Please send race reports, photos & results to : ykhracereports@gmail.com
—Tom’s Bransdale Fell Race. ( Wednesday)
As advertised it was a glorious evening on the Moors, an amazing and exhilarating course and just a few navigation errors in the abandoned farm yard of disorientation.
Knavesmire had the second placed Men’s and Ladies teams.
7th Tom Ratcliffe 62:44
11th Oli Reed 65:42
18th Giles Hawking 67:31 2nd M45
22nd Richard Purser 70:52 2ndM40
23rd Becky Penty 70:55 3rd Female
35th Barry Atkinson 72:56
53rd Ethan Redmond 84:17
65th Orna O’Toole 90:40 3rd F45
66th Mandy Clarke 91:33 3rd F50
—York 5k Series – Race #5. (Friday)
45th Richard Walker 18:56
51st Helen Wilkinson 19:27
58th Karl Humphreys 19:41
78th David Dickinson 23:03
—Leeds 10k.
310th Simon Downes 43:37
311th Andy Lawrence 42:58
325th ,James Chambers 43:20
332nd Thomas Sermon 44,:14
—Three Lakes Classic.
94th David Darton 2:11:12
152nd Colin Lea 2:38:34
—Otley 10 mile.
283rd Susan Adams 2:16:05
—Crackpots Trail Run.
13th Darren Hendley 53:42 1st M50
—Madeira Skyrace.
Report by Giles Hawking.
This is a race I ran and completed in 2019, back then it was a 35 mile sufferfest. Climbing from the town of Santana to the island’s 1861m highest peak Pico Ruivo, descending all the way to the sea, a half mile wade up a cooling river and then a tortuous climb of 1000m’s before a run along a levada(concrete irrigation channel) and a downhill stretch back to Santana.
This year I decided to enter the race with just a month to race day to go, so had to amp up my hill and distance training quite drastically.
The first sign that I was perhaps somewhat unprepared this year came the night before the race when I rechecked the mandatory kit list to discover I would need a whistle, which I had not brought. With no means to get one at this late stage I had to consult the internet and whittle one out of a biro!
Rocking up at the kaotic kit check just minutes before the start my dodgy whistle went unnoticed, but they were asking for a gps tracker, that definitely wasn’t on the list and I had no idea what they thought I should have but another runner explained, I had to sprint to the race hq across the town square to collect my gps tracker. Why this wasn’t explained or handed to me when I collected my number from the same location 12 hours earlier I don’t know
I made it through kit check and set off, just a minute and a half late, but now decidedly at the back of the pack. I made a few places up on the climb, but opted to go slow’n’steady.
A cruel part of this race is that you nearly get to the summit, but are then sent 100’s of metres back down to then have to ascend back up a lesser trodden ridge line with via ferrata and rope assisted scrambles up rocky outcrops.
Although I was enjoying the adventure and views the sun and heat were starting to make me feel a bit quesy. Running with borderline heatstroke for nearly 30 further miles was not an appealing prospect and I started to give serious consideration to quitting once I got to the aid station atop the ridge and not far from the escape route of a car park.
I couldn’t quite summon the courage to say the words “I quit”, so marched on, maybe I’ll just do the summit and then bail out whilst I still can.
It’s not far from the aid station to the peak, soon we are looping round the monument at the top and again I’m not brave enough to do the sensible thing.
Miles of downhill, how bad can it be?, so off I go. The sun beats down and I quickly get through the contents of my water bottle, wishing I’d refilled my camelback at the aid station. We seem to be on the only bit of Madeira with no water rushing by. There are a few detours off the path for some more scrambling then we are into the tree line, its like a jungle, the ground is steep and super slippy, trees have to be grabbed to halt out of control slides.
Eventually we get to a stream crossing that allows a fluid top up, after being in the shade of the trees and thanks to splashes of cooling water I feel better.
More rough downhill running on makeshift trails that cut through the forest, an easy section along the Levada de Rei, then through villages and farmland before we get down to the sea at Sao Jorge.
After a zig zagging climb away from the Atlantic we get to the aid station, there is talk amongst the runners that we are near to the time cut off, something I had not been considering.
Running along with an American runner who also ran in 2019, we are having a chat and I discover the race is no longer the same distance as before, it’s 10k shorter! This is good news as there will be less of the horrendous final climb and I now have way less to do to finish than I thought. The bad news is I’ve been pacing myself for a 35 mile race which is infact only 28, and I’m now in major danger of timing out.
After the amazingly refreshing wade up the river and then a small climb, I’m getting near the finish. There is just one last little valley to negotiate, I can see Santana atop the other side. Now running alone I drop down to a stream in the valley bottom, wading across gives my shoes a good clean and I embark on the last push along the path which traverses up across the very steep hill side, like most in Madeira there is a perilous drop off to one side. I race up the hill aware I have just a few minutes to make the finish line. I start to believe I have this one in the bag.
There is a muddy section in the path, trying to preserve the cleanliness of my spiffing shoes ( La Sportiva) I opt to hop onto a small boulder to jump over the mud.
The next thing I know I’ve slipped and I’m falling through the air off the side of the path, I get some serious airtime.
Thankfully I land on a mattress of dead branches, thorns and leaves. I could have tumbled a lot further. I’m convinced I should have broken at least one or two bones or been impaled, but I’ve got away with some scratches and a sprained wrist. No one saw my fall and the path is now 7 feet above me, supported by a vertical stone wall that I can’t climb.
Stranded I have to wait for another runner to catch me up, I call for help as whistling is not really an option. He is somewhat suprised to see me lurking below in the undergrowth and uses his walking poles to hoist me back onto the path. We jog in together and I give the chap many heartfelt thank you’s.
Unfortunately I was over the 10 hour time limit, so no place in the results. But I completed the course, got a medal and a trip to the medical tent, so as far as I’m concerned job done.Youtube highlights of the race.
—See York Run Trackathon – 6 hour challenge.
54th Jayne Fligg 35 laps
61st Rachel McMahon 28 laps
64th Julie Rookes 25 laps
65th Lucy Buykx 25 laps
66th Susan Adams 24 laps
—York area parkrun pb’s.
-Heslington parkrun.
Jason Higgins 18:33
-New Earswick parkrun.
Matthew Freeman 20:40