 | MICK LUNN | 01:27:04 | M | R |
| 22 | HAYLEY LOMAS | 01:29:18 | F | W |
| 39 | M STURDY | 01:46:01 | M | R |
| 44 | WAYNE HANCOCK | 01:50:45 | M | R |
15 runners from Meltham Athletic Club traveled north to compete in the Edinburgh Marathon and Half Marathon events at the end of May.
The marathon loops round the city taking in sights such as Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Palace before heading for the coast at Portabella. It then follows the coast south turning at Gosford House to follow the same route back up the coast to finish in Musselburgh racecourse.
5 members competed in the Marathon, unfortunately on the hottest Sunday in the year so far, but plentiful water stations and kindly locals with hosepipes helped to cool runners down. Graham Sykes was the only male Meltham runner, competing with his daughter Mel Sykes less than a month after he ran the London Marathon. Both Graham and Mel finished in a very respectable 3 hours 51 mintutes, 19 seconds. The other three meltham runners were competing in their first marathon and all finished in good times for their first attempt at this distance. Their times were as follows: Ruth Thomas 4:14:22, Helen-Marie Kruger 4:20:13 and Helen Hunter 4:34:57.
Andy Whitworth of Meltham had a fantastic run in the half marathon event to be the first male veteran over 40 with a time of 1:17:01. John Hobbs was the first male veteran over 60 with a time of 1:33:01 and Jeff Taylor was first male veteran over 70 with a time of 1:52:43. Fiona McArthur was the second female veteran over 55 in 1:53:44 and Pam Combes was 6th lady veteran over 55 in 1:59:42.
Other Meltham runners in the half marathon were Richard Beaumont, 1:40:54; Pete Hirst, 1:50:35; Martin Sturdy, 1:56:03 and for the ladies Anne Tinsdeal, 2:01:50 and Sharon Whitworth, 2:08:40.
Edinburgh Finishers 2010
The first of the season’s club events, the Summer Handicap was expected to be a pleasant evening dash through some mid-May sunshine … but instead it wasn’t far off the temperature of the previous Winter Handicap! That didn’t stop 28 runners complete the course up to Netherton and back. An amazing turnout, saying that the club membership only just touches 50, and with several members either time-keeping, supporting or pretending to be local paparazzi.
Summer Handicap 2010 - Club Photo
The event was won by new-boy Sam Philpot by a massive margin of over 2 and a half minutes, making sure his future handicapping will be much more punishing. However, the club were delighted to gain another excellent prospect for the upcoming Joe Percy event – ample compensation for an easily won trophy. Ruth Thomas came home 2nd in a personal time of 33.30, with similarly-handicapped Helen Hunter 3rd.
Summer Handicap - Winners
Full results:
| Handicap Time | Actual Time | ||
| 1 | Sam Philpot | 36.55 | 34.55 |
| 2 | Ruth Thomas | 39.30 | 33.30 |
| 3 | Helen Hunter | 39.41 | 33.41 |
| 4 | Pam Coombes | 40.33 | 38.33 |
| 5 | Andy Tyack | 40.34 | 28.34 |
| 6 | Andy Whitworth | 40.36 | 25.06 |
| 7 | Sharon Whitworth | 40.55 | 40.55 |
| 8 | Andy Hargreaves | 41.05 | 32.05 |
| 9 | Matt Dillingham | 41.08 | 26.38 |
| 10 | Andy Beardsley | 41.15 | 27.45 |
| 11 | Alison Hargreaves | 41.19 | 39.19 |
| 12 | Wayne Hancock | 41.29 | 41.29 |
| 13 | Nigel Thomas | 41.33 | 31.33 |
| 14 | Mick Lunn | 41.42 | 30.42 |
| 15 | John Hobbs | 41.45 | 30.45 |
| 16 | Chris Oldfield | 41.55 | 29.55 |
| 17 | Richard Beaumont | 42.01 | 31.01 |
| 18 | Dave Taylor | 42.13 | 29.13 |
| 19 | Giles Bailey | 42.40 | 30.40 |
| 20 | Benny Tyas | 42.43 | 32.43 |
| 21 | Gilly Markham | 42.44 | 36.44 |
| 22 | Rob James | 42.50 | 27.20 |
| 23 | Graham Sykes | 42.52 | 29.52 |
| 24 | Jeff Taylor | 43.06 | 35.06 |
| 25 | Bob Page | 43.44 | 38.44 |
| 26 | Hannah Spring | 44.22 | 40.52 |
| 27 | Martin Sturdy | 44.35 | 37.35 |
| 28 | Helen Jordan | 47.20 | 45.20 |
The excellent evening was rounded off with pie and peas at the Community Centre with eyes now looking forward to a strong showing at the Joe Percy event, now with over 20 team members signed up for this annual invitational event.
