2008 Fell Reports

 Mourne-ing News
20-21st Sept 2008

 
The Mourne-ing After?

The venue for the 2008 Lowe Alpine Mourne Mountain Marathon was Annalong Valley (just below Slieve Binnian and on the west of the area, near the Irish Sea), with courses heading north towards the back of Slieve Donard. This is the high part of the Mournes and so we knew we were in for some serious climb over the 2 days. Most courses went up on to the summit of Slievenaglegh before a long descent in to the overnight camp at the very north of the map near Tollymore Forest Park.

Conditions were fine with some high level mist but this soon burnt off and we were treated (?) to the best weather the British Isles had seen for weeks. Temperatures rose and at times reached 20°C. However underfoot the recent rains had turned the terrain into a slippery and soggy landscape, and all streams and lakes were brimming. As you'll know, the area is granite and is characterised by pointy summits (with tors on top) and many rocky outcrops and boulders. The recent downpours had washed down between the boulders and gave rise to many unseen holes and gullies adjacent to the rock. This meant footfalls were quite unpredictable and many runners were to be seen extricating themselves and cursing.

We had entered the B course (there are only E (elite), B, C and D on the MMM). On Day 1, the planners had set a course which was 3 line course controls before giving us the choice of the next 7 cluster controls in any order, before finally another set of 3 line course controls into the finish. This gave us a lot of route choice and a lot of climb! In fact we were so focussed on finding the best order we managed to try and descend over a 50m crag coming off Cove Mountain. A quick change of underpants and a big excursion around the crags lost us considerable time.

Evening at the overnight camp was sunny and dry (good for washing and drying those aforementioned undergarments). Day 2 started warm and bright. The Sunday course had no clustered controls, instead we followed a huge "S" shaped course which meant running away from the finish for much of the day. The going was more runnable on the second day (not hard!), and we had little trouble with the navigation under such clear conditions. Towards the end there was 550m climb out of the Silent valley to the back of Slieve Binnian to a high crag foot, then a couple of short legs into the finish.

Overall is was the toughest the Mourne courses have been for a few years, compounded by the unseasonable heat - which made us dehydrate.

Des O'Regan and I came 11th in the B class (out of 65) – 13th on day 1 and 8th on day 2. With only about 200 pairs running across the 4 courses- this event seems so small and friendly, and I can thoroughly recommend a trip to The Crown in Belfast city centre for some history and a fantastic pint of Guinness. Flying in from Leeds Bradford makes this Mountain Marathon easier to get to than most Lowe Alpine MMs in Scotland or many OMMs.

go to www.mourne2day.com for results and to enter for 2009.

©Rob Bailey 2008

 Summerhill 5K
21st Aug 2008

Mike Jeffries was a worthy winner of the 5th Tees Forest Race of 2008 at Summerhill, Hartlepool after previously finishing in 2nd and 4th places. Vet 40 Stuart McLay was an impressive 2nd ahead of Hartlepool's Andrew Minister. In the Ladies race Carolyn Summersgill was an easy winner in a quick 19:32 ahead of Michelle Scott and Diane Jobson.

Tees Forest 5K Summerhill 5K results

Final table + end of series report 

29 photos from the race

 Grunters
19th Aug 2008

Jo Blackett smiles as he knows what's coming next i.e. Greenhill (he trains on it). Not far behind are
someone in green :-), Mark Walker and Paul Figg.

We found a window in the monsoon weather to run what turned out to be an entertaining event. On the previous evening we had to make some quick decisions about an unsafe route due to areas which were 3 foot deep mud bogs and runnels that were close to 6 foot deep in water. I could envisage a 'Vicar of Dibley' sketch coming to life! In the race for those who arrived in time and could understand the route changes there were three basic options from Highcliff to the lower compulsory checkpoint.

Paul Lowe eventually turned out to be a comfortable winner in the men's event ahead of his veteran club colleague Brian Roberts. In the women's event the early leader was Kay Neesam but the eventual winner was Lizzie Adams taking a much neater line from Highcliff. This still leaves Kay in an unassailable position in the series. North York Moors AC won the men's team prize ahead of Knavesmire AC while Knavesmire AC won out in the Ladies Team ahead of New Marske Harriers.

