Hilda Coulsey | For performances at John Carr 5km series setting new F60 club record, Yorkshire F60 champion and 1st F60 in the series | Other nominations were:
Georgia Malir - for brilliant 3rd place in Mountain Running Championships and being selected to run for England and GB; Eddie Winslow - for his LDWA 100 performance; Clare Smith - for organising a great Calderdale Way Relay and social; Bradley Chapman - for consistently good race results; Val Kerr - for great results at Lothersdale, Jack Bloor, Calderdale Way and 1st F50 at Ilkley Trail race; Tom Adams - 3rd at Inter Counties Championships & part of team winning Yorkshire Gold, his performance at Mountain Running Champs and being selected for England; Emma O'Looney - for continued improvement in Bradford Park Runs; Paul Sugden - for setting a new marathon PB at Edinburgh. |
Sally Morley | For winning the John Carr 5km series outright |
Well done to Hilda and Sally this month's winners.
Earlier Harriers of the Month ...
Results, report and photos on the Trail Race page, a super day by all accounts with a bumper field of 90 juniors; 270 entries in the senior race and a good sum raised for the race charity, and everything running smoothly.
For Ilkley, Tom Adams won the senior race for the 5th time and just 10s outside his record, the men and ladies teams both took the team prizes, and Ilkley won plenty of other category prizes as below!
Junior races report from Rachel Websdale ... we had 90 keen runners enjoying the morning sunshine and the colourful bluebells. A huge thank-you to all the marshalls, helpers and sweepers.
1 39:41 Tom Adams 11 46:11 Alex Sinclair 1st U23 13 47:07 Ben Sheppard 17 48:01 Rob Cunningham 21 48:20 Bradley Chapman 25 49:16 Steve Coy 27 49:23 Jonathan Sinclair 1st V50 32 50:00 Nick Pearce 1st V60 34 50:19 Will Buckton 39 51:08 Emma Barclay 3rd lady 42 51:47 Duncan Cooper 45 51:57 Sally Malir 1st F40 46 52:12 Henry Heavisides 55 52:43 Beth Massey 57 52:48 Ben Joynson 65 53:26 Caz Farrow 69 53:48 Jack Cummings 78 55:34 Stephen Rhodes 86 56:07 Jonathan Kenshole 92 56:27 John Hayes 133 60:15 Val Kerr 1st F50 137 60:40 Philip Hirst 157 62:48 Keith Wood 165 63:55 Alison Newell 166 63:56 Steve Newell 169 64:17 Will Worboys 170 64:26 Nick Mellor 173 64:46 Karen Lambe 182 65:43 Hilda Coulsey 188 66:23 Jane Guillard 191 67:03 Alison Ricci 205 69:32 Kate Wilkinson 207 69:43 Bernie Gibbons 208 69:51 Judith Scarfe 215 72:26 Sally Wright 217 72:50 Don McRae 220 73:53 Julie Elmes 222 74:59 Emma O'Looney 223 75:01 Sue Bickerdike 228 76:40 Kate Lofthouse 230 78:24 Mark Kerr 243 finished
This was a counter in the Ilkley Harriers Race League ...
Paul Sugden finished in 3402nd place in 4h08:16, a PB by 1m55s
A cautionary tale rom Jez Hellewell ...
Went up to North Yorkshire for The Levisham Limping this weekend. It starts off a mile away from the race registration in Lockton, on top of a hill, with beautiful views stretching out across the valley. We were then told by the race starter that walkers had been removing the race tape & to be careful where you're going! Not knowing the route this did not bode well. Started off pretty good & by mile 5 of the 7, after a killer climb, I was in 6th place, sandwiched between 2 North Yorkshire Moors runners. It soon became apparent, bombing down a road for way too long, that these "locals" knew the route as well as me! Anyway, we ended up doing 1.8 miles extra but chatted to a very nice lady with a map, who pointed us in the right direction. I particularly liked her observation that "the other runners are on the other side of the valley"! Some cyclists proved most helpful too in directing us to the bridge in order to get to "the other side of the valley". A beautiful day out, in glorious sunshine, in stunning countryside, chatting to 2 fellow runners on the pleasures of our sport. Getting lost isn't all bad. (Finished somewhere at the back out of around 50).
