Ilkley Harriers news archive 2024

Ilkley Gazette Report – w/c 28 October

Mon 28 Oct 2024

[Photo by Gaenor Coy – Ilkley’s men’s senior team at the West Yorkshire Cross Country]

From Will Worboys…

Cross Country success for Ilkley Harriers

Several athletes from Ilkley attended the second race in the West Yorkshire Cross Country series, in what was otherwise an unseasonably quiet weekend in the local running world. The event took place at Thornes Park, Wakefield on Sunday morning and attracted top-class runners from all age groups to take part in the various categorised races.

Ilkley’s men’s team put in another excellent performance to finish in 4th place overall in their 9.9KM race, one place better than the previous event at Guiseley earlier in the month. This was helped by Christos Tzelis putting in a brilliant run to finish 3rd in a time of 31.05, just six seconds behind Joe Sagar, the winner from Leeds City AC. Following close behind in 4th was clubmate Ed Hobbs repeating his finishing position from last time out. The Ilkley pair were 1st and 2nd in the under 20 age category. There were also impressive performances from Dan McKeown, Steve Gott, Stephen Coy, and Danny Thompson, whose results all contributed to the team score.

In the ladies inexplicably much shorter race of 5.5KM there were also two excellent Ilkley performances. Helena Coy, who has recently moved up to the senior ranks, showed her great potential, finishing as 2nd Under 20 and in 15th place overall. Not far behind was the only other Harrier in this race Rachel Carter, who finished 19th overall and 3rd V45W.

As for the junior races, the Under 17 men’s team were the pick, with Alexander Wolfenden (4th), Oscar Shinn (6th) and Ollie Holder (16th) helping the Harriers to 2nd overall. In the ladies Under 17 race Matilda Irvine finished 13th. While in the Under 11’s Ethan Pickwoad was 11th and Rafe Garner was 24th.

Meanwhile in North Wales, one Harrier made the trip to take part in the Marathon Eryri, which is an annual road race that circles Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales. Petra Bijsterveld had a superb run finishing in a PB time of 4:28:04 in the event. This performance was especially strong as there is a challenging 2,674 feet of climbing in total encompassed within the scenic 26.2 miles. Petra battled issues with cramp to still knock five minutes off her best time for the race, which she had completed five times previously. The Ilkley endurance expert finished as 7th lady in the V60 category in the iconic event.

Happy news at one of this week’s 5K parkruns, where there was an emotional comeback for club stalwart Bernie Gibbons to Roberts Park. In June this year Bernie collapsed at a parkrun in Manchester and spent some time in intensive care. After several months in hospital and having only been discharged several weeks ago, she was having real difficulties mobilising and needed physiotherapy to help with walking; making returning to parkrun her goal. Two weeks ago, Bernie made it along to watch husband Vince and daughter Mary run at the event. Last week she pushed herself to manage a full lap which was half the full 5K. This week she amazingly managed to complete the full course herself, showing real strength, courage and determination by running parts of it. Everyone at the club wishes Bernie well with her continuing recovery.

In other parkrun news; also at Roberts Park, Dave Foyston had a great run to finish first. This was even more impressive due to the fact that he was in a full Halloween costume with scary mask and could see very little of where he was running!

Elsewhere Robert Cunningham finished 6th at Chevin Forest and Sally Malir was 8th female at the same event. At Cliffe Castle in Keighley, Jacqui Foster finished as 10th female. Harry Sime continued his metronomic 5K timekeeping finishing in 20:08 in 20th place, this time at Fountains Abbey. At Lister Park’s event junior member James Lee had an excellent 6th place finish and finally Samesh Chotai did brilliantly to finish 4th at Skipton.

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.

Brontë Way Fell Race – Sun 27 Oct

Sun 27 Oct 2024

From Jo Foster…

We think Jim Ryder was the sole Harrier running the Brontë Way Fell Race on Sunday. It was a stunning day for an 8-mile romp over the moors from Wycoller to Haworth, with the tough finish up the Haworth cobbles. This is a good value, relaxed race with a free drink in the pub and great for spectating. No results as yet but Jim’s time was 1:13:02.

Marathon Eryri – Sat 26 Oct

Sat 26 Oct 2024

From Petra Bijsterveld…

I travelled to Llanberis for my sixth time running Marathon Eryri (the English version of the name, ‘Snowdonia Marathon’ was dropped in 2023). It was the 40^th staging of this iconic race and the Welsh weather obligingly showed its best face, giving us dry sunny conditions with only a light breeze and a perfect running temperature. The favourable conditions may have helped the winners: Andrew Davies (Maldwyn Harriers) set a new course record of 2:28:41 (the first time 2:30 has been broken) and Louise Flynn (Les Croupiers) ran 2:59:27 (only the 3^rd female ever to go under 3 hours).

