Tadcaster Harriers Running Club

Race Report: Leeds Liverpool Canal Canter

Author: Sue Tindall   |  Mar 27, 2018

Leeds Liverpool Canal Canter

On Saturday 24th March I embarked on my second “It’s Grim up North” race.  This was the Canal Canter, there were 6 different distances 5k, 10k, half marathon, 20 miles, marathon and 30 miles.  I had opted for the 20 miles as part of my London marathon training.

The registration point was a working men’s club which was about a 10 minute walk to the start of the race on the Leeds/Liverpool canal path.  Whilst queuing to collect my number I heard somebody say “It’s like Phoenix Nights in here, I keep expecting Brian Potter to appear”, they weren’t far wrong.

I made my way to the start of the race and got chatting to two sisters who were also using the race as a training run for the London Marathon, one of them was dressed as a horse and is hoping to get in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest London marathon runner dressed as a horse.

The half marathon, 20 mile and marathon race set of together, it was quite a tough race as the surface was quite uneven, a few steep inclines by the locks  and there were lots of cyclists and dog walkers on the path.  On two occasions I narrowly missed being tripped up by a dog.  The half marathon runners looped back at four miles so the remaining runners quickly spread out and I often found myself running on my own without another runner in sight.

The drink stations were well stocked with water, orange juice, jelly babies and flapjack.  With the 20 mile turn round point in sight I decided it was time for an energy gel, a goose on the canal bank obviously thought my gel looked tasty as it made a bee line to snatch it out of my hand, thankfully I managed to keep hold it!  On the return leg I gave the goose a wide berth.

The finish line which was about 20.4 miles was a welcome sight and it was a surprise to be told I was the 1st lady to finish the 20 mile race, however I cannot take too much credit for this as there were only a few people actually running the 20 mile race. 

After collecting my medal, trophy and bottle of beer I went to choose a cake from the vast selection of homemade cakes for all the runners.

It was a well organised race with a choice  of distances to suit everyone but not a PB course.

Sue.

Click here for results.

February Events Review

Author: Dave Mullaney   |  Mar 3, 2018

So, March is with us already! Where have the first two months of the year gone?
February has been relatively quiet as far as races are concerned!

Old Coach Road Handicap

........However we did have the Old Coach Road Handicap on Sunday 18th February

13 hardy Harriers turned up for this out and back race along the Old Coach Road to Healaugh.

A crisp and sunny day welcomed them and the scenic route did not disappoint with plenty of mud and puddles to make the race interesting.

Simon Tordoff used the race as part of his marathon training, warming up with a speedy time of 45:57 (coming home first) before heading off on the rest of his run home to South Milford. Meanwhile Sarah Collier took the handicap prize with a time of 58:46.

We have a bit of a break in the handicap championships now until early May when we have ‘One Lap of the Old Course’ a short and sharp race to see how your training for the 10k league has been going!

Snake Lane 10

The main event for the Harriers in February was the Snake Lane 10 at Pocklington

Always well attended by the Harriers, we had 24 runners on the day and some cracking times.

The weather was almost perfect; not as cold as forecast; and just an occasional cross wind.

Andrew Sloan was first home with a chip time of 1:00:59. Meanwhile Jo Millican had a storming run of 1:15:21 to be the first Harrier lady home.

It was testament to the weather, route and some excellent training and fitness that 9 of the Harriers came home with a PB! These were Andy Sloan, Simon Tordoff, Ian Saynor, John Netherway, Jo Millican, Dave Mullaney, Sue Tindall, Suzanne Marshall and Gill Johnson.

Parkrun

As much as we haven't been that busy with races of 10k and above, we have still seen a lot of activity at Parkruns across the region and even further afield!

For the first time we have had runners at the newest Parkrun at Heslington, with David Rowe, Nathan Carter and Carolyn Jolley giving it a go!
Meanwhile Paul Dykes, not content with the local routes, headed out to the Parkrun at Bois du Boulogne in Paris! He bagged himself a 5K PB too with a 21:11 time!

Onwards into March, although it looks as though the first weekend will feature little activity due to the cancellation of a number of Parkruns and the Easingwold XC race! Brrrr….bring on the summer!

New Beginners Group - Try Running Tadcaster

Author: Stephen King   |  Feb 23, 2018

Our 6th Beginners Running Group "Try Running Tadcaster" launches in a few weeks time. Starting on Thursday 29th March and running for 10 weeks this is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who is new to running or returning from a break. The group will meet on Thursday evenings, at 6.45 pm, at Magnet Sports and Social Club in Tadcaster centre and is aimed at men and women who would like to try running, to get a bit fitter, and to run with others.

All sessions are lead by trained run leaders from Tadcaster Harriers as well as being well supported by other volunteer runners from the club. 

So why not give it a go ? 

There is a nominal cost of £10 for the 10 week programme. Please pay when registering for the first session.

You can book your place by clicking here: https://groups.runtogether.co.uk/TryRunningTadcaster

For further details contact Mark Swinden on 07789 512106 / swindenmark@sky.com

Coffee and Cake Morning

Author: Stephen King   |  Feb 20, 2018

Tadcaster Harriers Charity Cake and Coffee Morning for Henshaws

Tadcaster Harriers running club invites you to join us for our first cake and coffee morning to raise funds for our charity of the year, Henshaws.