As many a runner will tell you, don't assume the person in front knows the way!
Well done to Harry Maslen who is now the Yorkshire U17 High Jump Champion (1m85cm); Silver Medallist in the 100m hurdles (13.83) and 6th in the 200m (23.87). Rosie Shouler Harris was 10th in the U17 discus (19.09)
From Andrew Mitchell... I was fortunate enough to win a place in this race in a competition on Facebook!
I took my place on the start line with 40,000 others for the largest 10K road race in the UK. The warm and sunny conditions seemed to put everyone in a good mood and there was a great atmosphere with plenty of spectators lining the route. The course was a fairly flat route starting out from Manchester City Centre and going out to Old Trafford and back with a loop around Salford Quays. The route offered a PB opportunity but I rather blew that by getting caught up in the atmosphere of the event and starting out far too quickly. That caught up with me in the last 4K but I was still pleased to dip under the 50 minute mark, coming home in 49:38.
The race was covered by BBC TV and on watching the recording I even managed to spot myself just before the start!
Eddie Winslow reoports ... I completed the LDWA Camel Teign 100 miler over the weekend in a time of 26h 42m. A dry, cool weekend in Cornwall and Devon made for excellent conditions and a cold clear night crossing Dartmoor meant that we were able to clearly see a few shooting stars.
From Sally Malir ... on Friday the weather had been like Winter but on Saturday the sun came out making the climb up Skiddaw very hot and dusty. The junior women's race was the first race of the day 3.7k and 510m of ascent. Georgia Malir had a fantastic run coming 3rd in 27:48 after also having a hard week of 6 exams!
The other Ilkley Harrier running was Tom Adams who also had a great run against a stacked field coming in in 16th place.
From Beth Massey ... Not deterred by the fact that this would be our 4th 5km race in 3 weeks, Mark Iley and I travelled to Lancaster for the first race of the Lancaster 5km Summer Race series, a series of 6 evening races taking place on the last Saturday of each month. The race is run on a flat out and back traffic free course and there is definitely the potential for fast times given the right conditions. Having tried them out last year we were both keen to improve on our recent times set at the John Carr series. Unusually for a 5km race, the course is marked out in miles which played havoc with my pacing (maths not being my strong point!!) and a brisk headwind in the second mile didn't help matters either!! I was pleased (and somewhat surprised!) to win the race in 19mins 32secs and Mark finished well up in the field in 18mins 02secs neither of us as fast as at Esholt but pleased to be consistent. Official results are not out yet so I'm not sure who won the race. All in all, this is a really good series of races, fairly low key and always a friendly atmosphere, it's well worth making the trip over to Lancaster.
(1 49:12 Rob Jebb, Bingley) 13 55:51 Dave Wilby 137 71:55 Kelly Wilby 256 finished
Bradford Lister park 96 25:44 Sue Bickerdike 137 27:31 Emma O'Looney Harrogate Stray 20 20:32 Geoff Howard 165 26:59 Julie Elmes Middlesbrough Albert Park 140 26:05 John Marshall
Dave Wilby reports ... My first time at this popular local race, with almost 400 runners turning up to take on the mostly flat 10km route along quiet road, tracks, woodland & canal with a final 1km around the school playing field. The only downside was the presence of Km markers which after recent experiences have started to bring me out in a nervous rash!
Results from Horsforth Harriers
(1 33:06 Phillip Tedd. Woodhouse Grove School) 6 36:16 Dave Wilby 124 44:56 Neil Bloor 398 finished
Thanks to the many helpers tonight, 42 teams enjoyed a fantastic sunny evening's racing on Ilkley Moor with a great mix of juniors, family teams, and runners from far and wide. Results and more photos on the Badger Stone Relays page.
From Heavisides Henry, road captain ... Ilkley Harriers won a fantastic haul of prizes at the John Carr series. There were trophies across the whole age range from 1st Boy Youth & 1st Girl Youth to 1st M60 & 1st F60 as well as 1st Lady overall. Not sure that I can remember all of the winners (apologies to anyone that I've missed): Sally Morley was 1st F overall (& would have been 1st F35 but could only win one series prize), Tillly Melechi was was 1st F Youth and Catherine Westhead 2nd (corrected, Paul), Gaenor Coy was 1st F35, Beth Massey was 2nd F40, Sally Malir was 1st F45, Hilda Coulsey was 1st F60, Francis Westhead was 1st M Youth, Bradley Chapman was 1st M Junior, Dave Westhead was 3rd M45, Mark Iley was 3rd M50, Henry Heavisides was 1st M55 & Nick Pearce was 1st M60.
