[photo credit: Philip Bland]
From Justin Pierce…
On Sunday, 7th November 2021 a number of Ilkley Harriers met at the picturesque village of Ripley, North Yorkshire to run the Guy Fawkes 10-mile race. A road race involving a mixture of scenic roads and well-surfaced bridleway, with a finish in the grounds of Ripley Castle.
I’d never entered this race before and when it was first suggested by other Harriers, I’d romanticised of gentle flat roads but a recce shortly after sign-up revealed it was a challenging and hilly road race. With the organisers adopting a ‘no refund’ policy I resigned myself to running it and prepared as best I could.
On the day, we gathered wearing our club colours of red and green with the other entrants outside the gates of Ripley Castle, wished one another good luck, and at 10.30am we set off down the bridleway of Hollybank Lane. There was a strong headwind at times which made it even more challenging, particularly dealing with the three notorious hills, aptly named: ‘Birstwith Brute’, ‘Swincliffe Swine’ and ‘For Fawkes Sake’. With Mike AC leading our attack of the course, it was evident to marshalls and spectators alike that Ilkley Harriers were well represented and up for the battle. Every single Harrier managed to put in a sterling performance and crossed the finish line in the grounds of Ripley Castle to be rewarded with a long sleeve technical shirt and a goody bag of various chocolate bars and Yorkshire tea bags. Additional congratulations go to the ladies who managed to secure a fantastic second place in their team event.
The race was well organised and the marshalls and the spectators on the course were amazing, and most definitely helped us during our moments of self-doubt and questioning of particular life choices.
For those of you that have never entered this race it’s certainly a challenging route that will undoubtedly test you but for me that’s one of the main reasons why I race, and therefore why I hope to return next year and do battle again. I hope to see you there.
From David Foyston…
Nidd Valley Road Runners hosted the annual Guy Fawkes 10-mile road race which started and finished at the beautiful Ripley Castle. The route takes the runners on an undulating course with approximately 800 feet of elevation, passing through the beautiful villages of Clint, Birstwith and Hampsthwaite – the weather was cool and sunny with a strong breeze.
The Harriers did very well in the race with some great results for the club, first home was Mike Abrams-Cohen in a time of 1:04.42 shortly followed in by David Foyston in a fantastic time of 1:05.20 and finishing 4th in the MV45 category.
First lady home for the Harriers was Sally Armitage in a fantastic time of 1:08.04 who just pipped Rachel Carter to the finish line. Rachel finished in 1:08.12 and won the FV45 age group. Sally, Rachel and Rebecca Shaw grabbed second place in the team event for the ladies, well done.
Another Harrier of mention was Hilda Coulsey finishing 2nd in the FV65 category in a superb 1:31.34.
(1 Cal Mills, unattached, 55:26)
27 Michael Abrams-Cohen 1:04:42
30 David Foyston 1:05:20
31 Andrew Overend 1:05:32
45 Justin Pierce 1:07:22
49 Sally Armitage 1:08:04 (2nd FV40)
51 Rachel Carter 1:08:12 (1st FV45)
52 Jonathan Turner 1:08:32
80 Iain Young 1:12:20
132 Colin Williams 1:16:21
160 Mike Williams 1:18:14
166 Rebecca Shaw 1:18:39
179 Keith Wood 1:19:20
187 Sally Malir 1:19:42
207 Emma Sheppard 1:21:09
314 Jean Sullivan 1:27:20
395 Adela Reperecki 1:31:04
403 Hilda Coulsey 1:31:34 (2nd FV65)
450 Anna Nicholson-Little 1:34:32
639 Jacqui Weston 1:46:42
741 finished