Having written five previous race reports and a blog I won’t go into all the details of the race here, but I will just remind the reader that there is 2674ft of ascent squeezed into the 26.2 miles! It is generally held that elite runners will run 20 minutes slower here than on a flat course, mid-pack runners 30 minutes.

I have become gradually faster on this course as the years have gone by, last year I ran 4:33:01. This brought the sub 4:30 goal potentially within reach and I made that my aim. I could see two aspects in last year’s race that I could improve on and shave time off with: starting nearer to the front so I would not have to spend the early miles endlessly weaving around steadier runners, and avoiding having to make a toilet stop.

Training had been as good as I could make it, having run the SwissPeaks 100 in early September. I took two weeks to recover and then had five weeks left to focus on road miles. In fact, that is four weeks and a sharp one week taper. Anyone who thinks that my running lots of ultras translates into finding a road marathon a mere breeze would be gravely mistaken. Road running is so much harder!

I had written my 5k splits and my timing point splits from last year on my forearm, with the plan to be just ahead of them, and progressively increase the difference over the race, hopefully without overcooking it. As we lined up for the start I pushed my way forward until I found the 4:30 pacer. I had a brief chat with him, he was really nice and did exude confidence but at the same time I noted that he had a wrist band with a standard pacing chart, and I did wonder how useful this would be on such a hilly course, especially with two out of the three main climbs coming in the second half you cannot split this race anywhere near even. I assumed he had lots of experience on this course but didn’t really want to ask for fear of appearing rude. I decided to stick near him or go marginally ahead, but mainly rely on my own plan, as I know the course well enough. I overtook him in mile 6 and did not see him again until the finish. (He did make it just inside 4:30 but seemed even more broken than I was, which you wouldn’t expect from a pacer!)

I spent some miles yo-yoing with Matt Podd from Otley AC which was nice. Lots of people said ‘hello Croups’ to me as our Ilkley vest is the same as that of Les Croupiers AC in Cardiff. Someone asked if I was Petra and she said she had read my blog. But other than these little exchanges I just worked hard. I managed to occasionally enjoy looking at the views, autumn colours in the sunshine and all that, but this race was largely about digging deep, keeping on top of my fuelling and hydration, and going at the fastest pace I could maintain for four and a half tough hours.

Having had cramp on the finishing straight last year I took two electrolyte capsules with about four miles to go, but I still got a sudden severe cramp in my left hamstring at the top of the last climb, which is particularly steep. It settled down again quickly, but was a warning sign. I hurtled down the two-mile descent (the first mile of this is off road and tricky, but thankfully relatively dry this year). I knew my goal time was in the bag barring a fall or cramp disaster. And I saw at least two runners crumpled at the side of the path, but they where being helped by others so I rushed onwards. With about half a mile to go I felt as if my legs were going to give way but I sped on downwards into Llanberis and the wall of sound on the finishing straight. I could hear people shout my name and ‘Ilkley’. About ten meters from the line my almost Olympic sprint came to an abrupt halt due to the agony of more sudden hamstring cramp. I could hear the roar of the crowd go ‘Oooohhh’ as if they were living it with me. Thankfully I had enough time in hand so I hobbled over the line in 4:28:04 to receive my sixth slate coaster. Absolutely over the moon. I had hoped to be in the top three of my age category (F60) having been fourth last year, but the field was even stronger this year, making me seventh out of 55. I think I can be happy with that!

I do intend to return to this race next year, ballot permitting, but I don’t think I can improve on this time. No more marginal gains available and I couldn’t have gone any faster. Maybe I will jog round and enjoy the scenery a bit more!

Results

(1 2:28:41 Andrew Davies, Maldwyn Harriers)

(26 2:59:23 Louise Flynn, Les Croupiers)

945 4:28:04 Petra Bijsterveld

2342 ran

Ilkley Gazette Report – w/c 21 October

Mon 21 Oct 2024

[Photo by Alison Weston – Men’s Open British Fell and Relay third place team (L to R) Sam Bentham, Ben Rothery, Jack Wood, Tom Adams and Nathan Edmondson (Jack Cummings not shown)]

From Jill Ezard…

Podium and age category success for Harriers across the UK

There were fantastic performances on fell, trail and road this weekend for the Harriers with some outstanding results. Saturday’s glorious weather saw three teams representing the club at the British Fell And Hill Relay Championships on Saturday, providing an opportunity for the best teams from around the country to compete together. The event was being held on home turf this year, with the race starting in Appletreewick and taking in the surrounding fells. There are four legs in the race: the first is a solo leg; the second and third are pairs event with the third also requiring runners to find a number of navigation points; and the fourth is another solo leg. The women’s Vet 40 team, who had got a place through the ballot, had an outstanding run out taking first place. Katie Poulter’s descending skills in the first leg, Kate Archer and Rachel Carter’s ascending prowess on the tough second leg, Alison Weston and Jann Smith’s outstanding navigational work on the third leg and Helen Thurston’s speed on the final leg meant the team finished in a total time of 5:28:34, just over a minute ahead of the second team, guaranteeing them in a place in the event next year.

