Ilkley Harriers News Archive, Jan-Mar 2006

Barcelona Marathon, Sun 26 March

Sally Malir was 9th lady, and 3rd lady vet, in 3h11, running in temperatures of 19º in the shade. Well done , Sally.

Barcelona 10k, Sun 26 March

From Terry Lonergan Combining a supportive role to Sally M. with a chance to experience a foreign mass participation event themselves, Emma Barclay and Sue Bickerdike took their places in the bright early morning sunshine for the Barcelona 10K.
Run in conjunction with the marathon the 10K gave Emma, primarily known for her successes in fell races, a chance to demonstrate her rarely seen, but undoubted road ability. Proving she would be an asset to any Ilkley Harriers womens road team she ran 40.55 for a tremendous 5th place in a womens field of 486. Given more specific speed training and a well chosen fast flat course, she can easily join other female members who will break 40 minutes (some for the first time) in 2006
Having run 20 miles on the previous Friday as part of her delayed London Marathon build up and taking over 3 three minutes to reach the start line, Sue’s approach to the 10K was possibly more relaxed. She went on to finish strongly, recording a time of 50.12

Fiendsdale fell race, Sat 25 March

AM 7.5m, 2,500ft Results from Steve Turland ... 9 Stefan Macina (P&B) 1h13:59
24 Steve Turland 1h21:44
26 Dave Wilby 1h22:26
55 Heather Daw (3rd lady), 1h33:50
65 Kelly Harrison (7th lady), 1h36:27
Race was won by Sean Bolland from Bowland in 1:09:22

Heather Dawe adds ... the postponed Fiendsdale race took place on Saturday 25th March. A shortened course with at least as much ascent as the previous route made for quite a tough race. Wet and muddy underfoot but good visiblity. Won by Sean Bolland 1:09, Stef Macina 9th 1:13, Steve Turland 1:21, Dave Wilby 1:22, Tamara Hird 1:31, Aidan Smith 1:33, Heather Dawe 1:33, Kelly Harrison 1:36. Jason Hemsley DQ.

Northern 12 & 6 Stage Road Relays, Sat 25 March

Andy Wolfenden reports ... When I first volunteered to organise a women's team for the premier road relay event in the North of England, I thought that by being up against the best in the North we would do well to beat 5 or 6 teams out of the 62 entries, and that, only if we got our fastest 6 women out on the day. In the event, our fantastic women exceeded even my wildest dreams.
I cannot stress sufficiently the strength of the competition, but when you're lining up against the best that Chester-le-Street, Sale, Salford, Bingley, Leeds City, Morpeth etc, etc, have to offer, well, this says it all.
The women's race comprises 6 legs, each athlete running the same 5K leg, giving a total team time for the 30K plus rankings for the individual leg performances.
We had 1. Alison Bennett, 2. Helena Deeney, 3. Amanda Oddie, 4. Adele Mitchell, 5. Sarah Jarvis, 6. Helen Sedgwick.

Click for Andy's photos

Alison was thrown in with the stampede that begins with leg 1, she stood up well to the "argie bargie" that inevitably comes from a fast crowded start, and ran a strong leg to hand over in 31st position. A fantastic run then by Helena on leg 2 only dropping one position. Amanda, running from strength to strength these days, ran a tremendous leg 3 ( 9th fastest ! ) pulling in 6 places in the process. Adele took over on leg 4, somewhat apprehensive because a 5K blast on the road is rather different from her usual triathlon events; she need not have worried though as she ran well putting us in a strong position for leg 5. Sarah, still nursing a dodgy calf stuck solidly to the task in hand running a fast time to pull back back 2 places for the hand over. Helen (another fish out of water in this event) ran a brilliant leg 6, pulling back another 5 places from athletes who were 60 seconds plus ahead of her at the hand over. The final result was a fantastic result for the club, our team finished in 18th position.

Final Result: Out of 35 complete teams:

Winners : Chester-le-Street  Agregate time 1hr 52:44
 
                               18th Ilkley Harriers  Agregate time  2hr 11:12
                            1. Alison Bennett (31) 21:01    2. Helena Deeney  (32) 23:51
                            3. Amanda Oddie   (26) 19:44    4. Adela Mitchell (25) 25:42
                            5. Sarah Jarvis   (23) 20:28    6. Helen Sedgwick (18) 20.26

Thanks to all the runners who have supported us and done great credit to the club. It's been a pleasure organising this bevy of beauties and I look forward to the next team event.
Photos attached (right), I know I'll never be David Bailey, the excitement got to me trying to carry 5 water bottles, 6 jackets and operate my watch and camera simulteneously.

Sport Direct XC Presentations

At the presentations for the Sport Direct XC League, our ladies team were presented with the trophy for winning the "First Division" - the Veteran ladies team missed out on winning by just a few points, as did our Men's team. Bernie Gibbons got individual honours as 1st V50; Ann Stead was 23rd V50; and Alison Bennett was 2nd V40.

Well done to all the runners who competed in our return to this League.

More on the SDXC web site.

Baht'at! Sun 19 March

Thank you to the many Ilkley Harriers who helped make the Baht'at fell race a success. It was the first counter in the FRA Junior English Fell Championships, and got the season off to a great start. It was also the Yorkshire Championships and the prizegiving was a right chocolate fest! In the senior race Jamie Hutchinson was 20th (16 of the 19 ahead of him were U18 or U20) in 32:51 and Bob Hamilton was 22nd in 33:12

More on the Bahtat page

Edale Skyline, Sun 19 March

Heather Dawe reports there were a few Harriers at the Edale Skyline on the 19th March. 21m and about 4500' of ascent. Visibility was alot better than last year, snowy underfoot on the higher half of the course. Lloyd Taggert 1st 2:39, Sally Newman 1st lady 3:23, Heather Dawe 87th and 4th Lady 3h46:27, Aidan Smith 4:06, 140 Daniel Goodey 4h08:28 and 213 Philip Jones 4h50:11

