Racing Round Up – w.e 13th August -Berlin Wall Race, Ravenscar, York’s Vet’s, Preston 10….

Please send race reports, photos & results to : ykhracereports@gmail.com

—West Yorkshire Vets Grand Prix series.
Report thanks to Kathryn.

Three harriers competed in the 5th race of this series on Tuesday 8th August. 5.5 miles (approx) on a hilly trail route around Post Hill in Pudsey.
Friendly as ever and highly recommended.

Dave Smithers was 2nd M50 (4th overall) in 31.46, once again being upstaged by the super fell runner Gavin Mulholland who was 1st M50 and second overall on 30.30.
Pete Downes (M60) ran 41.12 with David Dickinson (M65) on 48.23.

— City of Preston ‘10’ .
Report thanks to Kathryn.

Ten miles, that is, although there was a five mile option too (2 lap course).
Kathryn Dickinson ran round in 79.30 which brought her in as 1st F60. “Not my best ten miles by far as body playing up, but it could easily be a PB course”. A lovely friendly and low key event but flat and fast and used by the National 5 mile road race champs in 2019. “The second lap actually felt easier knowing what was ahead”. Great prizes – tubs of Cadburys chocs!!

—Cromwell Bottom 10k.

4th Andrew Barker 45:44 ( would have been third, but missed the start due to traffic)

—Berlin Wall Race.
Report by Alan Wilkinson.

The Mauerweglauf is a 100 mile (161 km) race following the course of the Berlin Wall, taking place each year on the anniversary of the wall’s construction in 1961. The mostly flat route with excellent support takes in such landmarks as the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and Glienicker Bridge (famous as the Bridge of Spies).

Ellie Wilkinson is a veteran of the event, having acted as support crew in the two previous years, but this year was the first time she took on the race herself. Starting at 6am, initial conditions were warm but overcast and Ellie made a strong start, taking a meandering path around the south east of the city and arriving at the first of three major checkpoints (56 km) just after midday, sadly just missing the German Chancellor’s photo op.

The strong pace continued through the greenery of the second quarter and the halfway point was reached in 9¼ hours. From here the sun broke through the clouds and the temperature climbed into the high 20s. Still the relentless pace continued and Ellie arrived at the third major checkpoint (125 km) bang on 9pm.

The humongous effort in the heat and the threat of overnight thunderstorms started to take their toll and by checkpoint 23 (140 km) some stomach issues had set in. Far from the only one struggling at this point, Ellie wrapped herself up in a foil blanket (both practical and fashionable!) and sat by the roadside contemplating how to proceed. Of course, Ellie is no stranger to sitting on a kerb in the middle of the night vomiting into the gutter, but the mental burden of deciding whether to retire made this familiar situation more difficult than usual.

After the best part of an hour, the answer to this question was a definite ‘no’ and forward progress resumed, albeit now at a brisk walk. The remaining half marathon distance was completed in this fashion and despite the earlier issues, Ellie finished with a fabulous time of 22 hours and 10 minutes.

The race this year had a DNF rate of 36%, illustrating the challenge of tackling this distance. The gender gap is always much narrower or even reversed in ultra events and indeed this year’s race was stunningly won by female Norwegian athlete Line Caliskaner with an astonishing time of 13:54, over 40 minutes ahead of anyone else. This achievement was mirrored closer to home, with Ellie absolutely annihilating her husband’s personal best ti… (report had to be cut for brevity – AW)

—Hob Hurst’s Fell Race. ( 8 miles ).

33rd Francisco Javier Antolín Mateo 41:45

—Ravenscar Rumble Revisited.

Coastal Fell Race.

16th Peter Walker 45:35
16th Tom Ratcliffe 45:46
29th Barry Atkinson 49:26 1st M60
69th Andrew Johnson 60:24

—Evensplits York 5k series Race #7.

50th Edward Dunn 19:57

—York Area parkrun PB’s.

No pb’s this week.

Colin Lea will be hitting the 50th parkrun milestone this Saturday ( 19th August) at York ( Knavesmire ) and is hoping to see plenty of fellow Harriers there to help him celebrate.

Paul Adams is on the cusp of his 300th parkrun.