Penistone shine at Trunce and Higham Hurtle

It was another strong week of racing for the club, with victories and series honours on the fells and trails, alongside the regular spread of parkrun performances.  At the latest round of the Trunce series, Richard Cottam produced a superb run to take overall victory, storming home first in 26-12. He was backed up by teammates Oliver France and George Parr, who crossed the line together in sixth and seventh place respectively, both dipping under 29 minutes. Further strength in depth was shown with Jon Hallam and Ian Neville running strongly for 13th and 14th, and Matthew Robinson securing 29th place. Shaun Swallow and Hannah Shaw also impressed, with Shaw leading the club’s women home in 33-51. Strong runs continued throughout the field, with Jill Scrivens, Ben Wilkinson, Chloe and Lisa Hinchliffe, Stuart Woodhead, Mandy Mallinder, Heather Lindley, Harriet Drouin, Amanda Field, Oliver Found, Barbara Haigh, Tracy Woodward, Steve Dommett and Myfanwy Cross all representing the club across the course.

The Higham Hurtle also brought fine rewards for the club. James Mumford stormed to victory in the August race, clocking 30-49 to finish clear of the field. Teammates George Parr, Oliver France, Ian Neville, Matthew Robinson and Damian Kilpin all packed inside the top twelve, underlining Penistone’s strength in depth, with Shaun Swallow and Lois Lopez adding further support. Across the overall series standings, George Parr claimed an excellent second place, Ian Neville secured fourth and club stalwart Stu Smith placed eleventh. In the women’s competition Loida Lopez capped her fine summer by taking second overall, with Tracy Woodward also finishing strongly in eighth.

The Denby Dash lived up to its reputation as a brutal but superbly organised race, and Penistone came away with a haul of honours. Suzanne McGill led the way for the women, finishing third lady overall, while Lesley Parker claimed top spot in the ladies over50 category and Loida Lopez added further strength inside the women’s top ten. Jill Scrivens also ran well to place 64th, with Olivia Clough and Sarah Clough continuing the family theme, and Claire Watts completing the team effort.  In the men’s race, Ian Neville produced another outstanding run to take the men’s over60 victory, finishing seventh overall, while George Parr claimed first under23 male in ninth. Strong support came from Simon Lovidge, Robin Clough, Nick Pepper and Stu Smith, with further depth added by Nick Whittingham.

What a weekend it was at parkrun, with record numbers of Penistone runners across 27 venues. Penistone parkrun saw a historic result as Andrew Heppenstall, Richard Cottam and James Mumford filled the podium with the dream team all clocking personal bests. Suzanne McGill was second female at Penistone, while Dawn Broom matched that placing at Thornham Walks. Simon Pike continued his remarkable run of third places in Canada with another podium at Shawnigan Hills. For the first time, all “Runs of the Weekend” cracked 80% age grading, led by Dawn Broom’s 84.78%. The next four were Andrew Heppenstall (83.56%), James Mumford (82.94%), Richard Cottam (82.03%) and Suzanne McGill (81.48%).  Other notable mentions went to Stu Smith, who marked his 400th parkrun volunteering at Barnsley, and former member Dave Needham, who returned to parkrun at Concord.