Ilkley Harriers news archive 2009
Harrier of the Month, July
Nominations were:
Lyn & Jim - commitment to racing, prolific participation on the fells;
Chris Gale - results - high overall race placings at Eccup 10, Ingleborough Fell;
Paul Stephens - leading Tuesday evening groups and race participation Eccup 10, HRL, Rombalds Romp, Pudsey 10k;
Jenny Dybeck - 1st U23 and 2nd overall at Hawkswick Dash;
Geoff Howard - Wasdale 1st V65 and securing overall V65 English Fell Championship series
The HoM awards went to Lyn & Jim, and Geoff Howard. Congratulations to them, they will receive technical running shirts from HoM sponsor UP & RUNNING.
Tough Guy Nettle Warrior, Sun 26 July
Karl Lavery writes ... just a brief note to say that despite a bad cold and being unable to breathe properly I am happy that I still got a respectable time of 3 hrs 20 mins and the results have just come out (I came 1105 out of over 4,000 starters of whom some 1,500 did not finish). I have attached a couple of photo’s for the who would like to take a look. You can also do a Gooole search for Nettle Warrior 2009. I intend to do it again next year with a view to knocking 20 + Mins off my time. Thank you again to those who sponsored me, the monies will be split between (BLESMA and The Horse Sanctuary) I am not back running at the club until next week as I am still down with a chest infection as a result of the cold, AAAHH!
Open 24, 25-26 July
Adrian Hall and Dave Wilby were 4th pair. Read the full report in the forums here.
Harrogate Town Centre 10k, Sun 26 July
Justin Phillips reports ... A few superstars at the sharp end, a spectator friendly 2 lap course and a decent goody bag.
1 Stephen Hepples (Newham & Essex Beagles) - 30:53 32 Justin Phillips 37:20 61 David Brown 39:38 145 Andrew Sheldon 43:36 394 Paul Sugden 52:45 459 Ashleigh Brownhill 55:40 (PB) 474 Greg Wright 56.22 505 David Cockshott 58.54 606 ran
Pudsey 10k Challenge Multi-Terrain, Sun 26 July
Paul Stephens reports ... In contrast to Saturday's sunshine for the Rombalds Romp, Sunday was grey and damp. The rain did hold off and I believe I was the sole Ilkley Harriers rep. in this challenging 10k. I was pleased with my position - 57th out of 397, just 18 seconds faster than last year in 45.10
Rombalds Romp Trail Race, Sat 25 July
A nice event staged over about 7 miles by Abbey Runners
1 43.50 Steven Neill P&B 5 48.33 Steve Turland 1st M40 7 49.03 Mark Mon-Williams 10 49.46 Ian Rowbotham 31 54.46 Mirjam Faessler 2nd lady 34 55.38 Mike Baldwin 37 56.19 Paul Stephens 44 57.51 Ewan Welsh 49 58.39 Rebecca Mon-Williams 54 59.11 Alison Weston 55 59.25 Rachel Wolfenden 96 67.24 Kelly Harrison 107 70.32 Bob Payne 151 finished
Race photos on woodentops.org.uk
Cowling Gala fell race, Sat 25 July
Results tbc, a few photos from Dave Woodhead here.
Park Run and Leeds Gold - Hyde Park Leeds, Sat 25 July
Gaenor Coy reports ... I finally got around to doing one of these 5K time trials after registering over a year ago. Finished 50 out of 144 (5th lady) in a time of 24.50. Reasonably happy with the time, but definitely room for improvement, what looked like was going to be a flat course was surprisingly bumpy !!
The parkrun was followed by a unique morning of sport and family activities in order to celebrate the 3 year count down to the London 2012 Olympic Games. A variety of events taking place throughout the morning, allowing children (and some adults) to try out athletics, with events such as individual sprint, standing long jump, foam javelins, mini-hurdles and SAQ circuit accumulating in a sprint relay race. Everybody had a fantastic morning and all whom took part got a T-shirt (although dress like in size on the kids). The idea is to do it again every year up to the Olympics. We’ll be putting it in our diary! J
Gargrave Cross Country, Wed 22 July
14 40.32 Mirjam Faessler 3rd lady 16 40.47 Mike Baldwin 28 45.49 Jim Towers 42 62.51 Lyn Eden
Race photos on woodentops.org.uk
Etape du Tour, Mon 20 July
Jo Foster and Jim Ryder were amongst 8,500 riders who tackled one of this year's mountain finish stages of the Tour de France from Montellimar to to the top of Mont Ventoux (170 km), 4 days before the Tour riders.
