Wuthering Westies

Just a wee report on a big race : A few Westies were foolish enough to return yet again to Haworth in Yorkshire for the 31 mile Wuthering Hike / Haworth Hobble on Sat 16th March. It seems a long way to go ( 4hrs drive ) but it is a cracker of a race , combining parts of the Penine Way , the Bronte Way , the Calderdale Way with visits to the mill towns and I'm sure some other ways I've missed out . Terrain varies from flagstone paths , tarmac lanes, stony tracks and plenty of puddles and mud. Total climb is 4400 feet . It wasn't very promising the night before as we had to drive through dense fog over the Moors and it was cold and raining all night . Up at 6.30a.m. the weather wasn't any better but it improved all the time and we actually finished the race in lovely sunshine . Ronnie Gallagher teamed up with my namesake Colin Donnelly to finish in 4th position just missing out on 1st vets prize ; next in was Kate Jenkins and myself in 8th place for which we got a bottle of wine each for 1st mixed team , I managed a pb by 15 mins but still was 10mins slower than Kate and Maggie Creber's winning time 2yrs ago ! . Dave Rodgers and Stevie Bell were just over an hour behind us , most of that time gap having been spent sunbathing en route by the look of Dave's topless torso that he was showing off at the finish. The day was rounded off back at Kendal in the Lake District with Chris Upson showing off his hitherto well hidden prowess with the violin with The Westmoreland Orchestra , well I think it was good as Kate and I were struggling to stay awake most of the time.There were probably about 40 or so teams running and quite a few walkers out to beat their 12 hour challenge . It is a great race/challenge ( walkers do it too ) , well organised and worth doing even if only as a long day out on the moors.

1st A.N. Others 4hrs 8mins

4th Ronnie Gallagher and Colin Donnelly 4hrs 26mins

8th John Donnelly and Kate Jenkins 4hrs 43mins

?th Dave Rodgers and Steve Bell 5hrs 51mins

Posted by John Donnelly on Wed 30 Nov -0001 | comments are closed

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