The Dash April 2016

Editorial

It’s becoming that glorious time of year where, as Dashers, we are spoiled for choice of things to take part in. Cath and I travelled up to the Lakes for the recce run of the Anniversary waltz fell race organised by Rebecca and we were lucky enough to have perfect conditions and jaw dropping views. As I write I am eagerly looking forward to the Youth Hostel weekend when we will take part in the actual event. We returned from holiday in time to see the Heritage Half marathon. We rode round the course and cheered on the racers. It was great to see so many people taking part in the first edition of what will surely become an enduring classic. Well done to everyone who completed a tough course and massive kudos to everyone involved in organising and putting the event on. You all deserve a pat on the back. Alex’s first Navigation training session seems to have gone very well and I hope that people will keep an eye out for the further sessions. If you intend to take part in any fell races or even just go for a walk in the countryside, a basic navigational knowledge is well worth having and I’m sure Alex will make it a fun and interesting way to learn. During the AGM I was asked if I was going to organise another Everesting event to raise money for the Nepal Disaster. I had already been thinking about it so this encouraged me further. I will try to sort out a Saturday that as many people as possible are likely to be available for, probably in May, and I’ll let everybody know about it via FB and get Chris to announce it during his pre-run announcements. It went really well last time and we did a great job of raising money for a problem that has now, to a certain extent, been over-shadowed by other things and yet is still ongoing. It will be the same format as last time. Chuck some money in the bucket and run (or walk) from the Bandstand to the Tower trig point. Suitable for everyone including the kids.

There have been some great contributions again this month so please dig in and enjoy!

Until next month,

Mr Sparkle

Cover pic: Dale Dacre enjoying the Heritage Half Marathon by The Editor

Chairman’s Chat 12

As you can all imagine this last month has been dominated by preparations for the Heritage Half

Marathon. It has been 23 years since the original members of the Dashers staged this event over a

similar route culminating in its demise due to complaints over its impact upon the resident’s en-

route. Being fully aware of this we have spent many hours going over the possible difficulties that

could arise and constantly working upon risk assessments to ensure that it wasn’t just a one-off. We

have already met with Fylde Coast Running to reflect upon the event and offer improvements in the

traffic management side of things. May I offer my thanks and gratitude to all the volunteers and

marshals who helped out both on the day and beforehand to make it the success it was. Special

thanks must go to Jonathan Stubbs and Debbie Bevitt who have worked their socks off in getting

this off the ground and have devoted so much time and effort into this. Will the Heritage Half

Marathon be back again next year? You can put your shirt on it. Our main sponsors Heritage

Envelopes, have already pledged their support for next year so full steam ahead. To cap it all off the

race was won by Ben Fish, a local resident of Darwen who absolutely flew around the course 7

minutes ahead of his next rival. You couldn’t write a script like that if you tried.

What a great turnout we had last month for the Dashers takeover of Bolton Parkrun and the

graduation of the Beginners Group. Those who did run it supported all the newbies, and those who

didn’t provided the much needed marshalling on the day.

Barry Shackleton, who addressed his congregation on the day, must have been wetting his pants at

the response. So well done to all you Dashers involved, old and new!

This weekend sees the start of the Navigation Course fronted by Alex Buckland. The idea is to get

runners used to using navigation to increase their confidence, learn a new skill and determine their

location in order to enter fell and challenge races. So good luck to Alex and his team of helpers in

facilitating this worthwhile initiative.

The weekend of 15/16/17th April is the Dashers takeover of Hause End Hostel near Keswick. To date

30 Dashers have provided deposits for this bargain weekend away with 19 places still available. If

you are interested then let Rebecca Simms know who is coordinating the weekend. Further info will

be posted on facebook in time.

Following the AGM last month the Dashers voted to increase membership by £1 to reflect the

increase by England Athletics this year. Due to preparations for the Heritage Half membership

renewals have slipped a little but will soon be arriving through your letterboxes please return both

your payment and updated contact details asap to ensure that you continue to be awarded

championship points in both the road and fell championships that kick off with the Anniversary

Waltz on 15th and Bolton 10k on 24th.

Speaking of the 24th, I along with a few thousand others will be competing in the 2016 Virgin London

Marathon and my preparations are now almost complete with just one last 23 mile run before

tapering down to the big event. I even ran over to Abbey Village last month to run in the excellent

Roddlesworth Roller, and then ran back again (after a brew and bit of cake though) to get the

mileage up. So good luck to all the Dashers who will be involved in this prestigious event, especially

first timers James McGarry Stanley and Hannah Fielding.

Membership renewals

You should receive a letter soon inviting you to re-join the club. Check the details, especially email

and mobile numbers and let me know of any mistakes.

We will take payment in many ways. Easiest is probably PayPal (see below) but you can still do BACS

transfer to Lloyds Bank 77-76-09 33176160, cheque made to ‘Darwen Dashers Running Club’ or even

good old cash.

Our Heritage Half Marathon. I was absolutely blown away with the success of our Half Marathon. We were lucky with the

weather, but it was far more than that: The support offered by all the Dashers was fantastic and

there were plenty of comments confirming how friendly our club is. We had some very generous

sponsorship from Heritage Envelopes and Lloyd Trust and we used this to keep costs down while

providing T shirt, medal, beer, water and fruit to all. With all the fantastic Dashers helping out it is

difficult to name particular people, but Chris C and Debbie B were instrumental in keeping things

going. It’s been a long and complicated event, but we got there! Again, thanks to everyone who was

involved in the event. Jonathan

Reviews Let’s hear from those who chose to give us feedback via email and Facebook A job very well done Dashers. A tough, but beautiful route, excellent and enthusiastic marshalling, unusually good weather and most importantly great support from the public. Roll on next year I say!! Great route, brilliant support & very well marshalled with a good amount of water stations...would definitely run it again Thank you to everyone who helped to organise the Darwen Heritage Half Marathon. It was my first ever half marathon, but loved it. Great support all the way round, fantastic atmosphere, lovely scenic route and a bottle of beer at the end to boot! Thanks again to everyone who made it happen. See you next year!!! We had a great morning. Route scenic and challenging. Really well organised. Thanks to everyone who helped the day go so well. And thanks to all the people who lined the route to cheer us on. Jelly baby was a great boost! thanks. X Lovely people, lovely beer, best T shirt ever. The route? A bit of a rollercoaster but the weather was fine and the last two miles it was downhill all the way. Thanks for organising it, and I will sign up for next year like a shot What a fantastic event, well supported by the local clubs and local people. Tough hills but definitely scenic. Hope it will be on again next year and I can have a proper go at it instead of using it as a marathon training run Thanks to everyone who helped today happen ..the planning the route the marshalls and the people of Darwen coming out to support us, thanks to Darwen running group who I train with, it's the toughest half I've done but I did enjoy it .. Thank you so much ... See you next year ? Brilliantly organised. The route some nice challenging hills, through some beautiful villages, will be on my list to do again next yr!!! Great run. Very well managed, excellent quality medal and tshirt. Hats off to Sainsbury aswell for the free fruit. Those bananas were amazing. Same again next year Well done Dashers, this was a great event. Well organised. Well marshalled . Lovely medal, tshirt & bottle of beer and a great entry fee. Bring on next year Cracking route, wonderful marshals, really well organised, great t-shirt, medal and bottle of beer. Wouldn't hesitate to run this again. – Autumn Howard – race winner

Superb race - everything about it was perfect; route, support, organisation and a t-shirt, medal and beer at the finish. Cannot fault it - and great value for money Well done, great event and team Trawden had a great day out. thanks to all xxx brilliant day, very well organised, superb goody bag and very cool T-shirt. Hope this is a regular event Another fantastic dashers race, well organised fantastic support from water stations and marshals and of course the spectators Brilliant event. Great marshalling. Well organised. Great course. Beautiful views. Many thanks to Jonathan and all the dashers team!!! Really well organised and tough route. Brilliant day well done to everybody involved. Looking forward to next year. Well done brilliant race and support all the way. Great day x Just a quick email to congratulate you on a fantastic event yesterday. It's easy to forget to thank people after a race but yesterday was superb. I've ran about 15 half marathons in the last couple of years (1 every month for the last 10 months) and your race yesterday is the best of the lot. Why? - it was a perfect club runners event (compared to the horrible corporate 7000 runner events) and as such it made for a great atmosphere. The value for money side of it was incredible and on top of the goodies, having fruit at the finish was excellent. £17 – fantastic - I've run some challenging half marathons - the North Wales half with its 300 metres of climb being the toughest, well that was until yesterday. I don't think there was any flat Road in your event - it was a perfect route. The scenery was beautiful and having 3 water stations on the route was a real bonus. - the friendly support. Not just from your club and marshals but every cluster of houses on the route had people outside enthusiastically cheering us on. Special thanks to the pom pom girls at the water station. All in all, it was a perfect race and one I'll always remember (I was chuffed with a 13th place finish) I'll be back next year and I've already spread the word around my running club (Helsby near Chester) So congratulations again - you should be really proud to have put on such a perfect race. Please pass on my thanks to all involved. Congratulations on organising what was a brilliant race today :-) Brilliant route (although I was glad to see Darwen again) - very well supported - terrific marshals - lots of watering stations (much needed today - what great weather) and facilities at the end. Thoroughly enjoyed the race - please pass on my thanks to all involved in the organisation. I hope that this is a regular race for Darwen - if so I will certainly be back!!! Just a quick Email to say what a fantastic event you organised this morning. Well done to you and all the team for all your hard work and efforts....

