(TLDR. For those short of time…. On Tuesday, you’ve a choice between a run through Hookstone Woods or a summer interval session, and on Thursday we’ve got the fish & chip run in Knaresborough. Sunday brings us the Vale of York Half Marathon, and I’ve also included details of up and coming races, committee meetings, and a smattering of always impressive results. You’d be a fool to miss it).
Well, it’s a new term and back to school here at Nidd Valley Comprehensive (OFSTED Rating: Excellent). So with a flick of the chalk and a swish of the cane, please open your exercise books as we consult our timetable for the week ahead.
The Week Ahead
As per usual arrangements, you’ve got a choice for your Tuesday run. Denise and Martin have been groomed by Emma K to lead another session of lung bursting intervals. Meet at the club and be good to go for 7pm.
If that doesn’t appeal, there will also be another “normal” (yes, I know, not a word that you might usually associate with Nidd Valley) run from the club on Tuesday. Be good to go for 7pm, head out over the Stray with the intervalers, run through the Saints and through Hookstone Woods. Thread your way round past the brewery and the hospice, until you come to Leeds Road. You can turn home for the club then, or extend along Leadhall Lane. The choice is yours and you can please yourself.
Apropros of nothing, if you fancy something a bit different and a bit painful, on Wednesday night there is the Ilkley Incline. It’s £3 for a one mile sprint up the Chevin, taking in 561ft of climb as you go. It’s not in any championship or anything like that but, well, it’s an evening out isn’t it? More details here: https://tinyurl.com/4jwhmt4j.
On Thursday, we have our fish and chip run in Knaresborough. These are the things you need to do:
- Check your emails from Captain Sarah and let her know your food order: sarahstaiano@outlook.com.
- Meet at the market cross for 6.30pm, and have the correct change for your order which Sarah and her ever glamorous assistants will collect.
- At 6.45pm, go for a run
- 8pm-ish. Eat chips in the market square and try to avoid the tediously inevitable class photograph.
There will not be a club run from the Hockey Club on Thursday night.
On Sunday, we’ve got the Vale of York half marathon. One of the longer race in the road championships, this is flat and fast so there’ll be a chance for a PB if you give it your best shot. Anyway, I’ve just checked and there are only a handful of places left for the race, so if you want a place you need to stop playing so hard to get: https://tinyurl.com/2s3szy2m.
Results
We start off this week with the results from the Tholthorpe 10k yesterday. Well, there is much to celebrate in Nidd Valley House as the men brought home the bacon with the fastest three male finishers from the same club, so a particular well done to Captain Dazzler (37.23), Fingers Harris (38.36), and Kevin “cheerful socks” Clark (38.49). Now, you may think things cannot get any better, but we also celebrate the Nidd Valley ladies who claimed the overall female prize too, so let’s hear you go wild for Sarah Staiano (45.30), Laura Francis (46.06) and Fiona Deacon (48.02).
Team prizes or not, we also had great results from Steve Newbould (39.29), Captain Emeritus Martin Lofthouse (40.05), Simon Cocker (45.56) and Nick Crebbin (48.27), while there was much to celebrate in the cracking efforts from Jamie Dilasser (49.30), Jeremy Scott (49.32) and Christine Holleran (49.54). Karen Mills (50.11) was a wafer distance ahead of Chris Morris (50.37), while Jess Harby (51.38) couldn’t quite close the ten second gap to catch Helen Cook (51.28).
It’s always a pleasure and never a chore to report on Dave Seaman’s (51.40) achievements, especially when he’s followed in such spectacular fashion by Sue Ball (55.31), Chatty McChatface (55.30), Nadene Wilkinson (56.47), Rachael Prince (57.20) and Nick Smith (57.36). Emily Wighton (58.41) managed to sneak in between Guy Parker (58.21) and Moira McTague (59.32) like a rose between two roses, with Yvonne Skelton (59.42) never too far behind. Debbie Dilasser (1:01.44) has had a right good old moan about positive splits, but you’ll hear no such complaints from me. Rachel Mills (1:02.23), Susan Rogers (1:02.29), Liz Ahmed (1:08.27) and Sylvia Morten (1:12.30) finish the race off for us and, if I might say, do so splendidly.
