From Matthew Kennedy…
The Hardwolds 80 is one of the events organised by prolific North East race organiser Hardmoors, following the Yorkshire Wolds Way for 80 miles from Hessle (on the outskirts of Hull) to Filey, in a long clockwise arc away from the coast. 7,870 feet of climbing is not particularly steep for a race of this length, but the November start date throws up the possibility for some interesting conditions, and this year was no exception.
As we set off west along the Foreshore of the River Humber into a stiff, cold headwind and some light but driving rain, I was rueing my decision to enter an ultra this late in the year, but no sooner did we turn north than the rain stopped and the wind died away. The weather overhead remained good for the rest of the race, but the going underfoot was still tricky after the midweek cold snap. Country lanes were occasionally icy, and anything off-road was covered in a few inches of mud, slush or snow. Fortunately the chalky ground just below was always firm, so the course remained quite runnable despite being slippy.
While there was plenty of traffic to the first drop bag at Millington (33 miles), I ran almost the whole of the second section alone through some beautiful countryside, before turning back east and catching other runners immediately before, during and after the second drop bag stop at Ganton (67 miles). All that remained was to navigate the final snowy fields to reach the coast, before running a muddy out & back to the headland at Filey Brigg and finishing in the town.
With the leaderboard dominated by regulars – men’s & women’s winners Oliver Shaw & Esmee Price-Coates also won the 2024 Hardmoors 60, 2nd man Stephen Kirk won the 2025 Hardmoors 60 and 3rd man Lewis Wardale won the 2025 Hardmoors 110 – I felt pretty happy to come in 7th and 1st MV50 on my Hardmoors debut. Although 2025 was apparently the last edition of this race, it was very well-organised with a friendly atmosphere, so I’ll likely follow in the footsteps of other Harriers (e.g., Kate & Petra) and try some different distances in the future.
Results
(1 Oliver Shaw 12h36)
(5 Esmee Price-Coates 13h53, 1st F)
7 Matthew Kennedy 14h33, 1st MV50
84 starters, 65 finishers