For race 3 itself, Mark Hall made his first appearance in the series, finishing 1st M50 in 16:34. Most runners were a bit slower than previous weeks due to a strong wind for the last 1.5k (& fatigue?).
The John Carr series is a very popular 5k race series & is well attended by all local clubs so it's great to see us having so much success, well done to all who took part in any of the 3 races.
From Beth Massey, ladies road captain ... it was great to see such a fantastic turn out of Harriers at the John Carr series and especially the ladies, who turned out in force in all 3 races, leading to a great haul of prizes across the age groups (see Henry's report), numerous PBs being recorded and Hilda Coulsey setting a new F60 club record for the distance. Well done to everyone who competed!
Results
(1 15:49 Willy Smith, KCAC) 15 16:34 Mark Hall 21 16:53 David Westhead 42 17:38 Steve Coy PB 49 17:57 Mark Iley 51 17:58 Bradley Chapman 54 18:00 Rob Cunningham 58 18:10 Sally Morley 65 18:17 Henry Heavisides 69 18:25 Francis Westhead 88 19:14 Richard Hinsley 90 19:16 Nick Pearce 94 19:27 Beth Massey 96 19:28 Lucy Williamson 102 19:42 Sally Malir 125 20:46 Andrew Jackson 129 20:50 Tilly Melechi 132 20:58 Sam Craske 162 22:16 Catherine Westhead 180 23:03 Gaenor Coy PB 183 23:09 Peter Shields 190 23:32 Elizabeth Westhead 191 23:37 Alessandra Ricci 196 23:44 Hilda Coulsey 209 24:17 Allison Ricci 226 25:31 Ella Shouler-Harris 239 26:28 Harriet Jackson 247 27:11 Sally Wright 250 27:30 Bridget Taylor 251 27:31 Dave Taylor 252 27:40 Joanna Taylor 268 finished
Harrogate's Beckwithshaw race was the second in this year's Harrogate District Summer Race League. Matt Newell was again first Harrier, having an even better run than in HRL1, and Caz again led in our ladies in style.
(1 32:16 Ian Fisher, Otley AC) 45 39:02 Matt Newell 65 40:18 Caz Farrow 71 41:00 Ben Joynson 75 41:17 Steve Newell 103 43:01 Will Buckton 104 43:06 Neil Chapman 105 43:11 Paul Stephens 117 43:39 Stephen Rhodes 122 43:59 Jonathan Kenshole 172 47:21 Adela Reperecki 186 48:22 Phil Hirst 222 50:19 Karen Lambe 228 50:45 Jane Guillard 244 51:42 Nick Mellor 247 51:58 Andy Wolfenden 265 53:51 Sue Williamson 266 54:01 Petra Bijsterveld 269 54:09 Vince Gibbons 272 54:28 Julie Elmes 274 54:37 Abigail Bailey 279 55:11 Bernie Gibbons 290 56:24 Don Macrae 294 56:54 Paul Sugden 297 56:57 Emma O'Looney 305 58:02 Sue Verspyck 322 finished
Well done to our mixed team in what is described as the UK's biggest club-run off-road race (1,000 runners and helpers). And a big thank you to Clare for rallying all the runners - always a logistical challenge with 12 runners per team. We finished 36th team out of 79 teams finishing, 7th mixed team out of 18 - results.
We hear that Lucy Williamson helped Yorkshire to team silver for the U16 girls, Georgia Malir was second only to Annabel Mason in the U18 race and with her took Yorkshire to team gold, and Tom Adams was 3rd in the senior men's race leading Yorkshire to team gold. (Just for completeness, Yorkshire took the senior ladies' team gold with Ilkley Moor fell race winner Emma Clayton leading in a 1-2-3 of Yorkshire ladies.) Results.
