A mixture of fell and road races attracted Buxton Athletic Club runners this past week, although given the recent long spell of dry weather, the off-road conditions are much like running on concrete or tarmac with barely a splodge of mud to be seen!

The first of the Staffordshire Moorlands AC Summer Series kicked off with a speedy and undulating 4.5 miler around the scenic Tittesworth Reservoir last Thursday evening, and 18 Buxton AC runners took part.  Just 2 seconds shy of the winner, Jason Burgess finished the race in 27.06 in second place overall, with Ben Light 6^th and Jon Sewell 14^th.  For the ladies, Fran Bromley led her 11 female team mates home in a time of 37.46, closely followed by Emma Wentworth in 38.00, and Sheila Bradley (2^nd Female Over 60) in 39.19.  Next week’s race is over the Roaches and will undoubtedly attract a good field from Buxton once again.

Also out of Tittesworth, but a far cry from the tracks around the reservoir, is the Passing Clouds fell race, and with a distance of almost 10 miles, and 1,854 feet of climbing, is a test of stamina and needs a good deal of surefootedness.  Heading over the technically-challenging Roaches ridge after the long climb up from the reservoir, the race eventually returns over Ramshaw Rocks before descending back to Tittesworth.  Supervet Bill Allsop was the only Buxton AC runner to return triumphantly with a prize – he was first Male Vet Over 75 to finish.  Club mates Richard Bouglas, Martin Ward and Pete Bailey also took part and finished in 40^th, 44^th and 78^th respectively from a field of 119.

Rick Aldred, chasing the elusive 5K distance, travelled to the Alexandra Park in Manchester to take part in the aptly named Cannonball 5K and, despite the humid conditions, victoriously claimed the first Male Vet 40 prize in a time of 18.22, and was 10^th overall from a field of 86.

The Pavilion Gardens 5K attracted almost 60 runners last Saturday, with 25 from Buxton AC.  In perfect conditions, with hardly a breath of wind, Rob Lloyd led right from the outset and romped home in 18.29, 22 seconds clear of the second runner.  Smashing her personal best at the distance by a massive three minutes was Adele Thorton to finish in 23.49, and was rewarded with second female home place.  Jon Sewell was third overall and 1^st Male Vet 45, while Paul Drabble, gradually returning to form after injury, was 1^st Male Vet 55 and 4^th overall.  David Newton was 6^th overall and was 1^st Male Vet 40.