The race report for the final HDSRL race of 2026 was kindly written by Alan Simpson…
The 2026 Harrogate District Summer Race League (HDSRL) season reached its thrilling conclusion on the night of July 15th, as hundreds of local runners descended upon Otley Cricket Club for the annual Norman Smith Handicap Race. On a lovely warm evening, 34 harriers ran their hearts out for their club and were rewarded with a fantastic evening. The handicap format saw runners setting off in a staggered start to compete on an equal footing for the famous Norman Smith trophy. The course was a 5.3-mile flat fast ripper hosted by Otley Athletic Club. Gaps between the waves of runners rapidly dissolved and the closing mile saw a wall of club vests from across Yorkshire converging in a high-speed dash for the line. The atmosphere shifted to celebration with a barbecue and a shandy or two as the league hosted its end-of-season presentation evening. Many thanks to Otley AC for organising a great night celebrating our fantastic sport.
In the tale of the tape, Alexandra Whapples of Vocalink Running Club claimed the trophy. Kirsty Naylor (44:21) was 1st Harrier across the line taking 7th place, Ashley Dodgson (34:19) was 11th and Richard Grant (39:55) was 12th. The other runners out of the 185 field were (in handicap finish order) Andy Newing (47:04), Stuart Hill (46:58), Tess Grant (58:33), Chris Coates (40:19), Clare Rowntree (42:20), Alan Simpson (42:58), Alex Miller (52:32), Trudy Morrice (42:04), Martin Emmott (46:41), Emma Mcquillan (45:46), Brett Edgeworth (42:22), Adrian Wood (52:59), Julia Harland (54:26), Vanessa Arthur (45:57), Alan Longmire (48:25), Hugh Jenyns (1:05:00), Rosie Gatenby (50:36), Robert Burn (43:18), Sharon Emmott (48:10), Lynne Jackson (52:45), Janet Balmain (53:22), Elizabeth Wordsworth (53:08), Christopher Wordsworth (54:20), Carol Longmire (56:59), Sara Armitage (53:06), Carol Thompson (1:07:17), Christine Burn (1:04:02), Josie Burn (53:42), Denise Gandy (1:15:36), Natalie Lyth (57:22) and Duncan Fothergill (50:19). Over in the North York Moors the running celebrations were also in full flow at the Cock Howe Fell Race with Joe Martlew, Esther Harrison and Paul Chapman also running proudly for their club.
For the overall league results, Esther Harrison and Charlie Lamb were awarded age category prizes and all Thirsk and Sowerby teams placed well with notably, the Female Vets taking a runners up spot behind Nidderdale.
We are now 10 races into the TaSH championship with Rob Burn and Kirsty Naylor leading the way on both Age Adjusted and First Past the Post formats. Our next race will be the Easingwold 10k on Sunday July 26th.
