Ilkley Harriers news archive 2020
Resources for those new to running in this Covid-19 period 2020
Half marathon results (1 1.21.08 Martin Green, North Wales Road Runners) 1.32.56 Lucy Williamson 1st female 1198 ran 10k results (1 34.18 Ryan Davis, Wrexham) 1.01.01 Sue Williamson 1.01.47 Kate Lofthouse 641 ran
parkruns, Sat 29 Feb
From Petra Bijsterveld ...
This was the first ever leap year Saturday to witness parkruns, and with the next possible leap-parkrun being 2048 it felt important to get this one in!
I went to Bowling Park in Bradford which started parkrunning only 6 weeks ago. A park made for parkrun I would say, large enough to require only 2 and a half laps, with very wide all tarmac paths so no congestion and a good running surface. A cafe with toilets at the park entrance. Lovely friendly volunteers. What's not to like? Oh, hills, did I mention hills? Yes well, it makes Lister Park's 'Teeny Tiny Hill' look teeny tiny indeed. Bowling has an uphill start, that same substantial hill has to be negotiated a further two times, and then just to add to the joy there is an uphill finish. For me it was part of the Leeds & Bradford Tri club's 2020 parkrun league, I gave it my all and battled hard all the way with a fellow woman LBT'er who looked to be of a similar age to me, I finished 4 seconds ahead but lost on age-grading. Could be a tough year ahead:)
Results ...
Woodhouse Moor (1 15:40 Marcos Angel Valero Palacios, Roundhay Runners) 77 22:43 Tom Lambe 640 ran Bradford (1 17:03 Andrew Humphries, Airecentre Pacers) 11 19:37 Michael Abrams-Cohen 184 27:19 Stephanie Fox 187 27:22 Melanie Edwards 199 27:44 Paula Reynier 533 ran Skipton (1 17:03 Chris Ovenden, Skipton AC) 16 22:13 Catherine Gibbons 231 ran Coldham's Common (1 15:57 Joseph Smith, Cambridge and Coleridge) 74 26:01 Diane Kitchen 225 ran Centre Vale (1 18:08 James Jordan, Rochdale Harriers) 34 25:41 Will Worboys 115 ran Bowling Park (1 16:25 Tom Collinge, Queensbury RC) 117 27:33 Petra Bijsterveld 261 ran
PECO XC league final individual & team positions
From Daniel McKeown ...
It may have passed unremarked over the weekend, but the cancellation of the final PECO XC fixture (Roundhay Park having unfortunately not recovered from the rigours of hosting an Ed Sheeran concert, I ask you) meant a couple of prizes were confirmed for Harriers.
Nathan Edmondson, with a perfect record of three wins from three races attended, was crowned league champion without even having to get out of bed on Sunday (although to give him due credit, he did do the Ilkley Moor Fell Race instead).
Meanwhile the men's team, which would probably have been *stuffed* by the fixture clash with the Fell Race, were instead left with first place and promotion in the league's second division. A big well done to everyone who showed up through the season and especially for the frankly horrible conditions at West Park in race 4. The PECO men's league boasted 704 competitors this year and, behind Nathan, we had three others in the top 100.
The ladies' team finished fifth overall in the second division, spearheaded by Alison Bennett (72nd overall out of 592 league competitors) and ever-present Diane Kitchen (103rd, second F60). Both vet teams finished fourth in the first* division (the PECO follows the risible trend of having a 'premier' division, above the first division) and the club finished fourth in the League's Colin Morath trophy for most improved club.
The league officially concludes with the PECO relays, which should be on 29 March, presuming Middleton Park doesn't get trashed by a Rita Ora concert in the meantime.
