Cilcain Mountain Race
7.4km and 380m height gain/loss.
Monday 29 August 2022
Rank Cat Bib Full Name Time Cat
4 3 65 Lawrence Eccles 00:34:33 M
12 4 46 Alex Cowin 00:37:43 M40
35 19 60 Michael O'Rourke 00:42:05 M
54 8 16 Paul Riley 00:44:39 M50
66 17 55 Steve Dipple 00:46:01 M40
72 13 138 Tony Man 00:46:25 M50
73 28 34 Matthew Farrell 00:46:34 M
78 2 71 Lenka Vidamour 00:46:57 F40
83 9 69 Alice Fraser 00:47:42 F
92 4 59 Sarah Jackson 00:48:28 F40
96 17 61 Terry Lynch 00:49:15 M50
125 7 62 Cheryl Pace 00:54:28 F40
131 4 73 Jefferson Gard 00:55:42 F50
144 6 15 Annmarie Riley 00:58:07 F50
159 17 6 Tony Green 01:04:14 M60
162 12 58 Anne Oxburgh 01:06:55 F40
172 13 63 Jane Nicholson 01:14:59 F50
173 7 92 Rachel Rick 01:14:59 F60
A bank holiday classic held as part of the Cilcain festival. This race was chosen as the race for the Merseyside Fell Running Championships 2022. I had been informed that Penny Lane were the only club who had entered teams, so as long as we could get a team together it would be a procession to victory for us. However, upon arrival to my horror we were informed there were other teams entered and after a stewards enquiry to get these teams disqualified it turns out they were legitimate entries and we would have beat these teams by running.
It was a great turn out by penny lane with 18 members running and numerous members supporting on various parts of the course. The course was hard and dry owing to the largely dry and warm weather making it a fast course. The race goes off like fast road race with a steep downhill start before the steepening climb to the Moel Famau summit, after which its downhill as fast as you can go on a slightly less steep part of the mountain linking up with the outward route to take you back to the start. The steep downhill start was now a steeper uphill finish, the crowds seem to have extended further down the road giving a false sense of the finish, but when the church comes into sight the end is nigh. There was beer at the end which we weren’t supposed to drink but no one told us till afterward.
The results of the race were a bit delayed, so we spent the time eating ice cream, watching a load of kids beat a rugby team in tug of war, and watching some teddy bears being thrown off the top of the church in a parachute competition. Under the watchful gaze of Lawrence, the Merseyside Fell running manager John Hunt collated the results and it turns out Penny Lane had won both the Men’s and Women’s Merseyside Fell Running Championships 2022. There were also individual Merseyside Fell Running Championships prizes for Lawrence Eccles 2nd overall and Alice Frasier 3rd overall. Age Cat prizes for Lenka Vidamour, Sarah Jackson, Jane Nicholson and Rachel Rick.