Photos of our runners in their Yorkshire vests: Lucy on the right, Georgia centre, Tom second from right
From Caz Farrow ... I think there were 3 of us at Ripon 10 today. I had the tail end of a chest infection so not feeling great on the numerous hills! Came 3rd lady but told the organisers I would put in a good word with the club for this race-scenic, mix of trails/country roads, mostly on National Trust Property namely Studley Park & Fountans Abbey, good goodie bag, friendly...and for the 'speedsters' amongst you, the first 3 men were in 58-59 minutes.
Results.
(1 58:09 Mike Jefferies) 1:11:34 Caz Farrow 1:24:40 Christine Cox 1:35:23 Petra Bjisterveid
Positions later, still being verified
Amanda Parnaby reports on this ... 23 miles around Sledmere and the the Wolds. Lovely weather after the recent rain. Finished in 5 hours 20 minutes.
Brian Melia reports ... Outi Kamarainen and I completed the race in 11 hours 3 mins. It was wet and poor visibility, but nonetheless enjoyable due to the superb organisation and the course which is stunning.
Results of this BOFRA race ...
(1 19:38 Rob Jebb, Bingley) 15 23:40 Bradley Chapman 16 24:11 Iain Gibbons 33 27:28 Jann Smith 3rd lady 68 finished
Bradford Lister Kark 76 26:00 Sue Bickerdike 103 28:07 Emma O'Looney Leeds Hyde Park 156 26:15 John Marshall
Ben Joynson reports ... 2 Harriers at the Kildwick fell race on a nice evening. My first race back after a while resting a injury and Kate Archer looking in good form in the ladies race. Kate was 2nd Lady :). Well done Kate and thanks for the company. A good course with challenging climbs and descents but not too technical.
(1 27:22 Stephen Brock, Wharfedale) 21 31:49 Ben Joynson 27 33:02 Kate Archer 70 finished
Henry Heavisides reports ...
There were some exceptional performances again at the 2nd John Carr 5k race. Dave Westhead was 1st Ilkley Harrier home. The younger runners were very much on form with Ruaridh Mon-Williams, Bradley Chapman, Francis Westhead, Edward Bickerdike & Jack Cummings all running well under 20 minutes. Mark Iley was pleased to get under 18 minutes for the first time in several years & Beth Massey set another PB, both getting rewards for much hard work on the track over the winter. Hilda Coulsey did another great run to be 1st F60, beating her time from last week. I was pleased to be back running on tarmac after the mud & hills of the Jack Bloor fell race.
Hilda's time establishes a F60 Club record.
From Dave Westhead ... Another fantastic Harriers turnout. Pleasant sunshine and good running conditions made for an enjoyable race (if running 5k flat out can ever be described that way). Particularly notable performances were Ruaridh Mon-Williams (I suspect 17:27 below is a PB and he ran the first 1500 at sub 17 minute pace), Andrea Westhead (2 minute improvement on last week) and Pete Shields back after a long layoff (I'm not sure this if this is the first race this year Pete?). Several others made significant improvements from the previous race as well.
(1 15:24 Adam Peers, Leeds City) 17 16:55 Dave Westhead 29 17:27 Ruaridh Mon-Williams 38 17:41 Bradley Chapman 42 17:51 Mark Iley 47 18:02 Steve Coy 54 18:17 Sally Morley 58 18:19 Rob Cunningham 65 18:30 Henry Heavisides 69 18:36 Francis Westhead 84 19:08 Beth Massey 89 19:17 Nick Pearce 90 19:19 Ed Bickerdike 93 19:27 Richard Hinsley 94 19:29 Jack Cummings 102 19:45 Sally Malir 115 20:09 Rebecca Mon-Williams 120 20:14 Andy Wiggans 122 20:16 Jacob Hellewell 133 20:51 Tilly Melechi 144 21:11 Andrew Jackson 169 22:18 Catherine Westhead 175 22:32 Joanne Williamson 184 22:54 Sam Craske 187 22:58 Elizabeth Westhead 194 23:23 Alessandra Ricci 196 23:26 Pete Shields 200 23:31 Hilda Coulsey 204 23:45 Gaenor Coy 212 24:11 Emily Elmes 217 24:27 Allison Ricci 218 24:30 Ella Shouler-Harris 232 25:24 Harriet Jackson 235 25:34 Petra Bijsterveld 237 25:37 Sue Williamson 241 25:58 Julie Elmes 259 27:35 Bridget Taylor 261 27:37 Dave Taylor 272 29:15 Andrea Westhead 281 finished
From Mark Hall ... a windy evening and undulating course. I finished with a time of 34:39 to finish in 10th place and first V50. There were no other Ilkley runners. The winner was Jason Ward, Clowne Road Runners 30:59. There were 517 starters
The 28th Jack Bloor Races attracted a good contingent of Harriers, young and old. Paul's photos of the senior race and junior race photos, and Junior race photos from Graham Weston. Tom Adams was 2nd and Ilkley won the men's and women's team prizes (and 3rd ladies team!).
