From Luke Watkeys…
It was a week that showcased the club’s versatility, with Harriers securing top honours on the flat roads of North Yorkshire and battling for podiums on the rugged fells of the Lake District and Lancashire.
The racing action began on Wednesday evening at the Brownlee Centre for the EvenSplits Leeds 5K. The circuit is a favourite for chasing personal bests, and five Harriers were in attendance. Michael Odell was the first Harrier to finish, taking 28th place with a time of 18:21, followed by Kyle Bethell, who finished in 19:30. Helen Thurston delivered a standout performance, finishing first in her age category in 20:03, while Ash Winter (20:30) and Georgina Hamill (22:17) completed the strong Ilkley turnout.
On Saturday, the focus shifted to the Lake District for the Coledale Horseshoe. This classic category AM fell race takes runners on a 13.7km tour of the ridges above Braithwaite, featuring over 900m of ascent. There was a right mix of weather this year – hail, snow, high winds and even a bit of sunshine. Sam Bentham put in a great effort to finish second overall and second in his age category with a time of 1:11:16. He was followed by James Bentham who crossed the line in 1:49:55. In the ladies’ race, Nea Weston and Alison Weston finished within a minute of each other in 2:04:55 and 2:05:54 respectively, with Alison’s determined run earning her fourth place in her age category.
Sunday proved to be an exceptionally successful day for the club, starting with the Vale of York 5M and 10M events in Rufforth. Known for being pancake-flat and incredibly fast, the course follows local roads and the runway of the old airfield. The Harriers claimed a clean sweep of victories across both distances. Jack Cummings won the 10-mile race outright, beating a field of 475 runners with a blistering time of 51:09. He was followed by Jaysson Sawyer, who finished 26th in 1:01:12, and Karl Hutchinson in 1:24:19. In the 5-mile event, Christos Tzelis also took the top spot, finishing first in a fantastic time of 26:41.
Meanwhile, four Harriers were tackling the steep slopes and iconic ‘Big End’ climb of the Pendle Fell Race in Barley. Oscar Shinn was the first to complete the 7.2km course in 19th place overall (38:22), with Oliver Holder (40:37) and George Whittlestone (43:17) not far behind. Rachel Holder completed the club’s showing at the event, finishing as the 121st runner home and third in her age category with a time of 55:27.
Turning to parkrun, there were plenty of top-ten finishes both locally and internationally. Samesh Chotai was second at Roundhay in 16:57, while Nick Kealey took third at Roberts Park in 18:31. On home soil at East Holmes Field, Dan McKeown led the Harriers home in third (19:32), followed by Steve Murray (21:02) and Robert Cunningham (21:33). Harry Brook-Dobson secured eighth place at Potternewton (21:21) and Jonathan Turner was ninth at Lister Park (20:14). John and Sarah Hayes represented the club at Cliffe Castle, finishing in 21:30 and 30:01 respectively. Finally, Alex Foyn continued flying the club colours in Sweden, finishing fifth at the Malmö Ribersborg parkrun in 18:54.