The glorious bank holiday attracted 500+ runners to take part in parkrun at Harrogate on Saturday. There were PB'S for Matt Wilkinson, who finished 2nd overall in 17:43, Ben Baird in 19:05, and Brian Hainsworth in 19:58. Nidd junior Jessica Beaumont achieved her fastest time yet, finishing in 29:12, while Claire Simpson also got herself a PB with a time of 34:39.
Middleton Woods in Leeds held its second ever parkrun and Adam Kirk was there to represent Nidd Valley. Adam did quite well – he was first finisher, and did it in a time of 18:05! Amanda Metcalfe was at Heslington parkrun, and she finished with a PB time 26:14. At Woodhouse Moor, Steve Newton was the sole representative for Nidd Valley, and got himself a new PB finishing in 23:55.
The venue for this half marathon was Quibell Park in Scunthorpe, and Robert Hill was there to fly the club colours. With temperatures peaking at 25 degrees, runners were dropping out all over the place as the heat was proving too much for them. Robert however soldiered on and managed to cross the finish line in 2:05:38, achieving 3rd MV70 in the process. An excellent effort from Robert despite the conditions, and he was only two minutes behind the fastest MV70!
Martin Lofthouse was the first Nidd to finish in a time of 1:18, and he was 12th overall, with Nigel Scaife next in 1:23. Andy Harris managed to finish unscathed in 1:29, however Kevin Nicholas wasn't as lucky as he took a bit of a tumble on the scree like surface final descent. Thankfully his injuries were superficial – they had the appearance of gravel rash sustained by pro-cyclists – and he also crossed the line in 1:29 before receiving some first aid. I finished in 1:34 but acquired a massive blister in the process (wrong sock choice apparently), then Phil Ventress was next in 1:38. FRP Robinson and Chris Beattie both finished in 1:46, as did Jane Evans who was running her first race for Nidd (I think she enjoyed it, well done Jane). Fiona Robinson was next over the line in 2:15, with Sarah Chalmers being the final Nidd to finish in 2:33. Rumour has it that Sarah actually enjoyed the race and there is photographic evidence of her smiling as she was running!
In other news, Andrew Aird took part in the John West 10k over in Liverpool – Andrew said that it was very hot, flat, and busy but he managed to finish in 51:06. Yvonne Skelton was over in the Lake District for the Kentmere Trail Race, which was 10k over a hilly, boggy, and stony route and formed part of the Lakeland Trail series. Yvonne finished in a time of 1:19. Roche Abbey in South Yorkshire was the venue for another of Its Grim up north running's events, with race distances ranging from 5k to ultra for people to have a go at. James Braddon went for the sensible 10k option and he went and won it! James managed to finish the race in 44:14, an excellent effort.
Finally, the Jack Bloor Fell race took place on Ilkley Moor a couple of nights ago. FRA rules class the race as BS (for those unfamiliar with the FRA ratings, this means category B, short) As the route is unmarked, the FRA also advise that a recce is done prior to taking part just in case you get geographically challenged on race day. The 8.4km route includes a cheeky climb of 350m so it's suitable for those new to fell running. Representing Nidd were Carol Morgan and Russell Geraghty, with Carol finishing as 1st FV40 in a time of 51:35. Russell put in a great performance and finished in 71:59.