South Leeds Stadium 5, Sun 19 March

Click for Terry's photo

Terry Lonergan's view from behind ... Following the example of her training group colleague, Sally Malir last week, Amanda Oddie was a comfortable ladies winner of the South Leeds Stadium 5. She was content to run alongside the more experienced ,local roadrunner Karen Ball (Ackworth Roadrunners) as the field tackled the long “Cowpasture Road like” hill through traffic free Middleton Park for the first time.
On the descent, around two and a half miles, Amanda showed her superior speed, pulled away and, without faltering on the long hill for the second time, ran out an easy winner. The victory reflects her consistent efforts over the winter months since the birth of her second child and augurs well for the warmer months to come.
Not recommended as a P.B. course, predicted times went out of the window on this 2 lap race which finished on the track in the South Leeds Stadium. However the severity of the long hill was a good rehearsal for this week’s Northern relay at Heaton Park which includes a similar hill. Amanda’s time was 32:02 (37th overall)
My second spell of physiotherapy in forty years seems to have paid off with a pain free run 48th in 33:12. Pat Lonergan, still not totally free of sciatic pain, was pleased with a time of 44:21 for 233rd place.

Ashby 20, Sun 19 March

Suzanne Akeroyd ran 2h30:29

ASICS Fleet Pre-London Marathon, Sun 19 Mar

From Adrian Hall ... In good conditions, 2466 people finished this fairly flat race in Hampshire. Well organised with plenty of drinks stations and chipped results meant that it was an enjoyable race. In first place was Toby Lambert (Alton Runners) in a chipped time of 1h 9m 9s. The ladies race was won by Debbie Coslett (Royal Logistic Corps) in a time of1 h 18m 44s. I finished 153rd in 1h 25m 42s.

Spen 20, Sun 12 March

Click for Terry's photos

Sally Malir ... A last minute decision was made, I entered the Spen 20. This race is renowned for being a tough and hilly 20 miler. I took it easy over the first 10, as it is only two weeks to my marathon, the weather was ****** awful, snow and winds. To my surprise I started to 'reel them in' the second half of the race! I finished first lady, first over 40, and Yorkshire champion ! 33rd overall in a time of 2h20:38 The race was won by P.Bangani from Salford in 1:57.
I am afraid to say that I really enjoyed myself.

Read Terry's "view from the pavement" clickhere, and click on the thumbnail to see his photos.

Ian Roberts fell race, Sun 12 March

BM 7m From Alison Eagle A trio of Harriers braved the weather conditions to compete in the Ian Robert's Memorial Run, incorporating the Yorkshire Vets Fell Championship. Conditions underfoot were snowy and continuous snow fell throughout, making navigation difficult at times! First Harrier home was Bob Hamilton, 16th overall but 5th Vet 50 in 56:06; Alison Eagle, despite a detour, having to cross 2 barbed wire fences, was 1st Lady and 1st Vet 40 in the Championship, 26th overall in 61:29; Pete Shields started strongly but suffered from a night out with Eugene and a hard training session the day before to finish 46th in 71:36! A fun course and worth the trip - thanks to Morgan for the loan of his Landrover to get us there!

Neil Chapman adds ... It was a family affair at the weekend when Nevada, Odin and Logan Hargreaves-Madhas all took part in the Tina Horn Fun Run. Nevada finished in second place, closely followed by Odin in 4th and Logan not wanting to be outdone by his older brothers was a respectable 22 out of 28.

Sport Direct XC #5, Idle, Sun 12 March

From Alison Bennett ... for the men Ilkley had 6th Dave Wilby, 12th Lawrence Basham, 20th Nick Richardson, 33rd Geoff Howard, 82nd Andy Kitchen, 106th Antonio Cardinale; and for the ladies: 3rd Alison Bennett, 6th Kelly Harrison, 11th Di Kitchen, 35th Ann Stead.

The SDXC web site has some photos of snowrunners, and also the final results. Our men just missed out on winning Divison 1, 1 point down on Kirkstall. The results don't include race 5 for the ladies - can we assume we've held the lead?

Dentdale 14.2, Sat 11 Mar

From Debbie Rosen ... a friend and I made the trip over to Dent on Saturday for the Dentdale run - hilly course and a bit of a slog for the middle 8 miles against the wind with the snow starting to come down, but great scenery, great atmosphere and recommended, especially for the WI tea and cakes at the end.

Half Tour of Pendle, Sat 11 Mar

From Bob Wightman ... AM 9m/2250' ... Three Harriers joined a couple of hundred others in this "interesting" race that takes in as many of the nooks and crannies of Pendle hill as it can in its 9 mile length. Conditions underfoot were firm, unfortunately, you had to force 15cm of mud out of the way to get to them. This made for a very interesting descent to Ogden Clough towards the end of the race.
The race was won by Ian Holmes in 1:04:07, a full three minutes ahead of the trailing pack. Stefan Macina came 15th (1:12:46); Jason Hemsley was 17th in 1:13:05; Steve Turland was 28th in 1:16:37; Helen Sedgwick was second lady, coming 77th in 1:25:00; I came 132nd in 1:31:37, and David Taylor was 166th in 1:38:44

Windmill Whizz, Sat 11 Mar

Daniel Goodey was 23rd in 48:16

Event, Sat 11 March

Bingley St.Ives 5 mile Trail Race (11am) and 3 mile Family Run/Walk (10am)
Scenic off-road event all within the beautiful St. Ives Estate Woodland and to raise money for "The Riding For The Disabled at Bingley St.Ives" and the YHA's "Give Us A Break" charities. Start and Finish in the Care Home Car Park. Refreshments available all morning. Entry available on the day.

ROM February 2006

The Ilkley Harriers Runner of the Month for February is Jemma Basham - more.

Ultrafit St Annes 10m, Sun 5th March

Vic Verecondi reports ... Two intrepid Harriers braved the elements (ie four seasons in one day) 10 mile running event at St Anne's. Ewan Welsh and myself tackled this flat, fast course along the seafront. The course was basically five miles out along the promenade then back along the same way.
As I have mentioned the weather, it provided never ending interest as we ran. There were patches of ice/slush to negotiate at parts. Not suitable for us finely tuned road runners. We endured about four snow showers punctuated by brilliant sunshine as well as some strongish breezes at times.
Personally I must mention that I had to do well in this race. My mentor, Andy Wolfenden, had harsh words to me after the track session last Thursday night. This kept ringing in my ears during the entire race. It reminded me of a stern word an Aussie Rules coach gave me after I nearly lost a match singlehandedly. How could I face Andy this Tuesday night if I didn't perform??
Anyway my target was 75 minutes and I succeeded almost to the second. With the help of my gps, satellite tracking, calorie counting, mile split times, instantaneous pace meter etc etc watch I achieved a time of 74 minutes and 52 seconds (167th place). Most pleased!!! Couldn't find Ewan afterwards but he did well with a time of 67 minutes 14 seconds (79th place).
A nice day..