League position (out of 704)
Races run Cat pos Overall points
1 Nathan Edmondson 3 (#1 MSEN) 1500
19 Daniel Mckeown 4 (#4 M40) 1427.8
21 Steven Gott 4 (#5 M40) 1419.1
67 Jaysson Sawyer 3 (#12 M40) 1255.2
174 Robert Budding 3 (#16 M50) 870
267 Simon Richardson 2 (#51 M40) 629.8
300 David Singleton 3 (#54 M45) 568.3
345 Matt Cox 1 (#62 M45) 477.9
353 Matthew Snow 3 (#67 M40) 462.6
383 Geoffrey White 3 (#65 M35) 417.2
394 Steve Murray 1 (#40 M50) 403.8
406 David Westhead 1 (#41 M50) 379.8
547 Malcolm Pickering 1 (#10 M65) 195.2
612 Roar Leijssen 1 (#96 M45) 112.9
League pos (out of 592)
72 Alison Bennett 3 (#5 F55) 1067.4
103 Diane Kitchen 4 (#2 F60) 940.9
141 Nicola Budding 3 (#10 F50) 793.6
202 Ros Brown 2 (#26 F45) 597.9
251 Rachel Carter 1 (#39 F40) 483
278 Anna Pickering 2 (#91 FSEN) 441.7
290 Caroline Howe 1 (#46 F35) 421
311 Anna Nolan 1 (#42 F45) 400.7
312 Jane Bryant 1 (#35 F50) 399.5
340 Helen Waddington 1 (#41 F50) 343.1
371 Adela Reperecki 1 (#33 F55) 311.5
374 Helen Horton 1 (#34 F55) 304.7
395 Sue Williamson 3 (#37 F55) 270.5
463 Jacqui Weston 1 (#70 F50) 174.9
482 Kate Lofthouse 2 (#52 F55) 149.7
529 Sally Wright 1 (#57 F55) 89.2
Leeds Evensplits 5k, Wed 26 Feb
From Hilda Coulsey ...
15 minutes is beaten at the Brownlee Centre in Leeds for the first time and hence Liam Rabjohn sets a new course record. It was wintery chilly and the attendance wasn't great for this first of the 2020 series of 10 monthly 5ks. I'm sure that will change as the year progresses. The juniors provided good competition with Alexander arriving first. I was pleased to clip a couple of seconds of my 2018 Harriers v65 record - an endorsement perhaps of the benefits of the Wednesday track session and the Saturday 7:45am 'lite'!
Results ...
(1 14:53 Liam Rabjohn Richmond and Zetland) 11 17:29 David Foyston 22 18:19 David Westhead 27 18:29 Alexander Wolfenden (junior) 33 18:49 Alistair Mcinnes 37 19:05 Archie Budding (junior) 40 19:21 Harry Stead (junior) 63 20:14 Robert Budding 81 21:23 Catherine Gibbons 85 21:26 Claire Mcloughlin 126 24:08 Hilda Coulsey 127 24:17 Nicola Budding 184 finished
From David Westhead... A cold night but the lack of rain, snow and wind gave good running conditions and brought some fast times over the flat 5k course, notably a course record for Liam Rabjohn from RZH, which seriously scaled down the Harriers league points for anyone who wanted to use this as a wildcard! Good performances all round from Ilkley (Dave Foyston 2nd MV40; Dave Westhead 1st MV50; Alexander, Alistair and Archie 1,2 and 3 MJUN, Hilda 1st FV65 and Nicola 1st FV50).
League Update
From Jane McCarthy...
We're three races in to the 2020 Harriers League - after some superb performances at Harewood 10K on Sunday - we've had one Fell, one Road and one Trail race. By virtue of completing all three, Jane McCarthy has the current highest total tally with 279 points, but Hilda Coulsey sits behind with a spectacular near 206 points from 2 races, 108 points from Harewood 10K and 98 points from her wildcard. Higher average point scores also for Jonathan Turner (2 races), Steve Gott (2 races) and Dan McKeown (1 race - winning at Harewood). Also great performances over 2 races from Jann Smith, Paul Carman, Dawn Turner, Jayne Norman and Sue Williamson, making up the Top Ten places. Next League Race is Ilkley Fell Race this Sunday .. Good Luck Everyone!
Please Note: There is a clash between the Beamsley Beacon Fell Race on 18th June and Ilkley Harriers hosting the HDSRL Road Race, so we will be announcing an alternative fell race shortly ...
2020 results tables as at 24 Feb
Harewood 10k, Sun 23 Feb
From Hilda Coulsey...