Ali’s Amble

Hi everyone, hope you’re enjoying the start of spring and running in the lighter nights.

A couple of editions ago, I talked about setting goals and challenging ourselves – well, I decided to

take a leaf out of my own book and do just that. I’ve shied away from fell races in the past, but Liver

Hill Fell Race happened last Tuesday night and I decided that having listened to others and how it

was a good first fell race if you haven’t done one before – took the plunge. Literally!

Oh my, it had rained all day and as I walked from the office to the car had already phoned Brian to

declare that there was no way I was doing it! Anyway, after a stiff talking to myself, I got my gear on

and we set off. The only problem was, because I’d spent so long making my mind up, we would be

on the very last minute even if the traffic was kind to us.

Number pinned on and waterproof jacket zipped up, we jogged to the start only to find that the

runners had already set off. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I hadn’t got up the first muddy climb

before the junior race started and I was overtaken by lots of younglings who zoomed past me!!

As if it wasn’t wet and cold enough, not long before we got on the top of the hill it started snowing –

horizontal snowing! I also managed to find the one puddle that was deep enough to reach mid-

thigh, much to Brian’s amusement

It was almost dark when I finished but the gift of Smarties produced a smile (well, more of a grimace

because my face was frozen) at the end and I was waiting for the warm glow of satisfaction to hit but

I took a while to defrost fully!!

Would I do it again – hmmm, yeah, who wouldn’t for the chocolate?!?

At the end of the month sees the start of the road championships. The first one is the Bolton 10k on

Sunday 24th April; more details can be found here: http://www.bolton10k.org/

Last year we had a great turnout from the ebony and gold and it would be great to see lots of you

there this year. There are NO entries on the day, so if you’re planning on having a go you’ll need to

book in advance. Captain Baz and I will be keeping you updated with the upcoming road races, but

here’s the first few to whet your appetite:

Sunday 24 April 2016 Bolton 10k

Sunday 8 May 2016 Blacksticks Blue 10k

Sunday 22 May 2016 Crazy Cow 10k

Sunday 12 June 2016 Catforth 10k

Sunday 19 June 2016 Freckleton Half Marathon

Happy running everyone

Ali x

Darwen Dashers Road Championships for 2016/17

THIS IS THE LIST OF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP RACES FOR THE 16/17 SEASON.

THERE ARE A COUPLE MORE THAN LAST YEAR AND A GOOD MIX OF DISTANCES, SO HOPEFULLY SOMETHING TO

SUIT EVERYONE.

PLEASE NOTE – THERE ARE STILL SOME DATES TO BE CONFIRMED AND SOME MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

DAY/DATE NAME

Sunday 24 April 2016 Bolton 10k

Sunday 8 May 2016 Blacksticks Blue 10k

Sunday 22 May 2016 Crazy Cow 10k

Sunday 12 June 2016 Catforth 10k

Sunday 19 June 2016 Freckleton Half Marathon

Sunday 3 July 2016 Trawden 7

Saturday 16 July 2016 Elswick Express 10Mile

Sunday 7 August 2016 Blackpool Air Show 10k

Sunday 4 September 2016 Garstang Half Marathon

Sunday 25 September 2016 Run Preston 10k

Sunday 2 October 2016 Burnley Fire 10k

Sunday 16 October 2016 Green Drive 5Mile

Sunday 30 October 2016 Accrington 10k

Sunday 20 November 2016 Preston 10Mile

Saturday 26 November 2016 Wesham 10k

TBC December 2016 Longridge 7 Pudding Run

TBC January 2017 Garstang 10k

TBC January 2017 East Lancs Hospice 10k

TBC February 2017 Blackburn Winter Warmer

TBC February 2017 Lostock 6Mile

You can also add a marathon of your choice, if you want to. It has to be a road marathon and has to

be run between April 2016 and March 2017. Points will be awarded at the end of the year and will

be based on your finish place percentage rather than time completed.

Here’s how it works:

You can run as many races as you wish.

There will be prizes for the first 3 men and women.

The point’s allocation will be 150 points for first dasher, 145 points for second place etc...

Your best 6 scores will count plus 10 points for each additional race completed up to a maximum

of 10 more.

Darwen Dashers Committee Meeting Thursday7th April 2016 Members Present: Chris, Jonathan, Brian, Alison, Rebecca, Barry and Debbie Bevitt. Actions from 3.03.16 New Beginners Group was posted on the website by Jonathan. A further 200 T shirts was ordered for the half marathon. Physiotherapist has not responded to our communications. Fylde Coast Runners Discussion took place over the Heritage Half Marathon on 3rd April and what areas needed special attention in future. Closing Redearth Road for 4 hours caused many issues with residents and people wishing to access. Next year this will only be closed off whilst the runners gather and set off. All of the 3 water stations need to be located on the left of the road. All runners need to be directed to run on the left of the road as many had strayed over unaware of this. Better signage and direction needed for next year. The church on had increased traffic as it was holding its Sunday service at the time. On the return runners were running down both sides of Pole Lane. Better signage and instructions needed next year to cross after the Priory Drive junction. Better controls to be in place around the finish to avoid traffic leaving DACA heading directly to returning runners. Three complaints had been received and all responded too. Two over litter and discarded water bottles and one over being held back by traffic marshal. On the whole the arrangements went well with further attention required around the bottom of Pole Lane. Heritage Half Marathon Jonathan explained that the total number of registered runners was 462, approx 50n of which did not attend on the day. The costs of the event are still to be determined in detail as some cash collected and last minute demands have still to be calculated. However he has received feedback from the sponsors, Heritage Envelopes that they are happy to sponsor the event again next year. 20 new hi viz jackets have been ordered to aid marshalling next year. Any profit made is to be donated to East Lancs Hospice. Secretary’s Update No new memberships this month. Membership renewal letters are to go out in the next 2 weeks for members to update contact details with the option of paying by PayPal included. Treasurers Update Rebecca reported that both the Dashers and the Half Marathon accounts remain healthy. Beginners Group Alison reported that some numbers had dropped recently, most probably due to the holidays. AOB Both the Road and Fell Championship races need to go on the website. Rebecca volunteered her name and contact details going onto the website to aid any prospective runner to get details of the club beforehand. Date & Time of Next Meeting The Old Chapel on Thursday 5th May at 8.30pm.

EARLY WARNING AND MARSHALS REQUEST

AGGIE’S STAIRCASE FELL RACE

4 Mile with 1150 ft Ascent Under FRA Rules – Classification AS

Thursday 16th June 2016 Start 7:15pm. Punstock Road, Darwen (GR689221) Registration in Darwen Leisure Centre from 6pm

Entry on the day £5.00

If you require more details please contact: George Thompson

Tel: 01254 772013 Mobile 07960523959 E-mail: george.thompson77@mypostoffice.co.uk

Ideal first fell race

(Important Note: Juniors MUST be over 14 to enter the race)

HELPERS WANTED Marshals and Helpers required – If you are not doing the race please

contact me as soon as possible and offer to help on the night. George Thompson Tel: 01254 772013

Mobile 07960523959

E-mail: george.thompson77@mypostoffice.co.uk Or by Facebook message.

If you have a preferred marshalling location or job that you usually

do please let me know when you call.

Many thanks George

PARKRUN REPORT FOR MARCH 2016

Week One 5/3/16: In the week

when it was suggested that Easter

Eggs are good for the heart I didn’t

really care that we has 22 Dashers

running at 5 different events.

Dave Rushton ran a Year’s Best

time of 21:27 at Bolton taking 9

seconds from his time of last week.

