From Dan McKeown…
Our first three races of the year are in the books, so it’s high time for a race league update!
The race league, for those who aren’t in the know, is a smorgasbord of races over the three key (and entirely ill defined) disciplines of fell, trail and road running. Nowt for cross country, nada for track and multi-sport is ENTIRELY OUT OF THE QUESTION.
Points are awarded in each event according to its overall winning time. To protect the sanctity of athletic competition and prevent over-reliance on ‘being fast’, older (or much younger) runners are granted an age group handicap. The complete rules and list of races for 2022 are available here
On with the action: our early league leader for 2022 was Jack Cummings, who tore out of the blocks to claim overall victory at the Stanbury Splash, our first championship race of the year.
Maximum points for Jack in the season opener, but he made the tactical error of not being old enough to claim an age handicap bonus (really showing his inexperience there). Quick to seize upon this were Kate Archer and Dave Robson, both of whom claimed more than 100 points at the blustery Rombald’s Stride, making a complete mockery of the handicapping system and causing your humble correspondent to wonder why, in all honesty, he even bothers.
Hopefully, this pair of cynics will find the rest of the racing calendar a little more competitive; the Stride is, after all, a walking event.
The same could not be said of the Dewsbury 10k, where Nathan Edmondson set out his case for a bottle of Blossom Hill at next year’s Harriers shindig, coming third in a tooth-drying 31:31. You could have thrown a blanket over our next five finishers, as they all arrived hard on one another’s heels. What’s more, they would probably have thanked you, because it was cold and windy.
Satisfyingly enough, that gives us one race in each of our three categories. Jack C leads the way in fell racing, with Jeff Green and Nick Kealey also well up in the points. 2019 champion Kate Archer is top of the pile in trail racing, ahead of Dave Robson and Nick K. Nathan holds the lead in road racing, with superb scores also from Jane McCarthy and Rachel Carter.
Next races
- Ilkley Moor (FR), 6 March
- Dentdale 14 (RR) 12 March
- Baildon Boundary Way (TR) 3 April
- Dick Hudson’s (FR) 5 May
- Jack Bloor (FR) 10 May
- The Wharfedale Trail Half (TR) on 4 June is already almost two-thirds full – don’t delay!
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