A text somewhat late in the morning told us the race was delayed 3.5 hours due to the estate not using the grass for parking and letting the half marathoners mostly complete and get away before we arrived. I watched them returning covered in mud and on asking what the terrain was like I'm told the views were great. However it wasn't so bad, certainly nothing like the pictures of the national cross country yesterday. Nevertheless our winner managed to head plant and looks like he's been a few rounds with Tyson Fury, this after racing in Nottingham yesterday! The starting pen was churned up and in trying to jump to keep warm I struggled to lift my feet. Rather than do that I retied my shoe laces tighter. I started with Jayne and went ahead on the initial few kilometres downhill before she overtook me and relentlessly plodded on up hills, straight through puddles and across muddy fields always in my sight but I was unable to catch her, my shoe coming off in the final field didn't help. So much for pre-race prep! It was a tough day for the organisers: I did feel for the marshals etc who'd had a very long day, the coffee van found some hard standing by the toilets and did a roaring trade once their generator was fixed, the pizza van got stuck in the mud and that was it for food. We were grumpy at the entry cost but afterwards the happy chatting of finishers retelling the tales of their mishaps and struggles was quite fun. (Apologies if I've missed any Harriers running)
Results ...
1 38:24 Dan McKeown 2 40:26 Jonathan Turner 10 45:19 Jane McCarthy 1st female 28 48:38 Colin Williams 1st v50 83 53:31 Jayne Norman 89 53:54 Hilda Coulsey 1st v60 153 58:25 Dawn Turner 224 63:57 Sue Verspyck 260 65:23 Sue Williamson 264 65:35 Katherine Lofthouse 399 completed
Brighton Half Marathon, Sun 23 Feb
(1 1:09:05 Kevin Moore, Brighton & Hove AC) 11 1:14:01 Oli Murphy 2123 1:51:27 Zoe Donnely 7618 finished
Huddersfield 10k, Sun 23 Feb
From Sally Armitage... Today I ventured over to Huddersfield 10k. A hilly course, I decided, would do me good and make a change from all the fast flat ones I usually enter! A small field, all road, 240 metres climb, chip timed. I was rather pleased that the fastest woman on the entry list didn't turn up allowing me to take the win!
(1 34:32 Joe Sweetnam-Powell, Steel City Striders) 33 42:02 Sally Armitage (1st lady) 568 ran
Canalathon 20, Sun 23 Feb
From Nick Kealey ... Fancying some long but not too challenging miles, I raced the Canalathon 20 today. It is a point to point starting in Rochdale and finishing in Sowerby Bridge. The start time allows for travel on the first train from Sowerby Bridge to Rochdale meaning your car is waiting for you at the end. The majority of the route is along the canal, which is relatively flat albeit a bit wet and muddy after the recent bad weather. You would have expected navigation to be simple but, in my opinion, a shortage of signs and marshals made it more difficult than it needed to be, resulting in some unnecessary extra yards! I was pleased with a podium finish (3rd) and the warm soup on completion was very welcoming. All in all I would recommend to anyone needing some miles before the Spring marathon season.
National XC, Sat 22 Feb
From Petra Bijsterveld ... This was my 5th National XC event and my 2nd time in Wollaton Park in Nottingham. Whilst in 2017 it was moderately muddy, for 2020 the wet weather in the preceding few weeks had ensured a venerable mud bath, with several deep dips which could be described as 'water features'. Running at some speed through knee high smelly muddy water ensured that everyone was splattered from head to toe with the stuff. In fact despite a thorough shower yesterday (obviously) I still found a streak of mud in my ear this morning!! As if the water wasn't enough the organisers had also placed a couple of large trees across the course which needed to be jumped, or in my case stepped across in old-lady fashion. As I couldn't even leap over solid obstacles in my younger years I certainly wasn't going to try now!
The day did not start well for many of us as there was considerable parking havoc which I believe was not the fault of the race organisers, as Nottingham CC was in charge of parking. The addition of off-site parking on a disused supermarket site was a good call due to the grass parking at the park being very wet, but signposting and direction was poor leading to chaotic queues near the venue and stress for runners. It put me in a bad mood, especially being shouted at by an unhelpful parking marshal, but I was soon back on an even keel once I reached the club tent. I love the atmosphere of the Nationals with hundreds of tents and thousands of runners all squeezed onto a patch of mud, I love the feeling of 'being in it together' and running with (or rather, behind) the best in the country. In which other sport can you enter National Championships at any level of ability?
