From Will Worboys…
Photo credit Woodentops
English Champion Rothery Wins Again
It was another successful weekend of running for Ilkley runners and yet again it was Ben Rothery leading the way. The reigning English fell champion added to his already substantial stack of 1st place prizes, this time at the Edale Skyline on Sunday. The gruelling 21 mile classic race in the Peak District is the first of this year’s Championship races and the Ilkley runner could not have got off to a better start in his bid to defend his title. This first event included over 4,000 feet of climb and is a category A event; certainly not for the faint hearted.
Rothery had a thrilling encounter with Finlay Grant of Dark Peak with the lead interchanging several times between the two runners. The Ilkley Harrier was eventually victorious in a time of 2:36:01, just 22 seconds ahead of his rival. Harrier Oli Murphy was another Ilkley runner having a superb run, finishing in 6th place in a time of 2:41:33. Sam Bentham was the next Harrier home in 2:57:49, finishing in 28th place and taking 3rd place in the U23 category. Two other Harriers managed to complete the endurance event in great style. Katie Poulter finished as 19th F40 and Alison Weston was 11th F55.
On the road slightly further north, the Spen 20 was taking place. Another classic race which is often used as a final race practice event for those taking part in Spring marathons. The route is a tough, hilly two loop affair, starting and finishing on the athletics track at Cleckheaton and heading out over Hartshead Moor. Sally Armitage had a storming run to finish 2nd female and 1st in her category in a time of 2:23:16. Clubmate Phil Joyner wasn’t far behind in a time of 2:26:24 to finish 5th in his category and 30th overall. The other Harrier to take part Derek Oliver, was also successful, finishing as 1st M60 with a time of 2:39:05.
Back off-road, 8am Saturday morning saw Kate Archer set off for the epic ‘Hardmoors 55’. A 55 mile route in the North York Moors that follows the Cleveland Way from Guiseborough to Helmsley. The ultramarathon includes an incredible 7,000 plus feet of climb, including peaks such as Roseberry Topping. Kate had a brilliant run round in 10:08:31 to finish 2nd female and 28th overall of 237 total finishers.
Another endurance event saw another Ilkley lady finish 2nd. Rachel Carter had a fantastic run at the ‘Blubberhouses Moor 24 Challenge’, finishing in a time of 3:55 and 8th overall. Martin Hartley also ran the event, which tours landmarks such as Swinsty Reservoir and Lippersley Pike, finishing 5th in 3:42.
In Saltaire on the canal towpath, Hattie O’Looney was 3rd female to finish the ‘Sir Titus March Mayhem Half Marathon’. The event run by ‘It’s Grim Up North’ offers various distances along the Leeds to Liverpool waterway. Hattie finished in a time of 1:49:34 and was followed by fellow Harrier Rumana Chowdhury in 2:10:39.
Meanwhile in Otley the best named local race took place on Saturday morning. ‘We need to talk about Chevin’, is advertised as “the worst possible scenario when touring the Chevin”. The fell race includes several climbs to the top and back down again and is over 9 miles long with more than 2,000 feet of ascent involved. Ilkley’s Ash Winter finished in a time of 1:27:10 to be 3rd M45, whilst Colm McCann followed on in 1:30:33 and was 4th M50.
Away from the north, Two Ilkley runners made the trip to Gloucestershire to take part in the Forest of Dean Trail Half Marathon. The scenic race which unsurprisingly was predominantly on tree lined trails, had a large field including Helen and Dick Waddington. Helen finished in a time of 1:55:10 and was 11th in her category, while Dick achieved a time of 1:43:38 and was 16th in his age group.
Ilkley’s Learning Disability group started last year by Caroline Tong had a great morning at Roberts Park parkrun. Every member of the group finished the 5K event. Finn, Dewni, Stef, George and Arron along with volunteers lit up the place with their running and cheerleading!
The Junior Harriers also had some great results at parkruns. Ethan Pickwoad paid a visit to the location of the original Parkrun – Bushy Park, which is the busiest parkrun around with a huge field of 1,412 runners this weekend! Ethan ran the course in 22:48 and was 169th male finisher. Closer to home, Heather Crolla was 8th female at Skipton Parkrun finishing in 25:51 and at nearby Cliffe Castle Parkrun, Archie Hallworth ran a PB of 27:42. Finally, it was an Ilkley Harriers 1-2 at Chevin Forest Parkrun for Oscar Shinn and George Whittlestone finishing in 19:01 and 19:54 respectively (and a Chevin Forest PB for Oscar).