Ilkley Harriers news archive 2025
Ilkley Gazette Report – w/c 27 Jan 2025
Mon 27 Jan 2025
From Jill Ezard…
Photo credit Mick Hall photos
Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships and the build up to the Fell Race
After last week’s full race calendar there was limited racing this weekend but some great performances. Despite Storm Éowyn making course set up extremely challenging, the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships took place on Saturday at Tatton Park in Cheshire. With exceptional athletes in all age categories this is a fantastic opportunity for the Harriers to pit themselves against the best of the north and every Harrier put in a great performance. In the under 17 category, Junior Harriers Alexander Wolfenden and Oscar Shinn had excellent runs over the 5.8km course. Alexander came over the line in 18:54 taking 20th position with Oscar just behind in 20:37. In the under 20s races, Helena Coy was the sole female Harrier taking part but had a strong race taking 17th place in 22:48 over the 5.8km course. Meanwhile, Ed Hobbs and Christos Tzelis battled it out in the men’s under 20 race with Ed having a superb run to finish fifth in the 7.9km race in 25:05 and Christos, also in the top 20 in 26:03. In the senior races it was Rachel Carter in the 7.9km women’s race and Steve Coy in the men’s 11.75k event representing the Harriers. Rachel came over the line in 33:21 taking sixth place in her age category, with Steve completing the race in 46:16. Well done to all for representing the club!
Back closer to home, Geoffrey White was the sole Harrier to brave the aptly named St Aiden’s Winter Beast. A hilly 6.66mile race around RSPB St Aiden’s Country Park, the run takes participants on paths and trails throughout the park with some great views at the top of the climbs if you dare to look up! Geoffrey had a good run completing the run in 58:28.
And if reports of Harriers’ race experiences pique your interest why not think about entering the next race in the Harriers’ own race calendar – the Ilkley Moor Fell Race taking place on second March 2025. You can enter by following the link on the Ilkley Harriers’ website. Not sure whether it’s quite your thing? We’re hosting a recce of the course on Sunday 9th February at 10:30am. It will start from Darwin Gardens in Ilkley and everyone is welcome. If you’re interested, check out the details on Facebook and X.
If shorter events are more your thing, then you could follow the lead of the 22 Harriers and Juniors who took part in the parkrun events at home and abroad this weekend. There were a poetic ten top-ten finishes this weekend: Junior Harrier James Lee was fifth at the Chevin; James Horrex was sixth at Fountain’s Abbey; Mark Hall was fourth at Lister Park bagging an eye-watering 87.02% age grade along the way; Gawain Moore was the first finisher at Roberts Park with Isobel Moore in fifth place and Emma Moore in tenth, making it a real family affair; Jann Smith was eighth at the same event; Samesh Chotai was the third finisher at Skipton; and two Harriers, Sam Angus and Maddie Morris, travelled overseas to finish in the top ten in the Donaupark event in Vienna! There were also Personal Bests for Gawain and Emma Moore and Geoffrey Howard continued his age grading form with a fantastic 85.15%. Congratulations to all who took part in an event.
Northern XC Championships – Sat 25 Jan 2025
Sat 25 Jan 2025
From Rachel Carter…
A few of us headed across the Pennines to the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships at Tatton Park, Cheshire. After the wind and storms of Friday, Saturday was a still, cold but sunny day showing Tatton Park’s magnificent trees and lakes in all their glory. Organisation was spot on with parking just a few minutes walk to the tent and start area, and importantly plenty of toilets!. The course was largely firm and runnable with a section of slightly rougher ground, a handful of bogs and a short sharp incline amongst a few much shallower ups and downs. Senior Men ran three laps and women two. Medium and small laps were in the mix for younger categories.
Steve Coy (217th) was the only Senior male finisher and I (76th) the only Senior Woman. Ed Hobbs had a great run to finish 5th in the Junior men with Christos Tzelis around a minute behind in 17th. In the Junior Women, Helena Coy finished strongly in 17th and in the U17 Men’s Alexander Wolfenden was 20th and Oscar Shinn 70th. Full results.
For anyone still considering a trip to Parliament Hill, London on 22nd February for the National Cross Country Championships the closing date is 31st Jan.
Ilkley Gazette Report w/c 20 Jan 2025
Mon 20 Jan 2025
From Will Worboys…
Harriers Dominant on the Fells
Ilkley athletes have been dominating the fells, with several wins and podium finishes posted on a successful weekend for the Harriers.