Sport Direct XC #4, Danefield, Sun 5 March

Click for Paul's photos

Good team results again, on this hilly little 2-lap course on Danefield. Shane Green led in our men 7th, then 12 Dave Wilby, 22 Jamie Hutchinson, 27 Lawrence Basham, 29 Nick Richardson, 54 Brian Melia, 90 Andy Kitchen, 105 Bob Payne, and 106 Antonio Cardinale. For the ladies Alison Benett was 2nd lady, then 7 Angela Srivastava, 10 Kelly Harrison, 17 Jemma Basham, 24 Bernie Gibbons, 25 Barbara Bullock, 37 Christine Reilly, 51 Anne Briggs, 52 Sue Williamson, Emma Payne, Ros Leach and 56 Amanda Parnaby

Next event: Thackley Sun 12 March details and a map here.

Yorks Vets, Sun 5 March

The second Grand Prix event in the Yorkshire Veterans League took place on a scenic multi-terrain course around Pudsey. Pete Shields was 36th in 37:45 and Richard Gray 60th in 43:25. Alison Eagle had a great run in the ladies race - 2nd in 36:45
Also one for the diary is the York Vets fell running championship this year being incorporated with the Ian Roberts fell race at Marsden on the 12th March at 11.00am. Entry is on the day. This is a good course where I'm sure we have a medal or two to claim, remember the vets ages start at 35 now so there are team medals to win as well. Further info if needed from me.

Yorkshire Vets Athletic Association link

Troutbeck Fell Race, Sun 5 March

From Iain Gibbons ... 3.5 Miles 1200ft of climb. Hard undulating ‘out + back’ race in cracking sunshine with snow capped hills. (A bit chilly on the tops but a fun decent)
1. Alastair Dunn- Helm Hill – 28.08
12. Iain Gibbons – 32.05

Navigation Training (a.k.a. Scottish ski mountaineering)

Roy Ruddle reports .. Not a race, but a good w/e ...
With a report of deep snow and reasonable weather, it was easy to tempt Alexa north for her first experience of the Scottish hills in winter. Skied up A'Chailleach and Carn Sgulain (two Munros above Newtonmore) on Sat, sometimes in pale sun and at other times in snow and a near white-out. A long day (8 hrs) and perfect for practicing pin-point compass navigation. Sunday started promisingly but clagged in, so we skipped the Cairngorm plateau option and settled for a loop around Coire an t-Sneachda and the Fiacaill ridge. Very enjoyable to skin past walkers who were floundering sometimes thigh deep in powder! Don't envy the RAF though, because they have to retrieve one of their rescue choppers which broke down up there.

Click for Paul's photos

Cardingmill Canter, Sat 4 March

The first counter in the English Fell Championships, so well worth the journey to far off Shropshire. We were rewarded with a fantastic day out: great course (info, map, results on Mercia Fellrunners' site), wonderful weather, incredible views from on top. The Ilkley Ladies fell team scored "oeuf points", with only two ladies Emma Barclay (11th in 56:41) and Kelly Harrison (28th in 63:02) running - let's hope for a better turnout next time. The ladies race was won by Ilkley Moor and Yorkshire Champion Natalie White in 52:31, 61 finishers.
There was a great turnout of our chaps though: 91 Dave Wilby 53:47 (the race was won by Mercia's Tim Davis in 42:33); 101 Lawrence Basham 54:13; 104 Bob Hamilton 54:27 was our first vet; 112 Richard Joel 55:04; 167 Morgan Williams 60:39; 199 (top 200!) Paul Wood 67:38; 211 Phil Chappell 70:25 - 267 finished. Jason Hemsley, running in P&B colours, was 43rd on 50:09 Ian Marshall was unlucky to fall badly and damage a shoulder on the very steep and slippery slope - hope to see him back racing again soon.

English Champs results: Emma picked up 20 English Championship points to start the season in 11th place: Kelly Harrison's run got her 4 points for 27th place in the Championships. Well done to them both. Bob Hamilton's 17 Vet 50 points give him 14th position. And Jason Hemsley (running for P&B) had a good run, picking up 10 points for 41st place in the senior men's rankings.

Trollers Trot, Sat 4th March

From Clare Smith ... Feeling less than enthusiastic about getting up early to run 25 miles in the snow, I was half hoping that the event would be cancelled. However it seems that LDWA members are hardy types so Neil and I were soon setting off from Threshfield with a host of runners and walkers on what turned out to be a beautiful morning full of 'winter wonderland' scenes. Running in these conditions was a novel experience for me, and the uphills were quite draining as I found it difficult to make purchase on the snow. The route was mostly on good tracks, many of which I'd never been on before, with a few short sections on minor roads, and took us via Threshfield Moor, Winterburn Reservoir, Rylstone, Barden Moor, Trollers Gill and Burnsall. By the time we were running alongside the Wharfe I wanted to know EXACTLY how much further it was to the finish. Despite a rather slow-sounding 4hrs 47minutes time, I managed to be the 2nd lady in and the total body pain is now subsiding!

Noon Stone fell race, Sat 4 March

From Jo Foster ... 3 Harriers made the trip over to snowy Calderdale on Saturday to run the Noon Stone Fell Race. The course was a real winter wonderland causing some spectacular tumbles and slowish times. The race was won by Richard Pattinson in 1h15:29. Jim Ryder was 12th (4th vet 40) in 1h19:19. Steve Turland was 25th in 1h23:50 and Jo Foster was 68th (4th lady) in 1h37:14 Philip Jones was 77th in 1h41:40 As well as the spectacular blue skies and scenery the trip over was further enhanced by the famous Top Brink chip butties at the end!