Dave Parry

Guisborough Grunt 2008 results

 Summer Series Leaders

Class winners decided by this race were Joe Blackett (M40), Rob Burn (M55), Alex Menarry (M70),
Shelli Gordon (FO) and Keziah Paxton (FJ) 

NEHRA Summer Series leaders after 10 races

A film of the race will be available soon

 Gribdale Gallopers
5th Aug 2008

The post race runner's pose consists of standing around with your hands on your hips....
(photo taken as an after thought by yours truly as I didn't see any photographers during the race :-)

It was one of those sultry nights with a warm temperature and 100% humidity as it was overcast with gentle rain. At the front of the men's race Paul lowe pushed last years winner and record holder Jim Bulman all the way. It was only in the last section of the race that Jim made that vital break.

In the women's section it was Kay Neesam roaring to another win which secured for her the Summer Series Women's title. There were ten teams finished in the men's event but only one finished the women's i.e. 'North York Moors' which unfortunately doesn't give us a competition! There were quite a few women running but a lot of 'two runners' from a club. A fantastic event and particular congratulations to 'Egglescliffe' for finishing a team.

Dave Parry

Gribdale Gallop results 2008

Clips from The Gribdale Gallop Race Film

Gribdale Gallop results matrix (1996-2006)

 Summer Series Leaders

With 3 races left in the series Kay has secured the Summer Series Women's title but the men's is still up for grabs with anyone of 15 runners still able to be crowned champ. Ken Maynard leads the charge ahead of Joe Blackett and Pete Wilkin. Ken has already secured the M45 title while other class winners are Adrian Dixon (M60), Ronnie Sherwood (M65) and Kay Neesam (F40)

NEHRA Summer Series leaders after 9 races

 Jim's on Top
22nd July 2008

An excellent night's racing which saw a North York Moors double with Jim Bulman winning the men's event and Caroline Pollard winning the women's. Times were quite good but it is increasingly clear that changes to the surface have slowed things down generally. Records were set when the descent was grass all the way and the fastest times were set on the tourist route. Coming off Roseberry I also noted a less direct line is being taken due to other factors.
 

Dave Parry

Roseberry Topping 2008 Results

37 photos from the race

Excerpts from the Roseberry Topping Race film is available here

NEHRA Summer Series leaders after 8 races

Is the Roseberry Topping route slower than 11 years ago? Checkout these results from 1997:

Roseberry Topping 1997 results

Martin Dietrich was first past the post just ahead of Ian Hodgson in the 2008 Rigwelter Handicap club race. However both were demoted to none counters having run too fast :-) Third place Martyn Hudson was therefore declared the winner.

Thanks to all who turned up at Gribdale. The turn out was disappointing given that there were 16 times submitted. Also thanks to Steve Hutchinson for organising the event, on the night, and to all who helped by marshalling. Please feed back any comments that might help to improve the turnout. I believe that there were people on holiday. Perhaps a different time of the year might be more favourable. Please let us know your thoughts.

Bill Pennell bill@nym.ac

P.S. I have a couple of bottles of Rigwelter Ale for Martyn Hudson (Trevor Symonds already has his).
 

Rules Summary:

The first runner will start at 6.30 followed by the rest in order of their handicap time.
Anyone finishing either + or – 5 minutes of their handicapped time will not count.
There will be two categories for winners
i. The outright winner on handicap time (first over the line within +/-5min)
ii. The person nearest to their handicapped time.

Rigwelter Handicap map

 Tragedy in the Alps
13th July 2008

A fast-moving snowstorm took hundreds of runners by surprise during a race in the Bavarian Alps killing two and sending six more people to hospital with severe hypothermia. The two men who died were running up the mountain along with more than 500 others when a sudden change in the weather dropped temperatures to below freezing point. The snap storm also brought strong gusts of wind and even snow. It took the participants in the race totally by surprise – many of whom were clad in nothing more than shorts and T-shirts. One of our club members, Mike Purnell was taking part in the race at the time......(more)

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"The venue for the 2008 Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon was St John’s in the Vale, with courses based on the Dodds and Helvellyn range of hills. The longest courses went south as far as Seat Sandal and Fairfieldbefore coming back via Greenside mines to complete a circuit of Helvellyn before the overnight camp at Dowthwaite Head near Dockray.

Conditions started fine and windy but soon turned wet, misty and, at times, pretty miserable. The rain became torrential before turning to scary thundery showers for late finishers.