Jim was 5,190th in 9h35:34, Jo 6,838th in 10h34:10
Full report on the forums.
Kentmere Horseshoe fell race, Sun 19 July
Sarah Fuller reports ... 4 Harriers made the journey over for the Kentmere horseshoe (12 miles 3,300ft accent). For me it was my first race after badly spraining my ankle on Jack Bloor but I was feeling confident of getting round ok albeit towards the back. It was a baking hot start and early on I managed to drop and spill all my water and then lose all my gels (duh!). I had a good run to High Street but after that point dehydration set in and I began losing ground rapidly on the group I was previously running comfortably with. The cramps started on the accent out of the Nam Bield pass and then I turned my ankle – the last 4 miles were a blur of feeling dizzy, hideous cramps and wondering why on earth I was still actually (half) enjoying myself. Bit slower than last year but lessons learnt in abundance! It’s a cruel sport. Great race though and fantastic views.
Results:
137 Paul Sowden 2:13:58 145 Heather Dawe 2:15:05 225 Sarah Fuller 2:43:07 237 Sharon Fuller 3:08:39
Hawkswick Dash fell race, Sun 19 July
1.2m/600' Results from www.bofra.co.uk
14 12.49 Ian Rowbotham 1st V50 25 14.32 Jenny Dybeck 2nd lady, 1st LU23 39 17.05 Jim Towers 51 18.52 Sue Morley 60 25.54 Lyn Eden Plenty of great junior results too ...
Oldfield fell race, Sun 19 July
On this 5.5m race with a gentle 550' of climb but some boggy going, Ben Stevens was 7th in 35.49 and Mirjam Faessler in her first fell race 18th and 2nd lady in 40.52. Matt Crane of Dark Peak beat Ian Holmes' record by 3s to win in 32.15.
Ingleborough fell race, Sat 18 July
Chris Gale was 9th in 54.02 in this 7 mile race with 2000' of climb.
9 54.02 Chris Gale 112 67.07 Ewan Welsh 129 68.15 Amanda Newham 198 77.52 Phil Chappell
Race photos on woodentops.org.uk
Washburn Valley Relays, Fri 17 July
Well done to Neil Chapman for managing no less than 6 Ilkley Harriers teams in this brilliant local event organised by Otley AC. Full results on Otley's web site, our ladies team of Brit Tate, Mirjam Faessler, and Sally Morley won the ladies' team trophy. And the junior team of Jack Cummings, Sam Haggar, and Bradley Chapman had a great run.
15 1:09:42 Ilkley Ladies 1 Brit Tate, Mirjam Faessler, Sally Morley 17 1:10:32 Ilkley Men 1 John Tate, Andrew Sheldon, Dave Cummings 28 1:16:15 Ilkley Men 2 Keith Wood, Rob Cunningham, Paul Wood 31 1:17:12 Ilkley Juniors Jack Cummings, Sam Haggar, Bradley Chapman 34 1:18:08 Ilkley Ladies 2 Alison Bennett, Jann Smith, Jane Bryant 54 1:38:35 Ilkley Young & Wise Amanda Parnaby, Tom Bennett, Andrew Bennett
A special thanks to Jann Smith who got the call to make up the ladies team at 18.30 on Friday, halfway through her tea, had to find a babysitter, and still managed to arrive for the start at 19.15.
HDSRL Handicap race, Tue 14 July
19 Harriers raced around the 8.1km course, 8 of them staying ahead of scratch runner Ian Fisher! Full results on www.harrogate-league.org.uk.
Pos Finish(PM) Time 18 8:27:01 47.01 ANDREW BENNETT 35 8:27:29 36.29 PAUL STEPHENS 37 8:27:34 34.34 DAVE JEPSON 52 8:27:55 52.55 HEATHER DUKE 66 8:28:06 37.06 ALISON BENNETT 73 8:28:12 44.12 JANET GRACE 75 8:28:15 45.15 DONALD MACRAE 78 8:28:17 44.17 PAUL SUGDEN (88 8:28:26 28:26 IAN FISHER, OTLEY AC) 102 8:28:39 43.39 RACHAEL GOOCH 103 8:28:39 32.39 NICK RICHARDSON 106 8:28:42 46.42 MARGOT DALE 126 8:29:07 52.07 MANDY CHAPMAN 129 8:29:11 35.41 HENRY HEAVISIDES 131 8:29:13 40.13 KEITH WOOD 134 8:29:17 37.47 JANE BRYANT 152 8:29:52 45.52 ROBERT PAYNE 153 8:29:54 48.24 ADELE MITCHELL 156 8:30:15 53.15 DAVID MILLSON 163 8:31:17 37.17 KEVIN GOOCH
Waugh's Well Fell Race, Tue 14 July
Jim & Lyn report ... Did a bit of cross border raiding into Rossendale, deepest Lancashire for this 4.2 mile 1200 feet of climb fell race. Race 1 of 4 in the Rossendale mid-week series. Tremendous thunder storm ten minutes before the race made underfoot conditions interesting with the odd knee deep excursion into peat bog to add interest to an already tough little race.