Brian Tull ran at Bolton for the

179th time. Emma Westall was a

First Timer at Bolton in her 5th

parkrun, and is the 189th Dasher to

appear, and the 1,354th Dasher to

finish there. Linda Coffey ran at Worsley Woods for the 26th time in her 70

th parkrun, and she is the

41st Dasher to cross the finish line there. Karen Shackleton ran for the 9

th time at Newby Bridge,

sampling the new 5-lap course at Fell Foot Park for the first time. Her finish position of 34th was her

highest placing ever and it is the 22nd

time a Dasher has finished a parkrun there. Jonny Bromilow

was a First Timer at Stretford and becomes the first Dasher ever to finish a parkrun there with his time

of 19:13 which was also the best time by any Dasher on the day. He is the 154th fastest ever runner in

Stretford’s 16-run history and he has only bettered his time today at one other parkrun event which

was Preston. Francesca Bury became the 2nd

Dasher to finish at Stretford and her age grading of

63.40% makes her the 544th highest ever on the course. Her time of 23:27 is the second fastest

parkrun she has ever run in 28 events, bettered only by a previous run at Worsley Woods. Paul

Brindle (pictured) finished in overall first place at Witton in his time of 19:49. His age grading of

70.98% was the highest by a Dasher on the day. This was his 3rd visit to Witton but his first one for 14

weeks. Sue Duckworth finished as First Lady at Witton in her 42nd

parkrun. Matty Cocker ran for

the 17th time at Witton. Launa Bibby ran a Year’s Best time of 28:24 which takes off 15:36 from her

time of 6 weeks ago. Dave Shorrock ran a Year’s Best time of 28:36 which takes 27 seconds from

his time of last week. Kerry Elliott ran for the 19th time at Witton. Bruce Elliott ran at Witton in his

20th parkrun, of which 18 have been at Witton. Norman Walsh ran for the 10

th time at Witton. Lisa

Moran ran at her first parkrun for 13 weeks. This was her 10th parkrun overall of which 9 have been

at Witton. Sharon Cocker ran at Witton for the 12th time. Viki Walsh ran a Year’s Best time of 33:44

at Witton taking 1:37 from her time of 2 weeks ago. Vicky Spencer ran at Witton and becomes the

first Dasher to complete the course 20 times. She was just 2 seconds outside her Year’s Best time.

Catherine Cordingley ran a Year’s Best time of 42:53 at Witton taking 1:06 from her time of 6

weeks ago. Anne Rustidge ran for the 12th time at Witton and her finish position of 64

th is her highest

placing ever. Ellie-Mae Fallon ran a Year’s Best time of 50:40 at Witton taking 56 seconds from her

time of 2 weeks ago.

The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running today was 979.

Week two 12/3/16: In the week of the Darwen Dashers takeover at Bolton parkrun, we had 56 Dashers

running at 2 different events.

Andy Smith ran at Bolton for the first time in 27 weeks and finished in 9th position, which puts him in

the top 10 places on 11 occasions in his 13 runs at Leverhulme Park. His time today of 19:30 was the

fastest by a Dasher on the day and was his quickest parkrun since September 2013. Brian Morris ran

at Bolton for the first time in 31 weeks and his age grading of 72.56% was the 11th time in his 13

outings that he has exceeded 70%. Dave Rushton ran a Year’s Best time at Bolton of 20:54 taking 33

seconds from his time of last week. This was his fastest time for 30 weeks and is just 14 seconds

outside his PB. Simon Fox ran at Bolton in his first parkrun for 17 months. It was his 20th parkrun of

which 10 have been at Bolton and there have been 9 different venues. Cath Fox ran for the 63rd

time

at Bolton and her age grading of 72.48% means 5 of her last 6 runs at Bolton have been above 70%.

Andy McAllister ran at Bolton for the 6th time and was just 3 seconds outside his Year’s Best time of

23:18. Sue Duckworth ran a Year’s Best time at Bolton taking 4:37 from her time of 4 weeks ago.

This was her 10th parkrun of 2016. Dave Coulson ran at Bolton for the 7

th time and his first one there

for 32 weeks. Rebecca Smith ran a PB time of 25:03 at Bolton taking 1:20 from her time of 30 weeks

ago. Despite the high attendance her finish position of 110th was her highest ever placing. She has run

3 times at Bolton and had 3 PBs. Matthew Cocker ran a Personal Best time of 25:07 at Bolton taking

3:11 from his time of 8 weeks ago. His age grading of 52.49% was his first time ever over 50%. Holly

Turner ran a Personal Best time at Bolton of 25:13 taking 1:44 from her time of 12 months ago. This

is Holly’s fastest parkrun time anywhere. Her position of 117th is her highest ever placing. This was

her 30th parkrun which have included 12 at Bolton and 10 at Witton, with 6 different venues. Barry

Ross ran for the 10th time at Bolton in his 23

rd parkrun. The following all ran their first parkruns ever:

Dave Ponton, Anthony Davies, Wendy Shepherd, Maxwell Davies, Annabel Farrar, William

Duffy, Michelle Hall, Catherine Wilcock, Jennifer Kay, Sarah Himsworth, Fiona Mitchell and

Mia Himsworth. Amanda Forrest also ran her First ever parkrun at Bolton and is the 50th Dasher

First Timer of 2016. Karen Shackleton ran for the 62nd

time at Bolton and her time of 26:49 was her

fastest for 31 weeks. Dean Clarkson ran at Bolton in his 20th parkrun which have included 15 at

Leverhulme Park. He has achieved 7 PBs and his fastest time is 24:31.

Dave

Shorrock

ran for the

24th time at

Bolton and

his first run

there for 32

weeks.

Rebecca

Simms ran

for the 3rd

time at

Bolton and

for the first

time in 31 weeks. Brian Tull ran for the 180th time at Bolton in his 189th parkrun. Emma Westall ran a

Personal Best time of 29:08 at Bolton taking 1:08 from her time of last week. Lisa Moran was a First Timer at

Bolton in her 11th parkrun which have been at 3 different venues. Sharon Cocker ran a Year’s Best time of

29:41 at Bolton which takes 1:07 from her time of 5 weeks ago. This was her 5th Year’s Best time of 2016

which is the best in the club. Norman Walsh ran a Year’s best time of 29:46 at Bolton on his birthday which

takes 1:12 from his time of 8 weeks ago. Dominique Riccioppo was a First Timer at Bolton in her 6th parkrun

which have been at 2 different venues. Chris Cash ran at Bolton for the first time in 55 weeks in his 19th

parkrun. Saskia-Mae Kuczer ran a PB time of 30:32 at Bolton taking 1:44 from her time of 48 weeks ago. Viki

Walsh ran a PB time of 30:43 at Bolton taking 19 seconds from her time of 33 weeks ago. This was the 20th

Personal Best time achieved by a Dasher during 2016. Norman Cookson ran at Bolton for the 24th time and for

the first time in 16 weeks. Alison Abbott ran at Bolton for the 16th time and her 32:07 was her fastest for 43

weeks. Hannah Caulfield ran at Bolton for the 4th time and for the first time in 30 weeks. Louise Oldfield ran

at Bolton for the 11th time and for the first time in 14 months and her time of 33:16 was her best for 17 months.

Jo Maxwell ran for the 3rd time at Bolton and her first outing there for 43 weeks. Barry Shackleton ran for the

80th time at Bolton. Debbie Bevitt ran for the 4th time at Bolton and her first run there for 14 months. Stuart

Moran was a First Timer at Bolton and this was his 3rd different venue. Jonathan Stubbs ran for the 6th time at

Bolton in his 28th parkrun, and his first run there in 10 months. Don Clarkson ran for the 12th time at Bolton and

his first one for 31 weeks. His time of 35:25 was his best time for 11 months. Elaine Turner ran at Bolton for

the 11th time in her 18th parkrun and her first outing there for 35 weeks. Clare McDonagh ran at Bolton in her

10th parkrun, of which 6 have been at Heaton and 4 at Bolton. This was her first parkrun anywhere for 2 years

and she made her comeback a little more difficult by pushing a baby buggy all the way round. Alan Garnett ran

a Personal Best time of 36:41 at Bolton taking 1:29 from 31 weeks ago. Sam Clarkson made her comeback

from injury with her first parkrun in 17 weeks by running for the 9th time at Bolton. Anne Rustidge and Tina

Kuczer made the ultimate volunteer sacrifice by being the tail runners at Bolton on the day. Kerry Elliott ran at

Witton in a Year’s Best time of 28:53 taking 18 seconds from her time of 2 weeks ago. This was her fastest time

for 3 months, and it was her 10th parkrun during 2016. Vicky Spencer ran a Year’s Best time at Witton taking

55 seconds from her time of 2 weeks ago. It was her fastest time since Christmas Day.

