[Photo above shows the Harriers’ Oli Murphy who was third at the Burnsall Fell Race, credit: Woodentops]

From Nigel Illingworth & Nicola Budding…   

World stage call-ups and fell success: Harriers shine across the globe and on home trails

Ilkley Harriers are celebrating international call-ups this week after club standouts Ed Hobbs and Ellen Crombie were selected to represent England at the prestigious Nasego World Cup mountain races in Italy next month. Ed secured his senior debut following an impressive fourth-place finish in the uphill trial, adding to a stellar year that includes victory at the Ilkley Half Marathon. Meanwhile, Ellen earned her call-up after a string of brilliant performances on the World Cup circuit in Austria and France, capping off a remarkable season for the local duo. Together, they will face a punishing two-day test of steep climbs and world-class competition across the weekend’s doubleheader.

Sunday’s Fleetwood Half Marathon drew 267 runners to its flat, out-and-back course along the Outer Promenade and Esplanade, offering sweeping views over Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea. Sally Armitage led the women home brilliantly, taking first female in 1:26:03, with Sarah Marsden following closely to secure seventh female (1:43:51).

Over on the fells on Saturday, provisional results from the Burnsall Classic Fell Race – a short, intensely steep 1.5-mile dash to the summit of Burnsall Fell and back – saw Oli Murphy take third place in 16:21, while Katie Poulter put in a strong shift to finish as fourth female and second FV40 in 22:20.

Saturday also brought the senior and junior fell races at the Gargrave Show, where 60 runners completed the senior course – a popular multi-terrain course tackling a steep climb up the shoulder of Sharp Haw before returning. Samesh Chotai crossed fourth overall in 25:10, and Rachel Carter finished as second female in 32:26, rounding out a great day that also featured Thomas Bailey taking third in the under-12 junior race.

Sticking with the trails on Sunday, Robin Tuddenham delivered a fine run at the Meanwood Valley Trail Race, placing third MV55 in 58:25 out of a field of 205 finishers.

Midweek, the usual Wednesday evening club track session was replaced by the annual Murder Mile showdown alongside Baildon Runners and Saltaire Striders. While official results are yet to be published, word is that the Harriers successfully retained the coveted Murder Mile Bell.

More junior success followed on Sunday morning, where Millie Houlbrook put in a storming run at the Riverside Gardens junior parkrun, finishing second overall in 8:07 – just one second behind the first finisher.

Results are in from last week’s Rusland Show Fell Race, starting in Whitestock Meadow in the Rusland Valley. Alexander Wolfenden ran strongly to finish fifth in 32:12, followed by George Whittlestone in 40:36 – capping off a fantastic outing for both.

Harriers were out in force across the parkrun map this week, kicking off locally at Chevin Forest, where junior James Lee claimed first finisher honours in 19:23, alongside Fiona Schneider, who secured a personal best (29:50). Over at Centre Vale, Samesh Chotai crossed the line strongly in second place (16:45), while at Watergrove, Stephen and Gaenor Coy secured second overall (21:30) and sixth female (31:23) respectively.

It was a particularly successful family outing to the beach at Portrush for the Moore family: Gawain finished second (18:12), Michael notched a PB (20:13), and Isobel took first JW10 with a PB (22:47), closely followed by Emma.

Junior Lerryn O’Neill continued her excellent form at Skipton, finishing as sixth female and first JW10 in 23:42.

Meanwhile, at Demesnes, Sam Angus placed seventh (21:07) and Maddie Morris was eighth female (26:09), and Hattie O’Looney claimed eighth female at Edgbaston Reservoir (24:41).

Closer to home at East Holmes Field, Caroline Howe finished as eighth female (26:12) and Nicola Budding tenth female (26:21). Geoffrey Howard turned in a standout performance with a huge 84.8% age grade (26:07), while Robert Budding (23:04) and John Bailey (23:05) both recorded personal bests, alongside junior Wilbur Smith, who ran his very first parkrun in 26:01.

Over at Lister Park, Nura Allen was tenth female and first JW11-14 (26:43), followed by Mariam Allen as 12th female and second JW11-14 (26:54), with Maxwell Hebbron also clocking a PB (25:31).

At Dudley, Daisy Lowe finished as first JW11-14 with a PB (28:12), while junior Ethan Pickwoad ran 22:25 at Roberts Park, and junior Megan Snow finished in 28:45 at Harrogate.

Finally, Harriers went truly global this week: David Singleton and juniors Lily Singleton (29:38) and Pippa Singleton (30:05) took on South Bank in Australia, Heidi Hoad ran at Green Point in South Africa, and Rhys Jones made the trip to Kraków, Poland.

Looking ahead, the club is preparing to host the 24th staging of the Ilkley Incline on Wednesday 2 September. This tough 1-mile (1.6 km) uphill-only race features approximately 170 metres (558 feet) of climbing, rewarding runners with stunning views across the Wharfe Valley. The race begins at 7pm at the bottom of Keighley Gate Road, with junior sprint relays taking place beforehand at 6pm. The event is generously sponsored by Yorkshire Runner and Bini Brew Company, and spectators are very welcome to attend. For more information, visit RaceBest.

Ilkley Harriers is a friendly welcoming club, open to all. If you would like to try us out, please register first on the training page at www.ilkleyharriers.org.uk and then come along to our main club night at 6.45pm on Tuesdays, meet upstairs at Ilkley tennis and squash club.