Ilkley Moor fell race, Sun 26 Feb

Click for Paul's photos

What a great day. Record fields in both the junior and the senior races; superb wins from Ian Holmes and Natalie White (Natalie being just 5s outside the ladies' record); loads of Harriers running. Special thanks to the many, many harriers and friends who helped the event run smoothly.

Results and more photos on the Ilkley Moor fell race page

Bob Hamilton observes ... It may be of interest, in view of Holmsey's win as a Vet 40, to note that in 1992 the first vet home was in 34th position in 42.32 (I just pipped him by 1 sec to be first local). In that same position on Sunday was our own Jim Ryder, in 44.00, but he had 13 other "old men" ahead of him. Curious also to find that in that 1992 race a certain Robert Jebb finished 99th in 46.47. It feels more like forty years ago than just fourteen!

Snake Lane 10, Sun 26 Feb

Neil Chapman reports ... The weather for this years race was an improvement on the snowy waterlogged conditions we had last year, and despite early rain we could have no complaints during the race. With 645 runners, the race was won by David Watson from Holmfirth in 50.58, almost 3 minutes ahead of the second place man, although we had one of several star performances from Lawrence Basham who ran 58.55 to finish in 22nd place, which was a PB of 5 minutes. Jamie Hutchinson was not feeling on top form, but still finished 64th in 62.38, with myself 76th in 63.13 (PB by a few seconds) and John Atkinson 83rd in 63.22 (PB by over 2.30 minutes). Other top performances came from Amanda Oddie, 102 in 64.34 (1st LV35) and Sally Malir, 110 in 65.06 (4th LV40) running this at the end of a 60 mile training week. Ewan Welsh finished 135 in 66.46, with Terry Lonergan 157 (8th V55) in 67.56, Keith Wood 251 in 72.59, Andy Wolfenden 260 in 73.31, and Pete Bedwell 337 in 77.54, a PB by more than 4.30 minutes. Jemma Basham, not wanting to be outdone by Lawrence, finished 348 in 78.33, a PB by 13 minutes! Pat Lonergan, who was putting a weeks training milage into one race finished 522 in 89.09 (7th LV55). The ladies team finished joint 3rd out of 43 teams and the mens teams finished 8th, 26th and 59th out of 88 teams. These times are the official times, although it does seem some of these are slightly adrift of our own times, which may be due to confusion over where the finishing time was taken.

Myrtle Meander, Sat 25 Feb

Amanda Parnaby did this muddy 25-mile epic, in 6h57

Bleasdale, Sat 25 Feb

From Peter Cooke ... Yesterday, away from the madding crowds of Ilkley Moor I ran the Bleasdale Circle fell race in the attractive Forest of Bowland. The race only attracted a field a size of the Ilkley Moor race but it was a good little race, 5 miles with 1250' of climb, over a classic route that climbed Fair Snape Fell, traversed a ridge to the summit of Parlick and then returned directly down the hill to the finish. I enjoyed the runs and the fine views and finished 69th in 55.23. The race winner was Lloyd Taggart of Dark Peak in 35.44

ROM January 2006

The Ilkley Harriers Runner of the Month for January is Pete Bedwell - more.

Circuit Training

There's a problem with the venue, Ilkley Grammar School Gym, and we won't be using it again until 20th March, probably. Pete's looking for an alternative venue for that time. Watch this space.

yoga

Yoga Classes

Need to improve flexibility for running?
Alison Eagle has organised a block of four weeks of Yoga, Fridays 12.15-1.30, in the Dance School near Arcade Fruits, South Hawksworth Street.
Starting 17 March, through to 7 April. Cost of the course is £24
The teacher is recommended - as used by "Perfectly Pliable Pete" Shields.
Contact Alison if interested, 600439

Bob Graham

Former club member Craig Sawyers is attempting a Bob Graham on 12 May and is looking for helpers on the fell sections. If you fancy a trot over the Lakeland fells, please contact Bob Wightman to get in touch.

Birkrigg Common Race Rough XC, Sun 19 Feb

From Iain Gibbons ... Near Ulverston (part of the Kendal Winter League), 3.8 Miles 300ft of climb over moorland and farm tracks, a fast race in perfect sunny conditions.
1. Lee Athersmith – Skipton – 17:36
14. Iain Gibbons – 20:45

Muddy Woody Race, Sun 19 Feb

From Dave Wilby ... Just a quick note to say that myself and Kelly Harrison travelled down to Herefordshire this weekend to fly the flag for Ilkley in the 10th Anniversary Muddy Woody Race. Unfortunately as we'd had to pre-enter well in advance we were both down on the results for our previous clubs but at least the thought was there.
The race is based in woodland just to the North(?) of Hereford and after a few recent heavy downpours, conditions underfoot were suitably atrocious. It didn't stop people turning out though and a field of almost 350 set off. The winners time was 45:22, I was 3rd in 46:59 and Kelly was 9th lady in 1:02:10. Definitely worth the travel and one we're aiming to do again next year. There was rumour of another Ilkley entrant although we couldn't spot a vest anywhere.

SDXC #3, Ackworth, Sun 19 Feb

We had 4 men out - Graham Stead, Bob Payne, Richard Joel, Lawrence Basham. And 7 ladies - 1 Helen Sedgwick 33:23; 3 Alison Bennett 34:18; 11 Dianne Haggar; 14 Jemma Basham; Emma Payne, Anne Stead and Amanda Parnaby. Full results later

Sport Direct XC #2, Kippax, Sun 12 Feb

Lawrence Basham reports ... Dave Wilby 6th, Me 14th, Jamie Hutchinson 15th, Ian Marshall, Graham Stead and Bob Payne for the men - Alison Bennett 3rd lady, Kelly Harrison, Joyce Marshall, Jemma Basham, Kelly Harrison, Anne Stead, Alison Bennett, Christine Reilly, Dianne Haggar and Amanda Parnaby. Full results later.