Ilkley’s English fell champion Ben Rothery continued his winning streak, finishing first and breaking yet another course record in the process. Rothery was up against a strong field in the third race of the ‘Kong Winter Fell Series’ at Clough Head near Keswick. An extremely tough five-mile route incorporating 1870 feet of climbing did not deter Rothery from posting a brilliant time of 35:09, just ahead of rival Finlay Grant. Fellow Ilkley runner Sam Bentham was not far back in 6th place and a time of 37:30, again demonstrating that a big future lies ahead for the young Harrier. Two other Harriers also travelled to the lakes and put in very good performances. James Bentham finished in 56:33 and Alison Weston made it back in 1:01:04 and was 5th placed in the W50 category.
Closer to home at the Stanbury Splash, Jack Cummings had another brilliant run. He finished 33 seconds ahead of the second placed runner in 38 minutes dead, to win the race for the second year running. The race, which is organised by Wharfedale Harriers, is part of the annual series of fell races based at Penistone quarry near Haworth and as the name suggests includes some stream crossings in addition to navigating plenty of rugged moorland terrain. It attracted a good number of Harriers who were happy to get their feet wet, maybe due to it being the first event of the 2025 club race league. The Ilkley ladies also excelled at the race, winning the team prize. This was helped by Rachel Carter being second female in a time of 1:02:07, followed by Kate Archer who was 3rd female in 1:03:36. Katie Poulter was the other contributor to the team prize by finishing as 6th female. There were plenty of other superb runs in very cold conditions. Kelly Wilby was 7th female, Paul Carman was in 29th place overall and Alistair Barlow, Peter Roll, Ash Winter, Paul O’Looney, Paul Disney and Colm McCann all finished well inside the first half of runners to complete the race. At the same venue in the junior 3K quarry runs, Oscar Shinn finished 2nd overall (1st U19), followed by George Whittlestone in 4th place.
Meanwhile in the Pennines, Ilkley’s own endurance specialist Petra Bijsterveld attacked the monstrous Montane Winter Spine Challenger North. Starting at Hawes and finishing 160 miles north, all the way up in Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish borders. This amazing attempt in wintry conditions had Petra’s clubmates glued to the live map ‘dot watching’ for athlete number 507’s progress. After setting off on Monday morning Petra battled through all the way to Friday and a painfully close 7 miles from the finish before she unfortunately succumbed to a painful back problem and had to pull out. An amazing achievement to get so far in what is one of the toughest endurance races there is.
On the road on Sunday was the classic ‘Brass Monkey’ half marathon, which is based in York and takes participants out into the countryside and back. The race always attracts a strong field due to its flat route and PB potential and this year was won by ex-Harrier Laurence McCourt, now of Morpeth. Several current Harriers made the trip including Helen Waddington who put in a very good performance to finish 5th in her category in a time of 1:42:59. Justin Phillips in 1:26:51 and Phil Joyner in 1:28:31 headed the way for the Ilkley men. They were followed by Dick Waddington and Alan Travis who both ran very well. Paula Reynier was pleased to dip under two hours with a superb run and then Sarah Lambert in 2:16:18.
One Harrier made his way to Cheshire for a half marathon after missing out on a Brass Monkey place. Harry Brook-Dobson completed the Four Villages Half Marathon which tours somewhere between 3 and 5 villages on pleasant country lanes. The lone Ilkley runner will have been glad to have made the trip as he bettered his nine year old PB by over three minutes to finish the race in 70th place of over 1400 finishers and a time of 1:21:13.
More success was had in the 5K parkruns on Saturday morning. At Chevin Forest James Horrex was first finisher in a time of 19:24. Junior Harrier James Lee was 3rd at the event in 20:05. At Roberts Park, in addition to his 1st place at Bradford schools XC earlier in the week, junior athlete Alexander Wolfenden was first finisher in a time of 18:13. Rachel Carter was 1st female at the same event, while junior Ethan Pickwoad came first in the JM10 category in an excellent 22:34. Ruaridh Mon-Williams came a brilliant 1st at Holyrood in a time of 16:23. At Skipton Harry Sime continued his superb 5K form to finish 8th in 21:53. While at Myrtle Park Nicola Budding was 7th female in 26:31. At Lister Park Mark Hall was 6th finisher in 18:53 and Ethan Carpenter was the only junior Harrier there finishing in a time of 27:02.