Considering the weather we have recently had conditions on the day were quite good. No rain to speak of and whilst it was blowy, it was more a stiff breeze than a gale. I actually loved my run (and the mud!) even though at 5.5 miles it went on a bit. Strava tells me I was considerably slower than in 2017, but I seemed to be battling it out with women I recognised from the Northerns a few weeks ago and from previous years, so I am blaming the underfoot conditions rather than being 3 years older!
Thanks must once again go to Steve and Gaenor Coy for organising another brilliant XC season and supporting all the runners.
Results ...
Under 17 Women (1 21:49 Maya Todd-McIntyre, Rushcliffe AC) 213 29:03 Poppy Anderson 257 ran Junior Men (1 36:27 Zakariya Mahamed, Southampton AC) 26 39:05 Dom Coy 195 ran Senior Women (1 32:59 Anna Moller, Aldershot, Farnham and District AC) 167 41:03 Rachel Carter 544 49:55 Sarah Edwards 765 57:03 Petra Bijsterveld 799 58:29 Anna Pickering 808 58:43 Sally Pickering 911 ran Senior Men (1 43:36 Calum Johnson, Gateshead Harriers) 432 53:47 Dan McKeown 1169 65:32 Steve Coy 1447 71:57 Malcolm Pickering 1710 ran
From Malcolm Pickering ... Well I ran my first English National in the Youth's race at Parliament fields back in 1968. Since then I have run many more but Nottingham 2020 must be near the top on the mud scale. It's a classic event with a long tradition which any club runner can toe the line with some the best distance runners in the country. So one for the bucket list......
parkruns, Sat 22 Feb
From Petra Bijsterveld ... Results ...
Woodhouse Moor 1 16:22 Nathan Edmondson 565 ran Bradford (1 17:36 Martin Soszka, Saltaire Striders) 26 22:23 David Singleton 31 22:47 Matthew Snow 370 ran Skipton (1 17:12 Chris Ovenden, Skipton AC) 17 22:28 Catherine Gibbons 2nd F 57 26:01 Geoff Howard 176 ran Watergrove (1 22:01 Jonathan Moon, Sowerby Bridge Snails) 22 28:34 Will Worboys 61 ran Conwy (1 18:32 Morgan Kendall, U/A) 3 19:01 Lucy Williamson 1st F 184 ran Myrtle (1 20:07 Christopher Loftus, KCAC) 5 21:42 Michael Abrams-Cohen 103 ran
Dalesway Adventure, Tue 18 feb
From Paul Calderbank ...How do you fancy the Dales Way Tuesday / Wednesdy? John asked on Sunday evening.
Achilles? mmm sure I can muddle through! Chantal wanted to join us Tuesday morning so we dropped a car at Kettlewell and had an eveing meal in the Dales.
8.00am Tuesday morning we were at the old bridge ready to go. Thank you for dropping us off Alison.
A pit stop at Bolton Abbey and a team of friendly faces of the Ilkley Tuesday morning run team.
A good cafe stop in Kettlewell we left a relieved Chantal, who had insisted on pushing the early pace.
As we climbed the Wharfe the weather closed in and the hail made frogsporn in the puddles. 45 miles later we rolled I into the old Youth Hostel at Dent Station like drowned rats. Thank goodness for the excellent drying facilities.
The plan was for the 6pm train from Windermere so we got away for 7am my very tender achilles. A perfect morning with only missing washed away foot bridges and poor signage to get in the way of a perfect morning. Then as we crossed the M6 the rain did its worst driving hard all the way till the end! As my right foot started complaining adjusting for my achilles I got my walking poles out to help get me home. Station reached 36 miles later with over an hour to spare before the train. (23&24 of 60).
Achilles just about held together and at the end it was 81 miles over all!
One of the most amazing things was looking at the flood levels in the different rivers we ran along from last weekend. 15 to 30 ft up on current high levels amazing!
Looking forward to the Dales Way relay at the beginning of August.
Barcelona Half, Sun 16 Feb
From Paul Sugden ... Results ...