Liversedge Half Marathon, Sun 12 Feb

Pete Bedwell reports ... Quick report from the Liversedge half marathon, the only Ilkley Harrier in a field of 432, I came 245th in a time of 1.52.12. Nearly 9 minutes slower than the Brass Monkey 3 weeks ago, my time fairly accurately reflects how hard this one was. Very little flat running, some very steep climbs and descents broken up by long up hill grinds made this by far the toughest half I've ever done, bit like the Otley 10 but longer with more hills.
The organisation and the marshalls were superb, lots of encouragement all round, very much appreciated on some of the hills, will definitely be back next year.
Oh yeah some guy called Ian Fisher won it in 68.45

Wadsworth Half Trog, Sun 12 Feb

9m/1500' Emma Barclay calls in ... Richard Joel was 12th in 1h22:22; Emma was 25th and 2nd lady in 1h31:30; and Jon Tindall was 36th in 1h43:54

Ashley Hardwell was 78th in the full Trog (20m/4000') in 4h04:59

Yorkshire Vets, Sun 12 Feb

From Neil Chapman ... A few Harriers opted for the first race in the Yorkshire Vets Grand Prix series which is based on ten races over the year. This race was a five mile multi-terain race at Esholt, which was fast in places and very muddy in others. The first Harrier in was Andy Wade 21st in 23:05, having a good run coming back from injury, with myself the next finisher 25th in 34:25. Alison Eagle and Keith Wood were battling with each other, with Alison getting past Keith on a steep muddy section and then managing to hold him off, finishing 6th lady in 36.07 and Keith just behind 38th in 36.25. Not far behind them was Pete Shields completing a busy week of training and racing to finish 39th in 36.44
Barbara Bullock had an excellent run, despite there being too much tarmac, finishing 15th lady in 40.27, with Bernie Gibbons continuing to race well, and finishing in 24th lady 42:35. Second claim Harrier Ian Rowbotham, who is also coming back from injury, was with the earlier finishers, 15th in 32:26

More on ... YVAA web site

From Pete Shields ... The second Grand Prix event in the Yorkshire Veterans League will take place on Sunday the 5th March, on a scenic multi-terrain course around Pudsey. The start is scheduled for 11.00am from the Fulneck school car park. Registration is at the Pudsey Leisure Centre which is situated behind the bus station in the centre of the town. Entry fee is two pounds. The organisers say you should allow 10 minutes to get from registration to the start!
Also one for the diary is the York Vets fell running championship this year being incorporated with the Ian Roberts fell race at Marsden on the 12th March at 11.00am. Entry is on the day. This is a good course where I'm sure we have a medal or two to claim, remember the vets ages start at 35 now so there are team medals to win as well. Further info if needed from me.

Barbon Fell Race, Sun 12 Feb

Iain Gibbons reports ... 2.3 Miles 1200ft of climb. V steep climb in foggy conditions, Out and back race with a harsh downhill (where my backside was introduced to the hillside on a number of occasions). In good conditions I’m sure this would prove to be a cracking race for both runners + spectators.
1. Alastair Dunn – Helm Hill 21:43
13. Iain Gibbons – 25:49

Anglezarke Amble, Sat 11 Feb

From Debbie Rosen - Claire Smith and I ran the Anglezarke Amble this morning, a 16m route over Rivington Pike and the West Lancashire Moors. Setting off from Ilkley in the wee small hours for the 8am start and arriving as the snow started to fall didn't bode well, but despite the bleak and icy hills we had a good run and think we were 4th and 5th runners home (only because most of the runners chose to do the 25 mile option!) - no official results available. Well organised with Lancashire Hotpot and apple pie waiting for us at the end.

Yorks Vets XC Champs, Bramley Park, Sun 5 Feb

From Neil Chapman ... We had two mens teams out in the Yorkshire Vets XC Championship races at Bramley Park, competing with some quality runners over a fast four lap 10k course.
In the Vet 35-49 race Jim Ryder, competing in his first vets race and coincidentally his last senior race, ran well finishing 41st (6th V35) in 35.57. Mark Iley and Richard Joel were having their own scrap not too far behind, which Mark won, finishing 64th (35th V40) in 37.15, just ahead of Richard 67th (8th V35) in 37.27. They were 2nd team V35 behind Keighley and Craven.
In the Vet 50-69 race I managed to sneak past Dave Mathews on the last lap, finishing 27th (19th V50) in 38.51, just ahead of Dave 29th (8th V55) running 39.00. Completing the team was Pete Shields, who got better as the race ran on, finishing 64th, (21st V55) in 44.17, a remarkable achievement given that he had only finished Rombalds Stride 24 hours earlier. The team was placed 10th in the V50 age category.

Dewsbury 10k, Sun 5 Feb

Andy Wiggans reports ... A morning out in the wild west of Yorkshire to this fast, well organised, celebrity started race for quite a few Harriers. The race is chip timed, so combined with a flattish course there were some good times recorded. The race was started by “the lovely” (tannoy bloke’s words) Nell McAndrew, who didn’t run, thereby depriving me of another entry for my website “beatacelebrity.com” (I’ve only got Gordon Ramsey and the Cheeky Girls so far), and runs ever so slightly uphill through Batley (“there’s a lot of other folks up there with computer chips on their ankles” – tannoy bloke again), turns just before 5k and back down the same way, leading to a good negative split course.
I was reasonably pleased with another sub-40, and also with my rapidly developing “not running after supersonic Ilkley ladies at the start” technique.
I’ve used chip times and placings here:
Jamie Hutchinson was 60th out of 955 finishers in 36:30 and I was next back in 142nd place in 39:25. Amanda Oddie had a good run in 40:40 to be 179th, with Alison Bennett close behind in 40:58 (200th and 3rd F40). A brace of Andrews next, with the Wilson version running a PB in 41:13 to get 214th place, and the Herbert one 291st with 42:55. John Coates ran 43:40 to be 320th, and Vic Verecondi just broke 45 with 44:58 to be 379th. Nick Mellor was next in 417th in 45:48, and Janet Grace was 474th in 47:13. Finally, and an impressive 5th F50, Margot Dale ran 49:21 to be 571st.
Predictably depressing scenery, although we did run past “The Frontier Club” in Batley which looks…erm…interesting – but definitely a good one for the speed merchants – was won by Glen Cornish of Sale Harriers in 29:49. Susan Partridge from Leeds won the women’s race in 33:19