Four Villages HM – Sun 19 Jan 2025
Mon 20 Jan 2025
From Harry Brook-Dobson…
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Photo credit: Mick Hall Photos
Being as disorganised as I am, I missed the ballot for the Brass Monkey so made the trip to Cheshire for this race on the same day which still had entries available into December. The course transpired to be more ‘sporting’ than the advertised 200ft of elevation and the organisers were forced to delay the start by 20 minutes after being let down by the bus company who were supposed to ferry everyone from the car park to the start. This l meant I finished warming up about 45 minutes before starting the race and by the time we got going I felt I’d already had the full ‘brass monkeys’ experience… The course was on the pleasant lanes between Helsby and Chester and had enough undulations and changes in direction to keep you focused. I was the only Harrier to take part, finished in 70th place, and was delighted to beat my 9 year old PB by over 3 minutes. I would do the race again but will resolve (and likely fail) to plan ahead and try to get into Brass Monkey next year as it’s a local one I haven’t run.
Four Villages HM – Sun 19 Jan 2025
Sun 19 Jan 2025
From Harry Brook-Dobson…
Photo credit: Mick Hall Photos
Being as disorganised as I am, I missed the ballot for the Brass Monkey so made the trip to Cheshire for this race on the same day which still had entries available into December. The course transpired to be more ‘sporting’ than the advertised 200ft of elevation and the organisers were forced to delay the start by 20 minutes after being let down by the bus company who were supposed to ferry everyone from the car park to the start. This l meant I finished warming up about 45 minutes before starting the race and by the time we got going I felt I’d already had the full ‘brass monkeys’ experience… The course was on the pleasant lanes between Helsby and Chester and had enough undulations and changes in direction to keep you focused. I was the only Harrier to take part, finished in 70th place, and was delighted to beat my 9 year old PB by over 3 minutes. I would do the race again but will resolve (and likely fail) to plan ahead and try to get into Brass Monkey next year as it’s a local one I haven’t run.
Stanbury Splash – Sun 19 Jan 2025
Sun 19 Jan 2025
From Rachel Carter…
It was a tad chilly up on Haworth Moor for Stanbury Splash fell race but no rain or wind. Despite the freezing conditions, and knowing that the course involves ‘splashing’ through streams, Kate and I opted for shorts – independently concluding that cold wet legs were preferable to cold wet leggings! In the end, despite some pre race indecisiveness about how many layers to wear, I felt my choice of one base-layer, hat and gloves was about right, with the rest of kit carried! The course is an undulating mix of track, technical path , fields and bog (mainly just within the last half mile today and when your legs least need it) and includes a very short section of Pennine Way – from chat at the end I wasn’t the only one thinking of Petra today when the racing got tough!
15 Harriers took part with Jack Cummings taking the win by over 30 seconds. Ilkley Harriers won the ladies team prize with myself 2nd, Kate Archer 3rd and Katie Poulter in 6th, and Jann Smith won the LV50 prize. Prizes as ever involved a lot of chocolate, wine and beer!
Ilkley Gazette Report – w/c 13 January 2025
Mon 13 Jan 2025
[Archie Budding, the Northern Athletics U20 Indoor 1,500m Champion]
From Peter Shelley & Nicola Budding…
Archie flies at 1,500m Champs while winter conditions test race organisers and runners alike
The Institute of Sport in Sheffield staged the Northern Athletics U20 Indoor Championships over the weekend. Building on his 2nd place finish at the Yorkshire XC Championships a week earlier, Archie Budding took the championship 1st place in the U20M 1,500m, a great start to his indoor season following a very successful outdoor season last year.
Snow and ice played havoc with the week’s outdoor running fixtures and training, but a number of Harriers mastered the conditions in the events which were able to go ahead.
Postponed from December due to Storm Darragh, the Leeds Country Way Winter Ultras took place on Saturday and Sunday 11th-12th January. Competitors tackle two point-to-point ultra-marathons on consecutive days circumnavigating the city of Leeds via local footpaths and bridleways. Ilkley Harriers Chair Jonathan Turner chose this event to make his ultra running debut. Frozen ground and sheet ice posed not only a challenge to running but to navigation as plunging temperatures caused Jonathan’s phone to stop working. His watch followed suit, and the micro spikes attached to his shoes snapped on the 56km southern segment of the circular route. Overcoming these challenges and his own doubts at the end of a tough day one, Jonathan persisted on day two to complete 50 more km and finish the event in 15 hours 29 minutes and 12th place overall, a fabulous achievement.
James Horrex finished 4th in 21:23 at Roundhay, one of the few local parkruns to take place. Sam Angus was 73rd in 24:55, Will Worboys 325th in 31:22 and Natalie Gravett-Foyn 346th in 31:48. 690 ran.
Tom Lambe’s 20:52 placed him 7th in Heartlands parkrun in Cornwall, while Amanda Newham was 32nd in Southall in 31:29.