Evening at the overnight camp was a mixture of warm sunshine and heavy thunderstorms. Day 2 started wet and misty with full waterproofs from the off. As with Saturday we opted for a cautious approach, following strong features and taking care with timings when navigating on bearings. This paid dividends when faster teams overtook us more than once. The checkpoints on day 2 were all located at clear features – sheepfolds, stream junctions and buildings which were easier to locate than two of the re-entrants had been in Saturday’s mist.

The run along the top of the Dodds was fast, even for us, as the strong wind and heavy rain made it essential to keep up pace for warmth. The first sunshine of the day caught us half way down the final steep and treacherously slippery path to the finish but we were pleased to be home with an hour to spare before prize giving. It made a pleasant change from grim finishes in fading light on the Karrimor.

We came 33rd in the Bowfell class – 36th on day 1 and 30th on day 2, and our route choices were very close to the course planner’s ‘optimum’ choice. After 7 years away from mountain marathons this was an excellent event to return to.

Mark Edwards and Bref O’Rourke finished 76th in the Harter Fell class. Rob Bailey and Des O’Regan were 17th in the Bowfell. My partner was Joe Hutchinson from York.

Out of 531 teams, 408 finished and 123 retired.

Keith Wilson"
9/7/08


Footnote from Rob Bailey:

"Keith summed up the event - the courses were well planned, giving good route choice, new control sites (the Saunders had been on this ridge at least 3 times in the last 10 years or so) and although challenging there was not the gratuitous climb sometimes seen previously.

This was the first MM of the year for us, and the early 4 contouring legs gave both Des and me blisters. The intensity of the rain gave Des a great chance to try out his new ultra lightweight waterproof (which was great apparently), and for me to try out the new waterproofing spray on my single skin KIMM 'one on the bottom and one on the top' tent, (which was crap - in fact it was so bad, Des ordered a new tent 2 days later). We did see Keith on Day 1, but with waterproofs and hoods up, I'm sorry Keith I didn't recognise you until Des mentioned later he thought it had been you.

We opted for the earliest possible start (without being in the chasing start sadly) on Day 2. On the SLMM you get the control descriptions 30 minutes before the mass start - which is great, so with maps marked up, we aimed to run away from the group, and by control 2 we were catching up the chasing starters, but made a long but safe route choice along the ridge to control 3 instead of going direct, which cost us a number of places. In spite of that, we made up ground progressively and made up one place from our overnight position.

Just to mention, Bref - tremendous to see that with a bionic knee you can still do these events. Well done! I hope you didn't have to descend from Calfhow Crag on the wet grass. Next for us is the Mourne MM in September - highly recommended.

Rob Bailey"

Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon Results

First thanks to all who turned out on a lovely evening. There were about 25 altogether with 16 teams or individuals competing. The course was designed to test folks timing skills with Controls stretching from the seat at the top of Cringle to Whorlton Old Church near Swainby. I'm pleased to say most people appeared to enjoy the evening despite the Café being mobbed by Hundreds of bikers.

 
In the 2 hour class the Nadal and Federer roles were taken by Ian Hodgson & Ritchie Clark the younger. With Ian just beating Ritchie by 6 points thanks to the latter's 3 min time penalty.

Trevour Symond's gang were in the Andy Murray Class (Lots of promise but lack of genuine quality & pace), while Martin Dietrich and his daughter filled the Sharapova role (Strong reputation, but had a bad day)

The Chris Eaton approach of un-fancied outsider was adopted by Martin Hudson, who looked strong in the early finishers but was overtaken by the greyhounds later.

The one hour class was won by Barry Moody & Josie by quite a margin.

Hope to see you all running again soon.

Cheers  Bob Howe

 --------o0o-------

Winners Comments:

"For me there was an obvious route round with the chance of adding extra on at the end if their was time. From Lordstones it was straight up the Cleveland Way to the trig point on top of Carlton Bank near the glider station, then following the Cleveland Way towards Huthwaite Green to pick up the boundary stone on the path then continuing west to the next checkpoint, the notice boards before the steps. My reasoning for this run out was that it would be all good surfaces underfoot, slightly downhill and all while still fresh.

