Race Report By Sam Harper
Race 4 of the Croft Club Championship series was this short but tough little fell race on the Stretton Hills. A hardy bunch of Crofties made their way to All Stretton on a chilly evening with a number having races at Leinthall Starkes the night before.
A wonderfully organised race at a bargain price of £8 for pre-entries saw runners on arrival just having to hand a form in to receive their bibs. As a fell race there is a mandatory kit list but it was announced at the start that there was no list requirements but a number carried wind proof tops just in case.
It was a hill start from the beginning, but after only three quaters of a KM there is a brutal hill – the first of 3 incredibly hard inclines to climb – surely no one runs up them? 305m climb in total over a distance of 5.3km.
Apart from those three steep climbs, the route is runnable – there are some adverse cambers in part on very narrow tracks but we had all been prewarned from Tims recce run that grippy trainers were needed and the underfoot conditions were pretty much perfect – very little mud but the recent rain softening the ground giving it a bit of a spongy feel and there was very little slipping.
This is a great fell race and a fantastic inclusion in the club championship series. It is a good one for anyone with no fell running experience – the course is well marked with little red flags the whole way with marshalls at strategic points and for a lot of the way you can see the runners ahead, so there are no concerns about self navigation. Yes, there are some very steep climbs but these are rewarded with some easy running downhills with only a couple of steep downhills where only the very brave run with abandon and no thought for tripping and falling and the rest of us slow down and take it steady.
The first runner across the line was Oliver Perratt of Mercia Fell runners in an eye watering time of 26.02 – maybe he can run up those steep banks? – and the first lady Mel Price also of Mercia in 33.35. Full results can be found here.
We had some great Croft results with Eric first Croft across the line and extremes of age win cats with Saffi winning the youngest and Guy and Janet winning the eldest. Huge congratulations for them in a very tough race.
CROFT RESULTS
| Overall position | Age Cat position | Runner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 5 | Eric Apperley | 29.55 |
| 49 | 12 | Steve Partridge | 36.49 |
| 51 | 1 | Saffi Ried | 36.55 |
| 71 | 4 | Sam Harper | 39.42 |
| 79 | 12 | Tim Jones | 42.31 |
| 88 | 7 | Mike Bending | 43.53 |
| 89 | 3 | Liza Austin | 43.57 |
| 94 | 18 | Richard Coltart | 45.29 |
| 98 | 1 | Guy Whitmarsh | 46.21 |
| 101 | 6 | Carol Powell | 47.02 |
| 106 | 4 | Tori Dickinson | 51.07 |
| 112 | 1 | Janet Hill | 52.44 |
| 115 | 2 | Gary Gunner | 53.31 |
