From Paul Stephens…
Perfect conditions. Cool, dry, a bit of a breeze, soft underfoot, but a hard race. I’d forgotten how hard 8 miles and 1000ft of climbing is. (no comments from ultra runners please).
I ran the inaugural Rombalds Romp in 2009. Back then it was a 7m trail race covering some of the same route as the current race (8m). That year I came in in front of one Ron Hill. He was in a different age category, but so what…. In 2009 I was 7th Harrier home out of 13. Fast forward 15 years, and I was 14th Harrier home out of 14.
In 2011 it became 2 races in 1 – a trail race and a fell race, and for the next 3 years I opted for the fell race. Nobody from the Harriers who ran this year took part in those early races, until 2013 when John Hayes came in 4.5 minutes in front of me. This year he was 18 minutes in front. Hey ho.
It was a last minute decision to compete this year. A choice between Helen Waddington’s 5k efforts (which are definitely helpful) and a gentle race over the moor! But I didn’t regret it. It’s an interesting and varied course, well marked and marshalled. I kept pace with category winners Alison Bennett and Natalie Curtis until about half way, but lost it on the road back up to the top of Keighley Gate. Dave Robson came first in his age category and Michael Odell was second overall and first in his age category. Excellent club results.
Thanks to the support from Jacqui Weston on the way round, and the organisation from the North Leeds Fell Runners Club.