(TLDR. The Headlines: on Tuesday, we have intervals at Mallinson Oval, with chances to get involved at either 6pm or 7pm. Or 7pm club run on Thursday takes in the delights of Pannal, and on Saturday we have the We Need to Talk About Chevin fell race in the fell championships. There are a few other racing options at the weekend if you fancy them, and read on for info about membership, a committee meeting, and a possible trip to Dublin. We will finish, as ever, with some wisdom to take into the week ahead).
Hi all,
There has been a load to celebrate this week here at Nidd Valley. We’ve got Brian’s staggering time round the Nidderdale Way, we’ve had Nadene and Helen finally clocking up their hundredth parkrun, and Joanne Lane has run thirteen miles for the first ever time. All incredible stuff, and it certainly is helping us along with our St Patrick’s Day celebrations. Sylvia and Dave are already on the Guinness (and setting a blistering pace, if I may say so), Jonathan has made a lovely Irish stew, Phil and Nick are planning a ceilidh, and Carolyn is wearing a novelty hat that she nicked from the pub. Everyone is having a lovely time and is very excited to share with you the results from the week that was.
Results from the Week That Was…
First off, I want to say a massive well done to Brian Hainsworth who had a crack at the Nidderdale Way record yesterday. With 55 miles to cover from Ripley to Lofthouse, Ramsgill, Bewerley and back to Ripley, a time to beat of 10:41.04 was going to be a tall order. Brian started incredibly well at 7am, and was ahead of schedule for the first few stages, although the boggy ground after heavy rainfall soon put paid to securing the record. Still, it’s a mark of his gritty determination that he ploughed on, and it was a real privilege to run the last few miles with him back to Ripley to a final finish time of 11:12.48. An incredible achievement, Brian, well done. And thanks to all the Nidds who ran legs with him, supported him round the course, and took one for the team by going to the pub with him afterwards.
Hey, calm down, calm down! Steve Newton has been back with his people in Scouserland when he took part in the Liverpool Half Marathon. He got round in a great time of 1:56.36, and was delighted to get back to find that his car still had its hubcaps, so that was a double celebration for him. Well done, Steve.
I’m delighted to tell you that one of Nidd Valley’s rising stars, Josh Bryer, completed the Lightwater 10km today in an awesome time of 40.10, securing a top ten place in doing so! Well done, Josh, that’s a brilliant performance.
Also on her lonesome, Sarah Bracher spurned the crowds of the Thirsk 10 to take part in the Vale of York 10 Mile Race. Sarah rattled round the course in a breakneck time of 1:37.42, and proud partner Nigel Scaife has messaged the results team here at Nidd Valley House to let them know that this was 15 minutes faster than her previous ten mile personal best. Congratulations, Sarah, you must be well made up after that.
So, talking of the crowds of the Thirsk 10, let’s see what the results tell us. I can’t pretend it’s the race for me. Too flat and all on roads and, as Fell Running Phil once wisely remarked, the road to injury is paved with tarmac. Still, we’re a broad church here at Nidd Valley, and are more than happy to celebrate with Steve Newbould (1:00.54), Chris Carvey (1:11.12) and Sarah Staiano (1:14.48). Matt Wilkinson (1:16.21) made a welcome return to the racing world, with Jamie Dilasser (1:16.30) just behind him. Katharine Dolman (1:24.23), Ian Wighton (1:26.54) and Chatty (1:35.45) finish the line up for us. Well done to you all.
Oh hang on a minute. It looks like recent recruit to the Nidd Valley campaign, Spencer Preston, also raced at Thirsk but we almost missed his result as he had not entered as a Nidd. I know, can you imagine it? The shame of being one of the great unattached. I can only assume that he’d entered before he joined the mighty Black & Gold. Anyway, Spencer got a great time of 1:08.36, and we’re more than happy to join in the celebrations at that performance.
Just as I was about to send this weekly update, I received an email from somebody called Alison Stones. No, I’d not heard of her either. She sent a lovely message about our Chatty, and it’s worth printing in full. It’s this kind of thing that makes Nidd Valley such a damn good running club.
