REPORT BY: WILL WORBOYS

THERE were more wins for Ilkley runners last Thursday evening.

Firstly, in the ‘Solstice Saunter’; the annual midsummer trail race in the scenic grounds of Bolton Abbey.

The race which raises funds for the Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice is five miles long and this year attracted an impressive 772 competitors and considerably more midges!

The route follows the River Wharfe upstream from The Cavendish Pavilion to Barden, before crossing the bridge and returning on the opposite river bank.

The race was superbly won by Harrier Daniel Fazackerley who was the only runner finishing inside the half hour mark, posting a time of 29:49, 11 seconds ahead of the second-placed runner.

Ilkley’s Joanne Williamson also put in a storming run to finish 9th female. The next Harrier to finish was Andrew Smith, who was then followed by Lucy Elliott; with Rachel Corrigan, Joe Henderson and Aleksandra Atman all finishing in close succession.

Also, on Thursday evening the Harrogate Summer Race league continued with the third race of the series for club runners taking place at Sutton Bank.

This race was organised by Thirsk and Sowerby Harriers and was a 4.7-mile route on varying terrain including road and a trail section on an undulating section of the Cleveland Way.

The race was won by Ilkley’s Tom Adams in a time of 25:18, which was over a minute quicker than the athlete in second place. It was Adams’ second successive victory in the series after also winning at Ripley in race two.

The next Harrier to finish was Nick Kealey who came in 3rd in his category and 15th of the 394 total finishers. The third Harrier was Jaysson Sawyer who was 6th in his category and 43rd overall.

Other notable Harriers’ performances came from Alison Bennett who was 4th in the F60 category, Steve Murray who was 6th M50 and Diane Kitchen being 2nd F65. The series continues this Thursday night with the action moving to Ilkley.

On Sunday morning Jack Cummings put in a brilliant performance to smash his PB and finish 3rd with a time of 30:24 at the Leeds Runforall 10K.

The only two athletes to finish ahead of Cummings were international class athletes from Kenya and Tanzania who were both just over a minute ahead.

The annual event was created by the inspirational amateur athlete and fundraiser Jane Tomlinson in 2007 while she was battling terminal cancer; and the race continues to raise money for a range of local charities to this day.

Another Ilkley athlete Ed Hobbs also put in a superb performance to finish 6th of the 5,500 who took part on the day in a time of 31:36. Adding to the mounting incredible 10K times that have been posted this year by members of the club. The only other Harrier taking part was Pete Evans who finished around the hour mark.

Meanwhile on Wednesday Harry Sime continued his quest to break 20 minutes for 5K at the latest Leeds EvenSplits event. He was close again finishing in a superb 20:13 and will surely smash the 20-minute barrier before long. Dick and Helen Waddington also attended this event with times of 21:22 and 22:54 respectively with Helen finishing first in her category.

On the south coast one Harrier took on the epic challenge of the ‘Jurassic Extinction 105’. With that number signifying the number of miles. Matthew Kennedy had a strong run to finish second in the endurance adventure, which started in Poole Harbour in Dorset and followed the South West Coast Path all the way to Exmouth in Devon.

Kennedy finished at 8am on Sunday morning 23 and a half hours after starting the race on Saturday.

There were some excellent performances at this week’s parkruns’ by Ilkley runners. Particularly at Roberts Park where Jane McCarthy and Rachel Carter made up an Ilkley ladies 1-2 and with Alison Bennett in 4th and also topping the age-graded table. Robert Carter finished 6th overall at the same event.

Elsewhere, Mark Hall was 2nd at Crichton in Dumfries in a time of 18:25, James Horrex was 5th finisher at Cliffe Castle and Stephen Coy came 4th at Kircaldy. Finally at Skipton, new Harrier Alice Hewitson followed up her first ever 10K with another excellent run.