[Sam Bentham in action at the Jack Bloor Fell Race, photo credit: Woodentops]
From Peter Shelley & Nicola Budding…
Two wins in a week for Sam Bentham as Harriers take to the hills
The Ultra Trail Eryri/Snowdonia took place over a long weekend with a daunting schedule of five mountain races taking place both day and night over distances ranging from 25km to 160km. Part of the UTMB World Series, the event attracts a strong field from the UK and overseas. The events were not made any easier by rain and thunder which led to some late changes in the schedule.
Sam Bentham stamped his authority on the Eryri 25k event which packs in 1,100m of ascent including the summit of Moel Eilio south of Llanberis. The course suited him well and he finished in 1:41:45 ahead of 753 competitors, an immense achievement. Ali Nash was pleased to claim 3rd in the MV55 category in place. Oceane Bergot finished 582nd.
Kate Archer took on the 80km event which started at sea level in Caernarfon before completing a circuit of the Eyri mountains climbing 2,500m overall before finishing in Llanberis. The start time of 7.30pm meant limited opportunity to enjoy the scenery, and most of Kate’s 10:59:48 time was spent running in darkness. Her reward was an excellent 70th of 341 finishers and 7th lady.
Changeable conditions met participants in the Calder Way Relay on Sunday. The route takes in many of the Calder Valley’s scenic areas, monuments and famously steep-sided valleys on its 79km circuit with 2,619m of elevation. Ilkley’s team came prepared for rain, wind chill and/or sunburn with Iain Young and Andrew Marshall setting a lively pace on leg one from Halifax, handing over to Nuno Cesar de Sa and Steve Murray in Cragg Vale. Andrew Merrick and Sarah Worley took over for the climb from Todmorden to Blackshaw Head. Team captain Nick Helliwell and Helen Ward ran leg four to Wainstalls. Lucy Kay and Becky Shaw ran leg five to Shelf before handing over to Finn Marshall and Andrew Marshall (on his second shift) who put in a strong final leg to Halifax. The team finished 26th in the open category and 42nd overall of 88 teams in a total time of eight hours 56 minutes.
The Jack Bloor Fell Race took place in its traditional springtime Tuesday evening slot and was very well attended by both seniors and juniors who put their local knowledge to work on the familiar but testing terrain of Ilkley Moor. Further motivation came from the race’s inclusion in this year’s Harriers league. Bright dry conditions helped with the challenge of the 8.4km route which scales 350m and includes some technical descents. A steep initial climb to the Badger Stone is followed by an exhilarating descent to the Millenium Way followed by another climb onto the tops for an anti-clockwise circuit of Rombalds Moor before the final plunge from Ilkley Crags via a network of paths to the finish. The point-to-point race route allows for some runner discretion in exactly which line to take with potential rewards for local knowledge.
Previous Jack Bloor success left Sam Bentham in no doubt which lines to take as he cut 47s off his 2025 winning time to finish in 37: 46. Sam’s time beat Greg Hull’s course record set in 2007 and gave a strong indication of intent as he headed to UTS Snowdonia.
Oli Murphy secured third place in 40:15. Harry Brook-Dobson was 9th, Oscar Stapleton 12th, George Whittlestone 18th and James Horrex 20th . There were strong finishes outright and specifically in the M50+ category for Nick Kealey, Matthew Kennedy and John Hayes. A total of 34 club placings among the 144 finishers helped Ilkley Harriers beat Leeds City Athletic Club to the team prize.
Proceeds from the race go to the Jack Bloor Fund which supports young people’s participation and development in adventure sports.
The Jack Bloor junior races ranged in distance from 0.75km for the U10/U12 races to 2.2km for the U18s. Winners respectively were Archie Hallworth (BU10), Leo Freer (BU12), Isobel Moore (GU12), Michael Moore (BU14) and Joseph Bentham (BU18).
The Grassington Trail Race took place on Sunday on 5km of trails through the drystone-walled fields surrounding the Dales village. At 205m, the ascent and was not excessive and, other than the odd stile to climb, the route was highly runnable. Being the second Harriers league race of the week ensured the race had strong Harrier attendance. Club chair Nick Kealey took a fine win in 35:17 with Owen Parker third, John Hayes fifth, Luke Watkeys seventh, Ash Winter 11th and Colm McCann 16th. 14 Harriers were among the 119 finishers overall.
BOFRA’s Sedbergh race on Saturday followed the classic formula of a short but hard route heading steeply up and down a single peak (Winder 352m just north of the town in the Howgills). Gawain Moore made light work of the 3.75km route taking 5th place in 24:30 whilst George Whittlestone demonstrated his growing fell prowess with an U23 win in 25:55. Well done both!
There were impressive performances from the juniors too with Isobel Moore 2nd GU12, Thomas Bailey 12th BU12 and Michael Moore 1st BU14.
Sunday saw further fell action in the Esk Valley Fell Races at Chop Gate – a tough course of steep fields and open moorland. Olly Brooks finished 21st in the BU14 race over 4K with 230m climb. Oscar Shinn produced a superb run to finish 4th in the U20 race, with George Whittlestone following in 9th tackling 8km and 275m of climbing.
Jaysson Sawyer ran an excellent 1:21:55 at the Chester half marathon finishing in 76th place 9th MV45 despite enduring pain from the second mile.
Paul O Looney and Nic Anness finished 57th and 373rd respectively at the Cookridge Community Run, a 10k trail race in the green spaces of the North Leeds suburbs.
Dan McKeown ran 18:47 at the East Holmes Field parkrun. John Bailey, Phil Chappell, Martin Campbell and Craig Berry all ran personal bests.
Nick Kealey’s 18:18 at Roberts Park primed him well for Grassington. Finn Maxwell also made it a racing weekend with an 18:31 personal best in advance of the Calderdale Way Relay. Juniors Nura and Mariam Allen ran 24:26 and 24:49 respectively.
Daisy Lowe travelled to Fountains Abbey and claimed 1st place in her JW11-14 age category with a time of 27:01.
At Riverside Gardens Junior Parkrun, Leo Freer stormed home in 1st place in 7:48, followed by Harris Poulter in 3rd place with a PB of 8:42. Poppy Freer completed the trio, finishing in 12:25.
Ilkley Harriers is a friendly welcoming club, open to all. If you would like to try us out, please register first on the training page at www.ilkleyharriers.org.uk and then come along to our main club night at 6.45pm on Tuesdays, meet upstairs at Ilkley tennis and squash club.