From Peter Shelley and Nicola Budding…
Action on the fells, trails and in triathlon
The Harrogate and District Summer Race League concluded on Wednesday evening with a handicap race organised by Wetherby Runners staged on the quiet lanes around Sicklinghall. Runners were set off at 30 second intervals based on their finishing positions in previous races in the series, in theory challenging early starters to maintain their advantage and faster late starters to gain as many places as possible.
Ilkley’s leading contender Matthew Thackwray battled his substantial handicap to overtake most of the 312-strong field to claim 11th place and retain his title as overall series winner. Matthew’s efforts combined with those of Ilkley Harriers’ other top finishers earned them the Elite team prize.
On Saturday two Harriers ventured to Eryri for the Snowdon Mountain race. As the name suggest, this race scales the heights of Wales’ tallest peak on a 15km out-and-back route from Llanberis. The field of 406 runners included a highly competitive international contingent. Nathan Edmondson confirmed his credentials with a 1:18:22 run to 20th place while Alison Weston took the FV60 category by 15 seconds finishing in 232nd place. The race was won by Italian Luca Magri in 1:06:11.
Ingleborough Mountain Race follows an 11km out-and-back route from Ingleton with the 723m summit of Ingleborough as its turning point. Ilkley Harriers’ sole representative at this year’s event Kate Archer added to her recent strong performances by finishing 32nd of 146 runners, 4th lady and 1st FV40.
The 8th race in the BOFRA Fell Championships took place in Cracoe on Saturday. With a trailer and wall to negotiate on the out and back route, this race has a deceptively gentle start followed by a steep ascent to the summit. After last week’s Half Marathon, Oscar Shinn was back on the fells and had a good run to finish the U17B race in 2nd place with time of 25:59; Robert Brooks finished 7th in the U14B race; and in the U13 race Michael Moore finished 2nd with a time of 08:39 followed by Isobel Moore who was 7th U14G in 10:03. Iain Gibbons finished 13th of 56 runners in the seniors event which covered 4km and 273m of ascent.
The Kentmere Horseshoe fell race took place on Sunday. Classified as a medium distance race with high difficulty by the FRA (Fell Runners Association) the route covers 20k and 1,000m of ascent. Starting from the remote and beautiful Cumbrian village of Kentmere, the race heads north climbing steeply on grassy ridges following a clockwise circuit of Ill Bell, High Street and Kentmere Pike before a rapid descent back to the village. Ben’s Sheppard’s legs were in good working order propelling him to 27th. Paul Carman finished 59th and Charles Wain 115th. 202 ran.
Skipton parkrun saw Samesh Chotai finish in 2nd place with a time of 17:56 while Dom Coy ran an extremely rapid 15:28 at Cosmeston Hall in Glamorgan. Alex Foyn ran 19:58 at Chevin Forest Parkrun while junior Michael Moore finished in 23:25. Juniors Harry Leijssen and Max Hebbron ran Roberts Park in 21:26 and 27:05 respectively.
Congratulations are due to Dom’s sister Helena Coy who competed for Team GB in the European Sprint Triathlon Championships in Spain this weekend. She was 9th in the Junior Women’s individual event and, together with her fellow triathletes in the Junior Mixed Relay Team, won the Bronze Medal.