On 18th January, the Brass Monkey took place, a flat, road half marathon, expertly organised by Knavesmire Harriers. Over 200 volunteers performed all the tasks necessary to ensure another seamless event, cheering and encouraging the slowest runners as enthusiastically as the fastest. The one thing they failed to get right was the weather! Although calm, cold, rain is very good for running personal records, it’s not great for marshalling. With a cut-off of 2 hours 45 minutes, the Brass Monkey is not a fun run, attracting mainly club runners.
Chris Croft was first back for PRC, achieving a half marathon personal best time with his super speedy 1 hour 23 minutes, which placed him 306th out of very competitive field of 1,660 runners. Simon Jones also had a cracking race, and wasn’t far behind, clocking 1 hour 25 minutes. Kirsty Brown was justifiably delighted with her time of 1 hour 36 minutes, also achieving a half marathon personal best. Richard Robinson also clocked 1 hour 36 minutes, just 5 seconds behind Kirsty. More used to mud and mountains, Kim Cavill thoroughly enjoyed her first road half marathon, and crossed the finish line in an excellent time of 1 hour 41 minutes. Ollie Baxter was hot on her heels in 1 hour 43 minutes, followed by Colin Garnett in 1 hour 46 minutes, Andrew Bates in 1 hour 53 minutes, Serena Partridge in 1 hour 55 minutes and David Stephenson in 1 hour 58 minutes. Pam Garnett finished in 2 hours 17 minutes, closely followed by Nicola Wise in 2 hours 18 minutes, and Sally Brown, achieving a half marathon personal best, with her time of 2 hours 19 minutes. Dean Wise, still recovering from heart surgery, took it steady, finishing in 2 hours 52 minutes.

Chris and Lisa Adams completed a 27 mile “Walk for Wardy”, in and around York, in horrible wintry conditions to raise money for a friend needing medical treatment for a brain tumour. A truly heroic achievement.