Down the top part of Jacobs Ladder to the forestry track, then head back east contouring round without any climb to the top of the track down to Faceby where there were 3 checkpoints. From the last of the 3 checkpoints the fire hydrant, I went into the woods round Whorlton Hill to pick up the path by the chicken houses, running east towards Whorlton Castle, to the highest scoring checkpoint the ruined church before the castle. From here I went back up the road away from Swainby, up the hill to the last farm and the footpath west across the fields to pick up the road to Huthwaite Green and the next checkpoint the post box. From here it's a long run up the Scugdale road picking up the checkpoints on the way. From the last checkpoint next to Scugdale Hall its up the bridleway to the crags, a short contour then a straight line for the boundary stone. At this point I meet up with Vince Connolly who's approaching the same checkpoint from the south on the main track. He set off the same time as me and I hadn't seen him since the first checkpoint but he was running the same anticlockwise direction as me.

The next checkpoint was the gate which is on the main track heading south towards the mast, then down hill on the green lane towards Raisdale Mill but we head off in a northerly direction to the container before the woods, then into the woods downhill still heading in a northerly direction until the gate that takes you across the fields in a direct line back to Lordstones picking up another checkpoint `Ritchie' gate along the way. I was starting to get quite tired and couldn't shake Vince off. We got back to Lordstones and still had time to use up, so we went to Lord Stone, then the seat ( which had gone) by the side of the Cleveland Way up Cringle Moor. There wasn't enough time to get right to the top and the checkpoint on the road the cattle grid heading towards Carlton was too ambitious.

It was warm evening for a hard run round a familiar area, there was only one path I hadn't been on before, so I did have quite an advantage over young Richie Clarke. I would have preferred more off road instead of the long run up the Scugdale road, but the idea was that some people might try it on mountain bikes.

The OS map doesn't mark the forest tracks correctly between Jacobs Ladder and the track down to Faceby. Confusing for people who don't know the area.

Ian Hodgson"

Ian's winning route map

Results:

 

2 Hour Score	Score	Start Time	Finish Time	Penalties	Net score
Ian Hodgson	465	18.35	20.30	0	465
Richie Clark (the younger)	465	18.18	20.21	6	459
Vince Connoly	400	18.35	20.30	0	400
Martin Hudson	380	17.55	20.00	10	370
Jamie Henson	400	18.30	20.50	40	360
Trevour Symonds elite crew	355	18.15	20.10	0	355
Mark Edwards	150	18.15	20.09	0	150
Bref & Tom	10	18.25	20.07	0	10
1 Hour Score
Barry Moody & Josie	175	18.33	19.49	32	143
Dave Thompson	165	18.06	19.19	30	135
Graham Carter & Ian	195	18.18	19.59	80	105
Andy Lange	125	18.45	20.02	35	90
Mike Shaw	75	18.25	19.21	0	75
Martin Deitrich & daughter	20	18.30	19.50	40	-20

Event planned, conceived and delivered by Bob Howe
 

 Cleveland Way Relay
29th June 2008

North York Moors 'Ladies' team congregate on the steps of the Market Cross at Helmsley.
(L-R) Viv Mathews, Georgie Hill, Sarah Hague, Jenny Thornton, Andrea Foster, Martina Dietrich,
Julia Barwick & Caroline Graham.  

The well honed Loftus & Whitby team turned in another fine performance in the Cleveland Way Relay to win convincingly from Yorn Acorn and North York Moors AC. They completed the 110 miles from Filey to Helmsley in 12 hrs 38 mins allegedly just a few minutes outside their own course record (can anyone confirm this?). In our 3rd attempt we fielded our strongest team yet however it takes more than brute force to win this event and we had a few problems along the way. We did manage to field 3 teams though thanks to the sterling efforts of event organiser Martin Dietrich and also Andrea Foster. Loftus 'B' team and Billingham Marsh House Harriers also successfully completed the course which is no mean achievement!

102 photos from the Cleveland Way Relay 

more photos from the CWR (link)

Jon Bulmer (Marsh House) report (link)

Individual leg times + graph of time gaps

Organisers Report     

 Whorlton Wonders
17th June 2008

Another fantastic nights running with sultry weather but quite warm and still. The hottest was the competition at the front of the men's race where Andy Hilton and Jim Bulman were head to head again and both breaking the old record with Andy winning in a fantastic time of 40.56 some 1 minute and 42 seconds inside the old record. This reversed the Fox & Hounds result.
In the women's event Kay Neesam must wonder why it took her so long to win an event with her fourth win of the series. New Marske went on to win the women's team event just holding off a strong North York Moors challenge. In the men's North Yorks Moors were comfortable winners. Apart from Andy Hilton's win the other outstanding performance of the night was Andy Normandale in third place overall and at 50 years being the first veteran in.....

