What a weekend of running! There are some awesome achievements to share.

Saturday saw the annual Lyke Wake Challenge organised by the Quakers Running Club. The 40 mile route, partly along the ancient coffin carrying path across the moors, has over 4,000 feet of elevation. It starts just outside Osmotherley and finishes in Ravenscar. It is a handicap style event where runners are given a start time between 4am and 10am based on how long they think they will take, so the faster runners end up catching the rest of the field from roughly halfway. The maximum time allowed is 12 hours. Kim Cavill set off at 9am so it was a solo event for the first 20 miles. The morning was hot for ultra running but it grew overcast and a lovely NE headwind developed which made things easier. The hard packed path was drier than usual with fewer bogs to contend with. Kim was justifiably happy with her time of 7 hours 13 minutes which earned her the trophy for 1st female. Nick Cousins started at 6:30 am and completed the route in 10:51.

It was another hot day on Sunday for the The Eight Stations Ultra, organised by Charm Bracelet Trail Events. The 32 mile route snakes around the railway line from Whitby to Pickering taking in the 8 stations but unlike the railway has nearly 3,500 feet of elevation. Again, there was a brisk NE breeze but even so, it was uncomfortably warm for running. Of the 213 starters, 11 didn’t make it to the finish line. 1st back for Pickering was Mike Richmond in an outstanding time of 4 hours 58 minutes placing him 5th overall and 1st M50. Robbie Preston was only a minute behind, clocking 4:59 and placing him 6th overall. Kelly Richmond was 2nd female overall and finished in style by pushing baby Daisy in her buggy over the line in 5:23. Michael Todd was 2nd M50 with his time of 5:38. John-Henry Cheetham crossed the finish line in 5:59 followed by Sue Slack in 7:40 which earned her 2nd F60. Shirley Tyrrell was next in 9:08. All thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and the support of fellow club runners both out on the course and via messages from those dot watching at home.

Andrew Bates ran the Lakeland Trails Ambleside. This beautiful 23k race in the Lake District had 900m of climb. Andrew found the going tough in the heat but still managed to finish 231st out of 318 finishers in 4 hours 23 seconds, very comfortably inside the 5 hour cut off.

Simon Rycroft ran the Peak Forest 10k Fell Race in the Peak District. This relatively short race packed in nearly 1,000 feet of climb. Simon’s time of 52:24 placed him 3rd M50.

Sisters Chloe and Heather Riley took part in the Ripon Triathlon Relay (1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run) as part of the Lady Sharks Team. They achieved 18th place overall, and 2nd in category, with their time of 3 hours 9 minutes.

Lastly Ben Myers and Serena Partridge joined over 600 runners in the Walkington 10k. Ben Myers sped across the line in 45 minutes 46 seconds and Serena Partridge’s excellent time of 53:57 placed her 3rd F50.