Penistone Footpath Runners
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From Trunce to Track: Penistone's Packed Week of Podiums

Penistone Footpath Runners enjoyed another good showing at Race 6 of the 2025 Trunce series, with 29 runners tackling the mud, hills, and river crossings of this much-loved off-road course.  It was a particularly strong night for the women’s team. Hannah Shaw finished in third place in 34-13. The standout performance in the veteran ranks came from Rebecca Timms, whose 38-50 earned her first place in the ladies over40 age category. She was supported by excellent runs from Jill Scrivens (38-32), Loida Lopez (39-10) and Lisa Hinchliffe (42-44). Barbara Haigh secured an age group win in the ladies over70s with a determined 51-05, while Mandy Mallinder (47-06), Tracy Woodward (51-47) and Heather Lindley (48-55) completed a well-rounded team effort.  On the men’s side, Richard Cottam continued his fine form, finishing second overall in 27-07 and topping the men’s over40 standings. He was followed by Oliver France in 6th with a time of 28-34. Further strong runs came from Ashley Firth (30-36), Jon Hallam (31-21), Ian Neville (32-16) and Matthew Robinson (32-16) who packed well.  In the men’s over50s Steve Sanders (34-00), Andy Shelbourne (34-24) and Shaun Swallow (34-36) put in consistent efforts. Mark Law delivered a standout performance in the men’s over60 category, placing third with a time of 36-28.  Other finishers included Oliver Found (38-21), Shaun Walker (37-37), Luke McGuinness (45-20), Stuart Woodhead (42-08) and Steve Dickinson (50-05).  There was also representation from Penistone’s junior ranks, with Alexander Wright putting in a strong performance on the shorter course. He crossed the line in 17-02, earning 8 points and notching up a personal best.

Penistone junior Flynn Rogers has capped off an excellent season by finishing third overall in the South Yorkshire Schools Orienteering League. The series comprised nine events across the year, held in a mix of parks, woodlands, open terrain and urban settings, offering a real test of both map-reading skill and versatility over challenging ground.

James Mumford delivered a standout run on Friday night at the North Derbyshire Running Club Summer Series 5K held at Queen’s Park. Clocking 16-44, Mumford not only set a new personal best, but also finished 5th overall out of 37 and claimed third place in the men’s over45 category. Remarkably, he missed the club over45 5K record by just two seconds, underlining his current good form and hinting that a new record could be on the horizon. 

Penistone juniors Oliver France and Flynn Rogers had a packed evening of racing at the South Yorkshire Olympics, turning in a string of strong performances across a variety of distances.  Oliver France showed his range with four solo events, finishing 4th in both the 100m (13-03) and 400m (1-00-36), third in the 800m (2-24-87), and 8th in the 3000m, where he broke the 10 minute barrier with 9-59-69. Both Oliver and Flynn lined up in the mile, where Flynn placed 7th in 5-03-05, with Oliver just behind in 8th (5-03-48).  The pair then joined forces with Hillsborough & Rivelin Running Club to form a relay team, finishing second in the 4x100m (57-87) and taking victory in the 4x400m (4-20-20).

Fifteen members of the club took to the hills for the Bamford Carnival Fell Race, tackling the short but sharp course known for its lung-busting climb up Win Hill and fast grassy descent.  First back was James Pierce in 37-45 which gave him fourth place in the men’s over50 age category. First Penistone lady back was Lesley Parker in 45-03.  This gave Lesley an excellent second place in the ladies over50 age category.  Teammate Jill Scrivens wasn’t too far behind picking up fourth place in the ladies over50 category in 46-05.  There was a strong run from Kelvin Bowskill to claim third over70 man.

Loida Lopez continued her good summer form with two great performances this week. On Wednesday she returned to the Nostell Priory 10K, where she was last year’s over45 winner. With the field size more than doubling in 2025, she still made the podium, finishing second in the over50 category.  She followed that up on Sunday at the Yorkshire Veterans Grand Prix in Halifax. The race featured a notoriously tough and hilly course, but Lopez held her own, finishing fourth over50 and achieving an impressive age-graded score of 75.15%.

A strong turnout saw 70 Penistone Runners competing across 18 different parkrun venues this weekend. At Thornes Park, Flynn Rogers took a commanding first place in 18-20, while at Penistone, Rob Lees secured second overall in a personal best of 18-47. Dawn Broom also starred at Penistone, finishing as third female, first over60 and setting a new course PB of 22-21. Her performance earned her an age-graded score of 86.80%, the highest of the weekend. Elsewhere, Jill Scrivens claimed third female at Wythenshawe in 23-01, with Julia Johnson clocking 23-08 to take first over60, and Martin Hughes placing third over65 at the same venue.  A major milestone came at Penistone, where Danny Batty completed his 450th parkrun, finishing as first over80 in 33-46.  There were more age category firsts for Kelvin Bowskill (25-31, first over70 at Conwy), Steve Stead (22-06, first over45 at Frickley), Emma Stead (26-27, first over45 at Frickley) and Keith Gordon (26-54, first over75 at Snowden Field). Stuart Woodhead also claimed first over70 at Millhouses with a 25-21 finish. Course PBs were in good supply at Penistone, with fast runs from Rob Lees, Dawn Broom, Rob Davies (first over60), Mark Crossley and Shaun Braddock (third over60). Top Age-Graded runs of the weekend were Dawn Broom (86.80%), Julia Johnson (85.09%), Ian Neville (78.40%), Jill Scrivens (77.62%) and Rob Lees (77.28%).