(TLDR. The Headlines: On Tuesday, we’ve got the pyramid intervals on Slingsby – both at 6pm and 7pm -, on Thursday we are having a spin around Bilton for our club run, and on Saturday we have our cross country championships trip to Conyngham Hall parkrun. Other info about upcoming races, the AGM and the Evening League follows, so do read on…).
Morning folks,
So I woke up this morning to the news that marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum has died in a car accident in Kenya on Sunday. He was 24 years old. It’s a strange thing: I never met him, don’t know anyone who did, and it’s not like any of us will ever run at anything like the kind of level that he did, but I still feel really sad about this news. Maybe it’s a running thing, I don’t know. Life is short, sometimes unexpectedly and unfairly so. And on that unavoidably sombre note, let’s have a look at the results.
Results from the Week That Was…
I’m not sure that there has been a right lot on from a results point of view, but I guess it makes for a shorter email. Anyway, what we lack in quantity we more than certainly make up for in quality, as will become apparent when I share the results from Friday night’s Even Splits 5km time trial at York. Jack Brierley wasn’t hanging around as he shot over the line in 16.49. Josh Bryer was also on top form, clocking an incredible time of 17.30. They probably didn’t even break a sweat or anything. It’s sickening, really. It’s also full marks for Connor Featherstone (21.27) and Carolyn Jones (31.43). Very well done to the four of you.
Talking of Connor and Carolyn, they were down doing their parkrun thing at Woodhouse Moor on Saturday, while Adam Kirk was out to claim 33rd place on the Knavesmire at York. The Robinsons were at Redcar, Iain Scott ran at Oakwell Hall, and Loz Hawksworth and Hanny Percy got their Saturday morning 5 km in at Kraków (dobrze zrobiony to you both, then). Sarah Stainao, Steve Newbould, Karen Mills and Jeremy Scott joined Philly Thompson as she celebrated her birthday with a trip to do the parkrun at Darlington South Park (happy birthday, PT). Rachel Mills enjoyed a welcome in the valleys when she did the Penallta parkrun near Pontypridd, while Rob and Louise Kingston were on the other side of the world when they joined 708 runners at Centennial Park in Sydney.
Theresa Oldroyd was closer to home at Potternewton park, the Wightons and the Malletts were in Millfield, and the Deacons continued their alphabet challenge with a tip to Irchester Country parkrun in Northamptonshire (incidentally, if you are taking notes, this is the only new course on the MallettMap this week). Sylvia Morten was on her home turf and enjoying the well trodden paths of Otley Chevin, Colleen Gruenwald was in Glasgow’s Elder Park, and Sam Heathcoat was also north of the border at Holyrood parkrun. We had seven Nidds at Conyngham Hall, fourteen Nidds up at Fountains Abbey (Luke Scorer was the first Nidd home on that hallowed ground and so gets to wear the senior wimple this week), and more Nidds than I care to count got muddy on the Stray. Well done, all. If you want to read up on the full parkrun results then there is only place you need to be and that is right here: https://tinyurl.com/47nsmxd6.
Time is running out / so much to be done / tell me what more / what more / what more can we do: chair@niddvalleyroadrunners.co.uk.
The Fixtures for the Week Ahead
On Tuesday, we’re back on Slingsby for everybody’s (least) favourite interval sessions: Slingsby Pyramid. You know the one…. 600m, 1km, weep, 1m, 1km, weep some more, 600m, vomit. Meet at the end of Slingsby Walk by Wetherby Road (opposite the hospital), and feel free to come to sessions at either 6pm or 7pm. We’ve got four totally top-drawer coaches for you this week, too, with Babs and Sarah C leading the 6pm session and Rachael P and Sarah S in charge for the 7pm slot. You could not be in safer hands. Enjoy!
Also, on Tuesday… it’s PANCAKE DAY! I. Cannot. Wait.
Thursday brings with it another club run. I’ve checked the list and this week we are heading for a run around Bilton. I know. I couldn’t be any happier, too. Meet at the Hockey Club and be good to bounce for 7pm. Head out over the iron bridge and onto Woodfield Road, before following round to Bilton Lane. From there, head into the suburbian delights of Tennyson Avenue, Bachelor Gardens and Knox Avenue. Once on Skipton Road, you can turn left and head back to the club, or you can run down to the Little Wonder Roundabout for a hilly delight that goes as thus: up Ripon Road, down Ripon Road, and back up Ripon Road. Continue along West Park, turn right for York Place, and line up for the Hockey Club. I suspect that the usual suspects will regroup in the Hockey Club bar for a pint after afterwards, so if you’d like to join to lower the average age and improve the quality of the conversation, then I’m sure they’d be glad to see you.
Ah, now this is very interesting indeed. On Saturday, we have the next instalment in the cross country championships with a trip to Conyngham Hall parkrun. Mud and hills guaranteed. To be fair (and I say this as one of the RDs for the Harrogate parkrun), it is more interesting than three laps of the Stray. You know the deal by now, surely: there’s no need to spend any money in advance to get a number. All you need is your barcode and to be on the startline by the bridge for 9am. I’ll be north of the border, all being well, but have a great race!
Further Ahead & Booking Now Open
I know I have been pushing the Ilkley 10km quite hard, but it is the last race in the cross-country championship and so likely to be the theatre of dreams where we slog it out for those final points. Not to be missed, that’s for sure. It would be great if you were able to get involved. Captain Dazzler lives for the mud, he really does, and nothing gladdens his heart more than seeing scores of Nidds trudging through mud. You were born for this moment. #doitfordazzler. This is the place where you need to be
AGM: 7th March 2024
We need at least 20% of the club to get their athletic bums on seats for the AGM (that’s about 40-45 of us) in order to do the things we need to do: vote in a new committee, change some things, make some plans, start an uprising, that kind of thing. This will be after our normal club run on the Thursday night, and please see the email and notes sent out by Jonathan Kay for further details. If you’ve got any questions or are thinking of standing for the committee and want to ask any questions, then please feel free to speak to Jonathan. You can also speak with me, and I’m loitering where you can normally find me: chair@niddvalleyroadrunners.co.uk.
Evening League: 7th May 2024
Nidd Valley will be hosting the first of the Evening League Series this year. A massive thanks to Cath Barber who has stepped up to the plate and again agreed to be the race director for us. However, we need someone who is willing to take on responsibility for catering for the event. This will all be funded, and will not come out of your own pocket, but we still need someone who can coordinate a team of volunteers in the Hockey Club kitchen to get a beige buffet out on the night for the runners to tuck into after the race. If this is something that you feel able to help with, then we’d love to hear from you. Please speak to Dave Seaman or Sarah Staiano if you can help out.
Word to the Wise
No wise words this week, so I shall leave it there. These days, the world is a worrying place. But we can only do what we can do. Deep breath. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, and keep smiling. We’ve got this.
Chairman Sam x