The men’s open team were also on top form: Sam Bentham led the team out handing over to Jack Cummings and Nathan Edmondson for the second leg; Jack Wood and Tom Adams had a fantastic navigational leg placing third and handed over to Ben Rothery who was the fastest runner in the final leg and brought the team up to a podium third place in a total time of 3:36:01. The men’s Vet 40 team of Daniel McKeown on leg one, Michael Odell and Gawain Moore taking a fantastic second place on leg two, Iain Gibbons and Paul Carman on leg three, and Nick Kealey on the final leg, pushed the team into eighth place overall in 4:41:40. Well done to all the teams!

A little further north, three Harriers travelled to the Lake District to take part in the Lakeland Trails Helvellyn 15km race, a beautiful event taking participants into the foothills of Helvellyn, with elevated panoramic views of Ullswater, and dramatic vistas of the surrounding peaks. It was clearly a day for success as all three achieved personal bests on the route: Peter Roll was the first home in 1:21:04, followed by Steve King in 1:36:51, both taking sixth place in their age categories, and Penny Coulthard had a great run dipping under the two-hour mark in 1:59:12.

In contrast on Sunday it was a day to battle challenging weather conditions on the roads with seven Harriers taking part in the Yorkshire Marathon in York. Starting and finishing at the University campus, the event takes in the sights of the city on a flat and fast course. Steven Bysouth was the first over the line in a cracking time of 3:05:10, a hair’s breadth in front of Jaysson Sawyer in 3:05:11! The remaining four Harriers were separated by less than 15 minutes: Danny Thompson finished in 3:23:03; Dave Reynier in 3:27:57; Ash Winter in 3:30:30; Harry Brook-Dobson in 3:34:41; and Mark Gill in 3:37:20.

Further afield, one intrepid Harrier travelled to The Netherlands to take part in the TCS Amsterdam Marathon. The course starts and finishes in the Olympic Stadium, passes the Rijksmuseum, follows the Amstel for several miles and winds through the Vondelpark. Lucy Lowe had a great run dipping under the four and a half hour mark in 4:29:03.

It was a quieter weekend of racing for our Juniors, but nonetheless a very successful one for those who ran! After last week’s 1st place finish at Chevin Forest Parkrun, Alexander Wolfenden decided to leave the trails behind and run on tarmac this weekend, with another fantastic 1st place finish at Skipton Parkrun in 17:28. On Sunday morning, the wet and windy weather did not deter Ollie Holder from running in the Whixley 5K – a scenic run around Whixley and its surrounds. He was rewarded with 1st place overall, finishing in 19:51.

Taking advantage of the good weather, 19 Harriers took part in parkruns across the country. In a spot of parkrun tourism, Geoff White and Laura Dawes took part in the Girvan Prom event on the west coast of Scotland with Geoff the eighth finisher. At the Lister Park event Mark Hall was yet again topping the age grade ratings with his time of 18:58 securing a rating of 87.61%! And it was a top ten finish and a great age grading of 79.52% for Harry Sime at the Roberts Park event. Skipton saw success for Samesh Chotai, taking a third place finish and Geoff Howard achieving an age grading of 86.49%. Well done to all that took part.

Abingdon Marathon – Sun 20 Oct

Sun 20 Oct 2024

From Forrest Hamilton..

Abingdon-on-Thames is a small town about 15 minutes down the road from Oxford and its fairly flat and fast marathon has been going since 1982, making it one of the oldest in the country. Taking place the same day as the Yorkshire Marathon, I chose to head south mainly because the start/finish is just a mile from my in-laws, offering a logistically easy weekend away.

Although the race only has around 2 miles in total run on closed roads, it attracts a fast selection of runners amongst the 1,000 participants. By the sounds of it, we got much luckier with the weather than everyone running in York, even though there were plenty of grumbles from the people around me about the conditions ruining the chance of a PB. On an entirely unrelated note, I didn’t see another northerner all day.

