[Photo: Rumana Chowdhury after a great experience at the the London Marathon]

From Jean Sullivan…

Harriers shine at the London Marathon!

Nine Ilkley Harriers travelled to London to take part in this year’s London marathon, with very impressive results all round. Cameron Reilly was the first Harrier over the line, completing the 26.2-mile race in a superb 2:46. He was followed by Chris Welford who managed another sub-3-hour finish, with Chris finishing in 2:57:02. Hot on their heels was Jane McCarthy, the first female Harrier over the line, with Jane completing the course in 3:12:36. Derek Oliver managed another sub 3:30 finish, running the course in 3:26:32, particularly impressive being in the MV60 category.

Hilda Coulsey continued to impress, completing the marathon course in 4:23:31, finishing in an incredible seventh in her age category in this world-class field. Hilda also set a new club LV70 record for the Ilkley Harriers, beating her own previous record for a marathon time by over six minutes.

Harrier Colin Williams managed a sub-4-hour finish, Colin completing the course in 3:56:22. Jill Ezard also impressed, achieving a PB for a marathon, over 16 minutes faster than her previous time, with Jill crossing the line in 4:11:10. Rumana Chowdhury and Linda Wilson also had fantastic runs at this iconic event.

Half the distance, but still a challenge, this weekend also saw the staging of the Burnsall Trail half marathon, a trail race, organised by Due North Events. This race starts and finishes in the beautiful riverside location of Burnsall, and takes in several sections of the Dales Way footpath, with around 500m of ascent, rewarded with beautiful views of the Yorkshire Dales.

Tom Razazan was the first Harrier over the line in an impressive 1:52:18, finishing in a great 19th place overall. He was followed by Matthew Snow in 2:07:56, with Catherine Crawley the third Harrier over the line in 2:08:40. 

Also off road, this week saw the staging of the third race in the Bunny Run series. These three-mile races with 300ft of ascent are organised by Wharfedale Harriers, with the added incentive of a crème egg for all finishers. These races involve a small ‘Egg Stage’ loop, followed by a second longer loop on Penistone Hill. 

Archie Budding continued his fine form and came in second place at this race, Archie running the course in a speedy 16:07. Not only did he have another high placing this week, Archie was the overall winner of this year’s Bunny Run series.

Alex Wolfenden was the second Harrier home at this race in 17:32, followed by clubmate Oscar Shinn in 17:36. Rachel Carter was the first Ilkley lady home in 20:26.

Also on the fells, the Newlands Memorial fell race was on this weekend in Cumbria. This race, previously known as the Anniversary Waltz, involves 1100m of ascent over a distance of 18.5km and takes place near Keswick. There are five checkpoints including one at Dale Head and Catbells. Harriers Jenny Roberts and Alison Weston took part in this race, with Jenny completed this challenging course in 2:18:58, and Alison in 2:30:46.

The weekly timed 5km parkrun series remained as popular as ever with the Ilkley Harriers this week with 25 Harriers taking part in various parkruns around the country. Tom Adams was the first to finish at the Blackpool parkrun, in a speedy time of 15:53. A first place finish also for Edward Hobbs at the Chevin Forest parkrun, with Ed completing this hilly course in an impressive 17:44. 

Ilkley ladies also impressed at this week’s parkruns, with Fay Walsh the first lady to finish at the Middleton Woods parkrun, Beth Massey who was the second lady over the line at the Bradford parkrun and Ruth Kitchen also the second lady to finish at the Roberts Park parkrun. 

Other great results included; Dave Foyston who was the second finisher at Roberts Park, Mike Abrams-Cohen and Junior Harrier Jake Norris, who were the second finishers at the Wetherby and Roberts Park parkruns respectively and Forrest Hamilton who was the fourth to finish at Bramley.

Great running also from Jacqui Forster who was the fourth lady to finish at the Morecambe Prom parkrun and Sarah Haines who was the fourth lady to finish at the Bowling Park parkrun.