Calderdale Way Relay 

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Around Halifax - 14th December 2003

 Results

The event was organised by Halifax Harriers

Leg 1 - Greetland Rugby Club to Cragg Vale

Leg 2 - Cragg Vale to Todmorden

Leg 3 - Todmorden to Blackshaw Head

Leg 4 - Blackshaw Head to Wainstalls

Leg 5 - Wainstalls to The Shelf

Leg 6 - The Shelf to Greetland Rugby Club

55th A Yeates J Miller S Wood L A Sutton M Jones K Downing
of R Pavey R Williams C Bale S Long B Layton R Dove
97 1:33:41 (61) 1:28:29 (70) 0:52:45 (65) 1:15:51 (16) 1:10:20 (52) 1:52:00 (76)
  1:33:41 (61) 3:02:10 (65) 3:54:55 (66) 5:10:46 (50) 6:21:06 (48) 8:13:06 (55)

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At Todmorden Leg 2 Finish Fast Finishing (Beating the Camera Man) Sunny Leg 3
By SMOC By Ikley Harriers By SMOC By Ilkley Harriers
Team Organiser's take on the Event

Yes, 55th place is quite respectable in respect to our other positions. the best has been 49th, the worst 75th. The slower time was obviously brought about by the high winds and the significant detour on leg 6.

Well done to one and all for getting around unscathed. Especially to Andy S for staying perky after well over 20 miles of running.

16th position on leg 4 is fantastic. Well done, Steve and Andy. A new SMOC leg record by some 5 minutes. Mike and Brian reckon they would have beaten our leg 5 record too, had Brian's calf not exploded a mile or so before the finish. It will have to be next year, chaps.

Special thanks to Shirley for stepping into the breach at short notice yet again. And to Paul for the 'photo's. Chris and Shirley look far too happy for the top of the hill, and Jim looks somewhat gob smacked by the whole experience!

To complete the debrief, here is the classic Pownall Progressograph and results archive, comparing our race progress with some of our better previous years.

Until 2004,
Richard Pownall

The Following was submitted to the Milton Keynes Citizen for Publication - 16th Dec 2003

For a dozen or so years now Milton Keynes Orienteers have been making the trip to Halifax to contest the Calderdale Way Relays where pairs of runners follow the Calderdale Way which has been split into six legs of varying length and amount of ascent.

 
This year the team included a number of members who had not made the trip before and a week of rain before the race made the going slippery, especially on the cobbled downhill sections. With all legs involving climbs from the valley bottoms out on to the tops of moors before descending and on many legs having to all again before handing the baton on.
 
It was Andy Yeates & Richard Pavey on leg one Left Greetland Rugby Club, up through eh forest to Greetland Moor, Down into Ripponden, up to Soyland Town, down into Mill Bank before going up and over Great Manshead Hill which set up the down hill finish in Cragg Vale, covering the first 9 miles in 93:44mins, the second ascent was what took it from there legs. Roger Williams and Jim Miller took the baton up to Stoodley Pike, descending via Mankinholes and Lumbutts into Todmorden before climbing up on to Crags Moor to another downhill finish into Todmorden Sports centre, taking all of 88:29 mins.
 
Leg Three run by Chris Bale and Shirley Wood went up round the crags of Whirlaw Common, across the edge of Blackshaw Moor, it was then uphill al the way to the leg finish at Blackshaw Head in 52:45 where Andy Sutton Old Farm Park and Steve Long had the pleasure of going through Heptonstall around Midgley Moor to fourth Change over at Wainstalls, finishing in 75:51. Recording the highest ever position on an individual leg for the club by being 16th fastest on the day for leg four. Then Brian Layton and Mike Jones of Newport Pagnell skirted around Illingworth, taking 70:20 for Leg Five before handing on to Andy Sutton and Keith Downing to return the baton to the Rugby Club. The Last pair took 112:00 for the last leg and completed the relay for the Club. For the first time in all the years the club has been competing in the event Milton Keynes Orienteers were the leading 'O' Club with a total time of 8:13:06 for the trip around Halifax.

Roger Williams