Having entered this race back in July with the goal of attaining a Boston Qualifier (you needed to have run a 2.53.03 to get a place in the 2025 race) for 2026, I’d promptly got injured and the build up mostly consisted of cycling, easy trails and abandoned long runs. Hardly a recipe for success, considering the marathon is unforgiving to even the most prepared of us. But hey, we were headed down anyway, so I told my wife I’d run at sub-2.50 pace until I couldn’t. That was about as far as the planning went.

After the first 300m on the track (a hell of a way to ensure you go out too fast!) and a couple miles on a fast downhill stretch of road, we headed onto a muddy footpath for a mile. Surrounded by complaints about the weather (apparently Abingdon has something of a reputation for rain) and new Alphafly’s getting muddy, I felt fairly smug (I like running in the rain and my Alphafly’s were already dirty).

The smugness didn’t last long as the pace and lack of training started to pinch with just 6 miles gone. Just don’t think about the 20 miles left…

Once you’re out of the town centre, you start a loop that you do twice, this is mostly on back country roads and a business park, but does also incorporate a roughly three mile stretch (unsure if this is accurate but it felt LONG) where you run along a wonky pavement next to a busy road. This is not the best. Especially on the second go round.

Aside from this, the running was mainly good, with a good group to share the wind blocking duties and long stretches of traffic free road to enjoy the accompanying tailwind.

The benefits of the twice run loop was that spectating for my endlessly patient, excitable, and very cold wife was easy. This is probably the best thing about the race, as she was able to see me at the start, mile 10, 19 and the finish. When you’re as reliant on good vibes and a seamless gel hand off as I was, this is no small thing. Apparently, the leader at mile 10 wasn’t quite so lucky with his gel hand off, as his wife (perhaps not expecting him to be so quick) missed him and had to frantically chase up to him, to the biggest cheer of the day.

Despite having zero expectations of the race going well, the expected bonk never came and I didn’t truly hit the wall until mile 25, dragging myself to a final 7.00 minute mile and a 2.49.20 finish, which all but confirmed a trip to Boston. Running is weird and I’m not sure I’ll try and replicate my build up the next time.

If you’re looking for a new marathon to run and don’t mind travelling, Abingdon is certainly worth looking into. I’m not sure it’s quite as flat or fast as advertised but it’s well supported and organised. You also get free photos from the plentiful volunteers on course which is no small thing when they often cost £25 a pop! Perhaps this is a concession to the miles of dodgy pavement running…

British FRA Relays (all teams) – Sat 19 Oct

Sat 19 Oct 2024

From Rachel Carter…

This year the UKA British Hill and Fell Relays were held at Appletreewick with all the best fell teams coming to compete in this prestigious event of the race calendar. The relays comprise 4 legs – 2 solos and 2 paired – with Leg 3 requiring navigation to find 9 checkpoints after being handed a map at a few hundred metres into the race. There were rumours beforehand that the course wouldn’t be tough, with it being held in a relative backwater of the Dales, but I think many were surprised! Wharfedale Harriers’ hosting was superb with everything (including the weather) organised perfectly and so many people volunteering their time for car-parking, registration, bag checks, marshalling etc.

Our LV40 team won a place through the ballot and amazingly the team managed to stay the same from being arranged in early September with no last-minute changes required due to illness or injury. This meant those of us on the non navigation legs did fit in a couple of recces so we had knowledge of the terrain and most of the route.

Katie’s skills as a strong descender meant she was well placed on Leg 1, which included the punishing Burnsall Fell race route putting our team 7th of 17 in the LV40 category. Kate and I ‘ran’ Leg 2 – the longest leg at 8.7miles and 2600 ft. Kate’s endurance definitely pushed me to my limit for the 2nd half but I held my own on the descents and we moved the team up to 3rd. Alison and Jann did an amazing job on Leg 3, running over rough pathless ground, staying focused and using their skills to successfully find all the navigation checkpoints, enabling us to move into first place! Having been set off in the Leg 4 mass start, Helen had no knowledge that we were in 1st so could run her own race! By her own admission steep slippy descents are not her preference but she must have managed well as she ran a strong leg in a fast time to keep us in first!

I’ve not done these relays before but it was a great day and I Ioved it. The event has a real buzzy atmosphere as all the legs start and finish from the same point allowing opportunity to cheer fellow club mates on and enjoy the general amazing vibe that the fell running camaraderie provides. Winning the category was the icing on the cake and I don’t think any of us could quite believe it! Apparently this means Ilkley has automatic entry in the LV40 category to next year’s relays (3 1/2 hours away in Wales!). Thanks to all those IH members that supported all the teams on the day – marshalling, cheering on, bringing the tent and taking photos – it’s really appreciated.

