[Photo courtesy of Alison Weston – Ilkley’s Oli Murphy on his way to victory]
From Peter Shelley & Nicola Budding…
Ilkley Harriers continue to dominate on the fells and trails
Dick Hudsons Fell Race took place on Thursday evening, organised by Wharfedale Harriers. Following a simple format, runners set off from the northern edge of Ilkley Moor and have to touch the gate at Dick Hudsons on the southern edge of the moor before returning. Route choice is entirely up to the individual but inevitably entails technical terrain, a steep climb early on to reach the moor top and a fast descent to the finish on the return leg. Race distance is roughly 11km with 330m of ascent.
Oli Murphy continued his recent strong form to take a dominant win in 43 mins. Sam Bentham was 2nd, Fraser Arnott 5th, Gawain Moore 8th, Rob Cunningham 23rd, Daniel Ellis 25th, Dan McKeown (recovering well from injury) 32nd, Steve Murray 49th, Adam Gerrish 56th, Richard Joel 58th, Jeremy Greenwood 79th and Colm McCann 80th.
Excellent conditions for the Coniston Fell Race meant easy navigation if not exactly easy running along the high ridges and summits west of the lake. The route covers 14km and 1,065m of ascent including Coniston Old Man. Jack Gribbin finished 34th, Iain Gibbons 53rd (8th MV50) Kelly Wilby 155th Alison Weston 156th (4th FV50).
Sunday saw the Bluebell Trail Race 10-mile race take place. The route covers 10 miles and 441m of ascent in the countryside south of Halifax. Sole Harrier Jack Cummings stormed round to win in 1:01:51, finishing nearly eight minutes ahead of 2nd place and setting a new course record in the process. 295 ran.
Mark Hall made similarly rapid progress over the 10-mile distance down in Leicester. He covered three laps of the Mallory Park circuit in just 61.59 to earn the V65 title in the British Masters and England Athletics 10 mile-road Veterans Championships. Congratulations to Mark and all our winners in the fell, trail and road categories!
Dave Robson was the solo Harrier representative at the Yorkshire Vets Grand Prix which took place on mixed terrain in Holmfirth over 10km with 254m of ascent. Dave took 19th place of 216.
Parkruns saw Ritchie Williamson make his debut at Centre Vale with a 4th place finish, and 1st MV50. Just behind him in 5th was Steve Gott. Both ran the 5km in under 20m.
Samesh Chotai returned to his home parkrun in Skipton with a fantastic run in 17:21 to claim 1st position. Chevin Forest parkrun appeared to be the most popular with our juniors this week. An excellent run by Alexander Wolfenden rewarded him as first finisher in 18:07, closely followed by George Whittlestone in 20:17 to claim 5th place. Michael Moore had another good run finishing 20th in 22:40 (and first in his age category JM11-15) and Isobel Moore was 5th female finisher (and first in her age category JW10) in 25:14.
Ethan Pickwoad achieved a personal best at Roberts Park, which he completed in 21:54.
Racing continued on the May Bank Holiday with a strong performance at the Milton Keynes Marathon from another lone Harrier; John Jackson finished in 03:43:20 to place 567/1934.
Ilkley juniors were in action again across all age categories at the Coiners Fell Races, with the Moore and the Carter families to the fore. Organised by Calder Valley Fell Runners, Coiners incorporated the Yorkshire U13, U15, U17 and U19 Fell Championships. Archie Hallworth finished 3rd of 29 in the under-9 boys race. Isobel Moore was 15/50 in the U11 girls race. Michael Moore was 3/57 in the U13s boys championship race. Roberts Brooks finished 10th of 26 in the U15 boys championship race. Joseph Bentham beat 16 other runners to the U17 win and championship. In the U19 male race, Oscar Shinn took second place followed by George Whittlestone in 3rd of 9, completing a highly impressive set of results for Ilkley Harrier Juniors.
In addition to coaching and taxi duties, parents Gawain Moore and Rachel Carter acquitted themselves well in the Senior Coiners race, finishing 6th and 23rd (4th lady) respectively. 126 ran. Held on hilly moorland between Mytholmroyd and Stoodley Pike, races varied in distance and ascent from 0.9km/62m for the under 9s to 11km/396m for the seniors.
Ilkley Harriers is a friendly welcoming club, open to all. If you would like to try us out, please register first on the training page at www.ilkleyharriers.org.uk and then come along to our main club night at 6.45pm on Tuesdays, meet upstairs at Ilkley tennis and squash club.