The latest race in the York & District Road Race League, Knavesmire 10k, took place on a beautiful, if a tad warm, Tuesday evening. PRC were out in force although not everyone felt enthusiastic about running round the race track 3.5 times. This is especially tough mentally for the slower runners who get lapped before they’ve reached their second circuit! To compensate, there are always plenty of shouts of encouragement from the faster runners. First back for Pickering was Ben Myers in a speedy 37 minutes 46 seconds, placing him 34th out of 445. Ben was followed by Richard Robinson in 40 minutes 14 seconds, Paul Hickman in 43 minutes 40 seconds and Ben Paviour in 47 minutes 2 seconds. It was a close contest between rivals Andy Harvey and Mike Wilson with Andy crossing the line first in 47 minutes 23 seconds and Mike in 47 minutes 37 seconds. Another exciting battle followed with Dave Owuor and Colin Garnett both clocking 48 minutes 2 seconds. Then came Andrew Bates in 48 minutes 41 seconds, Lucy Saggers in 48 minutes 56 seconds, Chris Adams in 50 minutes 25 seconds, Serena Partridge in 51 minutes 43 seconds, Julie Ventress in 51 minutes 55 seconds, Emily Loftus in 52 minutes 17 seconds, Paul Tate-Smith in 55 minutes 5 seconds, Karen Harper in 57 minutes 7 seconds, Carol Wilson in 58 minutes 1 second, Dean Wise in 60 minutes 20 seconds, Mike Punchard in 60 minutes 27 seconds, Nicola Wise in 62 minutes 15 seconds and Pam Garnett in 62 minutes 36 seconds.

The following Saturday saw the 42nd running of Swaledale Marathon. The race has a tough start with a 2 mile climb out of Reeth to Fremington Edge and, this year, into thick fog. With several other steep climbs the total ascent is over 4000 feet. Ryan Gaughan somehow managed to fly over bogs, scree, slippery slopes and rocky climbs to finish in an incredible 3 hours 16 minutes placing him 4th overall. Simon Rycroft also put in an excellent performance clocking 3 hours 46 minutes. For less speedy runners there was a stormy, torrential downpour followed by bright sunshine finally revealing the beautiful views. Nick Cousins, a veteran of this event, finished in 5 hours 24 minutes. Enjoying running together, Rachael Morley, Nicola Thorpe and Alice Hayter all finished in 5 hours 25 minutes and Debbie Rycroft wasn’t far behind them in 5 hours 40 minutes. Despite doing this event 8 times, Nicola Wise managed to take a wrong turn in the storm and finally finished in 7 hours 11 minutes. Dean Wise took a tumble on a steep descent but kept going to cross the line in 7 hours 35 minutes.

Sunday saw the Hardmoors Wainstones races take place incorporating the numerous steps along the northern edge of the North York Moors. It was very warm for racing making these already tough races even more of a challenge. Michael Todd completed the Marathon, actually 28 miles with a massive 5,409 feet of ascent. Michael’s time of 4 hours 55 minutes placed him 3rd M50 and 9th overall. Chris Adams did the Half Marathon, 16.6 miles, in 4 hours 6 minutes, outpaced by son George who clocked 3 hours 44 minutes.
Graham Robinson valiantly completed the 10k option, 9 miles with 1,732 feet of climb. Despite his oxygen tank running out and feeling sick and dizzy, Graham managed to win the trophy for 1st M70 with his time of 3 hours 9 minutes. Charlotte Dennison thoroughly enjoyed being the course sweeper ensuring everyone finished safely and checking there was no litter.

The Cleveland Way Relay also took place on Sunday. In this friendly event Running Clubs compete against each other to complete the whole 109 miles of the Cleveland Way in a day. The race starts at 5am in Filey and finishes with a flourish up the steps of the market cross in Helmsley. Pickering put in a seamless performance as a supportive and cooperative team with individuals trying their very best to get a good time for PRC. Hats off to Ryan Gaughan, Simon Rycroft, Alice Hayter and Nicola Thorpe who achieved excellent times despite their marathon the day before. Many met up in Helmsley at the end to cheer the final runners coming in. PRC were 7th overall.

Paul Simpson ran Leeds 10k in an impressive time of 40 minutes 40 seconds.

Everyone in Pickering Running Club wishes Jason Cavill a speedy recovery following his bike accident on Monday.