From Nick Helliwell…

Rachel has already brilliantly summarised the great day out we had, and the wonderful location and organisation by Wharfedale Harriers, so straight into the mens’ summary:

Having home field advantage, and one of the best teams we could put out, we went into the men’s open category quietly confident of a good result. Which was shared by Ted Mason’s charity bookkeeping enterprise ‘BetTed’, who had Ilkley equal second favourites for overall victory, behind only Carnethy. But this race is highly competitive, and everything has to go right on the day. Sam Bentham led the team out, in his last race as an U18, trying to recreate his second place finish in the same leg in this race last year. Things were looking good to start with, Sam leading the pack at the top of the first (very) big climb. However, disaster struck on the first descent, with Sam falling on loose rocks, and injuring himself quite badly. But the adrenaline kicked in, he picked himself up and finished the leg in 7th, a remarkable achievement, considering the first aiders discussed a hospital visit afterwards! Thankfully it seems he’s okay, with just bruising, which a little rest should resolve. Jack Cummings and Nathan Edmondson took over from Sam, and by the top of the first major climb (Simon’s Seat) had first place in their sights. However, this was a highly competitive field, with a blistering pace being set, and they couldn’t quite hold on from there, finishing the leg in 10th overall. In stepped Tom Adams and Jack Wood, who ran a fantastic navigational leg, pulling the team up to 6th place, just 1m30s behind 3rd place, although with some serious competition ahead. But up stepped Ben Rothery, and racing is what he does best. Ben reeled in team after team, and returned to the event field as leg winner, comfortably in 3rd place overall, to jubilant cheers from the home crowd. We think 3rd place is Ilkley’s best ever result in this competition, and it gives us confidence to do even better in Wales next year.

When Ben Mounsey is racing in a ‘supervets’ Calder Valley team, you know your MV40 team is going to be up against it! Dan McKeown did a great job on Leg 1, the ‘Burnsall Classic plus’ route, coming back to the event field in 9th. Michael Odell and Gawain Moore then absolutely stormed Leg 2, putting the team up to 5th, ahead of even Bingley Harriers’ ‘A’ team! The navigational leg 3 was key, as many teams got lost or missed checkpoints, so Paul Carman and Iain Gibbon’s diligent job of hitting every nav point really paid off, while teams all around got themselves disqualified. Nick Kealey finished it off, and the team ended in a creditable 8th place overall.

We have a bunch of fast youngsters coming through, and some of our elite males already having hit 40, so we might very well have our own supervets team in years to come. We were even talking about some of our fast MV40s becoming elite MV50s, so may even be looking to dominate all three categories at some point. Watch this space!

Ilkley Gazette Report – w/c 14 October

Mon 14 Oct 2024

[Photo by Beth Ripper – Sam Bentham pursued by the pack on his way to victory at the Wasdale Show Fell Race]

From Peter Shelley…

Ilkley Harriers’ mettle tested on the fells and on the roads

Saturday saw Harriers tackle rough conditions in the Lakes and Derbyshire. The Langdale Horseshoe Fell Race covered 21km and 1,450m of ascent on rocky terrain scaling the summits of Thunacarr Knott, Bowfell and Pike of Blisco in high winds and rain. Rated AL (long and steep) by the Fell Racing Association, the race restricts entry to those with relevant experience and navigational skills, with mandatory kit requirements in force. Among the 240 finishers who rose to the challenge were Jack Gribbin finishing in 2:47:00, placing 39th, and Gavin Lamb in 3:12:42, placing 99th.

Steve Turland contended with Saturday’s conditions for even longer to run Lakes in a Day, an annual 80km ultra race with 4,000m of ascent. The route crosses the entire Lake District from Caldbeck in the north to Cartmel in the south passing via Blencathra, the Helvellyn range and the shores and hills west of Windermere. Calling on his considerable experience and resilience, Steve made the finish in 14:36:40, 54th of 218.

Extreme weather on the summit of Kirk Fell caused the Wasdale Show Fell Race to be shortened on safety grounds. Undeterred, Sam Bentham won convincingly in 15:51 to build on an already highly successful 2024 season as he moves into the senior category.

Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak District hosted two off-road endurance events at half marathon and ultra distances. Run over scenic but hilly and muddy trails, the 22k route with 520m of ascent saw Rumana Chowdhury finish in 3:03:41 to place 804/1034. The 52km route with 1,164m of ascent saw Martin Hartley finish in 05:30:56, 64th of 758. Crossing the line with Martin was Ritchie Williamson, adding to his successful 2024 roster of ultra and multi-day events. Congratulations are also due to Paul Sullivan who finished in 06:12:32 and Lucy Elliott in 07:17:28.