Jim Towers 45.39 Lyn Eden 69.53 first LV 0/60
Next race in the series Whittle Pike, on Wed 5 Aug, from Cowpe Village Hall, Waterford, Rossendale, starting 7.30pm. Well worth doing as it covers part of the course of the first race.
Trunce Fell Race, Mon 13 July
Jim & Lyn report ... 4.25miles, 550ft climb, 6th race in 9 race series.
Jim Towers 36.02 Lyn Eden 49.07
Eccup 10 Mile, Sun 12 July
Richard Malir reports ... A rare opportunity to run on closed roads without having to travel too far. Humid and slightly windy conditions were not really enough to spoil anybody's performance.
Results:
1 Luke Cragg (Mansfield) 56:16 13 Chris Gale 1:01:51 36 Justin Philips 1:05:34 57 Sally Malir 1:08:47 (4th lady) 96 Paul Stephens 1:12:32 105 Rebecca Mon-Williams 1:13:06 (2nd Vet 35) 130 Kay Pearce 1:14:33 456 Colin Lugton 1:37:42 506 Sue Lugton 1:46:30 Ladies first team. Junior results/times to follow but Georgia Malir 2nd U15 girl, Grace Malir 5th U13 girl.
East Morton Gala Fell Race, Sun 12 July
Jim & Lyn report ... approx 1.75 miles, 200ft climb
Jim Towers 16.16 Lyn Eden 31.46
Wasdale fell race, Sat 11 July
Alison Weston reports ...
This years Wasdale race (21 miles with 9000 ft climbing) was an English Championships race with a big field of runners. It was hot and sunny with brilliant views (when I had the energy to notice them!) and Ilkley Harriers did themselves proud. We had a team of 5 men complete the race with Geoff Howard winning the over 65's with open toes and one very split shoe ! Not sure of placing of Ilkley in male teams. Dave Tait, 2nd claim Ilkley, also had a great run to win the over 60's. The ladies had a team of 3 who just managed to win 1st ladies team with Helene Whittaker also taking third V40. It was a fantastic day with great results.
Men - Ian Rowbotham, Dave Wilby, Jon Whitaker, Geoff Howard and Brian Melia (not sure of times or positions yet)
Ladies - Helene Whitaker, Holly Williamson and Alison Weston
Update 15 July from Geoff H ...
1st Rob Jebb Bingley 3h 46m 39s 47 Ian Rowbotham 4:59:55 (4th v50) 52 Dave Wilby 5:06:45 63 Jonathan Whitaker 5:12:48 65 Dave Tait (2nd claim) 5:14:06 (1st v60) 79 Helene Whitaker 5:24:01 (3rd LV40) 80 Holly Williamson 5:24:03 103 Alison Weston 5:39:03 117 Geoff Howard 5:45:23 (1st v65) 138 Brian Melia 5:58:12 194 finishers from 244 starters (non-finishers mainly timed-out at or before the two thirds point) 1st Ladies team - Ilkley Harriers
Baildon Gala Fell Race, Sat 11 July
Jim & Lyn report ... approx 3 miles, 300ft climb. Ilkley first male and first lady winners.
Ben Stevens 19.32 Winner Jim Towers 24.37 Angela Srivastava 25.01 First Lady Sue Stevens 30.08 Lyn Eden 33.48
Harden Hard'un, Sat 11 July
Amanda Parnaby did this ... 27 miles from Harden with 4,000 ft of climb. Waited all day for the forecasted rain but instead was blessed with glorious weather. This was an LDWA event, topped off with excellent food afterwards. Finished in 7 hrs 22 mins.
Ripon Tri, Sat 11 July
Andy Wiggans reports ...
I'm sure others will have a tale to tell, so I shall simply relate my personal experience of my first Olympic Distance triathlon, held in lovely weather (and weedy water) at Ripon yesterday. I think it was New Year's Eve when I allowed Vic to persuade me that doing an Olympic tri (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run) was a good idea. As I slid into Skipton pool at 7am on a January morning, or climbed onto my bike to ride to work in the dark I wasn't so sure...
