Before leaving Buxton in the early 1980’s, Buxton AC members Val and Stuart Fletcher donated a trophy to the Athletic Club to be used for “The Fletcher Cup”, a handicap race from Buxton through the nearby Goyt Valley and back into town.
Competitors must guess their predicted finishing time for the almost 9 mile route, and the runner nearest their estimated time is the winner. Not an easy task, given the challenging course which takes in Macclesfield Old Road and Bunsal Incline. From the 30 Club runners who took part in the Club Championship event last Wednesday evening, Richard Goff was just an astonishing 11 seconds awry from his estimated time, finishing in 73 minutes and 41 seconds. The May Morrison Memorial Trophy for the fastest female veteran went to Janet Taylor, who finished in 75 minutes and 10 seconds, whilst the fastest male veteran was Rob White in an hour and 57 seconds.
To be able to take part in the Ben Nevis Mountain Race, runners must have competed in three of the toughest “A” category fell races, and over the years numerous Buxton AC club members have travelled to Fort William to take on the challenge. Running from the foot of Britain’s highest mountain, the 10 mile course is as tough both ways, from the steep, rocky and relentless climb to the vertiginous and skittering descent. This year’s field of almost 500 runners included five Buxton athletes, with first home accolade going to Bryan McKenna in 100th place in a superb time of 1 hour 56 minutes and 12 seconds. Rob White finished in 2.19.06, Nigel Jeff ran a personal best time in 2.20.31, while Dan Latham completed the race in 2.22.40. Tania Wilson was the sole female Club Member to take part, and she came home in 2.48.58.
2018 is the centenary year of the Royal Air Force and everyone who took part in the annual Spitfire 10K out of RAF Cosford this year was awarded an exclusive “Spitfire 10K” medal. The start of this classic race begins outside Hangar One, heads around the RAF Museum site, past a number of iconic aircraft before taking the runners along the runway. Emma Wentworth finished the race in 49.51, Caroline Newton-Phillips in 52.23, Louise Hallows claimed a PB in 52.25, as did Kathryn Dobson in 57.34.
Ten Buxton AC Senior athletes raced in a variety of the popular Parkruns this past weekend, Bakewell, Macclesfield and Lyme Park. David Newton ran a PB for the course at Bakewell, finishing 15th from a field of 215 in a time of 19.50. Alan Talbot was 1st Male Vet Over 65, in 22.09, with Katie Rolfe finishing in 23.12. Sheila Bradley was 1st Female Vet Over 60 and ran a PB for the course in 23.48. Tim Rolfe accompanied son Matthew, both finishing in 28.43. At Macclesfield, Paul Light was 18th in 22.38, closely followed by Ross Martland in 22.46. Michael Abrahams came home in 28.14. At the hilly Lyme Park, Justin Holmes finished in 26.43, and Rachel Dowle completed the course in 29.27.