Kath Biddle headed to the Jurassic Coast 100K Ultra, a gruelling endurance event taking runners across the rugged UNESCO World Heritage coastline in Dorset. The route has over 2,300 meters of elevation, combining steep ascents and rugged coastal paths, but was no match for Kath, who finished the race in 17:46:29.  

Stephen Crowe took part in two parkruns in Denmark this week, first at Faelledparken, unusually held on a Thursday, where he hit a 3 year PB of 27:41, and then Amager Faelled, beating that again in only 27:31. Laura Aiken was first VW35-39 at Heaton Park in 24:29, and junior Grace scored a PB of 31:46. Khama Banda was third overall at Kingsway Park in just 18:03.  

In a show of teamwork and camaraderie that Radcliffe AC is best known for, John Szubert was paced to a PB of 1:57:57 at the Chester Half Marathon by Andrew O’Donnell (1:57:58) and Daniel Hunt (1:56:21).  

Junior Isla and sister Cora also did the 1-mile fun run of the event, around Chester Racecourse, finishing together in 9:07.  

Sheila Jones attended the Haxby 10k on Sunday for the race’s second year, placing first FV70 in a speedy time of 48.47.  

Five Trigs for Two Radcliffe runners  

Two Radcliffe AC members hit the fells once again this Saturday for the Five Trigs, a 19-mile self-navigated course with 3,000 feet of ascent. This route covered parts of the Pennine Way, visiting 5 local trig points around Delph and Saddleworth with 3,000 feet of ascent. Neil Greenhalgh was back in 3:44:08 and Mark Garner in 4:29:02.  

Some of the Juniors started their Saturday morning at various local parkruns, with Isla at Bolton (37:10), Lexi at Heaton Park (21:42) (PB), and Benjamin (34:00) (PB), Grace (38:05) and Poppy (38:07)(PB) at Clarence Park. Senior Adam Wills also scored a parkrun PB in 21:53 at Heaton Park.  

On Sunday, Tracy Wroe headed to the Yarrow Bluebell 10k, held in Yarrow Country Park, Chorley, a beautiful woodland race amongst the bluebells. Tracy completed this challenging one lap out and back looped course in 1:26:41. 

Elaine Bailey was at the Middlewich 5k, a mostly off road race along the beautiful canals and trails of the town, finishing in 29.03. 

Starting and finishing at Headingley Stadium, Robbie Parkinson had an outstanding race at the Leeds Half Marathon, finishing in a very impressive time of 1:32. 

This week’s racing for Radcliffe AC kicked off on Wednesday with a good club turnout at the latest Run the Moors fixture, Foe Edge. This 7.2km fell race with 300m of elevation set off from near Cowpe Village Hall in Rossendale, taking runners along a breathtaking but challenging route through the hills. The first back for the club was Khama Banda, putting in a spectacular performance on his first go at the fells in 38:58, followed by Chris Mihalyi (44:46), Neil Greenhalgh (46:26), Lucie Tighe (51:03), Nathan Walker (52:09), Jack Connor (54:59), Chemane Thomas (57:01), Stephen Crowe (58:29), Karen Doherty (58:42), Mark Garner (59:00), Laura Aiken (1:03:32), Charlotte Holden-Malone (1:07:35), Ethan Holden-Malone (1:07:39) and Lisa Riley (1:11:49).  

Two of Wednesday’s runners were tempted back to the fells on Saturday by the promise of baked goods at the Cake Race, a 10-mile moorland course with 1700ft of climb through the Pennines. Chris Mihalyi, motivated by the hope of profiteroles on the stalls, was back to the finish line in 1:31:32, followed closely by Neil Greenhalgh in 1:32:26.  

This week boasted not one but two similarly-themed club championship races, with It’s a Piece of Cake 10k taking place at Boggart Hole Clough. 19 RAC members braved the brutal hill of this course through the scenic park three times, with Neil Swithenbank back from the third undulating lap in 42:16, followed by Mark Garner (46:03), Mark Taylor (47:21), Paula Abernethy (48:41), Daniel Hunt (48:54), John Szubert (50:06), Chemane Thomas (50:46), Sheila Jones (50:58), Paul Stevens (51:33), Amanda Callan (51:57), Ken Smith (52:32), Lucie Tighe (53:01), Laura Aiken (54:03), Karen Doherty (56:10), Kathryn Davies (58:17), Sarah Wilson (59:23), Cath Jones (1:02:15), Peter Warr (1:04:25) and Sheila McNulty (1:15:55).  

This week’s challenge for the club’s most prolific ultra runner, Kath Biddle, was the Pennine Barrier Ultra 50. Kath conquered this 50-mile course in the Yorkshire Dales in 14:42:35, covering 8,507ft of elevation gain, taking in landmarks like Malham Cove, Malham Tarn, and the Yorkshire Three Peaks,Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.  

There were yet more PBs for the juniors at Alexandra parkrun, with Seth finishing in 22:14 and Lexi in 22:18. 

On Sunday, Andrew O’Donnell reaped the rewards of a recent solid block of training, scoring an impressive PB at the Newcastle-Gateshead Marathon of just 3:19:33!  

Swinton RC also hosted Worsley Woods Ladies 5 Mile Trail Race, a one lap course around Salford's largest conservation area and along the Bridgewater canal , with Tracy Wroe finishing in 57:04.