Bolton parkrun have set a new attendance record on the day that the Darwen Dashers took over the running of

the event. The new attendance record stands at 384 which adds 42 to the previous high that had been achieved

on two occasions. The Darwen Dashers have regained their position as the best represented running club at

Bolton where we have taken 206 runners during the event’s history. We are the first (and so far the only)

running club to have provided more than 200 runners at Bolton parkrun. Bolton saw their 50,000th finisher on

the day. Simon Fox came closest for the Dashers being the 49,993rd finisher.

The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running today was 1,623, which

is a new record beating the 1,455 which had been set on the 3rd October 2015.

BOLTON TAKEOVER BY THE DASHERS – 16th

MARCH 2016

Week three 19/3/16: During the week of Sport Relief and

the Dashers AGM we had 28 runners at 6

events.Anthony Davies ran a Personal Best time of 23:52

at Bolton taking 1:44 from his time of last week, and his

finish position of 61st was his first time in the Top 100.

Dean Clarkson ran a Year’s Best time of 26:23 at Bolton

taking 52 seconds from his time of last week and this was

his best time for 5 months. Maxwell Davies ran a

Personal Best time of 27:07 taking 1:41 from his time of

last week. Noah Clarkson ran for the 13th time at Bolton

and this was his first parkrun outing for 4 months. He is

the 300th Dasher to complete a parkrun in 2016. Jim Taylor ran for the 40th time at Bolton. His first run there

was in November 2011 and he has a PB of 26:27 which was his 2nd run on the course almost 5 years ago. Brian

Tull ran at Bolton for the 10th time this year and his 190th parkrun overall. Andy McAllister ran for the 2nd time

at Cuerden Valley, 33 weeks since his first visit. His time of 23:47 was the fastest by a Dasher on the day. Sue

Duckworth ran a PB time of 24:18 at Cuerden Valley taking 35 seconds from her time of 10 weeks ago. She

has run 4 times at Cuerden Valley and has 4 PBs. Her grading of 69% is the highest by a Dasher on the day.

Paul Brain ran for the 10th time at Cuerden Valley and his first visit for 19 weeks. His first outing there was in

September 2014 and his fastest time is 37:57. He is the 150th Dasher to finish a parkrun in the Valley. Sue

Taylor ran at Cuerden Valley as Tail Runner in her first run since breaking ribs. Emma Westall was a First

Timer at Preston in her 7th parkrun. This was her 3rd different venue and her time of 27:41 is her fastest parkrun

ever. She is the 4,843rd different runner to appear at Preston and the 333rd Dasher to finish. Dominique

Ricioppo was a First Timer at Preston in her 7th parkrun. This was her 3rd different venue and her time of 27:47

is her fastest parkrun ever. She is the 83rd different Dasher to run at Preston. Linda Coffey ran a Year’s Best

time of 29:35 at Worsley Woods taking 2:22 from her time of 2 weeks ago. This is her 27th outing at Worsley

Woods which is the highest by any Dasher. Dave Shorrock was a First Timer at Fell Foot parkrun (Newby

Bridge) at his 9th different venue. He is the 2,980th different runner to appear there, and the 7th different Dasher,

and the 23rd Dasher to finish.Dave Ponton was a First Timer at Witton and he is the 144th Dasher to appear

there. Matty Cocker ran for the 18th time at Witton and his time of 26:18 is his 2nd fastest time of the year.

Kerry Elliott ran a Year’s Best time of 27:52 at Witton taking 1:01 from her time of last week. She is the 550th

Dasher to finish a parkrun at Witton. Bruce Elliott ran a Year’s Best time of 27:52 at Witton taking 1:17 from

his time of 6 weeks ago. Karen Shackleton ran for the 8th time at Witton and her first outing there for 10 weeks

so this was her first time running The Beast. Lisa Moran ran a Year’s Best time of 29:29 at Witton which takes

2:16 from her time of 2 weeks ago. This was her 10th Witton parkrun and her best time has been 28:32. Barry

Shackleton ran for the 9th time at Witton. Sharon Cocker ran a Year’s Best time of 30:26 at Witton taking 1:21

from her time of 3 weeks ago and this was her fastest time for 15 weeks. Vicky Spencer ran a Year’s Best time

of 34:12 at Witton taking 12 seconds from her time of last week and this was her fastest run since Christmas

Day. Alan Garnett (pictured) ran a Year’s Best time of 35:55 at Witton taking 1:42 from his time of 3 weeks

ago. His finish position of 67th was his highest ever placing. Sophie Atherton ran for the 3rd time at Witton and

her finish position of 70th was her first time in the top 100. Anne Rustidge ran a Year’s Best time of 44:59 at

Witton taking 28 seconds from her time of 5 weeks ago. This was her 20th parkrun which have been at 4

different venues. Ellie-Mae Fallon ran a Year’s Best time of 50:32 at Witton taking 8 seconds from her time of

2 weeks ago. Norman Walsh was the Tail Runner volunteer at Witton in his 36th parkrun.

At Bolton parkrun the runner who came in first place did so in 16:18 which missed the 5-year old course

record by just 12 seconds. This is the 3rd fastest time ever seen at Bolton and the fastest time ever run since the

course was changed in 2012. At Preston parkrun they have had over 39,000 finishers where Dominique

Ricioppo was #38,960. At Worsley Woods parkrun they have had more than 41,000 finishers where Linda

was #41,012. At Ormskirk parkrun their attendance record went again – now stands at 216.

The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running today was 1,210.

WITTON AND CUERDEN VALLEY 19th

MARCH

Week four 26/3/16: In the week when a UXB threatened

to stop Preston parkrun, we had 33 Dashers running at 7

different venues.

Brian Tull ran for the 182nd

time at Bolton. Jim Taylor

ran for the 41st time at Bolton. Norman Cookson ran for

the 25th time at Bolton. Jonny Bromilow (pictured) was a

First Timer at Cuerden Valley in his 30th parkrun which

have been at 14 different events, and 13 of which have

been at Bolton. His best time has been 18:54 at Bolton

and today he became the 53rd different Dasher to run at

Cuerden Valley. Francesca Bury (pictured) was a First Timer at Cuerden Valley which have been at 16

different events. She is the 2,849th different runner to appear in the Valley, and her Age Grading of 57.36%

makes her the 891st highest ever. Dave Shorrock ran at Cuerden Valley for the first time in 18 months. This

was his 4th time running at CV and it is the 155th time a Dasher has finished a parkrun there. Karen Shackleton

ran a Year’s Best time of 27:03 at Newby Bridge in her 10th time at the venue. She takes 1:29 from her time of 3

weeks ago. Barry Shackleton ran at Newby Bridge, and it was the 25th time a Dasher has crossed the line on

the course. Gary Taylor ran at Preston in his 40th parkrun which have been at 3 different events, 28 of which

have been at Preston. His best time has been at Bolton in 19:40. Debbie Bevitt ran at Preston for the 5th time

and for the first time in 15 months. Chris Cash ran at Preston in his 20th parkrun which have been at 15

different events. His best time has been at Ormskirk in 28:00. Linda Coffey ran for the 28th time at Worsley

Woods. Andy Smith ran at Witton for the 7th time and kept up his record of every one a top 10 finish and all

over 70%. His time of 20:24 was the fastest by a Dasher on the day. Joanne Nelson ran at Witton for the 5th

time and finished as first Lady. Her age grading of 74.10% was the best by a Dasher on the day. Bruce Elliott

ran a Year’s Best time of 23:05 taking 4:47 from his time of last week. This was his 2nd fastest time in 20 Witton

parkruns and his Year’s Best time was the 50th by a Dasher in 2016. Janine Fallon ran at Witton for the 6th time

and finished as 4th Lady. Paul Brindle ran at Witton for the 4th time. Andy McAllister ran a Year’s Best time of

24:09 taking 32 seconds off his time of 8 weeks ago. Sue Duckworth ran for the 13th time at Witton and

finished as 5th Lady. Matty Cocker ran for the 19th time at Witton and this is the 7th highest attendance by all

runners at Witton. Kerry Elliott ran her 10th run at Witton during 2016 and stays in first position in the annual

points competition, leading the rest by over 300 points for the first time. Sharon Cocker ran a Year’s Best time

of 30:24 taking 2 seconds from her time of last week. This was her 10th parkrun in 2016. Norman Walsh ran for

the 12th time at Witton and this was his 10th parkrun of 2016. Sarah Bowler ran a Year’s Best time of 33:19

taking 2:46 from her time of 9 weeks ago. Vicky Spencer ran a Year’s Best time of 33:52 in her 10th Witton

parkrun of 2016. She takes 20 seconds from her time of last week. Kate Holroyd ran a Personal Best time of

37:44 taking 15 seconds from her time of 20 weeks ago. Catherine Cordingley ran a Year’s Best time of 41:01

taking 1:52 from her time of 3 weeks ago. Maddie Nelson ran at Witton for the 2nd time. Ellie-Mae Fallon ran

at Witton for the 7th time. Anne Rustidge was a Tail Runner at Witton and she is the 12th highest attendee of all

time at Witton. Sue Taylor ran for the 3rd time at Penryn and her first event there in 6 months. Kym McGarry

ran a Personal Best time of 30:48 at Great Lines (Medway) taking 4:34 from her time of August 2015. James

McGarry ran at Great Lines for the 3rd time and is the 5th Dasher to finish a parkrun there.