Five hardy Harriers tackled a similarly muddy Haworth Moor in the Withins Skyline race, Gawain Moore coming in 7th and top male vet 40, Tom Mountain 35th, Adam Gerrish 51st, Rachel Carter 53rd (2nd lady vet 40) and Duncan Cooper 77th of 170 finishers.

Sunday saw 5,598 runners including ten Harriers compete in the Abbey Dash. The largely flat 10k road route between Leeds city centre and Kirkstall Abbey combined with cool calm conditions to produce some fast times, among them Nathan Edmondson’s 29:59 which gained him an excellent 18th place. Jack Cummings bettered his previous times at this event, finishing 44th in 30:54. Ed Hobbs finished in 31:01 and Alex Foyn in 35:59, placing 48th and 253rd respectively. Competitive showings followed by Tony Pye, Richard Robinson, Andrew Smith, Hannah Osieku, James Holdsworth and Nic Anness.

The standout performance came from Geoffrey Howard who won the male vet 80 category. Geoff’s time of 47:13, fast by any measure, put him 24 minutes clear of his nearest age category rival. Our research suggests that Geoff’s run is the fastest 10k for his age group in the UK in 2024 so far!

Sally Armitage took on an altogether hillier road race climbing 205m over 10k in Holmfirth to finish 13/154 and 2nd lady in 41:19.

Matthew Lambe and Harry Sime both went sub-20 minutes in the York 5k.

Further 5k action took place in this week’s parkruns. Jaysson Sawyer was 10th and Rob Cunningham 19th at the Fountains Abbey event. In Skipton Samesh Chotai went one better than his previous week’s result to come home first in an impressive eighteen minutes flat, having moved up to the senior section.

Dave and Paula Reynier both ran personal bests at Heslington.

Amanda Newham went the furthest afield to run along the Danube in the Linz parkrun.

Junior Results Roundup

From Nicola Budding…

Two juniors made the journey north to the Wasdale Show Fell Race, the last in the BOFRA 2024 Fell League. Oscar Shinn and George Whittlestone were both competing in the U17 race finishing in 4th and 6th place respectively.

Several juniors took part in the weekly parkruns with two top five finishes at Chevin Forest: Alexander Wolfenden in 1st place with a time of 17:56 followed by Ollie Holder in 5th place with a time of 20:29. Heather Crolla was the 6th female finisher at Skipton with 24:46.

Sunday saw the Quarry Runs take place on Penistone Hill near Haworth with Michael Moore finishing as 1st U11 Boy and Isobel Moore 4th U11 Girl.

Abbey Dash – Sun 13 Oct

Sun 13 Oct 2024

From Geoff Howard..

Hamstring injury, Covid and a washed away road have all conspired this year to thwart either a big race or a big walk plan. As the X84 crawled, increasingly behind schedule, from Headingley down to the Inner Ring Road on Sunday morning, I was beginning to think “Whoops here we go again”. An early departure from said bus, followed by a walk including a fortuitously found quiet loo stop and I was in my 50 minute start pen with just five minutes to spare, despite an agonisingly long wait at the baggage drop. Perfect conditions and uncongested early running helped to find some sort of rhythm. The upshot, unusual for me, was consistent timing for each of the six miles and a race time that I was more over the solar system with, rather than over the moon, (47m 13s when I’d hoped for sub 49m at best). Great running from nine other Harriers with the Raceahead company’s over-head on-the-line graphics showing James crossing with four others, myself and Andrew each with three others, Nathan and Ed both in one-to-one battles. p.s. if anyone finds a red Ilkley Harriers hat on the front upstairs seat of an X84, it’s mine – left when alighting in haste (panic).

Results:

1st overall – James McMurray – St Albans 29m 00s

1st Lady – Georgie Grec – Herne Hill 31m 37s

18 Nathan Edmondson – 29m 59s

44 Jack Cummings – 30m 56s

48 Edward Hobbs – 30m 58s

253 Alex Foyn – 36m 01s

989 Richard Robinson – 44m 28s

1183 Andrew Smith – 44m 46s

1214 Geoffrey Howard – 47m 13s

2048 Hannah Osieku – 51m 52s

2474 James Holdsworth – 55m 18s

5181 Ni Anness – 75m 04s

5615 finished

[Editor’s note: Geoff, with typical modesty, didn’t mention that his time would appear to be the fastest by a MV80 in Britain this year]

Holmfirth 10k – Sun 13 Oct

Sun 13 Oct 2024

From Sally Armitage…

I’d entered this race last year but missed it due to illness so was pleased to make the start line this year. Another hilly road race starting and finishing in Holmfirth. A long climb up, a loop around a reservoir, followed by the same route back down to the finish. With 205 metres of climb it was the ideal preparation race for my next challenge in three weeks time, Guy Fawkes 10!