(1 38:40 Chris Smithard, DEE) 2 38:53 Tom Adams 6 42:29 James Mountain 1st U23 8 43:02 Martin Archer 9 43:07 Matthew Cox 12 43:40 Dave Wilby 23 45:15 Bradley Chapman 25 46:31 Ben Sheppard 35 47:41 Ralph Tench 47 49:20 Nick Pearce 50 49:25 Jonathan Sinclair 52 50:25 Will Buckton 65 52:22 Alistair Barlow 66 52:26 Emma Barclay 68 52:28 Alistair Wood 75 53:35 Paddy Hagan 79 54:00 Mike Baldwin 81 54:10 Rob Cunningham 86 55:19 Alison Weston 87 55:33 Chris Oxlade 97 56:07 Ian Marshall 104 58:24 Paul Stephens 105 58:39 Henry Heavisides 110 59:24 Sarah Haines 120 60:43 Dave Taylor 121 60:48 Joyce Marshall 124 61:03 John Hayes 135 62:21 Val Kerr 137 62:32 Alison Bennett 140 63:27 Neil Bloor 141 63:29 Tony Thornley 143 63:43 Adela Reperecki 157 65:55 Gavin Burgess 159 66:29 Will Worboys 165 67:03 Rachel Hagan 169 70:54 Amanda Newham 171 71:32 Sarah Hayes 173 76:02 Peter Lewis 175 76:27 Sue Morley 179 78:01 Kate Wilkinson 181 78:51 Gemma Carpenter 182 84:07 Miranda Foster 183 84:08 Juliet Hammond 186 84:36 Rachel Websdale 187 finished
This was a counter in the IH Race League, Bradley still holds the lead!
(1 31:45 Darren Kay, P&B) 10 37:07 Steve Turland 105 finishedPhotos on Woodentops
Sally Malir reports ... Georgia ran on a cold rainy evening in Stretford and smashed her 3000m PB by almost 50 seconds. Her time was 9:54.13
Results ...
(1 1:13:08 Ben Marriott, Bingley Harriers) 313 1:35:40 Michael Duffield 449 1:37:59 David Howe 878 1:44:06 Dan Ibbotson 1060 1:48:12 Andrew Mitchell 2067 1:59:19 Daniel Judkowski 2142 1:58:39 Sue Williamson PB 6 mins 2398 2:02:44 Charlotte Smithson 2832 2:04:03 Donna Hattersley 3094 2:12:08 Margot Dale 3759 2:21:56 Joanna Taylor 4097 2:27:21 Emma Payne 4517 finished
Margot's time establishes a new F70 Club Record.
Clare Smith reports ... Conditions were a little tricky (mud/bog/busy) compared to my previous
experience of this course but the weather was slightly more favourable
than had been forecast (and better than that in Ilkley I hear!) with views
as far as Great Gable at times. I obviously didn't take it seriously
enough if I was admiring the scenery. Perhaps that's why I fell over so
many times too! Some good performances from our Ilkley team in this first
English Champs counter of 2013.
Dave Wilby set a 3min PB, and got English Championship points from his top-100 placing. Results ...
(1 1:19:18 Rob Hope, P&B) 51 1:30:44 Dave Wilby 146 1:43:25 Lee Morley 165 1:45:10 Will Buckton 185 1:47:30 Duncan Cooper 222 1:53:08 Dick Waddington 234 1:54:23 Kate Archer 253 1:56:32 Neil Smith 265 1:59:29 Jann Smith 270 2:00:26 Alison Weston 322 2:08:45 Steve Weston 329 2:10:45 Norman Bush 2nd V70 352 2:17:02 Clare Smith 408 finished
From George Elmes ... Another good turnout of 12 Juniors made their way across to Lancashire to compete in the 3rd round of the English Junior Fell champs at Cowpe. Again some strong results on yet another challenging course across all the age categories.