“Hi. I wonder if you could possibly pass on my thanks from the Thirsk 10 today to Debbie Gibson who I believe runs with your club. I was running my first 10 mile run today on my own and got chatting to Debbie about 4km into the race, she continued to run with me keeping me motivated and more importantly keeping a good pace (I wouldn’t have got my good time today without her). She is obviously very passionate about running but also about encouraging others to keep fit and healthy by running. She kept me going even when she got slightly ahead of me near the end, still shouting back to me to motivate me on. She is a credit to your club, please pass on my thanks…”
Nice work, Chatty. Nice work.
Official results aren’t yet available for the Buttermere Trail Race, but that does not stop me having a nosey on Strava and being able to tell you that Rebecca Ventress completed the 11.7m jaunt round Buttermere and Crummock Water in a very respectable 2:14.07. It looks like Helen Cook was with her, but I can’t see anything on Strava so you’ll have to wait until next week for those results. A beautiful setting for such awesome performances in any event, that’s for sure. Congratulations, ladies.
And so with a certain inevitability, we come to the parkrun round up. There was one more notch on the bedpost that is the MallettMap, and that was courtesy of Rob & Luise Kingston who ran at Cairns in Queensland. Pauline Hogg also joined the Nidd Valley Down Under Contingent with a run at Queenstown in New Zealand.
Richard Evans and Karen McCartney enjoyed a welcome in the valleys when they ran at Cardiff Parkrun, Philly Thompson was back in Darlington, and Sue Ball was with her new mates at Ferry Meadows (I still can’t believe she’s left us, but we are where we are). John Mallett had a run round Roundhay, Philippa Wilkinson ran at Keswick, and Chatty McChatface was all on her lonesome with nobody to talk to at Wetherby. Kevin Nicholas was doing his thing at Bramley, Owen and Freya Dart were at Morecambe Prom, and Chris and Sue Rogers were running at North Yorkshire Water Park.
We had a good crowd of Nidds who headed to Harrogate to join Nadene Wilkinson and Helen Cook as they celebrated their hundredth parkrun, plus the usual suspects up at Fountains Abbey and Conyngham Hall. You can read up on all of the results here: https://tinyurl.com/47nsmxd6.
People around every corner / seem to smile and say / we don’t care what your name is, boy / we’ll never turn you away: chair@niddvalleyroadrunners.co.uk.
Before we look at the week ahead, Captains Emma and Dazzler have asked if he can muscle in on the action in the weekly update and share a little update of his own. And who am I to refuse?
This is Your Captains Speaking
With the Nidd Valley XC season completed we thought it would be interesting to provide a few stats and see who our champions are.
52 hardy souls (27 female, 25 male) competed in at least 5 XC races this season to earn themselves a coveted badge. This compares to 41 from the 2022/2023 season (20 female, 21 male). 108 Nidders did at least one XC race compared to 85 from last year.
We had more then 50 Nidds at 3 of the races. The most popular race was Conyngham Hall parkrun which had 57 Nidds competing at it. Overall the average number of Nidd runners across the 10 races was 44.6.
The standout achievement of the season was getting 3 of the 4 teams promoted in the PECO XC league. As a relatively small club in terms of numbers, and the fact we have to make the trip over to West Yorkshire 5 times a year, sometimes in horrible conditions, this is a fantastic achievement.
Individual winners for the Nidd Valley championships are as follows:
- Female Senior – Laura Francis
- Female Vet – Amy Sheppard
- Female Senior Vet – Theresa Oldroyd
- Female age adjusted – Fiona Deacon
- Male Senior – Rob Kingston (Tied with Andrew Iddon but won on head-to-head results)
- Male Vet – Darren Townend
- Male Senior Vet – Martin Lofthouse
- Male age adjusted – Chris Carvey
We hope you have enjoyed this year’s championships. The first race for the road champs is in 5 weeks time at Fountains Abbey parkrun – hope to see you there!
The Fixtures for the Week Ahead
Right then. Now we’ve politely listened to them, let’s get to business and see where we are this week.
