Helsby RC – Weekly round up

Hi All,

After something of a stuttered start, it is hoped that we will be be back on track with weekly round-ups from here on. So please send any race reports, or anything that you want including to: helsbyracereports@gmail.com

Fell Relays 2023

The 2023 British Fell and Relay Championships will take place in Keswick, Lake District on Saturday 21st October. 

For those of you who haven’t been involved before, the fell relays are when all the fell running world comes together to pit their running skills against each other in a team event. There are 4 legs to the relay and teams consist of 6 runners. The first leg is a single (person) leg of about 5 miles, the second leg is a pairs leg of about 9 miles, the third leg is a pairs navigation leg of about 8 miles and the final leg a single leg of about 5 miles. 

If you are interested in participating and/or would like more info, please contact Laura or Jim if you haven’t already done so. We are still looking for a few runners and also people who are happy to go on a reserve list for both the mens and ladies teams.

Last week’s racing:

Pie and Peas

Wednesday 02/08/23. We had a fantastic turnout of 14 Helsby vests for the Pie and Peas Race on Wednesday. Thanks to Trevor Lewis for providing the following race report:

“The Pie and Peas is run in Moulton, (Near Northwich) Cheshire. It’s well-known, very well-organised race by organised Vale Royal AC and usually takes on the first Wednesday of August which was the case last week on 2.8.23.

It is a 5 mile, single-lap, multi terrain chip-timed race, for which you could easily bring three pairs of running shoes. 

The race begins and finishes on grassy playing fields behind the Royal British Legion, Main Road, Moulton where running spikes would not be entirely out of the question though it would be folly to run the entire course in these as there’s just under a mile out and back on Tarmac where road shoes come into their own. The remainder is on undulating tracks where trail shoes are ideal. 

The field of runners each year seems to be a 50:50 split between road & trail shoes, there are obvious pros & cons for either choice though I would say wet & muddy conditions favour trail footwear.  

There is fairly challenging hill (165 ft of elevation according to Garmin) at around mile 3 that goes on for about half a mile. I’ll be honest you do see some pretty fit-looking runners walking segments of it so be prepared. 

I first ran the Pie & Peas in 2009. That was in the days before online entries where you entered most races by post. 

For several years prior to 2009, well-known Spectrum Striders runner, Andy Garnett had recommended the race to me. 

In the July of that year my family & I went away on holiday to Australia for a few weeks which involved a conference for work in the middle. As a result, the day prior to departing I had a huge pile of paperwork to sort out. 

Andy had given me a flyer for the race with an entry form on it. 

I filled it in very, very quickly; hardly reading it & then posted it. 

We returned, jet-lagged, a few days before the Pie & Peas race; my race number had arrived by post. 

I was a bit heavier plus less fit post-holidays but I said to myself: 

“It’s only a 5k, it’ll be fine”.  

Can anyone see the problem yet?

I dashed direct from work on the night of the race and managed a quick warm-up.  The starter’s signal went off at 7pm and I gave 100% effort for 3.1 miles yet could see no end to the race in sight; I wheezed at a marshal asking where the finish was: 

“Ooh, there’s another couple of miles to go love” was her reply. 

I could have collapsed and was close to a mental meltdown but shuffled on to the end. Strangely there was no 5-mile PB for me that night. 

‘Lesson learned’ & Andy nearly gave himself a hernia from laughing when I told him about it at the end of the race. 

Despite that, I returned for more and it’s now one of my favourite races on the calendar. Since 2009 I have run it every year when I have had the opportunity. 

It’s a race that’s usually fortunate with the weather & normally bathed in sunshine but that trend was bucked last week with dark skies and torrential rain prior to the race that slowed to a drizzle just prior to the start. It made the course muddy & slippery in places but manageable. 

Despite the conditions 375 runners took part – as a comparison there was a field of 388 last year in glorious sunshine. 

Fourteen runners from Helsby RC took part. 

I have lost count of the number of runners I have recommended the Pie & Peas to over the years. I have a friend that makes a round trip all the way over from Hoylake each year to run it as it is now one of his favourites too. 

The eponymous ‘Pie & Peas’ is as the name suggests. 

At the end of the race each runner can collect a bag with a pie supplied from the excellent and famed Coward’s butchers. The only gristle you’ll encounter on the night is maybe on a runner – but definitely not in those pies. 

You also receive a tinned-can of mushy peas. 

As you can imagine, I didn’t hang around for the Pie & Peas in 2009 as I was in a bit of a state but I have ever since. 

For a number of years it was served as a sit-down meal in the Royal British Legion. 

Nowadays it’s a bit of a do-it-yourself, takeaway kit to prepare once you get home however the high quality of the pies remains. There are vegetarian & vegan options too. 

Cook’s Tip: Make your gravy & chips the night before. It’ll save time when you come home from the race, tired and they will have marinated too. 

Seriously though, the Pie & Peas is a great race that I would highly-recommend. It’s just up the road for most Helsby runners. It’s well-run, very friendly, the marshals are great and most runners linger and chat a lot more than your average race which is probably because there is ample space where runners who have completed the course can easily congregate on the playing fields without having to be ushered-on. 

This also allows for motivational cheering-on of friends & fellow club members which definitely helped me get my course PB in 2022. 

There are a lot of club runners each year but not exclusively so it’s a nice, friendly & welcoming race if you wanted to recommend it to casual runners. 

I would definitely recommend a bit of hill training beforehand though.. 

Trevor Lewis”

Pie and Peas Results are available at https://vrac.niftyentries.com/Results/Pie-and-Peas-2023?#

Deestriders ORGP

Thursday 03/08/23. We had 5 Helsby members participating in the 3rd fixture of Deestriders Off Road Grands Prix Series on Thursday. Well done to Ben Tumulty for finishing in 3rd place. Provisional results are on our Facebook page. The next fixture in the series will be on Friday 1st September at 7pm. Full details at http://www.deestridersrunningclub.net/Home/Fixtures

Upcoming Club Counters:

Widnes Park Run (road race 4)

Saturday 12th August – (road race 4). https://www.parkrun.org.uk/widnes/

Cilcain Mountain Race (fell race 7)

Bank Holiday Monday 28th August. https://www.clwydianfellrace.org/?page_id=375. https://www.facebook.com/cilcainmountainrace/

Parkrun

Our consolidated club report for all park runs can be seen here: https://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=1721

That’s it for now. I’ll be sending another round-up out next Monday so please remember to email any contributions to: helsbyracereports@gmail.com

Thanks,

Jim