From Dan McKeown…
As our hardy, footsore tailwalkers cross the finishing line, clutching five miles’ worth of garden canes and tape, the Ilkley Moor Fell Race is duly concluded and the latest round of the Harriers Race League is in the books!
Let’s take a moment to assess the damage before we sling our road shoes in the back of the car for the long drive to Dentdale.
Hoovering to victory in a shade under 38 minutes, Tom Adams secured maximum points on his race league bow. Actually, with his age grading for being a hoary old 35+, he gets more than maximum points. Plus, by dint of running the fastest time on the day, he makes everyone else’s score slightly worse.
So, while he may be a lovely guy with a very infectious smile, and an absolute joy to see at any other time of the year, as far as the Harriers Race League is concerned, Tom can DO ONE. At least he isn’t picking up a V40 bonus yet, although I’m looking at the autumn slate of races with a sinking feeling.
Apart from Tom, fellow debutant Ben Rothery was also alarmingly quick (third overall in 38:08) but at least he didn’t make a mockery of our time-honoured handicapping system. Meanwhile, Jack Cummings (8th, 40:10) established a decent lead in the Fell Race category of the league, collecting another 91 points to go with the maximum score he banked at the Stanbury Splash, and Michael Odell (15th, 42:35) rounded out the victorious Harriers men’s team.
Further back, there were juicy age-weighted scores for Tim Ashelford (87.91), Malcolm (87.08), Nick K (86.82), Bob Hamilton (85.94) and Alison Weston (85.42).
Incumbent league leader Nick looked set fair to retain top spot but NOT SO FAST (record scratch sound effect) – a happy (?) innovation of this year’s race league is that volunteers at Harriers-organised events are eligible for compensation points, based on league performance to date.
So by the simple expedient of NOT running the fell race, Jeff and Rachel have pulled ahead of Nick in the standings. Nick, should he have the energy, will doubtless be kicking himself that it never occurred to him simply to pull on a hi-viz and point some runners up the nearest hill.
- Race league results to date (get in touch if you feel you’ve been unfairly excluded – or included – in any of the scoring)
- Current league standings
For the full rules and list of fixtures, and to wade through the legal minutiae of how you might be able to win the league without actually doing the races, per se, check out the race league page.
Our next fixture is the Dentdale 14 road race on Saturday which does still have places available (you can sign up via RaceBest). It’s a lovely figure-of-eight course that *does* have one or two teeny-tiny hills, but I’m sure we wouldn’t want it any other way. Hills do, after all, mean views. Incidentally, Saturday’s forecast is cloudy with rain.