However as the weather and daylight improved I started to enjoy cycling and running again, although swimming's allure evaded me, so I stopped practicing and decided to hope for the best. Ripon came round all too quickly, and before I knew it I was bobbing around in the water wearing a silly hat and trying to avoid being dragged to my doom by the man eating weeds in the lake on Ripon racecourse. The swim was everything I expected - hard work, unpleasant and involved a lot of zig-zagging and getting kicked in the head. I was astounded therefore when I got out to see my watch saying 29 minutes - as anything under 35 minutes had been my target. Once that was out of the way I felt more confident, and set off on the bike with my normal objective of riding as fast as possible whilst overtaking as many people on posh bikes with pointy hats as I can. After a brief scare when Steve Coy cruised up alongside and nonchalantly said hello before whizzing off, the bike leg passed according to plan (1:14:55 and a score of 3 £1500+ wheelsets and 4 pointy hats overtaken). Somewhere on the way I managed to reel Steve back in and grab a few precious seconds lead. The disappointment was that the bike leg at Ripon is longer than the norm for this event at 44km, so about 2 1/2 miles (or 7 or 8 minutes) longer than a standard Olympic Distance, meaning that my target of 2hrs 30mins was probably not realistic.
Setting off on the run I started to feel the effort in my legs, but was still overtaking a lot of people, even running as I was at nearly a minute a mile slower than my normal 10k pace. In the end I got much closer to my 2:30 ambition than I expected and finished in 128th place out of 672 finishers in 2:30:49 - which suggests a sub-2:30 should be achievable on a normal course (which sadly means I will have to turn up for the Bassenthwaite event in August...).
A quick word for Vic-Fans, who I'm sure will be itching to know about his transition experiences - he finished with a hugely creditable 2:55:33, breaking 3 hours comfortably, and smashed the 4 minute "mucking about changing your shoes and socks" target he'd set himself with 2 changes of just over 3 minutes a piece. All that practice learning to tie his laces has paid off...
I'm sure others will relate their experiences, but the results of Harriers I saw/know of were:
(1 Daniel Corner 2.03.04) 8 Tim Ashelford 2:12:42 128 Andy Wiggans 2:30:49 138 Steve Coy 2:31:48 162 John Tate 2:33:40 462 Vic Verecondi 2:55:33 473 Janet Grace 2:56:55 643 Rachel Websdale 3:27:22
Vic adds ...
Well the day had finally arrived... My first olympic distance triathlon... Great sunny day, perfect conditions, nice setting... Who could ask for more?? As the event started at 2.00pm there was a lot of sitting around registering, preparing and contemplating what may eventuate...
I was quite confident of completing the three disciplines but could I complete them all well in one go... There was the concern of not getting through the 1.5km swim section nicely, mechanical failure or a puncture on the 44km cycling leg... Though and as could be expected the least of my concerns was the last bit ie a 10km run... So my plan was to just to go as quick as possible in all three sections and aim for a time around the 3 hour mark...
The swim leg was quite a battle... One had to compete with other competitors, getting swum over a couple of times, competitors beside you belting their arms into you, copping strong kicks to the front part of your body if you found yourself behind somebody doing breaststroke not to mention thick reeds/weeds in some places... They don't taste very nice if you accidently swallow a small piece... This was all complicated by finding the quickest path around the course of the leg (I'm sure I zig-zagged all over the place)... Thankfully I got through the swim leg in 31.43... All going to plan at this stage I thought...
Transition 1 went without incident and it was off on the cycling leg... I was settled after the first 5km and cruising well... At about 10km I heard a loud bang on my bike... Mechanical failure I thought... Fortunately it wasn't major.. After having been tightly screwed in over 2 years ago and not causing any hassle over that period of time the screws on the drink bottle holder decided to come loose and just fall away... I had lost my fluids and also my tyre pump... Well I was going to be thirsty, perhaps dehydrated, and I also had to have faith that I would not get a puncture... A bit of a worry at the time... The rest of the leg went without further incident and I finished the 44km in 1.25.47...
Transition 2 provided a short hiccup as I went to the wrong place to rack my bike... I discovered this when I had racked my bike only to notice that the running shoes below were not mine... Perhaps I was dehydrated and my thoughts were jumbled a bit... Most likely haste had a fair part in it... Anyway I found my racking position, whipped on my running shoes, took on some extra water and headed for the 10km run leg... This leg was quite uneventful but very hard work after the previous two... I was confident of getting below 3 hours so I took it easy to the 5km mark then upped the pace over the last 5km to the end of the race... Run leg time was 51.08...