Whitestone Fell Race, Sun 5 Feb

From Iain Gibbons ... 4 Miles 650ft of climb. Healthy climb onto the tops which proved to be very muddy (I’m sure it had a high lead content by how heavy my legs felt) not ideal for the gliding runners, with a steady downhill where I took a bit of an embarrassing tumble.
1. Alastair Dunn – Helm Hill 25:15
12. Iain Gibbons – 28:44

Full Monty Challenge, 4/5 Feb

Eddie Winslow tells us ... the Rombald Stride is for sprinters!
The Full Monty was an endurance challenge event following a set route combining paddling, mountain biking and trail running.
The regular morning fishermen had a novel sight as about 100 participants in pairs or teams of four paddled off together from Shrewsbury down the river Severn at 10:00h Saturday. 30km later and considerably spread out we put out and transitioned to mountain bikes. A 65km ride took us by bridleways through the hilly Shropshire countryside along the Wenlock Edge and over the Long Mynd to Clun where we decided that sleep was for wimps and continued onto the optional part of the challenge – another 40km bike loop into the hilly Welsh borders and back to Clun. We went onto foot at 23:20h for a 55km run/hike along Offa’s Dike and over the Breidden HIlls. Trekking through the night we were back on the Severn by 10:00h with only 35kms paddling to get back to Shrewsbury. We arrived back at 14:00h Sunday, 28 hours after setting out and third team to complete the entire challenge. Only damage is a couple of small blisters on my toes and a lack of a night’s sleep ...

Rombalds Stride, Sat 4 Feb

Click for Harriers photos

Lots of Harriers in this event, the 25th running of the Rombalds Stride Winter Challenge. We had the 1st three ladies at White Wells - Sally Malir, Alison Weston, and Joyce Marshall. The race was won by Richard Pattinson in 2h39:07. Our Steve Turland was in the top 10 at White Wells. Clive Smith ran a pb by 10 mins; and Keith Wood's 3h26 was 32 mins faster than his previous best time - great run! Barbara Bullock was 1st lady Veteran. Full results, with thanks to Clive Smith, are ...

9   Steve Turland     3-01-35
17  Sally Malir       3-06-57 1st lady
18  Ian Marshall      3-07-29
33  Clive Smith       3-24-20
34  Alison Weston     3-24-57
38  Pete Shields      3-25-35
40  Keith Wood        3-26-23
42  Kevin Gooch       3-27-46
49  Phil Atkinson     3-31-29
59  Joyce Marshall    3-34-06
61  Bob Wightman      3-39-01
77  Suzanne Akeroyd   3-47-31 PB
110 Rachael Gooch     4-09-28
114 Barbara Bullock   4-12-50 1st lady vet
122 Nigel Tapper      4-18-12
125 Bryan Websdale    4-21-13 *
129 Bernie Gibbons    4-22-00
180 Richard Midgley   4-55-32
222 Amanda Parnaby    5-22-05
223  Jane Cullingworth 5-22-05

This puts Pete Shields on top of the Harriers Running League! More

* Extra result from Amanda P. Sorry we missed you Bryan, will update the League results in due course.

Staveley Head fell race, Sun 29 Jan

From Iain Gibbons ... I took the trip up to the lakes to enter Staveley Head Fell Race, a 900ft of climb over 4 miles which again forms part of the Kendal Winter League. Very sunny and warm, a straight forward out + back course with a short down hill start (which claimed a few victims) and sharp climb with undulating running for a mile or so.
The race was won by Alastair Dunn of Helm Harriers in 28.33. I was 14th in 32.39.

MS Word docKWL Fixtures

Chernobyl 10k, Sun 29 Jan

From Geoff Howard ... Freezing sunshine and ice rink conditions for the first quarter of a mile provided an original 10k experience at the Chernobyl 10k in Preston on 19 Jan. A few hundred runners ran along tarmac strips across fields and by the Ribble - away from traffic a lot of the time. There were also short stretches of muddy paths making for a very varied and enjoyable course overall. I didn’t see any other Harrier and was a little disappointed to be nearly a minute slower than at Clitheroe in 41m 3s

Ferriby 10, Sun 29 Jan

From Neil Chapman ... Three Harriers made the trip over to Ferriby for this well organised ten mile event, on pleasant country lanes, which was full before race day. Despite being close to Hull, the course is hilly with some long climbs, also having some fast sections, but with a testing climb to the finish. First Harrier back was Neil Chapman 38th (1st V50) in 64.11, with Ewan Welsh 69th in 66.40, and Pete Shields now getting back to form finishing 84th (3rd V55) in 68.27.
This is not the fastest 10 miler, but certainly one I would recommend, but book early to avoid disappointment.

Woodkirk 10k, Sun 29 Jan

Pete Bedwell reports .. just finished the Woodkirk 10K 103rd in 48.45, happy with time, only 15 seconds off my course PB set when I was a vet 40 and half a stone lighter. A testing course with a nice hill at mile 5 as my 9.38 split time confirmed. Out of a field of 249, won by a Vic Brundell in a time of 34.30, other Harriers in the results were 52 Philip Judd 43:31; and 72 John Coates 45:09

Tigger Tor, Sun 29 Jan

Peter Cooke reports ... The Tigger Tor Fell Race in the Derbyshire Peak District is listed as 10 miles with 1550' of ascent in the FRA Fixtures Calendar but with 2100' of climb on the website of the host club, Totley AC. Whatever the figure, there is plenty of uphill involved as you follow an interesting figure of eight course that climbs both Tigger Tor and Houndkirk Fell twice. I was going well and really enjoying the run until the final climb, the second ascent of Houndkirk Fell, at about eight miles when I suffered a severe onset of cramp in both calves. After that it was frustrating and painful as a large swath of runners swept past me and I eventually hobbled to the finish in 1 hour 53 minutes for 223rd place. Despite that I would thoroughly recommend the race, it was a very runnable course, with the terrain being very similar to Ilkley Moor and the organisation and the marshalling was first class. For the record the winner, five minutes clear of the second runner, was Lloyd Taggart of Dark Peak in 1 hour 10 minutes.