Dave Parry

Whorlton Run results 2008

26 Photos from the race

Excerpts from the Whorlton Run film is available here

 Jim's Stroll in the Park
15th May 2008

Jim Bulman headed a record turnout around the 2 lap Preston Park course winning in a quick 16:02 ahead of Guisborough Forest winner Chris Jeffries with David Burkhart again taking the 3rd spot. However it wasn't all plain sailing as a tricky spot on the course caused Jim to momentarily pause and ask for directions. Andrew Pearson was also caught out and DNF after being well placed after the first lap.

Carolyn Summersgill continued with her winning streak finishing an impressive 7th overall in 17:48 ahead of Fiona Bailey and Kirsty Winter.

Tees Forest Preston Park 5K Results

43 photos from the race

 Hilton Out-Foxed
20th May 2008

A very strong contest at the front between Jim Bulman and Andy Hilton saw them break away early from the rest of the field. After a series of adventures including running through brambles after finding themselves off route, they came back together to sprint it out at the finish. It was an excellent night for running if a little chilly at 4 degrees come 9.30 at the presentation.

In the women's event it was Kay Neesam who recorded her second win of the season just a minute ahead of a very strong Cath Worth. Good packing at the end of the first team saw North York Moors win the men's team squeezing out Acorn with their last counter. Thirsk & Sowerby won the women's and proved to be out on their own!

Dave Parry

Fox & Hounds results

21 Photos from the race

a film of the race coming son....

 Dunn Running
22nd Apr 2008

A fantastic start to the Summer Series with Gary Dunn turning in a wonderful performance having gained a 20 second lead by the time he hit the wood wall. Gary went on to win comfortably from Ken Maynard who was easily first veteran. In third Alex Brazier turned in another brilliant run to be first Junior.
In the women's event things were by no means clear as the first three suffered a five minute penalty for missing the lower check-point before the 'Angels Staircase' This left Angela Hall a worthy winner just outpacing Kay Neesam by 3 seconds. A lot of athletes suffered the five minute penalty due to their headless chicken approach of following runners not tape. (We've all done it but it just means frustration!) I found it difficult on the night to pick up all the information as athletes finished from 3 different directions and were talking to me as batches of runners finished. This means that the result may alter as further penalties may need to be applied.
 
Carlton Challenge results 2008
(better late than never - I think Dave had a few problems with these :-)

Carlton Challenge Race photos 

A film of the race coming soon (when I eventually catch up!)
 

 Last of the Summer Wine?
5th Apr 2008

"This is an epic tale of three old guys, Four Inns, 13hrs 23mins and 45 miles. No, it's not the story of the worlds longest pub crawl but a report of an attempt by Andy Heald and myself (Bob Howe) to help Alan Urwin to revisit an "old flame" to celebrate his 65th Birthday. The three of us left Holmbridge at 0630 in the clear, cold dawn light of Saturday morning as the teams of 3 or 4 were set off in pairs up the first hill. Similarities with Last of the Summer Wine, which was based there, did not go unnoticed by the starters...(more)

Bob Howe

 Tree Legged Race?
17th Apr 2008

Heavy rain did little to dampen spirits in the first Tees Forest Trail Race of 2008. Mike Jeffries led home 91 hardy runners ahead of North York Moors new signing Andy Pearson ('who was saving himself for Redcar') and much improved David Burkhart. In the Ladies race Kirsty Winter held off Jan Milsom with Sharon Gayter in 3rd.

The principal points gainers since the Guisborough Forest Handicap Race (back in September) were John Kettle and Philip Pritchard who both had problems in that race so the improvements were not unexpected. However David Burkhart has wintered well showing an impressive 10% improvement in just 7 months. Michael Oliver, Stephen Shaw and Philip Eltherington were the biggest losers since the Handicap Race but I'm sure they'll bounce back to former fitness levels.

Photo shows Chris Jeffries. Taken by yours truly in really difficult conditions (honest).

Guisborough Forest 5K Trail results 2008
 

 Sole Destroying!
13th Apr 2008

Previous winner Joe Blackett still finishes 11th overall despite having only one shoe! Full Story below
Photo by Roy Tomlin.