Standout performances from Lucy Haines 1st GU14, Ruaridh Mon-Wiiliams 4th BU16 & Lucy Williamson GU16 4th.
Full report on the junior pages
Some Woodentops photos
Bradford Lister Park 69 24:47 Paul Sugden 71 24:55 Sue Bickerdike 161 28:32 Emma O'Looney Middlesbrough Albert Park 127 25:51 John Marshall
Congratulations to Tom Adams, Georgia Malir, and Lucy Williamson selected to run in Yorkshire colours at the fell Inter-Regional Championships on 19 May at Settle Hills.
Well done those those who ran at the Otley race, the first in this year's Harrogate District Summer Race League. Although there were some good individual results on the 5.9 mile course, and some people racing for the Club for the first time, the unfortunate race clash means we have 'a lot to play for', as they say, in the team competitions. Next race is at Harrogate on 21 May.
(1 32:27 Ian Fisher, Otley AC) 42 37:41 Matt Newell 68 39:58 Steve Newell 71 40:07 Caz Farrow 79 40:54 Stephen Rhodes 97 42:11 Paul Stephens 152 46:05 Val Kerr 213 49:34 Karen Lambe 234 52:09 Paul Sugden 236 52:30 Petra Bijsterveld 238 52:59 Julie Elmes 245 54:06 Emma Payne 254 54:55 Bernie Gibbons 255 54:55 Vince Gibbons 258 55:12 Sally Wright 260 55:19 Don Macrae 265 56:34 Emma O'Looney 266 56:35 Sally Lynch 274 58:20 Sue Verspyck 289 finished
Report from Henry Heavisides ... There was a very impressive turnout of Ilkley Harriers at this year's first John Carr 5k race. Dave Wilby & Dave Westhead were our first runners to finish, both just outside 17 minutes. Bradley Chapman continued his tremendous progress with a new PB of 17:43, getting a prize for 1st Youth (not sure what age group that is). The race was also the Yorkshire Vets championships & many of us ended up in the prizes, apologies if there are any errors: Sally Morley (2nd F35), Gaenor Coy (3rd F35), Beth Massey (3rd F40), Emma Barclay (1st F45), Sally Malir (2nd F45), Hilda Coulsey (1st F60), Henry Heavisides (2nd M55), Nick Pearce (2nd M60).
Results ...
Nick Pearce beat Geoff Howard's V60 Club record (BMAF Champs, Horwich, by just 1 second.)
(1 15:30 Mike Burrett, Leeds City) 25 17:01 Dave Wilby 27 17:06 David Westhead 48 17:43 Bradley Chapman 71 18:16 Mark Iley 74 18:18 Sally Morley 81 18:29 Henry Heavisides 90 18:49 Francis Westhead 93 18:52 Arthur Reilly 99 19:11 Nick Pearce 107 19:17 Beth Massey 110 19:20 Emma Barclay 115 19:32 Sally Malir 142 20:14 Jacob Hellewell 143 20:14 Edward Bickerdike 153 20:29 Tilly Melechi 190 21:41 Andrew Jackson 223 22:57 Catherine Westhead 235 23:28 Alessandra Ricci 251 23:53 Hilda Coulsey 253 24:02 Sue Bickerdike 255 24:04 Gaenor Coy 261 24:18 Elizabeth Westhead 268 24:40 Cathy Brown 274 25:07 Allison Ricci 286 25:32 Ella Shouler-Harris 312 27:11 Bridget Taylor 313 27:12 Dave Taylor 317 28:11 Harriet Jackson 323 28:37 Joanna Taylor 336 31:26 Andrea Westhead 341 finished
From Will Buckton ... After meeting former Harrier Ian Rowbotham I set off well only to be passed with ease by Ian on the climb to Stoodley Pike. A great route which should be popular with Harriers as it is very runnable.
(1 54:38 Christian Holmes, Wharfedale) 27 1h03:09 Will Buckton 88 finished
From Catherine Farrow ... Billed as one of the most scenic halfs, it may well have been had there been anything to see other than cloud and drizzle. Throw in a stiff wind and about 2000ft of climbing and you don't get a pb course. However it was friendly, well-marshalled and supported with ample drinks stations. I came about 38th, in about 1hr 31mins but was definetly 2nd woman! What's more, spiderman and 2 wonderwomen were there.
