From Will Worboys
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and Nicola Budding…
Photo credit Will Worboys
Rothery Wins Again as Ilkley Dominate the Fell Race
Ilkley Moor was alive with the sight of runners this weekend with the annual Ilkley Moor Fell Race taking place on Sunday morning. Perfect conditions saw 229 finishers enjoy (or endure) the challenging 5-mile course and take in over 1,300 feet of climbing. A strong contingent of Harriers were present with 42 finishers; one of whom, Ben Rothery won the race in impressive style for the third year running.
Rothery, the current English fell champion showed his class, winning in a time of 36:25; ahead of Sam Bentham in 2nd with 37:48, who had a great battle with Tom Bell of Nidderdale and fellow Harrier Jack Cummings. There were only 8 seconds between the three and it helped Ilkley win the team prize, with 9th placed Alex Wolfenden being the other contributor. The next Ilkley runners to finish were Michael Odell in 17th, then youngsters Oscar Shinn and Samesh Chotai in 19th and 26th place.
The first lady to finish the event, which takes in moor landmarks such as the Cow and Calf, the Pancake Stone and the Badger Stone, was Amelie Lane of Wharfedale who finished in 43:34 and won the race for the second time following her victory in 2023. Ilkley’s first female was Sacha Jones in 55:56 who also came 2nd in the F40 category. Notable performances came from Peter Shelley, Richard Joel and Jim Ryder who were 5th and 6th and 7th in the M50 category. Youngster Matilda Irvine had a great run to finish 2nd in the FU19 and she was followed by Kate Prior, Katie Poulter and Sara McLean who were 3rd, 4th and 5th in the F40 category.
The Junior Fell races were held first, with the U9’s running a short lap of 0.5 miles, the U11 and U13’s running a 1 mile lap and the U15, U17 and U19’s running two laps. It was great to see that the Harriers had representation in every race and there were some great results with some top three finishers in several races. Archie Hallworth was 2nd in the U9 race, Hugo Haigh 3rd in the U11 race, Heather Crolla 3rd Girl in the U15 race and Joseph Bentham 3rd in the U17 race.
Away from the Yorkshire fells, there were plenty of other Ilkley runners taking part in events around the UK, with half marathons being the main distance of choice. Two Harriers made a trip to Anglesey in North Wales. Jonathan Turner dipped just inside his target time to finish the Half Marathon in a time of 1:29:58. The undulating coastal route crosses the Menai Bridge and boasts views of Snowdonia, inspiring Jonathan to a brilliant run finishing 3rd in the M50 category and 59th overall of the 795 runners. Meanwhile Dawn Turner was taking part in the 10K and also had a very good run to finish in a time of 57:12 and coming 13th in her age group.
Sticking with half marathons; another Harrier, Tony Pye put in a storming performance to achieve a 3 minute personal best at the North Lincolnshire Half. The event which is based in Scunthorpe is ideal for those who are training for spring marathons and offers a fast, flat and scenic course. Tony whizzed round in a time of 1:27:34, finishing 13th in his category and 242nd overall of 1,849 total finishers; a perfect preparation for a busy season in which he hopes to complete the Leeds, Manchester and Dublin marathons!
Meanwhile in the North East, two more Harriers took part in the Middlesbrough Half Marathon. This event is a town centre race which takes in the docks and the Riverside stadium and is again advertised as fast and flat. Heidi Hoad and Lucy Lowe ran well to finish the race in times of 1:58:10 and 1:58:27, coming 52nd and 53rd in the V40 category. 2,646 runners completed the race in total.
With the fell race happening, the attendance at the rearranged PECO cross country was understandably a little down on Sunday morning. However, it still attracted eight dedicated mud loving runners from Ilkley who completed the event at Stockeld Park. Diane Kitchen once again excelled, winning her category, whilst Alison Bennett finished 3rd in hers. The highest placing male was Steven Gott who finished 5th in his category and 62nd of 334 overall. In addition, Isobel Moore competed in the one-mile Junior Race finishing in 11th place. Amelia Nichols and Lily Singleton both competed in the two-mile Junior Race.
With fell running, road, and cross country all covered, Lynn Donohue completed the set by participating in a trail race. The inaugural Tibthorpe Loop took place in the Yorkshire Wolds and was a 14+ mile race. Lynn had a successful run in the cold but sunny conditions and finished in a time of 2:42:01 to make 2nd FV60 and 17th of 101 overall.
It’s been an exceptionally busy weekend for the Juniors, some competing for both their club and school. The last race in the Wharfedale Schools XC League took place on Saturday with Ashlands Primary School playing host. There was a great turnout of runners and results will appear on our website in due course.
GSAL in Leeds was the location for the English Schools XC Cup Final which had been postponed due to bad weather from its original date in December. Various teams from Ilkley Grammar School, Ermysted’s and GSAL had qualified for the final. As usual with the ESAA Finals, we saw some great racing and the Senior Boys Team from Ilkley Grammar School came away in 3rd Place.
The North East Regional Sportshall Athletics Championships returned on Sunday. Nine of the Juniors made the journey to Middlesborough to compete for the Yorkshire Team. The Boys U11 Team, including Ethan Pickwoad, Michael Moore, Henry Hirst, Barnabus Carr, Wilfred Overend and Louis Razazan, claimed 1st Place and the U11 Girls Team, including Millie Houlbrook, Rose Weston and Holly Wilkinson, finished in 3rd Place.
With so much going on this weekend it’s hardly surprising that there was only one Junior who ran in a Parkrun this weekend, but nonetheless a fantastic run for James Lee at Chevin Forest who was the first finisher with a time of 20:18.