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Penistone claim team win at Gravy Pud and shine at Percy Pud
The club produced a strong set of performances across a busy early-December weekend encompassing road, fell and cross-country terrain, alongside the conclusion of the Winter Handicap series. The largest turnout came at the popular Percy Pud 10K in Sheffield, where twenty-four Penistone runners took part among more than three thousand finishers. Flynn Rogers led the club home with a rapid 34-52 for 52nd place, while Richard Heppenstall impressed with 36-01 to take second place in the men’s over50 category. There were further fine performances from Alan Nutton, Jade Crosby, Rachel Mayston and Daniel Limb, with Penistone well represented throughout the field.
Abroad, Gareth Irvine travelled to Spain for the Valencia Marathon, tackling warm conditions that rose from 15°C at the start to 22°C by mid-morning. He delivered a strong and evenly paced run to finish in 3-19-56.
On the fells, Penistone were out in force at the Gravy Pud Fell Race in Tintwistle, a five-mile route featuring over 300 metres of climbing. Richard Cottam claimed an excellent fourth place overall and first over40 man, with George Parr and Damian Kilpin also finishing inside the top ten, the latter taking the men's over45 win. Strong packing from Cottam, Parr and Kilpin secured first place in the men’s team competition, while there were further category victories for Ian Neville (over60 men), Jill Scrivens (over55 ladies) and Bernice Nixon (over70 ladies). Hannah Shaw also performed well, placing third senior woman among more than one hundred finishers.
A small Penistone group also took part in the December No Walk in the Park 5K at Queen’s Park, Chesterfield. Ian Neville again led the men with a convincing victory in the over55 category, while Dawn Broom and Jill Scrivens delivered a one–two in the over55 women with strong, consistent runs.
Thursday evening saw the sixth and final round of the Winter Handicap, which brought the club’s 2025 series to a close. David Arthur claimed victory on handicap in 48-18, just ahead of a close-packed field. The fastest scratch times were set by George Parr (28-29) and Emily Duckett (35-30). In the WMA age adjusted results (times adjusted for age and sex), Dawn Godley produced the best performance of the night, with Ian Neville and Barbara Haigh close behind. Across the series, Neville secured the overall WMA title on 149 points, ahead of Parr (124) and Haigh (118), with fifty-four athletes scoring points this season.
At Saturday’s parkruns, 60 Penistone runners attended eighteen venues. Graihagh Turner continued her superb form with an outright win at Barnsley, while there were first-place finishes for Mandy Mallinder (Middleton Woods), James Fryers (Riverside) and Richard Cottam (Penistone). Runner-up gender places went to George Parr and Suzanne McGill at Penistone, while Hannah Shaw took third female. Rob Lees celebrated his 150th parkrun with third place at Rotherham. Simon Pike completed his 250th parkrun at Penistone, and Jon Hallam marked his 550th, both significant milestones for two long-serving club members. Strong category wins were recorded by Martyn Goodwin, Helen Turner, Lisa Hinchliffe, Sue Hall, Danny Batty, Keith Gordon, Edward Holley, John Howsham, Dan Cooper, Stephen Lavender and Kate Rushforth. The weekend’s leading age-graded mark came from Graihagh Turner at 77.46%, closely followed by James Fryers (76.78%), Suzanne McGill (76.53%), Rob Lees (75.74%) and Richard Cottam (74.96%).