* Enjoy homemade cakes *
* Find out more about the running club *
* Help support Henshaws *

Date: Saturday 24 March 2018
Time: 10.00 - 12.30
Place: Kindly hosted by Magnets Sports & Social Club, Queen’s Gardens, Tadcaster LS24 9HD

Everyone welcome!

The event is organised by Harriers Members Angela Wray and Becky McGuinness, who are both also running the London Marathon in April raising funds for Henshaws.

Angela said” We are really excited to be holding our first fundraising event for Henshaws. This is our first marathon and the cake and coffee morning will be a nice opportunity to have a little rest from training and enjoy some cake!”

Becky added ”We are both keen bakers as well as runners. Everyone's is welcome - whether you are interested in finding out more about the running club, or just fancy joining us for some cake, coffee and a chat”

February / March Events Update

Author: Dave Mullaney   |  Feb 19, 2018

After the 'Old Coach Road Handicap' event at the end of February, the next few weeks are quiet in terms of club organised events. However we still have a couple of things to look forward to:

England Athletics 'Clubrun' coached sessions

At the end of last year David Lowes, the England Athletics Coach, took us for a coached training session. Unfortunately David was unable to travel back to Tadcaster and complete the sessions.
However all is not lost as Glen Johnson has arranged through England Athletics for Chris Hollingshead (A UKA Level 4 Endurance Coach) to coach us for three sessions starting on Tuesday 27th February. 
You may have seen Chris's recent post on our Facebook page regarding this session. Please feel free to ask Chris any questions or concerns you may have with regards to your training.

Please arrive at Magnets for a 6.45pm start. As we did with David Lowes, you are welcome to stay behind afterwards to discuss the training / ask any questions to Chris.  

Further sessions will be held on the 13th and 27th March.

Easingwold Running Club Invitational Cross Country Event

On Sunday 4th March, Easingwold Running Club are holding this cross country race at Millfields Park and Recreation Area in Easingwold. This event is open to all Tadcaster Harriers members. Please see the flyer from Easingwold Running Club for further details.

It will be good for Tadcaster Harrier's members to support this event!

January Event Review

Author: Dave Mullaney   |  Jan 30, 2018

What have we been up to in January? - Review of the month!

Tadcaster Harriers members have continued where they left off at the end of last year, with many continuing to race throughout the holiday period and into January!

Mark Swinden and Sue Tindall were up and running on New Years Eve with a run of the Jolly Holly Jog in Ripon. This 10k is well worth entering, running through the grounds of Studley Royal. Mark was first home in 52:07 with Sue close behind in 53:24

Dave Mullaney took it easy on New Years eve so he could be up for the Hardmoors 15, along the east coast from Robin Hoods Bay to Whitby and back. Plenty of mud along the way and in true Hardmoors fashion, hilly. 2 hours 40 minutes was his finish time placing him 31st out of 123 finishers

Sunday 7th saw the first handicap event of the year, the Turkey Trot, from Wighill to Lawtons. Five minutes before the start we made the decision that the event will go ahead bearing in mind the icy conditions, especially towards the latter part of the route. 32 Harriers ran the race. Ryan Kavanagh was first home in 28:59. However taking handicap into account, Gail Jamieson took the podium position, gaining 100 handicap points in the process!

Sunday 14th gave a couple of options. A few decided to forego the 6.00am dash to get a place in the Brass Monkey Half Marathon to run the Temple Newsam 10 (TNT) event. Thirteen Harriers completed the latter event on a great, scenic, yet tough route. Definitely a race to enter again next year! Stephen King was first home in 1:13 with Emma Dunn bringing home the ladies in 1:24

Meanwhile Andy Lee and Ian Ward were the only Harriers at the Brass Monkey this year. Ian Ward came in with a time of 1:40:54 and Andy with 1:48:29

Saturday 27th January saw Glen Johnson join another 760 runners (and that was just the senior male field!) at the Northern XC championships held on a 7.3mile (12k) circuit around Harewood House. His excellent time of 51:50 was only good enough to take 325th place, reflecting the quality of the entrants! The winning time was 39:50, around 5.1 minute mileing for a cross country race!

The second club handicap event of the year, the 8 mile-ish Catterton Healaugh loop, was well attended on Sunday 28th Jan with 23 runners. Elaine Kavanagh came first in the handicap event showing improving form and fitness since her knee operation last year. Meanwhile Glen Johnson was once again in pole position in terms of finishing order.

Meanwhile Jon Steele was battling it out in Essex at the 100k ‘Flitch Way 100’ in Essex. The plan was for Jon to get a qualifying time for the Spartathlon Race in Athens later on in the year. To do this would require running that distance within 10 hours, on a course that consisted of running out 10k and back ten times! Unfortunately Jon didn’t manage that and finished in 11 hours 50 minutes, which in it’s own right is an awesome achievement. The winner completed 100k in just under 8 hours! Jon still has time to qualify for the Spartathlon at the Endure 24 in June/July. Meanwhile Shirley will be encouraging him so she can have her week away in sunny Greece!

That just leave’s parkrun!
Bad weather took it’s toll on the parkrun events in January with a number being called off due to icy conditions. However we still managed to get runners out on a Saturday morning at both local events and further afield, although no members have yet run the new parkrun at Heslington this year! Well done to Carol Haj-Najafi for her first place lady at Wetherby parkrun on Saturday 27th!

Bring on February!