For many runners, Christmas Day started with a joyful Dalby parkrun. On a lovely morning, 418 people, many in festive fancy dress, ran the 5k route through the forest.

The fine weather continued for Guisborough Woods Fell Race on 27th December. This 5 mile, 3 lap course, has huge hills to power up, each lap totalling 1,200 feet of climb, and descents to fly down. First back for PRC and 16th out of 159 finishers was Dave Smith. His time of 47 minutes 8 seconds placed him 3rd M55. James Loftus was next in 51 minutes 19 seconds followed by Russ Grayson in 52 minutes 59 seconds. Lucy Saggers was 3rd F55 with her time of 62 minutes 2 seconds. Lucy was followed by David Stephenson in 63 minutes 31 seconds and Nick Cousins in 65 minutes 23 seconds. Alice Hayter’s time of 65 minutes 28 seconds earned her a prize for 1st F45. Then came Nicola Thorpe in 67 minutes 34 seconds and Lynn Humpleby in 68 minutes 23 seconds.

New Year’s Day also saw great weather for running. Some of the competitors taking part in Captain Cook’s Fell Race decided to run the local parkrun as a warm up first! Like the previous race, this was fairly short at 5 miles, but with a significant climb of 1,000 feet. Robbie Preston was first back for Pickering. His time of 36 minutes 24 seconds placed him 27th out of 423 runners. Mike Richmond was next in 38 minutes 57 seconds followed by James Loftus in 39 minutes 58 seconds, Nick Outram in 40 minutes 7 seconds, Kelly Richmond in 43 minutes 35 seconds and Richard Robinson in 44 minutes 45 seconds. Lucy Saggers came next in 49 minutes 45 seconds, then Lynn Humpleby in 52 minutes 8 seconds, Alice Hayter in 52 minutes 41 seconds and Nicola Thorpe in 55 minutes 23 seconds. Graham Robinson has completed every one of the 41 Captain Cook’s Fell Races, an incredible achievement. The cold weather made it tough for Graham with his oxygen cylinder but he still completed his 41st Captain Cook’s race in 86 minutes 29 seconds. Well done Graham.

The fine dry weather certainly didn’t continue for the Hardmoors 15, on 3rd January, based in Robin Hood’s Bay. Just getting there was a challenge with competitors driving through snow and ice. The cliff top section had to be removed from the race due to blizzards and gale force winds. It simply wasn’t safe. This reduced the route to 11 miles through snow, stunning wintry coastal vistas and a stinging blizzard on the way back.
Bridget Houston was first back for PRC in an amazing 1 hour 34 minutes, winning the trophy for 1st female and placing her 6th overall. Kate Towse crossed the finish line in 2 hours 10 minutes closely followed by Nicola Wise, in 2 hours 12 minutes, who was rewarded with the trophy for 1st F60. Dean Wise, competing in his first big event since open heart surgery, finished in 2 hours 55 minutes and was presented with the trophy for 1st M70.