Sunday saw the start of the Northallerton 10k on the High Street on a fine sunny morning, with 32 Harriers in the field of 830 for the latest Club Championship race. The course, hillier than you might imagine, went through local countryside, and was successfully covered by Matt Jones who took 37.34, well under the 40 minutes many runners aim for, in 23rd place. The on-form Gary Wilkinson was 72nd in 41.28 just ahead of Josh Cooper, 73rd in 41.32. Ken Wood, in 88th place, took 42.46 and Bronwyn Mayo, 112th and 2nd F35 , 44.06. Next was Neil Cooper, 126th in 45.01, with Adrian Elsworth 132nd in 45.20, Howard Cross 140th in 45.40, in front by a hair's breadth of Walter Busuttil, 142nd in 45.41, and Lorraine Hiles 152nd, and 2nd F55 in 45.58. Rob Burn took 47.45, just behind the Prime Minister who took 47.41, Kirsty Naylor 48.19, Paul Atkinson 48.41, Joe Joyce 49.14, Pedro Carrasco 49.29, Andrew Pollard 49.49, Louise Mayfield 49.53 and Duncan Fothergill 51.50. It was Duncan's 66th race over 4 years without missing a single one in the club championships, a series which will have to be broken as he is on holiday for the next one. Clare Gwillam took 53.24, Ruth Pollard 53.51, Anna Whitham 53.59, Alan Docherty, getting back into some form after a series of injuries, 58.16, Tracey Docherty 58.47, Will Jagger 59.33, Louise McVay 60.08, Rob Lickley, in his first 10k for several years, 63.52, Beth Haggath 69.11, Christine Burn 69.42, equal time with Phillip Craig, Siobhan Woodland 74.54 and Diana Williams, 2nd F70, 77.35.
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On a different plane altogether, Lindsey Collins entered the West Highland Way Challenge Race over 96 miles, though she inadvertently, owing to a hiccup with her navigation, covered 97.2 miles, with an elevation of 14000 feet! The time limit was 35 hours, and she took 26 hours 50 minutes, well inside. Running throughout the night, and taking in plenty of nourishment, she found herself, with only a head torch to see by, running along by a steep drop to Loch Lomond and hearing the water lapping on the shore below. A bit too close for comfort, perhaps!
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Another couple of Harriers took on a long-distance run, as well. Alan Simpson and Fran Jeffery entered the EBB100 in Birmingham, sponsored by the LDWA. The EBB stands for Elephant, Bear, and Bull, and references the symbols of three of the towns the race passes through – Elephant is Coventry, Bear is Warwick, and Bull is Birmingham. They had 48 hours to complete the challenge. Plenty of checkpoints provided nourishment and support throughout. Fran sadly had to leave the race at Stratford-upon-Avon, after 44 miles, due to relentless blisters. Alan persevered and finished the race, covering slightly over 100 miles, with an elevation gain of over 5000 feet, in 35 hours 1 minute.
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Nearer to home, Simon Spence, also liking a challenge, completed the 110 mile Hardmoors Ultra race, not so named without a reason! The race, starting at Filey, and going mainly along the Cleveland Way, involves going up and down Roseberry Topping for one challenge as well as plenty of others, and again, nourishment along the way is essential.
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Congratulations to all of these members!
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Pedro Carrasco, Will Jagger, Andrew Pollard, Ruth Pollard and Louise Mayfield with “another runner” at the Northallerton 10k on Sunday! (Photo credit – Will Jagger)
Joe Joyce and his family with Rishi Sunak before the Northallerton 10k at the weekend (Photo credit – Joe Joyce)
Simon Spence striding out towards the finish of the Hardmoors 110 mile Ultra. (Photo credit- Marc Davies)
Alan and Fran at the start of the EBB100, at the Birmingham Rugby Club
(Photo credit – Alan Simpson)
Alan finishing the EBB100 race (Photo credit – Fran Jeffery)
