David Staff Memorial Fell Race
From The Bandstand, Sunnyhurst Woods, off Earnsdale Road, Darwen.
The route climbs out of Sunnyhurst Woods, crosses Earnsdale Reservoir dam then climbs on tracks and paths to Darwen Tower.

We then continue along the Western side of the moor, drop steeply down Aggie's Staircase then climb again before dropping down on the other side.

A third climb follows, up the main track towards the Tower but cuts off right to join the outwards route before reaching the summit. We then retrace our steps back to the Bandstand.

As a charity event, this race has token prizes. Many organisations give their time freely so that the vast majority of the entry fee is donated to charity.

Route showing marshal points



Results
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
older results

A bit about David Staff
David turned 17 years of age on 5th December 1994 which then allowed him to compete as a senior for the Dashers.

His first race (and last) as a senior was in the Clitheroe 10k on 27th December 1994. David collapsed and died by the road side at 5 miles from a condition called Hyperthropic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, which in laymans terms is an abnormal thickening of the heart muscles which interrupted the electrical pulses which keeps the heart working.

This condition takes the lives of approximately 8 so-called fit and healthy young people a week, most of them are actively engaged in sport, but it is not the sport that kills; it is the exertion that acts as a trigger.

The race is run in memory of David Staff, who joined the Dashers as a 15 year old and competed in many fun runs as a junior. In September 1994, he completed the Great North Run in 1 hour 49 minutes 02 seconds along-side his dad Granville wearing his Blackburn Rovers home and away kit, needless to say the comments along the route in Newcastle cannot be repeated.

David was a very likeable person who got on with everybody he came into contact with; young and old and had a very bright future ahead of him, not only as a young man preparing to take his A-levels at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School but also as a member of Darwen Dashers.

All proceeds from David’s Memorial Race go to Cardiac Risk in the Young, a charity whose main aims are to raise awareness of Cardiac conditions in young people, to introduce a national screening programme (6 of which have been held in Darwen and have screened over 250 local young people between the ages of 14 – 32), to counsel and support the families affected by tragedies of this nature and to donate medical equipment to doctor’s surgeries.