Burnley parkrun set a new attendance record of 338, an increase of 10. Cuerden Valley parkrun’s attendance

of 178 was their 10th highest ever. The Darwen Dashers are the 3rd best represented club there. Newby Bridge

parkrun’s attendance of 207 was their 3rd highest ever, and they have had more than 3,000 different runners on

the course. Ormskirk parkrun set a new attendance record of 221, an increase of 5. Pendle parkrun celebrated

their 100th event with an attendance of 125, their second highest ever after the inaugural event. Worsley Woods

parkrun have had runners from 300 different clubs on their course.

The total number of parkruns which have been completed by Darwen Dashers running today was 1,502, which

is the second highest total ever.

In 2016 Dashers have completed 353 parkruns, 27 Personal Bests, 57 Year’s Bests, and 71 First Timers.

Here are the facts and figures for March 2016:

Date Venue Dashers Time Grading PB/YB/FT Run

5/3/16 Stretford

Witton

Bolton

Stretford

Witton

Witton

Bolton

Witton

Newby Bridge

Witton

Witton

Witton

Bolton

Witton

Witton

Worsley Woods

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Jonny Bromilow 18th

Paul Brindle 1st

Dave Rushton 12th

Francesca Bury 116th

Sue Duckworth 12th

Matty Cocker 27th

Brian Tull 101st

Launa Bibby 33rd

Karen Shackleton 34th

Dave Shorrock 35th

Kerry Elliott 39th

Bruce Elliott 40th

Emma Westall 149th

Norman Walsh 44th

Lisa Moran 46th

Linda Coffey 254th

Sharon Cocker 49th

Viki Walsh 50th

Vicky Spencer 55th

Catherine Cordingley 62nd

Anne Rustidge 64th

Ellie-Mae Fallon 65th

19:13

19:49

21:27

23:27

24:33

27:13

28:04

28:24

28:32

28:36

29:42

29:45

30:16

31:07

31:45

31:57

32:47

33:44

35:21

42:53

47:03

50:40

70.51%

70.98%

68.76%

63.40%

68.30%

48.44%

62.83%

52.99%

61.80%

59.21%

51.80%

50.81%

50.00%

52.44%

50.03%

62.49%

48.45%

44.86%

44.93%

34.67%

33.44%

30.59%

First Timer

First Place

Year’s Best

First Timer

First Lady

Year’s Best

Year’s Best

5th

Lady

First Timer

70th

p/run

Year’s Best

20th

p/run

Year’s Best

Year’s Best

29

22

58

28

42

22

188

11

192

41

21

20

5

34

10

70

32

22

56

3

18

5

12/3/16 Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Andy Smith 9th

Brian Morris 27th

Dave Rushton 31st

Simon Fox 32nd

Cath Fox 67th

Andy McAllister 69th

19:30

20:50

20:54

20:55

23:08

23:21

74.44%

72.56%

70.57%

72.27%

72.48%

69.88%

Year’s Best

23

32

59

20

104

23

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Witton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Sue Duckworth 76th

Dave Coulson 79th

Rebecca Smith 110th

Matthew Cocker 112th

Holly Turner 117th

Barry Ross 119th

Dave Ponton 121st

Anthony Davies 126th

Amanda Forrest 133rd

Karen Shackleton 143rd

Dean Clarkson 150th

Dave Shorrock 164th

Wendy Shepherd 181st

Rebecca Simms 194th

Maxwell Davis 198th

Kerry Elliott 52nd

Brian Tull 203rd

Emma Westall 204th

Lisa Moran 205th

Sharon Cocker 227th

Norman Walsh 229th

Dominique Rocioppo 246th

Chris Cash 247th

Saskia-Mae Kuczer 248th

Viki Walsh 251st

Annabel Farrar 267th

Norman Cookson 275th

Alison Abbott 281st

William Duffy 284th

Hannah Caulfield 285th

Michelle Hall 287th

23:42

23:45

25:03

25:07

25:13

25:17

25:21

25:36

26:16

26:49

27:15

27:43

28:12

28:37

28:48

28:53

29:06

29:08

29:09

29:41

29:46

30:28

30:28

30:32

30:43

31:26

31:54

32:07

32:34

32:35

32:42

70.75%

60.14%

59.08%

52.49%

69.60%

54.78%

55.49%

54.95%

57.11%

65.76%

55.90%

61.09%

63.36%

57.89%

49.25%

53.26%

60.60%

51.95%

55.00%

53.51%

55.32%

48.69%

52.19%

49.51%

49.27%

47.19%

46.24%

49.46%

46.98%

45.88%

47.40%

Year’s Best

Personal Best

Personal Best

Personal Best

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

Year’s Best

Personal Best

First Timer

Year’s Best

Year’s Best

First Timer

Personal Best

Personal Best

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

43

17

9

23

30

23

1

1

1

193

20

42

1

23

1

22

189

6

11

33

35

6

19

7

23

1

32

31

1

4

1

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Witton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton

Louise Oldfield 294th

Jo Maxwell 300th

Barry Shackleton 301st

Debbie Bevitt 305th

Vicky Spencer 65th

Stuart Moran 314th

Catherine Wilcock 315th

Jennifer Kay 316th

Jonathan Stubbs 317th

Don Clarkson 325th

Elaine Turner 326th

Sarah Himsworth 329th

Fiona Mitchell 335th

Mia Himsworth 337th

Clare McDonagh 346th

Alan Garnett 347th

Sam Clarkson 351st

Anne Rustidge 383rd

Tina Kuczer 384th

33:16

33:22

33:25

33:41

34:24

34:32

34:48

34:50

34:51

35:25

35:26

35:34

35:58

36:02

36:40

36:41

37:01

48:35

48:36

47.75%

44.96%

47.58%

51.01%

46.17%

43.39%

42.58%

42.78%

42.99%

44.52%

45.25%

47.70%

43.10%

43.62%

40.45%

39.89%

41.87%

32.38%

31.65%

Year’s Best

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

First Timer

Personal Best

Tail Runner

Tail Runner

18

4

245

43

57

5

1

1

28

23

18

1

1

1

10

5

14

19

19

19/3/16 Cuerden Valley

Bolton

Cuerden Valley

Witton

Witton

Bolton

Newby Bridge

Bolton

Preston

Preston

Witton

Witton

Andy McAllister 32nd

Anthony Davies 61st

Sue Duckworth 37th

Dave Ponton 32nd

Matthew Cocker 36th

Dean Clarkson 92nd

Dave Shorrock 44th

Maxwell Davies 106th

Emma Westall 132nd

Dominique Ricioppo 134th

Kerry Elliott 43rd

Bruce Elliott 44th

23:47

23:52

24:18

25:46

26:18

26:23

26:42

27:07

27:41

27:47

27:52

27:52

68.61%

58.94%

69.00%

54.59%

50.13%

57.74%

63.42%

52.30%

54.67%

53.39%

55.20%

54.25%

Personal Best

Personal Bet

First Timer

Years Best

First Timer

Personal Best

First Timer

First Timer

Years Best

Years Best

24

2

44

2

24

21

43

2

7

7

23

21

Witton

Bolton

Witton

Worsley Woods

Witton

Witton

Bolton

Bolton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Cuerden Valley

Witton

Witton

Witton

Cuerden Valley

Karen Shackleton 45th

Noah Clarkson 137th

Lisa Moran 51st

Linda Coffey 222nd

Barry Shackleton 45th

Sharon Cocker 56th

Jim Taylor 189th

Brian Tull 190th

Vicky Spencer 64th

Alan Garnett 67th

Sophie Atherton 70th

Paul Brain 134th

Anne Rustidge 75th

Ellie-Mae Fallon 80th

Norman Walsh 81st

Sue Taylor 140th

27:55

28:07

29:29

29:35

29:56

30:26

30:54

30:55

34:12

35:55

38:23

43:19

44:59

50:32

50:32

51:04

63.16%

52.87%

54.38%

67.49%

53.12%

52.19%

55.29%

57.04%

46.44%

40.74%

38.56%

32.24%

34.98%

30.67%

32.59%

36.42%

Years Best

Years Best

Years Best

Years Best

Years Best

Years Best

Years Best

Tail Runner

Tail Runner

194

14

12

71

246

34

55

190

58

6

9

31

20

6

36

51

26/3/16 Witton

Witton

Witton

Preston

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Cuerden Valley

Witton

Cuerden Valley

Newby Bridge

Newby Bridge

Witton

Bolton

Andy Smith 5th

Joanne Nelson 11th

Bruce Elliott 20th

Gary Taylor 54th

Janine Fallon 24th

Paul Brindle 25th

Andy McAllister 26th

Sue Duckworth 27th

Jonny Bromilow 43rd

Matty Cocker 33rd

Francesca Bury 52nd

Karen Shackleton 102nd

Barry Shackleton 116th

Kerry Elliott 42nd

Brian Tull 124th

20:24

21:14

23:05

23:39

23:51

23:53

24:09

24:31

25:17

25:41

25:55

27:03

27:43

28:07

28:16

71.16%

74.10%

65.49%

63.92%

64.51%

58.90%

67.56%

68.39%

53.59%

51.33%

57.36%

65.19%

57.37%

54.71%

62.38%

Year’s Best

40th

parkrun

Year’s Best

First Timer

25th

parkrun

First Timer

Year’s Best

Year’s Best

24

38

22

40

8

23

25

45

30

25

29

195

247

24

191

Cuerden Valley

Penryn

Witton

Bolton

Worsley Woods

Preston

Great Lines

Great Lines

Witton

Preston

Bolton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Witton

Dave Shorrock 81st

Sue Taylor 80th

Sharon Cocker 58th

Jim Taylor 183rd

Linda Coffey 213th

Debbie Bevitt 197th

Kym McGarry 187th

James McGarry 188th

Norman Walsh 62nd

Chris Cash 205th

Norman Cookson 223rd

Sarah Bowler 72nd

Vicky Spencer 75th

Kate Holroyd 86th

Catherine Cordingley 91st

Maddie Nelson 93rd

Elli-Mae Fallon 98th

Anne Rustidge 99th

28:22

28:26

30:24

30:30

30:31

30:43

30:48

30:51

31:13

31:57

32:35

33:19

33:52

37:44

41:01

45:01

52:09

52:19

59.69%

65.42%

52.25%

45.27%

65.43%

55.94%

48.05%

42.73%

52.75%

49.77%

45.27%

44.62%

46.90%

39.27%

36.25%

35.47%

29.72%

30.07%

Year’s Best

Personal Best

Year’s Best

20th

parkrun

Year’s Best

Year’s Best

Personal Best

Year’s Best

Tail Runner

44

52

35

56

72

44

14

23

37

20

33

7

59

8

4

4

7

21

The Dashers' Parkrun Club Championship

The Dashers' Parkrun Championship is now underway. It will run for 12 months until the end of March next year and your six best scores will be taken into consideration. That means that you can run tough courses and even tail-run without penalty so long as you manage six good runs within the year. Using the percentage scores rather than times means that all age groups and both genders can compete on a level playing field and gives us oldies a fair chance against athletes closer to their

prime. In other words it will follow the same format as last year except that I will be compiling the results instead of Barry Shackleton. I wouldn't want to change anything after it was so successful last year with no fewer than 75 members completing at least six events and 141 doing two or more. Your percentage score rates you against the world record for your age.Joanne Nelson was the only one who topped 80% with a best of 83.66 and an average of 81.82, Andy Smith and Brian

Morris averaged over 75% with three others peaking at over 75. Nine averaged over 70, though twice that number ran 70 at least once. The top 20 in the club averaged over 65% with 33 exceeding the 60% mark. The only change I would like to introduce this time is for a best improver award with the 75 who completed the series all eligible - the intention being to give some of the newer and/ or lower scoring runners a goal. Week 1: April 2nd It is fair to say that it was a low key first day with 15 out of 19 Dashers choosing Witton Park - the slowest course in Lancashire, and four of them were tail runners. I alone went to the fully tarmaced Preston - the quickest of all the local circuits - and don't I feel a cad now! Of our runners who

completed six races last year, nobody managed a higher % score on Saturday than their final championship score with Brian Tull - who was at Bolton - being the closest. In case you fancy a fast one, the average times run at our local parks are: 1st Preston 27:36, 2nd Burnley 28:02, equal 3rd Bolton and Haigh Hall 28:34, 5th Pendle 29:05, 6th Cuerden Valley 30:19, 7th Witton 30:21. Week 2: April 9th Sue Duckworth Dicky Dodds is the early leader of the Dashers' Parkrun Club Championship with an average score of 68.05%. Karen Shackleton is in a virtual tie for second with Brian Tull. After two rounds there are still 13 runners who have been counters on both weeks, though with four acting as tail runners and a fifth running with a slower runner in the first week, the lead group effectively narrows to just eight: 1 Dicky Dodds 68.05, 2 Karen Shackleton 64.68, 3 Brian Tull 64.67, 4George Thompson 62.39,

5 Sue Taylor 60.56, 6 Barry Shackleton 57.44, 7 Bruce Elliott 55.59, 8 Annabel Farrar 49.00 Paul Taylor this week became the second Dasher to top 70% with 70.30 at Pennington Flash while Dave Rushton 69.03 and Jonny Bromilow 65.30 made strong debuts at Bolton and Haigh Woodland. In all 34 different athletes feature in this year's results. Nobody yet has surpassed their Final Championship average from last year, but for the second successive week the closest was Brian Tull with 64.95% which compared to last year's 65.53 stands at 99.11%. Karen Shackleton and Dave Rushton both returned over 98%. Who will be the first to go faster? Brian Tull is the 'Form Horse of the Week' which is the class for athletes who averaged more than 60% last season. For those who averaged under 60%, the 'Improver of the Week' is Paul Astin who rated at 95.51% (48.29 compared to 50.56) at the tough Cuerden Valley.

Andy McAllister

March Madness

March had seen me Run the Barcelona Marathon one weekend, and Coniston 14 as Bananaman the

next. The weekend after that was the

Canalathon...... What is the

Canalathon, I hear you ask???

Well it started when the alarm went

off at 4am in the morning. It was time

to stop playing around this year and

let the first of my ‘Real’ events begin.

This was the 100km Canalathon from

Sowerby Bridge along the Rochdale

Canal to Ancoats in Manchester, then

turn round and run back.

Can’t say my support crew, aka Francesca was over the moon at this silly hour but thankfully she just

got on with it!!! There were 3 races going on that day, mine which was 100km (62miles), a 75km

starting from the same place and a 50km starting in Ancoats (one way) which was my very first Ultra

two years ago.

In the damp Yorkshire Village of Sowerby Bridge, the athletes were starting to show up for

registration. One of my current heroes, Rob Young (Marathon Man UK) was doing the 75. A Great

British Ultra Team member was doing my distance (and might I add, he absolutely smashed it). This

put the challenge lying ahead into perspective, as I was going to be starting alongside, and very soon

chasing these amazing guys.

Anyway, at 8:07am, we were set off and to not bore you all to death, I basically ran, walked, and

(along with the best bit of Ultra running), ate for almost the next 11 hours......

Anyway, the following week, I could still hardly walk and it was the Darwen Dashers Heritage Half

Marathon. During all the build up I wasn’t sure if my work load would allow me to be there, but

either way I never intended to run, and left myself as a spare body for Jonathan and Chris to use and

abuse where they saw necessary... As it was on the day, a few very simple, yet extremely important

tasks were handed my way. These to be done once the race had started.

Firstly, pick up fruit from Sainsbury’s, which involved disappearing into the depths of the warehouse

to be given a huge trolley of bananas, apples, and succulent oranges. I had to manhandle said trolley

down the aisles and out into the car park and up the

short road to the finish line at DACA. This was like a small

workout in itself and the looks from shoppers were

priceless.... I clearly like my fruit!!!

