Buoyed by their recent Bolton Parkrun gender firsts Harriers couple Will Tomlinson and Heather Brown travelled up to Longridge for the Christmas Pudding Seven Miler.
The Longridge course was described as a tough and undulating seven mile course over the beautiful Longridge fells all on roads. A bit of an understatement apparently with the severe inclines to negotiate.
The young Harriers couple did not let it faze them, gritted their teeth and battled round in 41 mins 56 secs and 46 mins 48 secs respectively. Will earning a podium finish and Heather first female yet again.
Will said “I was just grateful to have come through some injury issues and finally get on the start line following a solid block of training. It was obvious early on that first place was out of reach, however I found myself in a tough three-way battle for the remaining two podium positions. Over the last downhill mile I managed to kick on from 4th to 2nd place through the finishing line which I was super pleased about”.Heather has had a stunning first year in competitive running with gender firsts in virtually everything she has entered and at various distances. Gushing with pride she said “Super happy to finish my road running race year on a high, taking 1st lady. Our coach Dave Shaw’s advice was to enjoy it and get stuck in – I took an early lead with the front pack and knew I just needed to keep the pace. Being a frequenter of hill running I knew I was in my element as a misty Jeffrey Hill approached. After four and half miles of climb it was all downhill from there. Being the home stomping ground of my mum and grandparents I really wanted to win it for them and they were waiting with loud cheers at the finish line”!