Ilkley Harriers is a friendly welcoming club, open to all. If you would like to try us out, please register first on the training page at www.ilkleyharriers.org.uk and then come along to our main club night at 6.45pm on Tuesdays, meet upstairs at Ilkley tennis and squash club.
Leeds Country Way Winter Ultra – Sat/Sun 11/12 Jan 2025
Sun 12 Jan 2025
From Jonathan Turner…
It felt a bit like out of the frying pan and into the fire when the Leeds Country Way Winter Ultra finally got under way on Saturday – the original dates in early December were cancelled because of Storm Darragh and rescheduled for the second weekend in January.
So wind and rain was replaced by lots – and lots – of snow and ice and on balance we probably had it a little easier. However it definitely added to the challenge for the 35 miles on the Saturday and then 30 on the Sunday. Those who have done legs of the LCW Relay will know most of the route well, though the southern half was markedly different in places.
Micro studs helped until they snapped early on Saturday afternoon. The phone died soon after because of the cold and then the watch, which made navigation tricky in the final section. I had a battery charger which got things back on track but it all gave me massive appreciation for the challenge Petra and others all had to come in the Winter Spine Race, a completely different league.
I made my way to the finish at Farsley Celtic FC around 5pm on Saturday, effectively the halfway point for the weekend, but I think the cold conditions had taken their toll as plenty of people were unsure about whether they’d be back for part two in the morning.
I was 50/50 at that point – I had good excuses as I’d been drawn out of the club ballot during the week for the London Marathon so that had suddenly become the running priority and I also knew the second half really well, so it was less a voyage into the unknown.
However a quick dash to a nearby outdoor shop to replace the broken Yaktrax-type footwear things probably gave a good indication of what was going to happen the next day.
And I was so glad I did go back. I made a conscious effort to exit the start right at the back and just make Sunday all about getting to the finish. It was completely new territory – Saturday had been my longest-ever run, and now I had 50k/30 miles to negotiate the day after.
But it couldn’t have worked out better. I joined up with two others before the halfway point near Harewood and we pretty much chatted all the way from then on.
It became obvious that lots had bailed before the Sunday so a very limited field by this point and we were now the last group but embraced it – and it was fantastic not worrying about time or position. Running with others also meant the constant looking out for black ice could be put on hold for sections – whoever was at the front would shout a warning – but to be honest the runnable sections were very limited.
I’ve realised that ultrarunners are definitely a different breed – one of the two I ran with had recently completed 130-miles plus at a Backyard Ultra – and it was good to get plenty of advice for the future.
Ritchie W and Petra had told me to set off steady and keep eating, which I tried to follow, but running with others was the game-changer for me – that turned it from a battle with the bad chimp on your shoulder telling you to quit to a really enjoyable experience.
Obviously it’s very, very early days for me but hopefully this is the first of many ultras and I’d definitely recommend Great Owl Running who organised this. A small company but they handled the initial cancellation well and the rescheduled event ran smoothly. Check points / food stations were great and friendly and they are now doing the LCW ultra all in one in September, starting at midnight. Think I might be tempted…
Ilkley Gazette Report – w/c 6 Jan 2025
Mon 6 Jan 2025
From Jill Ezard…
Photo credit: Woodentops
New Year successes off road
Snow and ice may have stopped play at the weekend with both the third race in the PECO cross country series and several parkruns being cancelled, but it was still a good week for the Harriers off road and at the parkrun events that could be held.
On New Year’s Eve 13 hardy Harriers clearly wanted to see 2024 out in style, taking part in the Daleside Auld Lang Syne race. A 6.7 mile race with a challenging 1000ft of ascent, participants set off from Peniston Hill Country Park, heading up towards Top Withens, taking in the upper reaches of Ponden Clough and Stanbury Moor. Jack Cummings had a great race taking second place in an impressive time of 46:10. Martin Hartley was the second Harrier home in 55:52 followed by Thomas Mountain in 58:56. Kate Archer was the first Ilkley lady home and sixth lady overall, taking fourth place in her age category in 59:15, just pipping Paul Carman to the line in 59:20. Both Kelly Wilby and Jann Smith were in the top ten of their age categories completing the race in 1:05:26 and 1:08:26 respectively. Well done to everyone that took part and represented the club.
In a completely different challenge, John Hayes took part in The Drop, Leeds. In this event competitors are taken blindfolded by bus to an unknown location outside Leeds and, without the aid of any tech or map and compass, must find their way back! Relishing the opportunity to go old school, relying on the sun, road signs and local landmarks, John took on the longer 15 mile event. Getting dropped of somewhere between Keighley and Halifax, John found find his way back, running 17.6 miles in the process, but managing to win the event in 2:18:42, over 20 minutes ahead of the next finisher. A great result!
