From Dan McKeown…

Williamson sets fastest leg time, but Gott the bee’s knees for helping injured runner

(McKeown also in attendance)

There was only one official team of Ilkley Harriers at the Danefield Relay (Otley Chevin): “Something is rotten in the state of Danefield”, comprising Steve ‘got the lot’ Gott, Ritchie ‘fast twitchy’ Williamson and me (Dan M). Alison ‘Spaghetti’ (OK, I’ll stop with the nicknames) Weston was running with some friends and there were a few other defectors running for other clubs (you know who you are and SO DO I).

The 4.5k Danefield Relay loop is almost the opposite of a fell race, in that you’re getting sent down into the valley to struggle back up to the finish. It initially follows the same route as the Chevin Forest parkrun, before sending runners plunging downhill to the gate onto the Leeds Road, where they turn and haul themselves back up to the changeover point, in the field by the car park.

Steve arrived just before the start, having got a literal bee in his bonnet on the bike ride over. Despite the conspicuous and undoubtedly painful sting on his bonce, he gave his all in the first leg, tagging Ritchie in at 20 mins 52, towards the fore of the field. I was stationed at the first turn, 500m down the track, so was treated to the sight of Ritchie charging down the path in much the manner of someone who thinks anything less than 50 miles is a sprint.

Having shouted at him to Bloody Slow Down, I noticed a runner from leg one hobbling to the turn from the wrong direction, having apparently rolled her ankle. Being a chivalrous sort, I gave her some water, foraged a decent-sized stick for support (which she looked somewhat askance at) and offered to help her back to the start field, although I was aware this might make me late for the leg three changeover. Fortunately for all concerned, Steve came trotting up the track at that point, assessed the situation, threw my stick in the bush and gave the injured lady a piggyback, freeing me up to get to the changeover. (We later learned the injury was a fractured ankle.)

I wasn’t kept waiting at changeover long, as Ritchie had made short work of the course, clocking 19:42 for his leg and improving our standing by several places. I, for my part, managed to pick up one place from P & B after chasing their runner all the way down to the bottom of the course, only to have it taken off me by some sprightly whippet from Baildon in the last few hundred metres.

There are no official results up yet: I have our total time at 62 minutes, 30-odd seconds, which in previous years has been good enough for the vets team podium, but not usually good enough for the category win. For a warmdown, Ritchie and I had a jog back down to the Sainsbury car park, which was mildly enlivened by schadenfreude at all the folk who’d parked closer to race HQ and been ticketed for their pains, and Steve zipping past us at some improbable speed on the downhill, clinging to his bike like a limpet.

Leg times

Steve 20:52

Ritchie 19:42

Dan 21:59