Tuesday brings with it yet more intervals. This week, we meet on Mallinson Oval for another speed session. Emma and Martin team up to lead the 6pm session, while Emma and Lynsey will be your athletic maitre’d for the 7pm session. The meet point is where Mallinson Oval meets Firs Crescent, and that what3words code ///critic.models.gazed will get you exactly where you need to be.
What’s that? You fancy a run to Pannal? Okay. On Thursday, be at the Hockey Club and good to go for 7pm. We’ll head round the Stray and past St Aidan’s School, turning right to M&S Food on Leeds Road. From there, head down Leeds Road to Pannal, before running through the village and back up Church Lane to the bottom of Green Lane. You can of course, cut Pannal out, and continue along LEadhall Lane from Leeds Road if you’d prefer. From there, head up Green Lane, taking the snicket to the right that brings you back through St George’s. After that, cut over the Stray near Tewitt Well and head back to the club. Beers, crisps and boring chatter will be available in the club house bar afterwards for those wishing to partake.
On Saturday, we have the We Need to Talk About Chevin Fell Race. 2,000ft of climb over nine miles is the athletic order of the day, but it promises to be a challenging and enjoyable run. All that is required is a pair of grippy off road shoes and a willingness to abandon any common sense and concern for your own safety. If you want some points for the fell championships, then come and get involved: https://tinyurl.com/4e63awyr.
If you fancy some other racing, then there are few options this weekend that aren’t in our own championship. On Saturday, there is the seven mile fell delight that is the Boulsworth Bog in the Colne Valley (https://tinyurl.com/bdfwy5dx), and on Sunday there is the Heptonstall Fell Race (https://tinyurl.com/yck274fk). Just don’t mention the incident involving blisters, some chickens and the vicar (if you know, you know). The road runners among you might like to know that there are still places available for the Wakefield Hospice 10km on Sunday (https://tinyurl.com/4b9mdbyn). Plenty of choice and lots to suit all tastes and inclinations.
Further Ahead & Booking Now Open
On 6th April 2024, we’ve got the Pendle Fell Race in our club championships. This is a short race at only 4.5 miles, but gives a chance to run to near the top of the hill, all the way back down again, before returning to scramble back up on your hands and knees with an interrupted 11 minute view of someone’s backside. The run back down is as exciting as it is hair raising, though, so there is lots to commend it. It’s entry on the day, so nothing required of you for now, but feel free to do the reading to keep yourself up to date: https://tinyurl.com/4rbakhnd.
Membership
What do you mean you want to sleep on it? We’re selling running club membership here, not mattresses for crying out loud. Look for your email from Nick and get your membership renewal completed!
Committee Meeting: 20th March 2024
Right, we’ve got the tea bags and the custard creams and are good to go. If there is anything that you’d like the committee to discuss when they meet this week, then please let our secretary Jonathan know. I mean, we’re probably more efficient and competent than our current government, so feel free to send something our way: secretary@niddvalleyroadrunners.co.uk.
A Little Trip to Dublin: 6th July 2024
Appropriately enough given that today is St Patrick’s Day, Pauline Hogg is organising a trip to Dublin to take part in the Dublin Parkrun, with the chance to have a mooch around the city and possibly enjoy a pint of the black stuff. People are looking at getting flights from Leeds Bradford booked, so if you want in on the party, then please have a chat with Pauline. Promises to be a great day.
Word to the Wise
This week, I leave you with the wisdom of Jo Lane. After the run on Thursday, Jo was reflecting on how much easier it is to get yourself out for a run on a cold and wet night if you are part of a running club.
“That’s the thing with Nidd Valley. It’s like they carry you, it’s kind of easier when you’re with them” – Jo Lane, making gratitude her attitude.
Wise words, indeed.
But we finish with a reflection from Brian Hainsworth, as he finished his 55 mile challenge yesterday evening. He was asked about how he feels about his pending Bob Graham Round attempt in the Lake District this summer.
“Bob Graham can go f*** off…” – Brian Hainsworth, not mincing his words.
I hope you all have a great week. Keep smiling, my lovelies.
Chairman Sam x