Northern XC, Sat 28 Jan

Lawrence Basham reports in ... I did the Northern Cross Country Champs today at Witton Park, Blackburn. Fantastic day, great event, great course and ok run finished 247th in 46.25 for 12km course.
Missed my teammates in the senior mens race, maybe next year? Thanks to the Ileys for lift and support.

Diane Kitchen was 136th in 39:40 in the Ladies race over 8km. And there were good results from the juniors too - more...

Stanbury Splash, Sun 22 Jan

Click for Harriers photos

A good turnout of Harriers for the first fell counter in the Harriers Running League - Graham is riding high after 2 good races (Click for detailsdetails). Those who ran enjoyed a perfect day for running and a great course. Ian Holmes romped home first in 41:53

15  Stefan Macina   47.46
16  Graham Pearce   47.55
21  Jason Hemsley   48.34
34  Jim Ryder       49.27
47  Lawrence Basham 51.44
55  Richard Joel    52.27
63  Mark Iley       52.48
66  Nick Richardson 53.02
95  Emma Barclay    56.25
118 Morgan Williams 58.07
127 Neil Chapman    58.43
137 Peter Shields   59.43
141 Mark Williams   59.56
151 Ian  Cliffe     60.52
167 Keith Wood      62.10
217 John Coates     65.23
255 Jemma Basham    71.50

Brass Monkey Half, Sun 22 Jan

Pete Bedwell reports ... Just a quick note to say managed 1h43.38 in the Brass Monkey half, only 21 secs off my PB so well pleased. As usual superbly organised, encouraging marshalls, good water stations and a lovely flat course with perfect running weather made it a great day out. Andy and Sally Malir were the only other Harriers I know about running , eveyone else out getting league points at Stanbury.

Andy Wiggans adds ... A relatively small turnout of Harriers this year, possibly caused by the fact you had to enter in about 1986 to get in, or maybe because the Stanbury Splash is a league counter this year (isn’t there some kind of rule against getting running league points on purpose? Well there should be…).
Perfect weather, copious and enthusiastic marshals and a fast, scenic course (well, scenic if you like flat fields of green stuff, anyway) led to a couple of PBs:
I was first home in 1:24:44, which is 2:45 off my previous best, and gave me 119th out of 980 finishers. Next home, after giving me the fright of my life with her “escape velocity” start was Sally Malir, 133rd in an amazing 1:25:45 (4th L40) – not sure what her previous best was, but it’s safe to say this is a PB by quite some distance. (I would have been more gushing about Sally’s run, but she said “Well done Bob” at the finish ...
Andrew Herbert ran a PB, coming in 361st with 1:37:43; Peter Bedwell also got close to a PB with 1:43:38 – 497th; and Richard Midgley came home in 934th place in 2:13:47.
Oh – and some bloke called Fisher from Otley won it in 1:06:09

And from Sally ... It was a chilly run, so you had to move quick! ... The lady winner was Tracey Morris in 01:16:55. I was well pleased with my run a PB by 3 mins 1:25:45, I spoke to Andy Wiggans at the finish (not as he passed me!) He was a minute ahead 1:24:44 also really pleased with his run.

Shell 4 Villages Half Marathon, Sun 22 Jan

From Andy Wolfenden ... Those of us who were too late for the Brass Monkey deadline, but still wanted to run a Half Marathon today had to travel further afield. New Harrier Gerard Downes and I went to Helsby in Cheshire for this one. Brilliant organisation and an enjoyable course made for a good day out, Gerard was pleased with his 1hr 39m 39s (599th) but I was rather disappointed to turn in 748th in 1hr 42m 58s, (lack of long training runs says stick to 10 miles). All times were chipped and official results will be on a UK Results link shortly. I did spot a couple of unidentified green and red vests but these were more likely to be Welsh infiltrators than any of our lot.

Firbank fell race, Sun 22 Jan

From Iain Gibbons ... I was in the Lakes at the weekend and thought I’d take in a cheeky fell race on the Sunday. So I nipped across to Howgill, Sedbergh for the Firbank Fell Race, which was a 2.5mile 1400ft of climb (one of the Kendal Winter League races) in cracking sunny weather with low cloud over the tops of the hills. A good course with about 70-80 running.
Came in 10th according to my family, but need to check results.

Harriers Do, Fri 20 Jan

Click for Harriers photos

The Harriers Do was ... a right good do, as Brian's photos show. Best Runner went to Jamie Hutchinson and Helen Sedgwick;
Most Improved Runners were Sarah Jarvis and Andy Wiggans;
Marathon/Endurance went to Bob Wightman and a joint award to Heather Dawe and Nicky Jaquiery;
and "Contribution to Club" went to Amanda Parnaby and Neil Chapman
The Captain's Awards went to Keith Wood and Rachael Gooch and Emma Barclay.
And the leaders in the Harriers Running League 2005 were presented with their awards:
Overall - Mark Iley; Road - Alison Bennett; XC/Trail - Jamie Hutchinson; and Fell - Jason Hemsley

Click for Harriers photos

Sport Direct XC #1, Golden Acre Park, Sun 15 Jan

A good turnout of 28 Harriers in a huge field. Some great runs over the 4.75 mile circuit. Congratulations to Sarah on her win. Both our men's and ladies' teams had very convincing wins in the 1st Division, as did our lady vets - a great start! Full results in the attached Excel files: Team, Individual.

This was the first counter in the 2006 Ilkley Harriers Running League too, and the League points are shown below. SuperVet is back! We recorded the race times ourselves, but due care was taken so these times will stand. The race was won in 29.07 by a Rothwell runner.