It started fast and knowing there was a lady there much faster then me, the goal was second place, and for the first 5k it was a battle against a Halifax Harrier. I think I got away from her around the 6k mark. The finish was a lap of a field, which is horrific at the best of times but when it’s bumpy and slippery, and you’re a road runner with wobbly ankles, it wasn’t enjoyable. Definitely a good hill training race for Guy Fawkes though!

Results:

1st male Alex Whittem Todmorten Harriers 35:11

1st lady (9th overall) Katie Walshaw Holmfirth Harriers 39:05

2nd lady (13th overall) Sally Armitage 41:19

Withins Skyline – Sun 13 Oct

Sun 13 Oct 2024

From Rachel Carter…

It’s a few years since I ran this race and I had forgotten about the bogs. On the way out the route climbs up several plateaus before reaching the Stoop standing stone and then Top Withins (a ruined farmhouse said to have inspired Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights) via some of the flagged Pennine Way. I managed to overtake a few people on the descent but saw the girl ahead of me pull away on the long drag back to the cricket club at Penistone Hill. This race is one of four over the next four months that start at Penistone Hill above Haworth – they offer good value for money at only £5 entry which includes refreshments before and after!

Five Harriers took part with Gawain coming a great 7th and 1st in his category, winning chocolate beer and a pint pot tankard!

Results

1. Andrew Worster Calder Valley 42:32

7. Gawain Moore 45:06

35. Thomas Mountain 53:46

51. Adam Gerrish 56.19

53. Rachel Carter 56.56

77. Duncan Cooper 60:15

182 finished

Ilkley Gazette Report – w/c 7 October

Mon 7 Oct 2024

[Photo by Alison Weston – Sam Bentham and Oli Murphy at the Hodgson Brothers Mountain relay]

From Will Worboys…

Ilkley send strong teams to Lakes Relay

The Harriers sent two strong teams to take part in one of the highlights of the fell running calendar, the Hodgson Brothers Mountain relay, on Saturday. The annual relay race accepted 70 teams in total who took on a challenging route through the Lake District. Each of the four legs is run in pairs and Ilkley’s men’s team had an excellent run to finish 22nd overall. The first pair of Sam Bentham and Oli Murphy had got the team off to a cracking start finishing the leg in 3rd place. The rest of the men’s team consisted of; Paul Carman and Gavin Lamb on leg 2, Michael Odell and Iain Gibbons on leg 3; with Ben Rothery and Jack Gribbin completing the final leg of the route, which is approximately 22.4 miles in total with 8860ft ascent.

The ladies team also had an excellent run at the event, which is based at Patterdale near Ullswater, to finish in 66th. Their team consisted of Rebecca Mon Williams and Jane McCarthy on leg 1, Jann Smith and Katie Poulter on leg 2, Alison Weston and Kelly Wilby on leg 3 and Rachel Carter and Kate Archer on leg 4.

Meanwhile on Sunday morning was the first race of this year’s West Yorkshire Cross Country league series and there were surprisingly good underfoot conditions. There were several races for juniors at Nunroyd Park in Guiseley, followed by the senior men’s and women’s races run separately. Only Alison Bennett from Ilkley braved the women’s race which, in a throwback to medieval times, is significantly shorter than the men’s, finishing the 5.5KM course in an admirable 51st position and first in her age group.

In the 9.5KM men’s race Ed Hobbs and Christos Tzelis were in the lead group of four right from the gun and had a great battle throughout the race with the lead changing hands on almost every lap. Christos just had the edge in the final couple of hundred metres, but was narrowly beaten in a terrific sprint battle with Abdimajiid Darood of Skyrac by just three seconds, with Ed finishing only seven seconds behind Christos in 4th place.

Ed and Christos, together with good placings from Dan McKeown, Steve Gott, Tim Ashelford and Dave Westhead, who all did well in their age categories, gave Ilkley the 5th team place. Also, out there flying the Harriers flag were Adam Gerrish, Danny Thompson and Stephen Morris, all having great runs.

Away from the mud and uneven terrain there have been a couple of big city half marathons taking place recently, with significant involvement from Ilkley Harriers. Last weekend Tom Adams had won the Humber Bridge Half, in an incredible time of 1:09:35. The performance was so good that it broke the Harriers club record, for both the V35 and V40 male category! Whilst this weekend in Cardiff, Steve Coy posted an excellent time of 1:26:51 to finish in 599th place of over 22,000 participants, which included a strong elite field. Gaenor Coy also did very well to come well inside the top half in a time of 2:04:18.

