From Petra Bijsterveld…
The Harrogate Hustle, organised by Punk Panther, is a 35 mile / 2400 feet clockwise circuit of Harrogate and Knaresborough, starting and finishing in Bilton this year. A fairly straightforward combination of the Harrogate Ringway and the Knaresborough Round, two existing routes on paths through woods, farmer’s fields, along the river Nidd, and along some tracks as well as a few bits of road. 20 mile and 13 mile options were also available. I was delighted for the Punk Panther team that this race had sold out again, with 200 runners across the three distances.
Last year it had been sunny, mild, and more importantly, dry underfoot, allowing for fast times on this very runnable route with relatively little elevation for the distance. The 2024 edition treated us to very different ground conditions. To say it was a mud fest would be an understatement, all fields were complete swamps, in addition substantial segments of the course were under water, often knee deep. The woods between Flaxby and Goldsborough after the A59 and railway crossings were a particular lowlight in that respect. They would have been suitable for the bog snorkelling championships.
I didn’t let it spoil the run and still managed to enjoy a nice day out. A foggy start made way to some hazy sunshine and it was dry overhead which was a big bonus. I largely ran on my own, steady away, and was pleased to overtake around 8 people in the last 10 miles. I managed to catch up with a woman runner about 2 miles from the finish, she had been in my sights since leaving the last check point, but as I knew my age category win would be in the bag anyway as long as I finished (I was the only F60 in the race) I abandoned my competitiveness and we kept each other going through the final stretch, going over the finish line together.
I enjoyed the Punk Panther post-race food which as always was delicious, and caught up with various friends there.
Ali Nash (second claim Ilkley) finished in a brilliant 6th and 2nd MV50 position on the same distance in 5:55, just missing the M50 1st prize by 39 seconds.
(1 5:11:12 Ellis Morten)
45 7:54:00 Petra Bijsterveld 1st FV60
74 finished