Sat 22 June, Quernmore, Lancaster 6 intrepid juniors participated in various age categories in the Darren Jones Clougha Pike Fell Race at Quernmore, near Lancaster. This is the 5th and penultimate race of the Preston Harriers Junior Fell Championship and is considered one of the toughest junior races in the Harriers fell calendar.
First off the mark was the ever ready Lucas Cooke. Lucas has competed in all the championship races to date and acquitted himself admirably in the under 11 category, finishing in a creditable time of 15:55min. Following on from Lucas’s race was the under 13s, which saw the Link brothers, Adam and Matthew, have tremendous runs on a gruelling course. Adam took the honours in a time of 17:11min and Matthew finished in 18:56min. Next up, in the under 15 race, was the on-fire Vladimir Wiggins and the only junior female Harrier competing on the day, Emily Knell. Both of these two athletes, like Lucas, have not missed a championship race all season. This was a very competitive field of runners from all over the region and both Vladimir and Emily had excellent races, Vladimir finishing 20th in 18:21min and Emily in 21:45min. The last junior race of the day was the under 17 race, which saw the endurance specialist Arran Baldwin run a steady, evenly paced race on a very tough course in a time of 42:50min.
This was another great series of performances by the juniors and with only one race left of the championship, which is Hellifield Gala on Saturday 3rd August, the competition is finely poised to find out which juniors, male and female, are going to be crowned Preston Harriers Fell Champions for 2019.