I finished 462nd out of 672 finishers in a time of 2.55.33... I was most pleased with my effort succesfully acheiving what I had set out to do... I would highly recommend this event to anybody who wants to take on an achievable though challenging event... Combining all three disciplines is good fun and provides interest in many ways....The buzz upon completion is vey nice also... For me it was a job well done...
More from Stephen Coy ... Like Andy and Vic this was also my first foray into the standard / Olympic or “proper” triathlon and only my second open water swim race.
Target time was 2:38, which equated to an equivalent 2:30 for the normal distance – 1.5k/40k/10k – due to the longer than normal bike. So I decided on Ripon due to it being close to home, flat bike and run (relative to around Ilkley) and it historically slightly short swim leg – which as my weakest event sounded good. Due to its close proximity and size of field – 750 – it also meant there were quite a few recognisable faces.
So after arriving ridiculously early with the family cheerleaders on hand and perusing the free bouncy castles and watching the kids dash before we knew it was 2pm and the first wave was off and I was heading in the water to get ready to start 5 mins later.
There were 3 waves of around 250 people so it was going to be interesting. As expected it was basically a swim race swedish massage with every part of my body being punched or kicked those first few hundred metres before it felt like you had some room to actually swim and get into a rhythm add to the melee the shallow reedy water and it was tough going, especially as the “short” swim had a buoy added the top end of the course which seems to have made it the full distance. So just short of 29 minutes later and a bit of right foot cramp I exited the swim with bits of lake in my watch and goggles and headed for bike transition relieved to have got the swim completed but also very happy with how I had coped and slightly ahead of time (though I was unaware of this at the time). T1 went well, now if have nearly perfected the flying bike mount and shoes on whilst cycling (it also means there is less to remember to do) and it was out on the bike ride.
The plan for the bike was to sit at 20mph ish for the duration and resist the temptation to push on as I was unaware what the 27 miles on the bike would do for the run. I initially had a bit of cramp in my left hamstring so knocked the gears down a couple and spun the legs to kick it out and a drink and gel later the legs were OK again. As told the route was pretty much flat so it was easy to get into a good pace, however something I had not counted upon was the dreaded drafting rule, meaning you have 15 seconds to pass and need to keep 7m behind. This meant that the bike effectively became an interval set with a group of 6 or so riders constantly overtaking each other back and forth ensuring we were not breaking the drafting rules. The bike continued with little incident, briefly hello to Andy W who then disappeared into the distance (not to be seen until the finish arch), and I felt good but purposely did not push on too much so I did not completely crash and burn on the run. The only scary bit was the couple of mile stretch on the A19 dual carriageway, where I caught up with some slower riders from the first swim wave so had to overtake with articulated lorries flying by in the outside lane, however before long it was back on the country roads where there were more bikes than cars. So some 1.16 later, and 4 mins up on plan, I arrived back in T2 to the cheers of the family and checking the watch if I had my run legs maybe a 2:30 was in sight afterall. So at T2 I managed the flying dismount without falling off and headed to rack the bike when I realised I had gone too far and had to double back to find my spot and run shoes and out I went on the run.
The start of the run was dire as it felt like my quads had been swapped for planks of wood and I could not get into the flow I wanted but was still passing people so the confidence was growing, however, any chance of breaking 2:30 was now lost. 2K into the run the legs got going and I picked up the pace and continued picking people off who went past me on the bike and the original plan was paying dividends. Before I knew it I was at the turnaround point and heading back, 5k to go on the mix of trail and road and still picking people off. Before I knew it the racecourse was in sight and I could hear the announcers so put in a final 1.5k push to the finish and crossed the line in 2:31:48 in 138th position.
So, to sum up I agree 100% with Vic, the buzz on completion is amazing and is definitely both achievable and recommended, plus with the freebie bouncy castles, park and fun run enough to keep the family entertained too it is a well organised event. I will be back next year to try and break the 2:30 barrier on this course and in the meantime try and find another one for this year and get into running again now the injuries appear to have now abated.