Possibly the most important job of the day, and if it

wasn’t done correctly could possibly have cost me my

life, was getting the beer to the finish line. Do you have

any idea how heavy 500 bottles of the finest Hopstar

Heritage Hop Ale weighs? My poor little car does..... I slowly backed onto the finish line and we

started to unload the beer. We now had our finish funnel in place.... We moved water closer to the

finish line, and had tables further back with the fruit, beer and the ace medals.

We were all set and just in time, as nobody was expecting Ben Fish to destroy the hills like he did

(more annoyingly, he wasn’t even out of breath!!!). We waited for a good few minutes before the

2nd place runner came in.... slowly more runners started to appear. Suddenly finishers were crossing

the line who didn’t appear to be very well. Alison tended to them leaving me handing out the water

by myself and offering words of congratulations. The finishing runners were coming in thick and fast

now, and so did the number of people who had pushed themselves to their limit. Luckily Hannah’s

lad William, came and helped me hand out the much needed water, as suddenly the Darwen

summer had arrived and it was getting increasingly hot.

The words as runners crossed the line was simply amazing, and I wish I could list them all, but each

one made me proud to be a Dasher. The main comment from everyone, was what an excellently

well organised race it had been and what tremendous support they had got from the marshals.

Everyone should be so proud of this event.

As the day drew to a close, the stragglers were coming in, I’ll be honest to say, I did think, ‘oh come

on where is the last runner?’. Then, there she was, the wonderful Helen Jones, and again a sense of

pride came about this wonderful club. She came storming into the finish, closely followed by friends

and marshals. I don’t think I’m being out of place saying Helen probably never thought she would

achieve such a formidable thing, yet the Darwen Dashers have helped her do the impossible.

Absolutely amazing! (But Helen, I could maybe have had one or two extra pints whist waiting for

you!!)

So that was the Darwen Heritage Half Marathon, from the eyes of a helper and water giver

outerer!... A great day and great experience to see things from the other side.

So back to me!!! I finished the Canalathon in 10 hours, 45 mins....

and what did I do at the end??? Other than the infamous Heel

Click, I went to the pub for a pint. I guess this just goes to show we

all set ourselves challenges, but as a Darwen Dasher, we are really

only interested in the same outcome....... beer!!!

Massive congratulations to Jonathan, Debbie and Chris for all the time spent in organising the half

marathon, there are a few minor improvements to be made, but from the feedback, you should be

so proud of yourselves for making the event such a wonderful success.

Jonny

I am the Storm by Calum Rigby Sunshine. Cool air. Surrounded by friends. What a brilliant day for a race. And not just any race. No, this was my first Half Marathon. But I'm getting ahead of myself (which isn't difficult). Let’s go back a ways. Cue the wobbly lines "memory sequence" It's 2013 and I've bought a mountain bike. My friend and I have been having crazy ideas about doing a distance ride. Along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, in a day. We've been out for a few rides and one thing we have noticed, above all others, is that we are seriously out of shape. We'd taken a trip along the Guild Wheel which had taken 4 plus hours (with a stop at the pub for a drink, to be fair) but we decided that, before we attempted the full canal, what was really needed was a lot more practice. With this in mind, and with a new job which involved sitting at a desk for seven hours a day, I decided that running was the answer. I used to love running, as a child. After all, what child doesn't love dashing about until the sun goes down? I pulled on a new pair of trainers, a lovely £20 pair of plastic "fall aparts" and stepped out of the front door. "I'll start simple" I said to myself. "I'll just run over to Bold Venture Park, run once around the park and then head home. I can build up my distance from there." Thirty seconds later, wheezing and gasping for breath I dragged myself back home. This was going to take a little bit more planning than I had thought. A friend mentioned a couch to 5k plan beginners course, starting soon at Darwen Leisure Centre so I decided to give it a go. One or two of you may know of this course and I won't go into too much detail about this. Suffice to say, ten weeks later I ran my first Park Run. And it was brilliant! I bought new, decent running shoes. treated myself to a Dashers vest and Dashers Hoody and continued to run. But now, 5k just wasn't enough. I needed more. I needed to go further. Lytham 10k was the answer. A nice, flat 10k race, my first race, as it happens. I ran it, I did well and I was now bitten by the bug. I set myself a personal challenge. A 10k run, every month, for a year. Lytham was my first and would be my last, too. I started to check out which races everybody was doing. Garstang in January, Winter Warmer, Ron Hill 10k, Bolton, Crazy Cow, Edgworth, Blackpool. Some months I didn't manage to find a race, but I'd still run the distance on a club night or just out and about. It took eleven months but I finally beat my PB, set at Garstang, on my second run at Lytham. I had achieved what I had set out to do. Somewhere in the back of my mind was still the reason I had started running in the first place but somehow, it just wasn't that important, anymore. Time for my next challenge, now. A Half Marathon. As if by magic, a half marathon appeared. And not just any half. This was a half, in Darwen. Being organised by this very club. I'd be a fool to miss out on this. I booked straight away for the race and having plenty of time to prepare (almost six months) I knew I'd be ready. Three months later I figured I should probably make a start on my training. Only three months to go and I had NEVER run this distance before. One training run later and I was ready. Probably. Let’s skip the bit where I didn't do any more training runs and go back to that start line. Off we went. Four Hundred plus runners, tackling the hills of Darwen and Edgeworth. I set off from the back. Nobody was going to pass me today. By the time I got to Last Lamppost the road was mine. Nobody in front, nobody behind. Just me. Water stations, marshalls, mile markers almost seemed to pass in a blur. I even managed to pass a few other runners as I went. Suddenly I was at Blacksnape and it was downhill all the way to the finish line. Little sprint and I'd done it, in a time of Two Hours, forty four minutes and fifty five seconds. Two years ago I ran out of breath running around the block. Today I ran around the Heritage Half route. It really is amazing what you are capable of if you only believe in yourself. Fate whispers to the warrior "You cannot withstand the storm" And the warrior whispers back "I am the Storm"

Just an Average Dasher

By Barry Ross

Last month saw the amazing Bolton parkrun takeover. This was a brilliant event awash with ebony

and gold. I ran as a pacer for Holly Turner and she smashed her previous PB both for the course and

over the 5k distance. It was brilliant running with Holly seeing the determination and effort she was

putting in. That same determination was all around us. It was inspirational. So much so that

despite not having great form I decided to enter the Roddlesworth Roller the following day.

Photo credit to Paul Brain

The Roddlesworth Roller is a great event and on registration at Abbey Village Primary School I was

already looking forward to my brew and flapjack! But that had to be earned! The course will be

familiar to all Dashers as you run from the Hare and Hounds past the reservoir and into

Roddlesworth Woods over to Rocky Brook and up the relentless path to Slipper Lowe car park. From

here it’s straight down Tockholes Road to the Royal Arms then back into the woods straight down

the hill and back through the woods to the reservoir and back to the Hare and Hounds. It’s a

challenging route but one that is well suited to Dashers. I felt good throughout the race and felt I

paced it well. I was feeling strong at the end of the race and once back to the reservoir pushed hard

to the finish picking off a few runners on the way. I was delighted to have knocked 2 minutes off last

years’ time but still feel I can push more in the first half and knock even more time off.

Crossing the road back to the school I overheard someone asking where the goody bags were but

this race doesn’t bother with that sort of thing instead it rewards its runners with a brew and cake.

It is an excellent way to meet up with fellow runners to dissect the race and refuel with a lovely

piece of cake.

Photo credit to Paul Brain

This was a championship race last year with 24 Dashers competing in the wet and miserable

conditions. This year despite taking part on a glorious spring morning there was just 5 Dashers

taking part. This was a shame as it is a cracking little race hopefully next year will see a return of the

ebony and gold and the good weather!

Like most Dashers I am still reeling from the euphoria that was the Darwen Heritage Half Marathon.

To say it was a success is a bit of an understatement. It was a brilliant day marshalling the event and

it was topped off with the fantastic feedback from the happy runners. I would like to say a massive

thank you to Jonathan, Chris and Debbie and everybody else that has put all their time and effort

into making it happen. I am already looking forward to the event next year.

Roddlesworth Roller 13th March

Position Name Time

1 First Male 33:26

20 First Female 38:25

62 Barry Ross 42:05

103 Calvin Ferguson 46:03

197 Chris Cash 59:47

217 Debbie Bevitt 01:04:56

218 Linda Coffey 01:05:08

Total 236

THE HISTORY OF DARWEN AND THE DASHERS (according to Barry Shackleton anyway)

CHAPTER 3 – THE EXODUS

1. And God made it rain forty days and forty nights, and the whole of the North West

was flooded, although in Darwen a hosepipe ban remained in place.