(1 59:58 Victor Chuma, Kenya) 11708 1:57:52 Lisa Mcdonell 12276 1:59:19 Paul Sugden 13162 2:02:00 Sheena Pickersgill 13244 2:02:15 Peter Tapper 13525 2:03:12 Melanie Edwards 14953 2:08:39 Donna Jackson 16062 2:14:32 Jo Pattinson (PB 6 mins) 18572 ran
Great North West Half Marathon, Sun 16 Feb
From Andrew Merrick ...
I normally like to do a half (at intended marathon pace) 2 or 3 weeks in advance of a marathon - in this case Tokyo on 1 March. Due to a number of adventures, this was about the only part of my marathon preparation which has been on schedule....
Three of us set off on a happily dry morning, arriving on the sea front in Blackpool - road parking was straightforward - with an hour to go before the 11am start. It had stayed dry but was very cold and windy at this point - registration, at an outside set of desks, took minutes giving us time to faff, get organised and then try to find a way to stay warm. I had already decided to wear the long sleeved running top, that I had planned to change into at the end, underneath my Harriers vest, and was regretting the absence of a hat, buff or gloves in my kit bag.
A well marshalled route, on the wide paths along the sea front took us out in a loop which brought us back to the start point in just over 2 miles, at which point I had visions of another 5 or so similar laps..... Happily that wasn't the case and we then had a relatively lengthy downwind section before turning into the wind for a couple of loops ending with a tough 3 mile into the wind finish. A distinct variation in mile times (about 1 ? mins in my case) reflected the challenging conditions. I was pleased with my on schedule finish in 1:44:15, within 45 seconds of my plan, albeit I probably had to work a little harder than intended..... at least it kept me warm.
An excellent pub lunch on the way home was probably the highlight.
Organised with no fuss, a relatively easily accessible, flat half marathon at the right time of the year for Spring marathon training.
parkruns, Sat 15 Feb
From Petra Bijsterveld ... Results ...
Woodhouse Moor 1 16:29 Nathan Edmondson 562 ran Bradford (1 16:59 Martin Soszka, Saltaire Striders) 92 25:42 Will Worboys 422 ran Roundhay (1 18:08 Chris Mullen, U/A) 12 19:23 Helen Thurston 1st F 403 ran Skipton (1 17:42 Chris Ovenden, Skipton AC) 6 19:49 Jim Ryder 7 19:53 Rachel Carter 1st F 29 22:40 Catherine Gibbons 37 23:41 Geoff Howard 218 ran Horton Park (1 18:29 Joe Baker, Stadium Runners) 2 19:26 Jonathan Turner 38 27:32 Dawn Turner 85 ran Clapham Common (1 16:06 Johnny van Deventer, Clapham Chasers) 20 19:52 Rob Cunningham 630 ran
Armagh road races men's 5k, Thu 13 Feb
From Hilda Coulsey...
A new 5k club record for Cam Reilly (beating Euan Brennan's 14:58 from Barrowford last August) on a
5 lap course, "one of the fastest and most competitive races in the world", attracting world class athletes with 144 under 15 mins on a blustery evening.
Results ...
(1 13:41 Adam Clarke, Team Real Runners) 117 14:46 Cameron Reilly 237 ran
Rotselaar International XC, Sun 9 Feb
Well done to Tom Adams, 27th overall and a counter for the 'North' team - more on the club's Facebook page.
PECO XC, Sun 9 Feb
From Geoffrey White ...
A very wet PECO at West Park, jointly hosted by Horsforth Harriers &
Ackworth RR, on a slightly shortened course due to bad weather. After
huddling like penguins on the start line in freezing rain, we warmed
up somewhat during the race itself. Ground underfoot was very wet.
Congratulations to Nathan Edmondson and all who braved the conditions,
and a big thank you to the organizers and marshals.
Results ...
1 24:45 Nathan Edmondson 20 27:41 Daniel Mckeown 21 27:43 Steven Gott 49 37:34 Alison Bennett 72 39:46 Diane Kitchen 192 36:13 David Singleton 204 37:06 Matthew Snow 208 37:17 Geoffrey White 227 38:40 Roar Leijssen
parkruns, Sat 8 Feb
From Petra Bijsterveld ... Results ...