Just squeezing in before the snow took hold, several Harriers across the senior and junior clubs, travelled to North Yorkshire to take part in the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships at Lightwater Valley. The undulating lap based course, offering a variety of distances across the age groups, was in good condition despite the rain during the week. All participants, regardless of the distance had to tackle some steep climbs with a fast level finish. Five Juniors ran with some excellent results: In the U13 Boys race Thomas Greenwood was 31st in 10:51; Ben Stacey ran in the U15 Boys race coming 39th in 18:39; and Alexander Wolfenden had a top ten finish in the U17 Boys race in 22:44.
Three of our Younger Harriers took part in the U20 races: In the women’s race Helena Coy had a great run finishing the 6.3km race in the top ten in 28:31; Archie Budding took a fantastic second place in the men’s 8.2km race in 28:06, followed by Samesh Chotai in 30:26 taking seventh place.
And in the senior races, the Coy family were battling it out in the men’s race with some impressive times across the 10k course: Dom took family bragging rights coming over the line first in 35:37; Nathan was next in 39:33; and keeping the boys in sight and the last member of the family over the line was Steve in 42:06. Katie Hickling was the sole female Harrier at the event finishing the 8.2km senior women’s race in 47:13.
Blowing away the cobwebs and starting the year with parkrun fun, there were two opportunities to take part in the free 5k events across the country this week with 28 Harriers joining the events on New Year’s Day and 16 on Saturday. New Year’s Day saw some great top ten finishes across the country: Alex Foyn and Natalie Gravett-Foyn at Barnstead Woods; Oscar Shinn at the Chevin Forest event, securing a Personal Best on the first day of the year; Jaysson Sawyer at Fountains Abbey; James Horrex at Gunnersby; Adam Gerrish at Nottingham; and Samesh Chotai and Harry Sime at Skipton. Special mention to the Moore family who all ran in the Chevin Forest event with Juniors Michael and Isobel both taking age category first finisher positions. The weather meant many of the local events were cancelled at the weekend but there were still some great top ten finishes across the country: Rob Cunningham at the Eden Project; James Horrex at Harrogate; and Alex Foyn at Moel Valley where he also finished in a Personal Best time.
Congratulations to all who took part in an event.
The Drop Leeds – Sat 4 Jan 2025
Sat 4 Jan 2025
From John Hayes…
One of the things I enjoy about longer races is the navigational element. Running with a map and compass in hand is second nature to me. Take them away, and I’m like a young child who has had their comfort blanket confiscated. In a nutshell, this is what happens in The Drop. You can have no map, no compass, no phone and no Garmin watch or other such gadget. You can carry the gadgets but they must be started and then sealed in a non-see-through bag at the point you board the bus. And when you have taken your seat in the bus, you MUST wear a blindfold. You are then driven to the start. This means for the first hour or so, your Strava trace shows you moving at about 30-60 mph. One of the most important jobs at the finish is to edit your run (to remove the bus journey) before your followers start querying your astonishing PBs. But I digress. What about the run itself? Well, when the bus stops you remove your blindfold. Unless the bus is dropping off the 10 mile runners and you have entered the 15 mile event. Then you MUST keep the blindfold on until you get dropped off at the 15 mile location. You then have to work out where you are and try and pick the best route back. This is not easy. They tend to drop runners off in obscure locations. The position of the sun, road signs and bus stops are all useful. Following other runners is definitely NOT advisable, especially those who set off fast and uber-confidently. This year the 15 mile drop off (which I entered) was somewhere between Keighley and Halifax. I spent a good few minutes running in circles and trying to work out where the sun should be if I was where I thought I was. I managed to get myself back to Leeds via Thornton/Bradford/Pudsey/the canal/Kirkstall. I must have taken a fairly good route (or everyone else must have got lost!) because I won the 15 mile event, running about 17.6 miles in the process. This race is great fun, and certainly different!
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Keswick New Year’s Day parkrun – Wed 1 Jan 2025
Wed 1 Jan 2025
From Paul Stephens…
My second parkrun, 15 years after the first, was a last minute decision on New Year’s Eve before we’d started on the wine and whisky. Keswick is a fast out and back course, and it was popular: 450+ runners. Only one other Harrier, Helen Thurston (with her daughter) who I think had driven up from Ilkley. I was staying in Threlkeld, so easy. I know parkruns are not races but I was concerned that I posted a reasonable time. I was 2nd in my age category. That was ok. Thank you to the Saturday morning efforts.