Well we did it again. The previous Sunday was a whiteout and on the day before the Gisborough Moors Race we had hail, sleet and heavy rain which had been the pattern of the week and then contrary to forecasts it was a pleasant day for all the runners. My congratulations to every finisher as they were all in well under the 3 hour cut off. The one record set today was by the overall winner in the men's race where Charlie Stead established an early lead and then went on to win his 5th Gisborough Moors Race i.e. more than anyone else, passing Steven Sutcliffe's previous record of 4 wins. Dan Middlemas (Loftus & Whitby) finished 2nd ahead of Philip Sanderson (NFR)

In the women's event we had a new name to add to the list of winners i.e. Laura Clark of Valley Striders who again established an early lead eventiually winning ahead of Jacqueline Keavney (Swaledale RR) and  Caroline Pollard (North York Moors AC)

Northumberland Fell Runners went on to win the men's team event ahead of North York Moors AC (who's counters were Roger Tomlin (6th), Paul Figg (18th), John Somers (22nd) and Nigel Cairns (29th). Nige forgot to dip on the line and failed by 1 second to join the elite sub 100 minute club).   The North York Moors women went one better just holding off Swaledale by one point (our counters were Caroline Pollard, Sharon Gayter and Sheila Mulrooney).

Dave Parry

Gisborough Moors 2008 results

41  photos from the Race

In the 2007-8 Winter Series, Charlie Stead was crowned overall Mens' Champ ahead of Dan Middlemas and Richard Bellamy while Erika Johnson secured the Ladies title ahead of Jacqueline Keavney and Sue Haslam. Eddie Meehan was the only competitor to complete all 12 races.

Winter Series Final Positions
 

Website exclusive, straight from the 'horses mouth'......

We'll start at the beginning..... Once upon a time (not so long ago) top fell runner Joe Blackett accidentally left his Walsh Fell shoes at Belfast after competing in the Mourne Peaks British Champs Race. He decided for The Gisborough Moors Race to use a pair of old but little used New Balance RX Terrain fell shoes, however near to Percy Rigg the front part of the sole on his left shoe started flapping and Joe dropped down to about 40th place. Fortunately he met Gary Armitage on the descent to Lonsdale Farm who kindly offered him one of his road shoes (luckily he was the same size) so Joe carried on, slowly working his way back through the field. Unfortunately on Roseberry Topping the sides of his other shoe burst open and he had no option but to finish the race wearing one borrowed road shoe! Currently Joe has no fell shoes and Gary Armitage has one road shoe...... 
 

 Eureka!
30th Mar 2008

It was another fine morning in the middle of some very trying weather. It was blustery but after storms overnight it was a relief to have no more rain. The men's race soon settled to a duel between Andy Hilton and Lewis Banton  closely pursued by Robert Addyman, Dan Middlemas and Dave Smith. By half way this line of runners were well clear of the field and as the race progressed the gaps grew with Andy coming home in a new record time.

In the women's event Jacqueline Keavney, Caroline Pollard and Diane Jobson were all well placed in that order until the final bridge crossing where they took the wrong route and let in a delighted Gail Bell and Alison Weston who came in one and two.

In the team event Loftus and Whitby tooks the men's whilst North York Moor's women won the female team.

Eskdale Eureka Results 2008

The majority of categories have now been decided however one or two are going down to the wire...

Winter Series Leaders
with one to go
 

 Hikers & Hobblers
15th Mar 2008

"33 miles? no problem I thought - after all, I did the Wheeldale Tandem OK. However this distance was more than I've been doing on a weekly basis in total for the last few months. Add that to the 4400 ft of climbing, and it began to dawn on me at the start that this was going to be a long slog, particularly as rain was promised sometime during the day.I started off steadily - further down the field than I would normally start and enjoyed what scenery wasn't hidden  behind a bank of mist covering the Pennines. This was an area of the country I'd never walked or run in before and I determined that priority 1 was to finish, but a time nearer 5 than 6 hours would be preferable..... (more)
 

"I was thankfully fit enough to walk the 25th Cleveland Survival on Sat. 29th Mar 2008 which meant I was one of only six to have completed them all. Although every Survival is a different mystery route of about 27 miles on the North York Moors and has only ever repeated start locations on 3 or 4 occasions this was the second to start from Chop Gate. It started as did the first Survival in 1983 from the car park and set off with the same climb up to Cock Howe. Also repeated was the last 18 miles of the route, including the tough slog over Bilsdale East Moor to Botany Bay. It was even tougher for me this time because of the strong southerly wind and horizontal rain. I had to endure this bad weather for the last 11 miles, ending in a mudshute descent via William Beck Farm.