Woodhouse Moor (1 17:15 George Ravenhall, LBT) 354 28:23 Gaenor Coy 711 ran Riverside 1 16:19 Ruaridh Mon-Williams 520 ran Skipton (1 16:58 Chris Ovenden, Skipton AC) 35 23:21 Tom Lambe 37 23:32 Geoffrey Howard 77 26:44 Melanie Edwards 220 ran Clapham Common (1 16:56 Ben Parker, U/A) 28 19:38 Rob Cunningham 847 ran Rothay Park (1 18:37 Scout Adkin, Ambleside AC) 20 23:06 Catherine Gibbons 151 ran
International selection
Well done to Tom Adams, selected for the Rotselaar International XC in Belgium on 8/9 Feb
Montserrat Skyrace 25k, Sun 2 Feb
From Petra Bijsterveld ...
Tom Adams won this race (16 miles and 4,295 ft of ascent) for the 4th time in an astounding 2:02:45 with 9 minutes elapsing before no.2 arrived!! Also a Yorkshire 1, 2, 3 with Ben Mounsey (Calder Valley) and Joe Baxter (P&B)
Results
Dewsbury 10k, Sun 2 Feb
From Jonathan Turner ...
It was great to see a fantastic Ilkley turnout in Dewsbury on Sunday. If you're after a 10k PB then this is definitely one to consider. It's a closed-road, out-and-back route with the first half gently uphill - meaning it's perfect for a negative split. It's also good to maintain interest during the race, with plenty of encouraging shouts between Harriers as those at the head of the field headed back first after the turning point. Matt Cox looked super-smooth as he led us home in 33:58 but there were so many other good times. I think the biggest PB upgrade (of nearly four minutes) was Catherine Crawley's 42:29 but any advance on that just email website guru Paul on the above address!
Results ...
(1 29:57 Chris Parr, Morpeth) 45 33:58 Matt Cox 92 35:24 Steve Gott 102 35:54 David Foyston 148 37:01 Jaysson Sawyer 153 37:02 Nick Kealey 179 37:34 Jonathan Turner 265 39:10 Michael Abrams-Cohen 267 39:13 Sally Armitage 274 39:13 Paul Carman 390 41:12 Jane Mccarthy 453 42:29 Catherine Crawley 499 43:21 Daryl King 575 44:08 Michael Ho 599 44:34 Claire Mcloughlin 610 44:44 Jann Smith 664 45:24 Mary Fairclough 1010 49:54 Tom Lally 1075 51:09 Jayne Norman 1187 52:28 Alex Stanley-Hyde 1264 53:22 Dawn Turner 1447 57:03 Amanda Newham 1566 58:35 Sue Williamson 2033 finished
Chichester 10k, Sun 2 Feb
From Hilda Coulsey...
I ventured a long way south, but less than an hour from family, to take part in this 10k England masters qualifier (having gained qualification for the half marathon a few weeks ago). Part of the attraction was that the final 4k was run on the Goodwood motor racing circuit which we'd visited various times in the past. It was described as an undulating course but together with fairly ok weather it was fine for a lass travelling from Yorkshire! I was pleased to have broken the 50 min barrier after some 5 years, bettering my Harriers record and achieving England qualifying.
Results ...
(1 29:01 Nick Goolab, Belgrave Harriers) 696 49:45 Hilda Coulsey 2nd FV65 1519 ran
Glaisdale Rigg Fell Race, Sun 2 Feb
From Jim Ryder... I think I was the sole Ilkley Harrier at the Glaisdale Rigg Fell Race in the North Yorkshire Moors. It was 8.7 miles and 1370ft of boggy moor, tussocks, track, muddy fields, conifer forest and a bit of road. I came in 2nd V50 at 1h10m49s. Well-organised, low key, friendly and a generous prize giving. A great fell race event.
Rombalds Stride, Sat 1 Feb
From John Hayes...
An excellent turnout by many Ilkley Harriers at this iconic event. Congratulations to all those who battled through the strong winds and made it back for their end of race "school dinner".