Sunday 2nd May saw the annual Bluebell Trail Race take place, encompassing a challenging loop through Greetland, Halifax and Southowram. The event, organised by Stainland Lions, was also part of the Club Championship and was well attended by many Meltham AC runners, seeing as so many have either just completed the London Marathon, or are in training for the Edinburgh Marathon.
Although the morning was a bit on the chilly side, all the runners were brought to boiling-point by the demon climb up Trooper Lane. This part-cobbled lane, situated around the 4 mile marker, scaled 570 feet in just over half a mile, and didn’t spare much for the remainder of the course. At the bottom of the climb, Dave Watson of Holmfirth Harriers already had about a 2 minute lead on the rest of the field and he went on to comfortably win the 10.3 mile race in a time of 1:05:20. Andy Whitworth was the leading Meltham AC runner in 8th in a time of 1:12:14, with Matt Dillingham two and a half minutes behind in 12th.
The race had an excellent turnout with over 400 finishers and each and every one completing the final challenge of traversing the River Calder just before the finish line. Full results can be found here and the Meltham finishers were as follows:
The details for the Meltham AC Club Summer Handicap have been finalised. The annual event will take place on Tuesday 11th May. All club runners wanting to run should congregate on Mean Lane below the club for a 7.30pm start. The course will be approx 4.5miles long with some traditionally biased handicapping. The club will be laying on some food at the end so we hope to see a healthy crowd participating.
The Summer Handicap, departing from the Community Sports Centre
In May, the East Pennine Orienteering Club are putting on several informal orienteering events which are specifically for NEWCOMERS to the sport and in particular CHILDREN. There will also be courses for IMPROVING and EXPERIENCED orienteers. The first event in Netherton will be particularly suitable for Meltham-ers.
All four events are on WEDNESDAY evenings.
STARTS: 6:30 to 7p.m. COST: £2 for adults and £1 for children
MAY 5th: SPRING WOOD,Netherton,near Huddersfield. From Netherton village turn left onto Moor Lane for about 50metres, then right into Netherton Fold. Parking is on Corn Bank.
Organiser:Bob Page 01484 316170 robert.page73@ntlworld.com
MAY 12th :SCAMMONDEN SAILING CLUB, signed at GR 048154 on Sledge Gate which is the narrow road on the S.E. side of Scammonden Reservoir.
Organiser: Rod Shaw 01484 650085 magrod.shaw@care4free.net
MAY 19th :FAR ISLE FARM The event will be signed from the Denholme to Oxenhope Road (B6141) at GR 043342.
NO DOGS PLEASE. FOOD available afterwards.
Organiser:Dick Spendlove 01422 832471 richcarla@rns46.plus.com
MAY 26th:BRADLEY WOOD SCOUT CAMP. Signposted from the Huddersfield to Brighouse Road (A641) at GR 145212 just north of the M62. Turn N.E. onto Woodhouse Lane and immediately S.E. onto Shepherd’s Thorn Lane.
Organiser:Martin Reynolds 01484 653380 leedsustwo@talktalk.net