Ray Stevenson also completed his 25th Survival and was receiving his mug and T-shirt as I entered the Hall where upon I was presented with mine too. I must have been so happy to finish that I never thought to find out how the runners had done, although I did see on route Ian Hodgson, Richard Clark, Jon Skidmore, Ian Ellmore and Gerry Orchard, of note. I also didn’t ask who the other four 25ers were but at a guess I think they are Ian Ellmore, Alison Rowe (as was), Dennis Allport and Gerry Orchard. Obviously we’ll know later.

 Ged Dixon"

Congrats to Ian Hodgson who ran with Neil Ridsdale until about 4 miles from the finish where he pulled away to claim a fine victory.

Key Results:

1st   Ian Hodgson           4:12
2nd   Neil Ridsdale         4:27
3rd   Ian Ellmore           4:35
4th   Richard Clark         4:42
5th   Jon Goodwin          5:00
6th   Mark Goodwin        5:00
7th   Jonathan Skidmore 5:04
8th   Nigel Cairns           5:10

62nd Ray Stevenson      7:52
85th  Ged Dixon            8:33

Cleveland Survival Results 2008

11 photos from the 2008 Survival

 Records Nabbed at Eston
16th Mar 2008

A fine bunch of knees on display at the finish included (L-R) Jeff Belt, John Serginson, Dezzy Fielden, Julian Barwick, Jonathan Skidmore, Jon Parker, Richard Clark, Brendan Anglim, Davey Robbo. Photo by Derek Parker.

Back by popular demand (or was it a lot of nagging from me?) The Eston Nab Nee Nocker race saw Charlie Stead re write the record books, taking 42 seconds off his own previous best time. Dan Middlemas kept in touch with Charlie throughout the race and also finished inside the old record. Together they had opened up a lead of nearly 2 minutes on the rest of the field by the Eston Nab checkpoint. However the 'fun' starts in this race at checkpoint 3 (golf course corner) where runners can choose any route they like back to the finish (of which there are endless permutations). Top Orienteer Jamie Henderson obviously enjoyed this scenario and finished 3rd and first North York Moors AC runner despite a badly sprained ankle.

 Not to be out done by Charlie, Erika Johnson broke Alison Raw's record by 14 seconds ahead of Scarborough's Sue and Rhona Halsam (pre race reccy'ing obviously paying off).  In the men's team standings only Thirsk & Sowerby prevented a complete whitewash by North York Moors AC, while Scarborough AC were the only full ladies team.

Eston Nab Nee Nocker results 2008

89 photos from the race

 Winter Series Leaders

With just two races left in the Winter Series Charlie Stead has clinched the men's title outright but the 2nd spot is still up for grabs. In the Ladies section Erika Johnson's win secured the title for her but anyone of 4 women can still take the runners up spot.

In the various age categories the following winners have now crawled out of the woodwork:

M40 Richard Bellamy
M50 Paul Kelly
M65 Ronnie Sherwood

Winter Series Leaders after 10 Races
 

It was another excellent dry and bright day, although a bit breezy for the Commondale Crossing / Clart Fell race.  Records fell in both races when Richard Bellamy secured his first win on the rough stuff ahead of Dan Middlemas by breaking the men's course record by just 3 seconds. His win led the North York Moors team to victory ahead of Thirsk & Sowerby. In the women's race it was Rowan Johnson who smashed the previous record by over three minutes ahead of Erika Johnson again leading her Scarborough team to victory ahead of North York Moors.

Commondale Crossing / Clart results 2008

44 photos from the race

 Winter Series Leaders

With just three races left in the series many categories are becoming very tight. In the men's overall Richard Bellamy has moved into pole position with his biggest threat coming from Charles Stead. In the women's it is Jacqueline Keavney hanging on to pole position with a rising threat from Erika Johnson and Kendra White.

Winter Series Leaders after 9 Races

Another excellent day this time for the Castleton - Danby Race with brilliant sunshine and the frozen ground just beginning to give. Charles Stead and Paul Lowe battled it out for three quarters of the race until Paul suffered a recurrence of a heel injury and had to pull up. Charles ploughed with a 40 second lead over Richard Bellamy only to trip and bang his head on a rock. Nevertheless instinct kicked in to keep Charles going to the finish where he suffered just a little dizziness. In the women's event we saw the return of Alison Raw who smashed her own course record by two minutes. Erika Johnson chased hard and was very close to the old record. It was Newton Aycliffe women who claimed the team prize. Despite Paul's demise North York Moors claimed the men's team prize ahead of Loftus and Whitby.

