CVFR’s U9s storm to victory in English Junior’s Champs race

At Clougha Pike on Saturday 16th June, Calder Valley’s Ben Cliff flew the flag for Calder Valley’s seniors, putting in a good personal performance to finish 24th overall & 6th in the men’s V40 category. However, the English Junior championship race event belonged to the red & white U9s, who crowned themselves once again in glory – leaving the rest of the field for dust. Clara McGee once more beat both boys and girls outright, to finish 1st in 3:29 – a whopping 37s ahead of the 2nd girl, with Ben Cliff’s son Harry the first U9 boy home, only 11 seconds after Clara.

Other strong performances from the red & white junior hoops included Ted Parker (7th U9 boys race), Thomas McGee (10th U11 boy), William Hall & Alex Duffield (8th & 15th respectively in the U15 boys race), Olivia Falkingbridge (13th U11 girl), plus Patrick Casey & George McFie (11th & 13th respectively in the U13 boys race).

Short but deadly:

Bofra’s Kettlewell on Sunday 17th June may only be 1.4 miles, but it packs a punch for the distance: with an incredibly steep 600ft slippery of ascent, following by an even more treacherous final descent. In the end, only a few blades of grass separated many of the 98 competitors, with Toby Cottrill fighting all the way to the finish line to be the first red & white hooped runner home (15th place in 14:08). Fellow CVFR, Stephen Smithies was hot on his heels (runners 15-20 finished within five seconds of each other), placing 18th overall & winning the men’s Vet 50 age category. For the juniors, it was equally tight at the finish. In the U14s, 10 seconds made the difference between 8th & 12th place, with CVFR James Duffy finishing a respectable 12th in 11:17.