Now you would be forgiven for thinking that Kevin Clark probably went home to put his feet up and have a lovely cup of tea, but he then headed off to Wetherby to run in the 10k race that afternoon. Clearly quite mad, Kevin (40.55) finished the race in a cracking time, followed by Sophia Khan (57.26) who, as far as I can see, had not done anything as daft as a competitive event that morning.
In a bit of non-running related sporting news, Emma Kicks headed off this weekend to the Lake District to take part in the 13 mile competitive swim on Lake Windermere. Anyway, crap weather put paid to that so Emma could only take part in a two hour swim (he says ‘only’ like it’s not an achievement…), covering 5000 meters in the process. So well done, Emma. Great effort.
In one final bit of athletic prowess, I can’t not give a shout out to Christine Jones and Rebecca Ventress completed a coast to coast 225 mile bike ride from Southport to Hornbeam to celebrate Christine turning sixt… sorry, I mean twenty one years of age. They completed the challenge on schedule in three days and, as Phil says, we can look forward to the moaning about sore backsides and other areas over the next few weeks. I can hardly wait.
For those that like to keep their hand on the parkrun tiller, we’ve got results this week from Woodbank, York, Stevenage, Skipton, Druridge Bay, University of Stirling and Dolgellau (nope, I hadn’t heard of it either. Ask Nigel. It was him who ran it, not me). We’ve also got the usual results from Conygham Hall, Harrogate and Fountains Abbey. You can update yourselves at your leisure: https://tinyurl.com/4cbrfjde.
If you have done a brilliant piece of work at school or have tried super hard in class, you just have to let me know. I’d be more than happy to give you a gold star: samfugill@gmail.com.
Committee Meeting
We’ve got the next staff meeting and teacher training day on Wednesday 14 Sep 2022. I wonder what biscuits we shall have this time. Anyway, if you have something that you’d like us to discuss with our mouths full, then please let Plips know. You can find her here: pwilkinson79@hotmail.com.
Further Ahead & Booking Now Open
On Friday 16 Sep 2022, there is going to be more evening action at the Sports Village at York University with another jaunt in the Evensplits 5k Series. Five fast and relentless laps on tarmac. The challenge is on. If you want your road championship points, then you need to get yourself entered. Crack on: https://tinyurl.com/34dbttxu.
We’ve got the all important Mob Match against the Knaresborough Striders on Sunday 18 Sep 2022 at the Beckbusters 10k. This is your chance to stand up and be counted, to paint Bishop Monkton gold and black, and to bring back the glorious mob match trophy to Nidd Valley House! Every runner counts and, yes, that includes you: https://tinyurl.com/knu6s9b2.
On Sat 24 Sep 2022, the fell runners get back in the groove with the next in the muddy championships: the Rombalds Romp. I love a romp, me. Anyway, it’s about eight miles and about 1200ft of climb, depending on how lost you get, and it’ll set you back only £8. Have a chat with any of our filthy brethren if you’d like more info on fell running in general, and you can find an the race related information here: https://tinyurl.com/36y3n998.
Guy Fawkes 10: 06 Nov 2022
A quick reminder for you that our annual club race is on at the beginning of November. We’ve almost sold out, so it will be great to welcome a thousand runners to Ripley and put on an event which shows them the best of Nidd Valley (both the actually valley and the club). Please, please, please keep this date free as we’ll need nearly all hands on deck to marshal and support and do all sorts of helpful things. Thanks.
Word to the Wise
This week, coach Emma K shares her accumulated wisdom following her curtailed Lakeland dip.
“I’ve been given a tee-shirt, hoodie and medal with ‘Windermere End to End’ on. Conundrum. Do I have to swim up and down Wetherby River for 11 miles next weekend so I can wear them? It would be like doing a Fingers, but in the water instead of on the Chevin. That comment sounds so wrong. Don’t pass it on to Sam.”
Doing a Fingers? Fingers Harris: the man, the legend, the verb.
Have a great week.
Sam x