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Golf Ball Fell Race – Wednesday 18th August

August 19, 2010

Mark C, Pete Noble and myself ran the Golf Ball fell race from the Glory Pub in Crawshawbooth on the A682 Burnley Road (from Rawtenstall to Burnley), this is the 4th race in a 4 race midweek series organised by Rossendale harriers the other races being Waughs Well, Whittle Pike & Pilgrims Cross (last weeks race). The race is advertised as 5.5 miles with a mere 800 ft of ascent, sounds easy.
From the start there is an uphill section for 1/2 mile then you come to a stile and with 182 runners – a long queue, approx. 40 people in the Q before me with Mark C approx. 10 behind me, Pete somewhere behind Mark C, this Q effectively holds everyone up behind and gave me probably 30 seconds lead over Mark & Pete once we had negotiated the stile. There is then a short but steep ascent to the top of the moor which from the OS map looks like Great Hameldon Hill?. Once the main climb was out of the way the route is a mixture of good undulating trails and boggy bits, all runnable. It is fair to say Mark C and myself weren’t feeling 100% both with sniffly colds which meant we couldn’t push it as hard we would normally do, in my case i found runners were passing me and i had no go in me to stay with them. We reached the ‘Golf Ball’ which according to the OS map is a Radar Weather station on Hameldon Hill and then a long steep tarmac descent that shook every bone in my body then a sharp right thru the fields which were 6 inches of gloopy mud / cow poo, smashing, and to top that there was no washing in the local fisheries water.
 
1st back for Lostock was Mark S 96th / 182 runners in 51:37
2nd Mark C 106th in 52:47
3rd Pete Noble 112th in 53:31.
Also running last night was Albert 25th in 42:58.
A good turn out in the pub for a smelly cow poo / sweaty fell runner prize giving for this race and the race series.

Adios Mark S