A raggle-taggle bunch of miscreants represented Buxton Athletic Club last weekend at the Pilling 10K, but happily all in a good cause. Not the usual way of kicking off a stag weekend by taking part in a road race while dressed as convicts, but as all the runners were honed athletes & members of Buxton AC, not that surprising. First mention must go to the groom-to-be, Andrew Wearden, who finished in a respectable 50 minutes and 9 seconds and 49th place. Ten other “stags” took part, with Rob White and Ben Light taking 3rd and 4th place in 35.47 and 36.15 respectively. From a field of almost 100 runners, Simon Moorhouse’s 56.10 and 73rd placing meant that the weekend could get on with the real business of celebrating Wearden’s final few days as a carefree bachelor.
A marginally less enjoyable 5,000 metre track race took place last week, around the parched grass of Temple Fields, and important Club Championship points were up for the taking. To make up the distance, runners were obliged to race around the track some twelve and a half times, a mental battle as much as a physical trial. Amy Clark led the ladies’ race from the outset, just slipping under the elusive 20 minutes, finishing in 19.58. Sam Willis was second in 22.59, Katie Rolfe third in 23.21. Janet Taylor took the Vet prize, while Sheila Bradley took the Supervet prize. The men’s race had a clear leader and winner, Alasdair Campbell, although he was challenged in the first few laps by Rob White. Campbell’s time was a fantastic 16.42, White’s 17.01 and third place went to Ben Light in 17.19. Jon Sewell took first Vet placing, Kev Mottram second Vet.
Local Parkruns saw a sprinkling of Buxton AC runners take part last weekend. Ross Martland ran Glossop’s undulating and testing course, finishing 16th in 22.04, followed by Jo Cudahy, 28th in 24.02, and Bev Golden 47th in 26.01. Tim Rolfe, meanwhile, ran a personal best at the speedy Bakewell Parkrun, finishing in 25.02. Paul Light was 13th at Congleton, a fast three lapper, in 21.01, while Michael Abrahams ran a solid 28.01 at Macclesfield.
Fell-fiend Pete Bailey travelled up to Ambleside in the Lake District to represent the Club at the Heart of the Lakes Rydal Round, an “A” category fell race of some 9 miles, with over 3,000 feet of climbing, definitely not for the faint-hearted, more so given the sultry conditions of the recent heatwave. Bailey finished in a respectable time of 2 hours and 23 minutes.