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Penistone shine in final Spencer’s Dash
The curtain came down on the long-running Spencer’s Dash with its final ever staging, bringing to an end a fixture that has been part of the local running calendar for decades. The club was well represented on the night, collecting several age-category podiums. Suzanne McGill stormed to first place in the ladies over45 category with 24-26, while Ian Neville took second in the men’s over55 in 24-13. Clubmate Shaun Swallow was third in the same category in 25-54. Loida Lopez claimed second in the ladies over50 with 28-23. In the men’s over65, Stuart Woodhead was runner-up in 31-43. Susan Hall finished fourth in the ladies over60 with 34-58, while Andrew Taylor ran 34-18 in the men’s over55 and Tracy Woodward clocked 36-28. There was further success across the series standings, with Suzanne crowned overall ladies over45 champion, Ian second in the men’s over55, Stuart Woodhead first in the men’s over65, Stu Smith second in the men’s over65, Loida second in the ladies over50 and Susan second in the ladies over60.
John and Dawn Broom took part in the Mid Cheshire 5K. John finished in 19-33 to place 18th in the men’s over55 category, while Dawn recorded 21-42 for 5th in the ladies over60.
The tough Crowden Horseshoe, a classic 8.5-mile fell race in the Peak District with over 1,700 feet of climb, saw a strong Penistone turnout. Daniel Limb led the club home in 1-30-49, followed by Shaun Swallow in 1-36-24. Jill Scrivens impressed with victory in the FV55 category, finishing in 1-47-29. Harriet Drouin ran strongly to complete in 1-58-44, with Mandy Mallinder close behind in 1-59-44 and Heather Lindley in 2-01-18.
Two of the club’s younger members also flew the flag at the Denby Dash Pirate Race, the junior counterpart to the senior event. Heidi and Harrison Morley both took part, with Harrison proudly completing his very first race in Penistone colours.
The Longshaw Sheepdog Trials fell race, another Peak District classic, saw a strong Penistone entry. Junior international Graihagh Turner impressed with 22nd place in 37-37, taking the prize for first under19 and third lady overall, while Ian Neville also claimed victory in the men’s over60 with 38-03. There was good depth throughout, with 24 Penistone finishers completing the challenging course.
Once again the club dominated Penistone parkrun, with Richard Heppenstall (18-04, PB), Sean Pitt (18-30) and Ashley Firth (18-55) taking first, second and third respectively. Jon Hallam was first at Bower Park in 20-19, while Richard Cottam claimed third at Millhouses in 17-10. James Mumford (17-19), Suzanne McGill (20-35), Shaun Swallow (20-52) and Ian Neville (22-18) also impressed at the same venue with category wins. Julia Johnson continued her sparkling form with 22-35 at Fountains Abbey, topping the women’s over60, while Oliver France (18-06) was first under18 at Riverside. Flynn Rogers sped to 17-54 for first junior 15 at Victoria Dock, and veteran Danny Batty topped the over80s at Penistone in 33-07. Special mention goes to Julia Johnson, whose 87.16% age grading was the run of the weekend. Other high scores came from Richard Heppenstall (82.93%), James Mumford (81.49%), Richard Cottam (80.68%) and Suzanne McGill (80.49%).