Stirton fell race, Wed 8 July
Results from www.kcac.co.uk
11 39.52 Jim Ryder 37 45.06 Mike Baldwin 46 46.30 Norman Bush 59 48.35 Jim Towers 91 56.53 Sue Morley 106 68.54 Amanda Newham 107 71.02 Lyne Eden
31st SLMM, Coniston, 4/5 July
Helena Deeney reports ... Sue and I were very pleased with ourselves to finish 4th females in the Saunders Mountain Marathon Carrock Fell class, a class higher than last time. The course was tough but our navigation was bang on the button and we reached every control almost spot on. The beer and milk were most welcome at the overnight camp. Great event and well worth the effort.
We see that Adrian Hall was in the 11th pair in 9h06:11, Sue and Helena 40th overall in 10h50:42, any others? Yes! ...
Sophie Brown adds ... 19 years after our first and only other MM together (a very wet and miserable KIMM) I ventured out on the Harterfell class at the Saunders with good friend Esther Logue. It was meant to be a gentle come-back event for Es after having her third child in the autumn. Course planning was excellent, weather loomed but held off, we took some good routes and were 4th ladies overnight. The first 6 ladies teams were all within 7 minutes after day one, so not surprisingly the gentle come back turned slightly brutal on day two! We had another good day and were delighted with 3rd ladies and 16th overall.
And from Paul Stephens ... A superb weekend for the Saunders - warm, but not too hot. Saturday was a mix of sun and rain, with most of the poor weather in the evening and night. An excellent field at Turner Hall Farm for the overnight camp. I did the Carrock with my brother, anti-clockwise over Wetherlam to the Three Shires Stone (perhaps not the best route), round to Eskdale Needle, and across Hardnott and into Dunnerdale. Not a lot of running on day 1, but we ended up 22nd. Day 2 was mostly sun, less route choice and more running, - apart from the traditional climb at the start, this time up White Pike. Then to Blind Tarn, Goats Water, Levers Hause and Swirl How before a long descent past Levers Water and into Coniston. We picked up a few places and were 18th overall out of 103 finishers. Always well organised and friendly, another good Saunders.
Wharfedale TTT, 3/4/5 July
From Chris Oxlade ... Just returned from this weekend extravaganza in Kettlewell, run by Bingley Harriers. TTT stands for tarmac, trail and tussock, the latter taking centre stage in an ankle-wrecking descent over the back of Great Whernside. Hats off to Clare Smith for finishing the long fell race with a twisted ankle that would have had the rest of us calling for the air ambulance! A great event in a superb setting, friendly, fantastically organised (including camping and catering in the event field), and highly recommended. Results (with apologies if I've missed anybody) were:
Friday, uphill road race, 2.5 m, 950 ft 1 Richard Barrett, Skipton 19.36 14 Mike Baldwin 23.22 16 Ewan Walsh 24.08 20 Jim Towers 24.40 23 Chris Oxlade 25.49 24 John Coates 25.54 40 Lyn Eden 33.57 Saturday, 'A' medium fell race, 12 m, 3000 ft 1 Gareth Hird, Wharfedale 1h37.34 5 Jim Ryder 1h42.42 6 Duncan Cooper 1h44.29 13 Paul O'Looney 1h49.47 20 Kevin Gooch 2h02.14 38 Chris Oxlade 2h11.51 39 Rachael Gooch 2h12.58 40 John Pickering 2h15.35 46 Clare Smith 2h17.47 47 John Coates 2h17.47 49 Steve Weston 2h19.43 Sunday, 'A' short fell race, 1.5 m, 500 ft 1 Duncan Birtwhistle, Harrogate 14.42 14 Michael Waterhouse 18.03 17 Chris Oxlade 18.34 21 Jim Towers 19.11 24 John Coates 19.54 34 Lyn Eden 27.51
In the 'Grand Prix' of all three races, I finished 9th and John Coates finished 11th.
Full results on Bingley AC's site.
Paul O'Looney reports on Race 2 ... a good turnout of Harriers made it to Kettlewell on Saturday for the second race in the Bingley Harriers TTT 3-race series (Tarmac, Tussock, Trail). Despite some bad weather forecast, it was in fact a clear day with no rain, and good visibility all around the route.
It is a challenging 11 mile (3,500ft) course around Great Whernside with some difficult uphill and downhill sections.
Some storming Harrier performances saw Jim Ryder pick up the MV40 prize (5th overall?) and Duncan Cooper building on his recent excellent form to come in just behind in 6th place, posting his first top-ten finish in a race.
After Clare Smith's tremendous efforts in getting round the 3-peaks after having just come out of a plaster-cast, she again displayed further heroics in struggling round after turning her ankle before half-way. For her troubles she ended up with an ankle the size of a pineapple, but also picked up the LV35 prize.