Staying with road racing, at the Morley 10K Sally Armitage came storming back from a quiet few months to finish as first lady. The popular race which took place on Sunday morning, is described intriguingly as; “a closed road course around the historic streets of Morley with two out and back sections and (possibly uniquely) a 3-way crossover section at the legendary ‘Morley Bottoms’.” Sally expertly navigated the “Morley Bottoms” to finish in a superb time of 39:18. There were two other representatives from Ilkley present. Alex Foyn did brilliantly to finish in 10th place of the 859 total finishers in a time of 37:41, while Natalie Gravett-Foyn was in 286th place in a time of 53:45.

To the weekly parkrun results. There was a large contingent of representatives from the Harriers this week. This was partly down to the event at Lister Park being on the race league calendar, but also no doubt the draw of celebrating this weekend’s 20th anniversary of the birth of parkrun. The phenomenon of parkrun now has over 10 million people signed up worldwide, after starting with just 13 participants who took part in the ‘Bushy Park Time Trial’ in London in October 2004.

At Lister Park the first-place finisher was Ilkley’s Matthew Thackwray, who was followed by Mark Hall in 5th. Jonathan Turner, Owen Parker, John Hayes, Peter Shelley, Adam Gerrish and Sarah Hayes all managed top 20 finishes in a dominant Ilkley showing.

Elsewhere there was a good showing from Samesh Chotai again who was 2nd at Skipton, followed by James Horrex in 5th. At Cliffe Castle Rob Cunningham was 2nd finisher and at Roberts Park Jaysson Sawyer was 8th. Geoffrey Howard, as is often the case, topped the age grading table with a score of 82.96% following his time of 25:20 at Wetherby.

Guiseley WYXC – Sun 6 Oct

Sun 6 Oct 2024

From Neil Chapman…

It was surprisingly good conditions underfoot for the first West Yorkshire race of the year, although Alison Bennett was the only Harrier in the ladies race, it was well worth the trip, having a great race and finishing 1st in her age group.

The men had good representation, with nine of them in the race. Ed Hobbs and Christos Tzelis were in the lead group of four right from the gun and had a great battle throughout the race with the lead changing hands on almost every lap. Christos just had the edge in the final couple of hundred metres, but was narrowly beaten in a terrific sprint battle with Abdimajiid Darood of Skyrac by just three seconds, with Ed finishing only seven seconds behind Christos in 4th place.

Well done everyone, and let’s hope we get a few more ladies out for the next race at Wakefield in three weeks’ time.

Morley 10k – Sun 6 Oct

Sun 6 Oct 2024

From Sally Armitage…

An undulating, chip timed, closed road 10k around the streets of Morley. The weather was perfect, 10 degrees, no wind, no rain.

Prior to this race I wasn’t going to write a report, solely because I’ve been in a funk and feeling old and unfit, having not raced much this year at all compared to last year. But… I was really pleased with my performance! Not knowing how the race would unfold, I decided to stick with the 40-minute pacer initially and see how I felt; I stuck with him for the first 5k and then pushed on. I was grateful to have him, never having run with a pacer before it was nice to not feel the need to look at my watch and just run. The snippets of encouragement were a bonus too! It was a well organised and really well supported event, and it didn’t break the bank! Definitely one for the calendar next year.

Results:

[1st Jordan Eastwood, Slaithwaite Striders RC, 34:16]

10th Alex Foyn 37:41

17th (1st lady) Sally Armitage 39:18

286th Natalie Gravett-Foyn 53:45

859 ran

Hodgson Brothers Relay – Sat 5 Oct

Sat 5 Oct 2024

From Alison Weston…

Ilkley Harriers managed to organise two teams to compete in the annual Hodgson Brothers relay at the weekend. It’s a really popular event with a lot of competition for team places. The race starts from Patterdale and has 4 paired legs covering 40km and 2450m ascent including Angle Tarn, High Street, Caudale Moor, Red Screes, Hart Crag, Fairfield and St Sunday Crag.

The race was won by Keswick AC in an incredible time of 3:32:25.

The Ilkley men’s team came a very creditable 22nd place in a total time of 4:24:12 and the ladies team 66th (and 10th ladies team) in 5:47:17.

Best leg of the day for Ilkley had to be Sam and Oli on leg 1 who got the team off to a great start in 3rd position overall!

Results here and individual legs were:

Men

Leg 1 Sam Bentham and Oli Murphy

Leg 2 Paul Carman and Gavin Lamb

Leg 3 Iain Gibbons and Michael Odell

Leg 4 Ben Rothery and Jack Gribbin

Ladies

Leg 1 Jane McCarthy and Rebecca Mon Williams

Leg 2 Jann Smith and Katie Poulter

Leg 3 Kelly Harrison and Alison Weston

Leg 4 Kate Archer and Rachel Carter