From Dan McKeown
Photo credit David Gowans
This year’s Yorkshire Veterans Athletics Association cross country championship race, saw a bare minimum three Harriers – Steve Gott, Matt Cox and I – make the trip out to Beverley Westwood to contest the M40-49 team competition. After getting boat raced (technical term) by Rotherham at last year’s event, we were eager for revenge or – more realistically – rather hoping that they wouldn’t be sending a team.
The course didn’t have the eye-watering uphills of last year’s race (which would have comfortably qualified as a cat B fell race) but it had a bit of elevation and, if the presence of a windmill at the top corner of the course wasn’t enough warning that it might be breezy, the fact the sails appeared to have blown off at some point was a definite danger sign.
The course for our race was four 1.5-mile laps, with a rolling start which then pitched downhill into a slippery hairpin, which got even more entertaining (read: hazardous) later in the race when we were lapping runners from older age categories. There was a sharp mucky climb through some woods, which then opened up into a long incline with the Humberside wind full in our faces. (Except not mine, because I spent most of the race hiding behind Foxy Coxy.) After rounding the windmill, there was an ambling descent back to the start of the lap with the breeze at our backs.
Like last year, the race was led from gun to tape by Scott Hinchcliffe, a super-quick whippersnapper of a V35 from Barnsley. It quickly became apparent that our local rivals Wharfedale would be the team to beat as two of theirs hared off into the distance and their third counter was in a chase pack which contained our entire team. Rotherham had a couple of gents in the mix, but only one in our team’s age group.
After the customary hectic start, the first trip up to the windmill stretched the field out and, by the end of lap two, Wharfedale were clearly taking home the team prize, bar some spectacular mishap. I was locked in a race for the third M40 spot; Messrs Cox and Gott were contesting the third V45 slot. (Herein lies the basic dichotomy of ‘team’ cross country running. Broadly speaking, you’re all in the same boat. But cannibalism is definitely going to be on the menu at some point.)
I went round the windmill for the last time on the heels of a V40 from Rotherham. About halfway down the slope, he suddenly let out an anguished squawk, which I took as my cue to nip in front and grab category bronze, finishing sixth overall. Matt (10th) claimed the V45 bronze ahead of Steve (12th) and our team took a creditable V40-49 silver behind the very strong Wharfedale team.
In other good news for clubs from our neighbourhood, Bingley Harriers topped the individual medals table with six golds across the various male and female age groups. We still probably brought home the greatest amount of hardware, as the YVAA supremo rather pointedly deposited a huge bag of Harriers’ unclaimed trophies from past events with me.
To be fair, he probably wanted his guest bedroom back, *as do I*. I’ve put out the call on social media to reunite you swift oldies with your hard earned gongs.
Do not delay – my cover story that they’re family heirlooms isn’t going to wash if Sarah checks the label on any of them.
race 2 (6 miles, M35-69, F35-44)
6 Dan McKeown 36:17 (3rd V40)
10 Matt Cox 36:45 (3rd V45)
12 Steve Gott 37:01
(Ilkley Harriers 2nd team, V40-49)