The results may take some time to appear, as they send them out to anyone who included a stamped addressed envelope with their entry. I rather like this old-fashioned approach, just as I like the fact that every year the meal is identical to all previous years - a pie, boiled potatoes, peas and gravy followed by rice pudding and tin peaches.
But why change a winning formula? For many, the meal at the end is the best bit. There is no question that the true "winners" of the Rombalds Stride are the organisers and the marshalls. The 40 mph winds made this year's conditions very tough over Baildon Moor, Ilkley Moor and (just to add to the agony) even along the road coming off Otley Chevin. Yet at each checkpoint there was a team of volunteers who had somehow managed to put up a tent and were serving food and drink whilst cheerfully attempting to stamp your control card as it blew about in the wind. We really are very lucky that they put on such a good show for us every year.
From Petra Bijsterveld ... This was my first ever attempt at the Rombald's Stride. Always held on the same weekend as the Dewsbury 10K the road race had always been my go-to event. With lack of dedication to 'proper' training my road times are not improving and causing me frustration, so why not change to what is essentially a walking event hijacked by runners? At least I would always be ahead of the walkers and anyway, unless you are at the sharp end of the race times don't really matter that much here. The weather was 'interesting' with a relentless gale force wind from the west, making in particular the section from the Twelve Apostles to the turn at Pipers Gate a constant battle into the wind, and on approaching Burley Woodhead I was almost blown off the edge at times. Conditions underfoot were wet but at least better than when I last reccied it. I really enjoyed myself and felt better than expected, must have been all those jaffa cakes I scoffed at the checkpoints. Next year I will take my running poles, not wanting to look like 'all the gear and no idea' I had left them at home, but they would have helped. The (vegetarian) school dinner back at the school tasted delicious so I must have been hungry! Going steadily meant that after the start I did not see any of the many Harriers taking part, but I met some nice people along the way. The most kudos go to the marshals and volunteers at the checkpoints who did not seem fazed by the wind and looked after us very well. I shall be back in 2021.
From Petra Bijsterveld and Rachel Carter ... results ...
(1 2:51:28 Philip Boynton, Horsforth Harriers) 9 3:03:36 Ben Sheppard 16 3:08:53 Dan McKeown 23 3:15:15 Kate Archer 3rd F 25 3:17:08 Dave Robson 28 3:23:31 Rachel Carter 53 3:41:12 Dick Waddington 61 3:46:31 John Hayes 71 3:49:34 Richard Joel 72 3:49:53 Michael Duffield 73 3:50:44 Duncan Cooper 75 3:51:13 Colin Williams 81 3:53:46 Andrew Overend 97 4:03:01 Mark Judkowski 120 4:12:30 Alison Weston 127 4:18:53 Rebecca Mon Williams 130 4:19:08 Adela Reperecki 1st F55 136 4:21:02 Paul Stephens 150 4:27:01 Chantal Busby 163 4:36:16 Paul Calderbank 188 4:49:18 Sarah Edwards 222 5:17:02 Petra Bijsterveld 481 walkers & runners finished.
Wadsworth Trog, Sat 1 Feb
Results ...
(1 2:42:24 Martin Howard, CVFR) 6 2:55:49 Nathan Edmondson 25 3:11:13 Jeff Green 94 3:54:12 Paul Howard 98 3:57:21 Richard Eccles 115 4:06:37 Brian Melia 125 4:11:45 Dave Reynier 154 finished
parkruns, Sat 1 Feb
From Petra Bijsterveld ... Results ...
Bradford (1 17:10 Martin Soszka, Saltaire Striders) 36 22:33 Oscar Street 116 27:03 Paula Reynier 441 ran Crystal Palace (1 17:08 Peter Lighting, Kent AC) 13 19:09 Neil Wilson 531 ran Ganavan Sands (1 18:24 Russell Daniels, U/A) 2 19:58 Alistair McInnes 33 ran Skipton (1 17:18 Chris Ovenden, Skipton AC) 22 22:53 Tom Lambe 37 24:16 Harry Sime 235 ran Clapham Common (1 16:51 Richard Ollington, Thames Hare and Hounds) 38 19:58 Rob Cunningham 899 ran Centre Vale (1 17:55 James Jordan, Rochdale Harriers) 27 23:27 Geoffrey Howard 238 ran