Kevin Gooch's attempts at a good time were ruined by poor advice from some walkers who sent him in the wrong direction coming off Great Whernside (and no, they were not my family in disguise trying to jeopardise his points scoring in the League!). Steve Weston followed Kevin's lead and ended up running considerably further than everybody else.
All in all a great event, well managed by Bingley Harriers, over a tough but spectacular course.
The Saturday race was a counter in the Ilkley Harriers Running League and this 'mountain stage' gives Duncan the 'polka dot jersey' while the 'maillot jaune' reverts to Paul O'Looney. More here.
City of Manchester 10k, Sun 5 July
Andy Wiggans reports ... Another Sunday, another early start. Richard Hinsley and I met up in Cross Hills for a cross-Pennine jaunt to the City of Manchester 10k, based around Sports City, the Commonwealth Games site and home of Manchester City FC. A big event now, with 1,622 runners, it starts with 1 3/4 laps of the regional athletics track (which I assume was the warm up track for the Commonwealth games), followed by a tour of the local area. The local area is, of course, some of the less salubrious bits of East Manchester, so it's not what you'd call scenic, but it's on closed roads and it's generally flat.
The commentator did a sterling job before the start with an "interview" with the great Ron Hill, during which Ron struggled to get a word in edgeways, and then handed over to the Lord Mayor of Manchester who said "go" and blew a hooter. The start could have been horribly congested, but as Rich and I had positioned ourselves near the front we got away easily, and were glad to as we saw the hordes of baggy-shorted, ipod-wearing gym boys and girls standing waiting patiently to cross the line as we zoomed round on our second lap. I was somewhat concerned to see my protege whizz off ahead at the start (that's not supposed to happen - he's meant to let me go first as a sign of respect), but I squeezed past just before we left the stadium and set off into the streets. The course has two laps, so comes back through the stadium complex after 6k, so you get another helping of clapping and cheering as you go past.
I kept it together just about, slowing a bit from the frantic pace of the start, but after a fast 300m round the track to finish was happy to see another barrier broken with my first sub-38min 10k, coming in 25th overall in 37:52 on the chip time. Richard once again blew his socks off with 79th place in 41:37. PB's for both of us, and a fun way to spend Sunday morning. The race was won by Ezekiel Cherob of Birchfield in 30:27.
No other Harriers on the results, so we're assuming it was just us.
Three Counties Challenge cycle sportive, Sun 5 July
Bob Hamilton reports ... With each of us having missed out on a long ride in the White Rose Challenge, Alistair Barlow and myself took off to Milnthorpe on Sunday for the Three Counties Challenge, for an even sterner test of endurance. We have both put our running on the back-burner a bit this summer in order to train for one-off cycling events, in Alistair's case, the Etape du Tour in just 2 weeks time; in my case, the Cent Cols Challenge in September.
Full credit must be paid to the organisers for putting on an almost faultless event. Entry on the day (which is great because my plans always seem to be fluid), slick registration, fantastically thorough signage, a great variety of food, and, best of all, the most superbly varied route, with some more gentle (and picturesque) undulating sections amidst the big climbs. They even laid on an almost perfect day: dry with some good spells of sunshine to show off the Lakeland fells at their best, but never really too warm.
Our grand tour of Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire took us through Arnside, Silverdale, Barbondale to Dent, the Coal Road to Hawes, Buttertubs to Keld and Kirkby Stephen, then across pretty, unfrequented lanes to Lowther Park and Ullswater before climbing Kirkstone Pass and back to Milnthorpe. That all comes in at 125 miles. Alistair finished in 8.34 to my 8.38 (including some sensibly relaxed stops at the feed stations to enjoy the excellent tea and sandwiches that was on offer). We rode 100 miles together to Kirkstone where the younger man's legs were a little stronger and I urged him to push on. He looks in good shape for his ride up the Ventoux.
Kirkby Gala fell race, Sat 4 July
Morgan Williams reports ... 4.3M/1300' A maiden BOFRA win for Alison Eagle at Kirkby Gala, going 2 places better than at Kettlewell. A runnable course with some short sections of road, open fell and some deep heather. A cooling downpour helped keep temperatures under control on another hot and humid day.
14 Alison Eagle 41.44 1st lady 21 Morgan Williams 44.26
Oakworth Haul Fell Race, 4 July
Jim & Lyn report ... part of Oakworth Gala. 5 miles. 650foot of climb. Very hot day but enjoyable run despite a few of us getting lost towards the end. Quite entertaining seeing runners coming in all directions to the finish.
