From Geoff Howard..
Hamstring injury, Covid and a washed away road have all conspired this year to thwart either a big race or a big walk plan. As the X84 crawled, increasingly behind schedule, from Headingley down to the Inner Ring Road on Sunday morning, I was beginning to think “Whoops here we go again”. An early departure from said bus, followed by a walk including a fortuitously found quiet loo stop and I was in my 50 minute start pen with just five minutes to spare, despite an agonisingly long wait at the baggage drop. Perfect conditions and uncongested early running helped to find some sort of rhythm. The upshot, unusual for me, was consistent timing for each of the six miles and a race time that I was more over the solar system with, rather than over the moon, (47m 13s when I’d hoped for sub 49m at best). Great running from nine other Harriers with the Raceahead company’s over-head on-the-line graphics showing James crossing with four others, myself and Andrew each with three others, Nathan and Ed both in one-to-one battles. p.s. if anyone finds a red Ilkley Harriers hat on the front upstairs seat of an X84, it’s mine – left when alighting in haste (panic).
1st overall – James McMurray – St Albans 29m 00s
1st Lady – Georgie Grec – Herne Hill 31m 37s
18 Nathan Edmondson – 29m 59s
44 Jack Cummings – 30m 56s
48 Edward Hobbs – 30m 58s
253 Alex Foyn – 36m 01s
989 Richard Robinson – 44m 28s
1183 Andrew Smith – 44m 46s
1214 Geoffrey Howard – 47m 13s
2048 Hannah Osieku – 51m 52s
2474 James Holdsworth – 55m 18s
5181 Ni Anness – 75m 04s
5615 finished
[Editor’s note: Geoff, with typical modesty, didn’t mention that his time would appear to be the fastest by a MV80 in Britain this year]