—Muddy Boots 10k – Club Championship Run #2.
Thirty two YKH runners in this muddy Ripon trail race.
Well done to Knavesmire Ladies, especially – 1st Lady Nik Tarrega and 2nd Lady Sarah Atwood, with Laura Schofield and Amanda Clarke also in the top ten females.
Many photos from the Muddy Boots of YKH runners by Dan Chan on the YKH Facebook group page
—Hardmoors Half Marathon – Saltburn.
Mark Harney was pleased to have been 1st MV50 at a brutal Hardmoors Half Marathon (actually 15 miles)
—Windy Hill Fell Race.
Report by Giles Hawking.
I decided to do this race at the very last minute , literally looking at my alarm clock and thinking ” if I set off now I might just get there in time ” . My reluctance to get out of bed and my dithering over whether to run or not was caused by the following weather forecast for the race area:
For a race that would be starting at 11.30 and would take in the high Pennine Moors , ascending along the Pennine Way across Blackstone Edge to Windy Hill , this forecast was giving me serious doubts about how pleasant or safe an experience it would be.
At zero hour I decided this would at the least be a much more memorable experience than stopping in bed. I quickly grabbed my fell running gear , scoffed a cereal bar and was on my way. Somehow I arrived in good time at the race HQ by the lovely Hollingworth Reservoir, the local nature park looked very pleasant , the assembled runners were giving off an air of nervous excitement , with just the M62 rumbling away on a distant overpass and the grey clouds enveloping the hills above that we would be tackling, threatening to dispel my joy at having made the journey .
The majority of runners were well covered up in sensible waterproof jackets, leggings, hats , head wraps and gloves , a few were just wearing vests over a thermal and shorts, although the weather was currently defying the forecast and was quite pleasant if somewhat windy I decided that it would be wise to be cautious and wrap up , it would be much colder , wetter and windier up on the tops.
This 9 mile race would cross over or under the M62 a total of four times , something of a novelty for a fell race to tangle with a 6 lane highway, thankfully we did not have to negotiate the traffic , that would have been one hazard too many.
After a quick safety briefing which consisted of ” if you slip on the ice , keep sliding until you fall over or hit something ” we were off, a quick dash under then over the M62 , gaining altitude and running face first into the rapidly deteriorating weather.
Giles Hawking ( orange head wrap)
The icy hail being propelled horizontally was stinging exposed flesh and playing havoc with vision. My solution was to run with one eye shut until it abated. the race features a massively long climb up onto Blackstone Edge, this together with the numbing ice cold wind , limited visibility and ground surface of snow or bog , meant this part of the race was not the most fun. My discomfort was only alleviated by the sight of the runners who had chosen to run in shorts grimly plodding on.
Once we were onto the ‘Edge’ we turned out of the wind and were treated to some fabulously exciting running , fast paced along snowy tracks winding between great boulders, a perilously icy crossing of the M62 via the high footbridge, a quick look at the silhouette of the Windy Hill Transmitter amongst the grey , before a helter skelter descent back towards the finish . One last passage under the M’way and it was over , feeling elated after such an exciting and fun experience I know I made the right decision and won’t forget this race in a hurry.
I thought I had been the only club member at the race , it was hard to tell with everyone so well wrapped up , however Phillip Chapman also ran . I think he enjoyed it also.
54th Giles Hawking 01:18:06
116th Phillip Chapman 01:26:46 227 runners
—Liversedge Half Marathon.
22nd Stephen Maddison 1:24:44
428th Helen Leach 2:15:42
—York Parkrun .
34 members of YKH ran .
No Parkrun PB’s