From Adela Reperecki... I took part in the Bluebell Trail 10 mile which is organised by Stainland Lions, Halifax. This is a 10.3 mile multi-terrain race through woodland, canal towpaths, tracks, trails, cobbled streets, incorporating the steep climb of Trooper Lane, and through beautiful bluebell woods. At the end of the run is a river crossing which is great. I was the only Harrier there and came in at 1.40.22 and managed to knock 1 minute off my time from last year. Would like to see more Harriers there next year.
From Dick Waddington ... In an attempt to be first Ilkley Harrier in a race, I took the drastic step of flying to Seattle to limit the competition (and do a bit of work). I entered the Grand Ridge Trail Run (13 miles, 2000 ft of ascent) in Issaquah near Seattle, USA.
There was a field of about 150 with the event having a very friendly atmosphere. It was run by a small company that organises trail races every few weeks in the hills around Seattle.
Having looked at the results for the previous year and seeing that after the first half mile the trails were narrow, I thought I would start near the front. The other runners were reluctant to start at the front, so I ended up next to a very fit looking guy in a North Dakota vest. At the start he bounded along the first section and literally disappeared at the start of the first hill. After that there was a lot of to and fro as some of the runners were quick up the hills, some quick down the hills and some quick on the flat. The course was an out and back route and it seems to be obligatory to say "good job" to anyone you pass, which gets pretty tiring after a while, but it seems like a friendly thing to do.
With some good speed up and down and some mediocre speed on the flat, I managed to come in 5th (2nd V40) in 1:55. The North Dakota runner broke the course record by 10 minutes in 1:30, which was 21 minutes ahead of the second placed runner! And I was first Ilkley Harrier home. Good job.
From Will Buckton ... a very tough Lakeland fell race over steep and technical terrain. Steve Turland got the better of me again with a strong run in 1:29. I came home in 1:36 after following an Ambleside vest down a terrifying scree slope descent from Coniston Old Man.
(1 1h11:32 Darren Kay, Pudsey and Bramley) 44 1h29:58 Steve Turland 78 1h36:35 Will Buckton 247 finished
Bradford 29 21:11 Ed Bickerdike 101 25:05 Paul Sugden 118 25:32 Sue Bickerdike 126 25:46 Harry Stead 212 28:42 Emma O'Looney Harrogate 141 26:21 Julie Elmes Stewart 57 25:25 John Marshall 128 35:34 Linda Marshall
From Ben Sheppard ... Lothersdale fell race is short and it is sharp: 3.6 miles of shortness and 591ft of sharpness. It being an out-and-back course, there's no point kidding yourself you are not far behind those ahead of you, but you can kid yourself that you must almost be at the summit as James Hall (Wharfedale) whooshes past you in the opposite direction like an exocet missile aimed on Lothersdale village hall. Harriers with burning lungs included Bradley Chapman, Jeff Green (near the front in his first fell race as a Harrier), Val Kerr, the outstanding Tilly Melechi - more than holding her own in the seniors race - and her Competitive Dad Toni.
(1 22:50 James Hall, Wharfedale) 16 26:39 Bradley Chapman 18 26:56 Jeff Green 20 26:58 Iain Gibbons 22 27:25 Ben Sheppard 33 28:45 Richard Smith 64 32:44 Toni Melechi 65 32:52 Tilly Melechi 80 35:22 Val Kerr 104 finished
Dave Wilby reports ... I travelled across to Thornes Park in Wakefield last night for a 1500m track league race. With no reliable way of knowing what time I was likely to start, I eventually got on to the track at 10pm having already warmed up 3 times, and with legs still trashed from Sunday's half marathon I just wanted to set a benchmark for future races. I was pleased enough and managed to achieve my aim of not finishing last by coming 11th from 13 in a steady 4:54:37. The race was won by Brad Traviss in a swift 4:09:43, and I'm pretty sure there's scope for taking 15 to 20 seconds off my time over the next couple of races.
Reminder, Harriers have signed up to this League this year, see forum post for this and other chances to get on track!