2. And once the forty days and nights were up everywhere began to dry out, except in

Darwen and surrounding areas where it continued to rain for another forty years,

and Witton parkrun had to change their course because of the damage.

3. And so The Beast was created which was visited weekly by many Dashers, but other

running clubs in the area were not so thrilled about losing the flatness of the original

course in favour of a few undulations, and they gave great sighs. And God heard

their groaning and moaning and it kept Him awake all night so he fitteth double

glazing, but the other club’s members were Philistines, and God got fed up of them

and thought “Let the Searby’s and the Dashers deal with them.”

4. And Chairman Cash said “The Ebony and Gold will take up the challenge of The Beast.

We will take on all the Philistines: the Harrierites, Claytonites, Grouprunites,

Accringtites, Trawdenites and Burndenites”.

5. And so there came forward some Philistines dressed in blue vests

with a vertical white stripe down the front, looking for Dasher

support against The Beast. But those dressed in the Ebony and Gold

giggled at them trying to compete at Witton against the Dashers.

So the Philistines tried an olive branch: “Peace on you” they said,

and Chairman Cash misheard and said “And piss on you too”.

6. And the Dashers were told to gather on a particularly rainy day. And God said, “Go to

the Tower, to the place of milk and honey”. And the Dashers said, “We won’t last

long on that. We need beer and curry.” And the Exodus of Dashers from the

Sunnyhurst to the Tower was like a ladder reaching from Earth to Heaven. And when

all the Dashers had gathered it transpired that there was a bit of a do.

7. And it came to pass that Tina, who was tender

eyed, beautiful, and well-favoured in all the departments

prized by man, approached Don in a rather seductive

way which made steam emit from his shorts, which he

tried to say was down to the weather, but all who were

gathered knew better.

8. And Tina spoke unto Don from one knee and said

“Can I have your hand?” and there was much rejoicing as

Don replied, “You can have the rest of me as well” and

they embraced, and the Dashers were already planning a

wedding feast while Don was lost in the steam from his

shorts.

9. And while all this excitement was going on an Angel of the Lord appeared to

Jonathan Stubbs on the Plains of the Moors, which were safer than the Planes of

Indonesian Airways. And the Angel appeared in a burning bush and Jonathan said,

“Are you all right in there?” And God spoke to him from the burning bush and

Jonathan said “How do you do that? It is very distracting.” And he sayeth to

Jonathan, “It’s a pretty good trick isn’t it? Better than Paul Daniels, who is coming to

my place in Heaven for dinner tonight by the way.”

10. And he further said to Jonathan, “Look,

why don’t you stop wasting your time

trying to look like me with that beard. And

instead, why not bring a half marathon

race to Darwen for the first time in a

generation”

11. And Jonathan said, “Do you think it is the

right time, and will anyone turn up?” and

God said in his best Jim Morrison impression, “Just build it …. And they will come”

12. And so Jonathan went forth to the Dashers committee and said “I have been thinking

of starting a half marathon race in Darwen” and there was much laughter and

someone said “Don’t be daft. You couldn’t start a fire” but the idea wasn’t dismissed

out of hand, and the committee said they would sleep on it, and secretly ordered a

psychiatrist’s report.

13. And it came to pass that Jonathan spent many months with his disciples organising

the race, and the Darwen Heritage Half Marathon was a great success with hundreds

taking part in the best Exodus ever seen in the town stretching 13 miles. And God

was very pleased and said to Jonathan, “Didn’t I tell you they would come?”

14. And Jonathan said to the committee, “What did I tell you? Who needs a psychiatrist

now doubters?”

15. And the committee were astounded by

the success. “Oh wow” they said, “But

why is he still trying to look like God. Does

he think he is God?”

16. And someone said, “After this success ……

he probably is God. Who cares if he looks

more like a smurf?”

17. And there was a final exodus of Dashers who journeyed to the Chapel, praising

Jonathan, Debbie Biscuit and all the volunteers. It was a most wondrous final Exodus.

Next month, The Commandments …… and Chairman Cash comes down from the

Tower with some good news and some bad news …… he has managed to get God down to

just ten ………. but adultery is still there! How will this affect the Dirty Dashers and their

new dating website? Yes, it’s Chapter 4.

18,700 km from Coed Y Brenin

My legs are a bit sore from doing a half marathon yesterday. I’m just searching on the net as I type

to see what my time was cause I didn’t wear a watch for it. Actually something I haven’t done for a

few years now. It’s a style of running I quite like, removes a bit of pressure from you as you tick the

kilometres (sorry miles) by.

And even more so you can project aura of zen calmness when people at the start ask you what time

you’re aiming for by saying “Time? What is time but a relative concept – I’m just after a good run, I

follow no man’s clock”. Come the end of the race when people around you are frantically checking

there stats and downloading all the things you download from your watch/phone/satellite

computer, and someone asks me “How you’d go? What time did you get?” I can just give a breezy,

“Yeah didn’t feel the need to check actually. I’m secure enough in my being and my place on this

earth to not need to pigeon hole myself in that way.”

There are a few other benefits that a smug sense of self importance. Last year at the same race I

thought, “jeez, I stayed with that quick guy that just beat me much longer back in 2014, must have

been a bit slower this time” only to look up the times a few days later to see I was actually about 30

seconds quicker than the past year.

My son Chester and me…and me (see last year’s article on how this happened)

Yes! What a time!

Because see I’m a hypocrite. I do actually really care about whether I’m going faster or slow race by

race. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother looking up my result on tinternet. I just don’t care enough to wear

a watch. Watches are great for pacing yourself and tracking your miles and I think are key if you

want to do well in a measurable course. But I love races where that doesn’t matter and you’re just

after finishing against either yourself or others out on the same course. Which is why I loved fell

running. Stupid mad dashes down hills, slow crawls up steep slopes, no sense of pacing yourself at

all – that’s my kind of race.

Starting off yesterday I spied a mate that I knew was faster than me. One of the guys in the photo

from my last month’s article. So I thought “don’t try and run with him this time. Just keep him in

sight for a bit and let him drift off a little each kilometer. We’re going to take it easy this time. Pace

ourselves, come in with a negative split”. Come the call of 10 seconds to start I noticed I was a few

steps out in front of everyone and I’m closest to the start line. But I’m thinking “Just take a couple of

paces back so that you don’t get caught up in the starters rush, don’t do anything silly”.

Then the gun goes off and…hey, no one’s sprinting away… I’m in the lead… holy s*** I’m winning!

Race plan be damned! Run as fast as you have ever run in your life!!!

Yeah, so well there goes pacing myself. Again. But I still enjoyed the race. The winner came in at 1:12

but I was officially ahead of him for 1 second.

And came across some awesome runners there. A mate who was onto his 5th marathon in 5 months

with an aim to do 12 in 12. Rather gazumped by another guy that was well in to his 52 marathons in

52 weeks. But my favourite stat was from a runner called Mike who did the marathon in 5 and a bit

hours. I’ve seen Mike around over the years. Runs marathons in only speedos with a tube of wool

that goes round his neck and under his arms to stop chaffing (a look you tend to not forget) The guy

doing the announcing asked him how many marathons it was for him as he crossed the finish.

Answer – 535! I’d wonder about the comfort of his attire when I’d seen him in the past but I guess

after a hundred or so marathons you’ll have figured out what works for you.

And my time? In truth I was aiming to beat 1:35. Just managed to download this weekend’s time

after I wrote that last sentence…

1:40:15.

Should have worn a watch

Kia ora!

Danny

Daniel.Headifen@kiwirail.co.nz

Founded 1990

Club committee

Chairman Chris Cash chriscash56@gmail.com Ladies’ Captain Alison Abbott 07971 451431 alison.abbott22@yahoo.co.uk Men’s Captain Barry Shackleton shakatak57@hotmail.com President Brian Tull brian_tull@yahoo.co.uk Secretary Jonathan Stubbs 07747 398 384 jonathanstubbs@gmail.com Treasurer Rebecca Simms 01254 692 677 reb.simms@gmail.com When / where to meet us

Tuesday The Sunnyhurst, Tockholes Rd, Darwen, BB3 1JX. 19:00 All welcome

Wednesday Darwen Leisure Centre, 18:30 Beginners

Thursday The Sunnyhurst, Tockholes Rd, Darwen, BB3 1JX. 19:00 All welcome

If you have not run with us before, please get in touch before you come so we can arrange for

somebody to meet you.

www.dashers.org.uk

@darwendashers “Darwen Dashers Running Club”

Any articles for the Dash to Simon Fox, Editor, the.dash@hotmail.co.uk, , by the 10th of the month.