                        Time 	Harriers
                             	League 
                             	Points
17  Graham Pearce       31.28	92.53
18  Dave Wilby          31.30	92.43
24  Jamie Hutchinson    32.01	93.75
33  Lawrence Basham     33.03	88.10
51  Adrian Hall         34.36	84.15
1   Sarah Jarvis        34.51	92.83
59  Neil Chapman        35.27	93.33
65  Geoffrey Howard     35.50	101.57
76  Mark Williams       36.50	81.49
78  Keith Wood          36.59	83.75
6   Kelly Harrison      37.19	86.70
86  Peter Shields       37.49	91.66
7   Joyce  Marshall     37.52	94.93
100 John Coates         38.57	79.53
11  Kay Lucas           39.08	82.67
107 Graham Stead        39.44	80.53
120 Vincent Gibbons     41.05	80.54
18  Jemma Basham        42.11	76.69
19  Debbie Rosen        42.11	76.69
131 Stewart Taylor      42.20	75.58
20  Rachael Gooch       42.30	87.83
21  Diane Haggar        42.33	81.46
136 Richard Gray        42.35	81.40
22  Barbara Bullock     42.50	91.86
27  Bernadette Gibbons  43.51	85.13
?   Antonio Cardinale   44.27	77.98
39  Christine Reilly    46.02	72.70
148 Bob Payne           46.48	77.77
63  Emma Payne          52.07	62.08
66  Amanda Parnaby      53.30	67.19
Click for Dave Woodhead's pic

Yorkshire XC Championships, Sat 14 Jan

Not such a good turnout for the seniors: in the senior men's race we had a sole runner Lawrence Basham 105th in 48:23; and in the senior women's race Pange Srivastava was 59th in 29:30 - well done to them both. There was a good turnout from the juniors, though - more...

Baildon Boundary Way Full

Just heard that this race in April is full already.

Social, Tue 10 Jan

Click for Harriers photos

60 Ilkley Harriers enjoyed a talk from Sarah Rowell on her running experiences, lessons learned, and some thoughts on sports nutrition, Thank you to Sarah for a great evening.

Sitges Half Marathon, Sun 8 Jan

Terry Lonergan reports ... We arrived in Sitges at 6 pm on the Thursday prior to the event (La Mitja Marato de Sitges) to be informed that the race entries were due to close within the hour. Fortunately the system involved paying 20 Euros into the race account and there was a bank just across the road from the hotel. It had not rained in that area (just south of Barcelona) for 5 months so I looked forward to a good race on a fairly fast course. However, the heavy shower we experienced at 4K hinted at what was to come! At 17K (of 21.1K) we suffered the most torrential rain I have faced in over 40 years of competition lasting for over an hour. Apparently the last time this occurred cars ended up washed up, one on top of the other, as the streets became virtual rivers!
Despite all, I managed to cover the last 10k in 40.20 without losing any places. However, this surge was only good enough for 272nd place of the 1363 who finished. The age group categories differ slightly over there. I was classified in a 51 to 60 m5 group finishing 15th of 169. Final time 87.50 . It will be interesting to see how the standard compares with a local race over here like the Brass Monkey next week. At first glance the standard in Spain would appear to be far higher.

Garstang 10k, Sun 8 Jan

Andy Wiggans reports ... Another new year, another trip to Garstang for me and Bob. A slightly chaotic start this year, as there’s some building work going on at the school, but the mayor of Garstang (assume that’s who it was – unless there’s some bloke from those parts who enjoys wearing a chain and a funny little sheepskin hat) blew his whistle and we all got away ok. Well, that’s not strictly true, as lots of people turned up to enter on the day and guess what? It filled up! Now I don’t like to say I told you so, but if I could refer you to my report of this race a year ago:
(Ahem)… “entry on the day could be dodgy in future – 485 must be very close to the limit!” Wise words there from the portly Embsay runner.
Anyway, at least some of those who didn’t get in decided to run numberless, so presumably messed up the results as the rather fierce lady taking numbers booted them out of the finish funnel, but of course they’d already got a time. Anyway, Harriers, you know what Sir Fred Pontin used to say – “Book early!!”.
So – how did we do? I got away eventually, and ran 39:49, and came in 73rd out of 453 finishers. Well, actually I was 72nd, but a little old bloke overtook two of us in the finish funnel (must’ve been a day for idiots). Bob had a good run, and finished in 112th place in 42:23, which I think is not far outside his PB on not the world’s fastest course.

Harrogate Ringway Relay, Sun 8 Jan

Bernie Connor fielded 3 teams in this friendly relay hosted by Nidd Valley Road Runners.
The Cheetahs were 4th: Catherine Gibbons, Jeff Paget, Jason Hemsley, Stefan Macina, and Keith Wood.
Our next team were 24th: Mary Gibbons, Paul Wood, Pete Shields, Bernie Gibbons, and Bernie Connor.
And we also had 30th team: Jane Coupe, Richard Gray, Vince Gibbons, Andy Greaves, and Amanda Parnaby.

Ovenden fell race, Sat 7 Jan

Graham Pearce reports ... Lloyd Taggart won in 52.20. Helen Sedgwick second lady and 45th overall in 65:31, Ashley Hardwell 91st in 73:24, Kay Pearce 159th in 81:59, 197 ran

ROM December 2005

The Ilkley Harriers Runner of the Month for December is Sarah Jarvis - more.

2005 Running League - Shock Result

Just to show that it ain't over until the fat lady sings, Mark Iley has snatched overall victory in the 2005 League from Jamie Hutchinson at the last of the 18 races, on New Year's Eve! Well done to him, and commiserations to Jamie who seemed unbeatable for most of the year - he's my nomination for Runner of the Year (get your voting slips in, folks).
Jamie did win the XC/Trail category, though. Jason Hemsley took the fell title, and Alison Bennett is King (Queen) of the Roads. Come and give them all a big cheer at the Annual Do. Full results on the League Page.

2006 Running League

Neil Chapman has produced a schedule of races for 2006, also on the League Page. It kicks off straight away with the Sport Direct XC race at Golden Acre Park on Sun 15 Jan (details on Abbey Runners' site), and the Stanbury Splash fell race on 22 Jan.

Resolution Run, Sun 1 Jan

From Graham Pearce ... Yes, I crashed and burned in the Auld Lang Syne, just shows what Christmas beer and lack of exercise do! Tried to redeem myself on New Year’s Day with the Silsden Resolution Run. I was 3rd in 17:42, Kay was 3rd lady in 22 minutes, and Mike Baldwin was also there, probably about 10th or so.

News Apr-Jun 2006 | News 2005 NB:you may need to refresh this page, depending on your web browser settings, to get the latest news updates.