2:46pm Tuesday 7th July 2009
By Andy McAllister
The Aggies Staircase Race got Darwen Dashers’ Summer Fell Series off to a cracking start with 165 runners taking part, twice the size of last year’s field and the highest since the Dashers took over the organisation.
There was almost a local winner too as Paul Thompson of Clayton Harriers, who lives in the town, reached the finish shoulder to shoulder with Mark Shakeshaft.
However it was the Bury man who took the verdict after he lunged for the line, although both athletes were given the same time of 28:20 for the 3.8 miles.
The race used to be called the Three Hills until someone pointed out that it was all on Darwen Hill.
Aggies Staircase is the shortest but steepest of the three climbs, and with 1150 feet of ascent in total it rates as a tough ‘A’ category race.
Mark Chippendale from specialist club Bowland Fell Runners was third in 29:05 to take the over 40 title from Steve Smithies of Calder Valley, and the over 50s was even tighter with Rossendale’s Phil Taylor defeating the Darwen based Graham Schofield by just six seconds.
The women’s race was also desperately close as Rowena Browne of Bowland had only three seconds to spare over fellow veteran Suzanne Budgett.
In third, Blackburn’s England Junior International Beckie Taylor was in close contention only half a minute adrift.
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