From Caroline Howe…
Harriers tackle British Fell Relay Championships and Yorkshire Marathon
Ilkley Harriers fielded an impressive four teams at the British Fell and Hill Relay Championships in Todmorden on Saturday, with more than 200 teams from across the country competing in one of the sport’s premier relay events.
The championships featured four demanding legs across the South Pennine moors, including a testing navigation section and a lung-busting climb to Tod Moor before a rapid descent back to Centre Vale Park.
Harriers made a flying start, with Ben Rothery and Ellen Crombie both leading their respective teams after the opening leg. Ben’s strong run gave the men’s team a 25-second advantage over Calder Valley, while Ellen produced one of the standout performances of the day, finishing in the top 30 overall and putting the women’s team 35 seconds clear at the front of their race.
In the men’s open event, strong performances from Oli Murphy and Sam Bentham on leg two kept Ilkley in contention. Jonny McKenna and Forrest Hamilton tackled the demanding navigation leg, and Samesh Chotai brought the team home in 17th place overall.
The open women’s team also enjoyed a successful day. Holly Digne-Malcolm and Sacha Jones, followed by Nea Weston and Ann Marsham, helped keep the team firmly in the mix after Ellen’s opening leg, with Sara McLean anchoring the quartet home to 18th place out of 51 teams.
Ilkley’s experienced women’s vets team – bronze medallists last year – had a great day, finishing fifth in the over-40 category. Rachel Carter, Jane McCarthy, Kate Archer, Alison Weston, Jann Smith and Katie Poulter were consistently among the leading teams throughout the day.
The veteran men’s team also performed strongly, with Dan McKeown, Michael Odell, Gawain Moore, Martin Hartley, Iain Gibbons and Dave Robson finishing 12th out of 35 teams. The leg-two pairing of Odell and Moore produced one of the club’s strongest performances of the day.
It was a great day’s racing, with lots of camaraderie among the county’s fell running elite. Well done to all involved.
Meanwhile on the road, eight Harriers took on the Yorkshire Marathon. Starting and finishing at the University of York, the largely flat route winds through the city’s historic streets before heading out into the surrounding North Yorkshire countryside, with long stretches through villages and open farmland before returning to the city centre for a spectacular finish.
Jon Denniss led the club home in an outstanding 2:44:06, finishing 56th overall and sixth in the MV40 category in what was his marathon debut, achieving his goal of breaking 2:45.
There were two more sub-3 hour finishes, with Edwyn Oliver-Evans producing an excellent run, finishing in 2:53:08, while Harry Brook-Dobson was next home in 2:57:59. Other Ilkley finishers recorded some speedy times and impressive performances, including James Horrex (3:05:32), Finn Maxwell in his first marathon (3:10:12), Tony Pye (3:22:43), Dick Waddington (3:29:13) and Rebecca Brown (3:45:02).
In the Yorkshire 10 Mile event on the same day, a trio of Harriers completed the race: Heidi Hoad in 1:18:26, Martin O’Halloran in 1:32:04 and Claire Murphy in 1:44:05.
Parkrun highlights included Geoff Howard achieving an 89% age grading completing Armley parkrun in 24:52; Helen Thurston finishing first at East Holmes Field in 21:42; Lucia Stoney second at Rothwell in 20:49, and Samesh Chotai warming up for the fell relays by coming first in 18:54 at Pendle. Other Harriers to make the top ten in their chosen parkruns included Maddie Morris (sixth at Burnley), Dom Coy (fourth at Cardiff), John Hayes, Rob Cunningham and Tim Ashelford (fifth, sixth and seventh at East Holmes Field), Steve Murray and Sally Malir (tenth and seventh at Lister Park), and Hattie O’Looney (ninth at Wormwood Scrubs).