Castleton - Danby results (coorected)

17 photos from the race

 Winter Series Leaders

With 4 races left in the series, thing are beginning to hot up in the various age categories, most notably in the M40, M50, F40 & F50 categories where the number of possible winners is now down to just 2 or 3 individuals.
 

Winter Series Leaders after 8 Races
 

Competitors wait patiently for Dave Parry to turn-up. Photo courtesy of Rob Stephens NFR)

A fabulous Clay Bank East race with Andy Hilton setting off like a runaway train. Jim Bulman then set his stall to catch him and by Round Hill had closed a 50m gap to just 5m. At this point Andy managed to pull away again on the long down hill but Jim had pushed Andy to a new course record, beating Paul Lowe's 7 year old record by 4 seconds. In the women's event Erika Johnson put behind her a number of second places to gain a well deserved victory from Jen Milsom. The team races threw up some rule problems in that NYM's second counter could run for his college and as Ampleforth turned in a great team performance they were awarded the team prize, particularly as Juniors were giving seniors a very close contest. In the women's Team event Swaledale saw off a serious challenge from Knavesmire.

Clay Bank East results

Winter Series Leaders after 7 Races

 Tandem Tales
12th Jan 2008

I was really pleased to win the Tandem this year as initially I didn’t think we stood a chance. Brian wasn’t on top form and there were some good runners competing i.e. Jim Rodgers from Hull who has an England vest for ultra running (24 hour track madness and also I think the record for the Lyke Wake double?) as well as a young 21 year old Jonathon Frost (a sub 2:30 marathon runner and one of the top 30 in the country).  There were also a few lads in the village hall before the start who looked like they were part of a sponsored adventure racing team in their expensive (Skins) running kit ....(more)

Ian Hodgson
 

 Black Magic
15th Jan 2008

The start was from Lordstones and covered the West - Carlton Moor area. Whilst it was not raining it was a very wet evening due to the thick mist and low cloud although clear in Carlton Village. It was very muddy and extremely wet under foot in many places - I managed to 'go for a swim' near control two... (more)

Bll Pennell

 Whitewash at Sheepwash
29th Jan 2007

Bob Mitchell cruised round the 5th Niterace at Sheepwash, winning  by huge 24 min. margin  ahead of Mark Edwards. This secured for him the Niterace series title with a race to spare....  (results)

Start of the Captain Cooks Race (photo by Andrew Mason)

The popular Captain Cooks Race saw another excellent turnout in wet and muddy conditions with Paul Lowe securing yet another New Years Day win ahead of Guisborough Woods Race winner Charlie Stead, with Joe Charles in 3rd. The ladies race was a closely fought contest with Morag McDonnell eventually making it a holiday double (after winning at the Woods Race) ahead of  Erika Johnson and Kendra White. North York Moors AC secured the men's team event thanks to Paul Lowe, Richard Bellamy, Jonathan Skidmore & Richard Clark ahead of New Marske Harriers. In the women's team event a strong showing from North York Moors AC saw them finish 1st & 2nd Ladies Team thanks to Kendra White, Karen Heppenstall, Cath Worth, Diane Jobson, Sheila Mulrooney & Caroline Graham.

The Junior Race saw a large increase in numbers with a win for Isabel Pearse from New Marske Harriers ahead of her club mate Elliott Metcalfe with Edward Miller in 3rd.

Over Ł1300 was raised for local charities, the largest portion of which will be sent to a local children's hospice. Other monies will be shared between five animal rescue centres all situated locally.

Captain Cooks Race 2007 results

Winter Series Leaders after 6 Races

36 photos from the race

film of the race

 Club Fell Records

This is your chance to set a club record either outright or in your own age category.

Recent inaugural records set:

Borrowdale
Sedbergh
Kentmere
Wuthering Hike
Three Peaks
Fox & Hounds
Anniversary Waltz

NYM.AC Club Fell records

Club records - catalogue of amendments

 Training 

Come and train on the woodland trails and open moors around the Guisborough area -  you'll love it.

full details here

Trial run of a new training sessions....

Tuesday nights fell training plan

Ladies training / racing plan

nym.ac fell training ideas