From Caroline Howe…
With the weather warming up and spring springing, it was the perfect weekend for racing, as Harriers took on a range of distances and terrain.
Over in Otley, a trio of Harriers tackled the We Need to Talk about Chevin fell race, with a route described as ‘worst possible scenario when touring the Chevin’. With 2130ft of climb over 9 miles, it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted, but that didn’t deter Jane McCarthy, Kelly Wilby and Diane Kitchen. Jane put in a superb performance to finish second female, first F45 and 15th overall in a time of 1:20:58. Kelly was fifth female and second F45 in a great time of 1:32:10, and Diane was a fantastic first in her age category of F65 in 1:56:42. A mightily impressive day out for the trio!
Claiming to be (probably) the most beautiful road race in Britain, the Coniston 14 offers participants a well-organised and very scenic lap of Coniston Water in the Lake District. Alison Weston took on the challenge, finishing in 2:05:59, fourth in her F60 category.
In the Forest of Dean trail half marathon, Rachel Carter was the sole Harrier, finishing in 1:40:29.
The Thirsk 10 mile is a staple in the road racing calendar with a fast, flat course. Two Harriers took on the tarmac, with Harry Brook Dobson first home in an impressive 57:38, and not far behind, Jaysson Sawyer in 1:00:25.
Harry warmed up for the Thirsk 10 with a first place finish at Bowling Park parkrun on Saturday in 19:41. Dan McKeown meanwhile was first finisher on home turf at East Holmes Field in 18:23, Samesh Chotai was first at Sixfields Upton in a speedy 15:49 and Sally Armitage was first female at Robert’s Park in 19:29. Rob Cunningham was second at Fort William in 21:47, Steve Coy was second at Lochend Woods in 19:44, with Gaenor Coy fourth female. Heidi Hoad was second female at Cliffe Castle in 25:43. Other top ten finishes included Finn Maxwell (fifth at Haga) and Kyle Bethell (seventh at EHF).