Jim Towers 49.32 Sue Morley 54.12 Lyn Eden 68.51
Murder Mile, Silsden, Thu 2 July
1m/800' Results from www.bofra.co.uk
18 09.44 Charles Smith U12! 33 10.22 Jim Towers 109 14.32 Lyn Eden
Harrogate Road League, Otley, Thu 2 July
Wow! Harriers turned out in force: it showed in the sea of 50+ red and green vests at the start, and it showed in the stunning team results on the day:
2nd team on the day! Our best result this year in the League;
1st ladies team, but earlier results leave us 3rd overall;
3rd lady vets team, but less than 2 points away from winning it on the day and less than 10 points away from winning the League;
2nd Vets team, and 2nd overall - great results;
1st Supervets team, making huge inroads into Swaledale's lead but not quite enough to take the trophy, alas;
2nd Elite team on the day!
1 34.13 IAN FISHER, OTLEY 2 34.41 GRAHAM PEARCE 12 37.58 LAWRENCE BASHAM 16 38.37 JIM RYDER 20 39.12 NICK RICHARDSON 22 39.27 RICHARD REEVE 23 39.30 JAMIE HUTCHINSON 33 40.01 RICHARD JOEL 38 40.26 JACK WOOD 39 40.27 MALCOLM PICKERING 40 40.39 SALLY MORLEY 54 41.44 STEVE COY 56 41.52 KEVIN GOOCH 79 44.10 JOHN TATE 82 44.33 GRAHAM ARTHUR 92 44.59 VIC VERECONDI 96 45.11 BRIT TATE 98 45.13 ANDREW SHELDON 100 45.16 NEIL CHAPMAN 102 45.31 KAY PEARCE 103 45.33 RACHEL WOLFENDEN 106 45.43 JANE BRYANT 113 46.19 PETER SHIELDS 114 46.21 PAUL STEPHENS 120 46.30 ALISON WESTON 126 46.47 JOYCE MARSHALL 131 47.26 CAROLINE BELL 132 47.40 KEITH WOOD 135 47.59 JANN SMITH 142 48.19 ANGELA SRIVASTAVA 156 49.21 JENNY DYBECK 164 50.01 JOHN MARSHALL 179 51.15 KAREN LAMBE 182 52.00 RACHAEL GOOCH 189 52.42 GAENOR COY 191 53.04 ANDY WOLFENDEN 194 53.19 ERIC MONTEIRO 197 53.40 PHIL CHAPPELL 202 54.10 JAMES PICKERSGILL 207 54.38 DONALD MACRAE 208 54.47 PAUL SUGDEN 210 55.00 SHEENA PICKERSGILL 219 56.07 MARGOT DALE 241 58.53 ADELE MITCHELL 245 59.13 EMMA O'LOONEY 249 60.30 VINCE GIBBONS 251 60.41 ANDREW BENNETT 254 62.06 MANDY CHAPMAN 255 62.33 PATRICK GIBBONS 258 62.53 DAVID MILLSON 261 64.05 NATALIE YORK 262 64.54 HEATHER DUKE 265 67.11 COLIN LUGTON 266 67.13 SUSAN LUGTON
Brian Sweet has some nice photos of Harriers here
More photos and full results on www.harrogate-league.org.uk
Danefield Relays, Wed 1 July
Bob Hamilton reports ... The call to arms for the final HDSRL race meant that there were very few takers from the club for the Danefield Relays this year. The ladies got a team out, but the men were scrabbling for places in ad hoc teams. I was invited to run in a team with Jonathan Sinclair and his son Alex, and was happy to lose only three places running the final leg, to demote us from 5th to 8th, feeling happy that I wasn't called upon to run the second leg, where Jon had the unenviable task of taking over in 2nd place! As usual, a fun and very sociable night's racing.
Results from www.fellandale.com
8 63.37 Also Rans Alex Sinclair 19.20, Jonathan Sinclair 21.05, Bob Hamilton 23.12 17 69.42 Hydro Flyers incl. Ian Rowbotham 21.20 22 71.43 Chevin Girls incl. Angela Srivastava 25.46, Kelly Harrison 23.41 24 72.30 Ilkley H Trio Alison Eagle 24.30, Jenny Dybeck 23.15, Alison Weston 24.45 28 74.00 The Has Beens incl. Nick Pearce 22.08, Morgan Williams 27.04 42 86.58 Ilkley Mixed Old uns Lyn Eden 34.46, Sue Morley 27.13, Jim Towers 24.59