From Peter Shelley…
I first participated in the Ilkley Moor Fell Race in 2009 as a youth of 41 having moved to Ilkley from Cambridge, which had a limited fell racing scene. I turned up to that first event wearing the wrong shoes and asking the wrong questions about pacing and minutes per mile. After the novel experience of queuing in a race (after the tarn) followed by a lung busting ascent to the Cow & Calf, my sights lowered from competing to participating and on to surviving. At certain points staying upright felt like a big win.
Little has changed in the 10 races I have done since. It hurts every time. You just get faster. Or slower, as the case may be. Other than a few exceptions where I had the valid and convenient excuse of being overseas, I have done the IMFR every year. This year’s participation was threatened by Covid, returning a second time to our household the morning of the race. To my mild disappointment I tested negative. Deprived of excuses, I gathered the full FRA kit, abandoned my ailing family and headed to the start.
The moor around the registration/finish area was already a quagmire, but thankfully the sun was shining and weather calm. I tried and failed to set off in the first third of the field and found myself stuck in a familiar slow-moving conga after the tarn which lasted until the Cow & Calf where I was able to make progress. The race follows a route around Ilkley Moor which you would only ever go if suffering from serious confusion, memory loss or masochism, packing 1,100ft of ascent into 5 miles. Steep climbs which have you bent over with your face six inches from the ground, drooling into the mud, are followed by alarming technical descents where you discover your coordination has gone and your senses shut down. Spectators gather at key points, but you can no longer recognise faces or respond to verbal input (thanks anyway, marshals and supporters – it is appreciated).
Rocks, tree roots, branches, bogs and puddles lurk, waiting to catch you out. FRA kit is recommended, but gardening tools particularly secateurs or shears may also help.
The suffering goes on way longer than the time or distance suggests as you start to experience running time. After all the climbing, the final descent is oddly brief but features some fabulous mudslides for the unwary.
I finished a minute inside my target of 55mins after discovering some unlikely energy in the second half, keeping to my vague personal target of a finish in the top third. The winner was Tom Adams, up against some stern competition. How he managed to get around in 37mins 54 remains unfathomable. Further impressive results by the Harriers were evident throughout the field. Hats off to everyone who took this event on knowingly and without coercion. It’s a great race really.
From Bob Hamilton…
Brilliant to read such entertaining race reports for the Ilkley Moor Fell Race from Peter Shelley and Dan McKeown. Great stuff. Very little to add from me other than to give a special mention to Malcolm Pickering for picking up his first V70 title, which will surely be the first of many.
There’s always a thrill for me to see that amazing mop of white hair on the start line and know I’m going to have to work very hard in the race. I may have beaten him on Sunday but he still had me on age-related terms. He always did have the edge.
Fantastic to see Alison Bennett picking up first V60 and Jack Cummings running so fast after a very recent bout of Covid. Most of all, though, thanks to Steve Weston and his team for putting on such a great event. You guys are all amazing.
It’s a privilege to still be having the opportunity to race against a few of the same people after so many years. This was the 30th anniversary of my debut race for the Harriers in 1992. It scarcely seems possible. Forrest has been checking in on my PBs for various races. It continues to be a lot of fun this racing across a whole generation difference in time. He’s improving fast, but I was delighted to be able to tell him that he’s still got another five minutes to find to beat my 1993 time here! It’s a very supportive rivalry. I’m willing him on.
1 Tom Adams 37.54
3 Ben Rothery 38.08
8 Jack Cummings 40.10
15 Michael Odell 42.39
28 Daniel Mckeown 45.29
29 Forrest Hamilton 45.34
32 Jack Gribbin 46.05
47 Nick Kealey 48.08
57 Gavin Lamb 49.10
59 Danny Thompson 49.20
65 Michael Abrams-Cohen 49.53
79 Tim Ashelford 51.35
82 Steven Bysouth 51.41
86 James Lumb 52.13
87 Richard Joel 52.15
88 Robert Green 52.31
100 Peter Shelley 54.06
105 John Marsham 54.38
113 John Hayes 55.23
132 Duncan Cooper 57.42
140 Bob Hamilton 58.05 (2nd V60)
142 Paul Disney 58.18
146 David Singleton 58.50
159 Alison Weston 59.56
162 Malcolm Pickering 60.35 (1st V70)
168 Catherine Crawley 61.20
181 Matthew Snow 62.45
208 Alison Bennett 65.06 (1st LV60)
226 Abigail Rothery 66.53
238 Rebecca White 68.48
249 Paul Atkinson 70.57
275 Peter Kulik 78.03
288 Amanda Newham 81.01
292 Rumana Chowdhury 81.54
316 finished