Grewelthorpe Multi-terrain 13k
Report by Anita Oldham
The clue is in the name – multi-terrain it certainly is!
This run is a gem – not overly busy, although the weather may have had something to do with that. In fact, of the dozen or so Ripon Runners who attended, many had wrestled with the option of staying in bed after a week of hard rain and a vague idea of what that would do to the course. It is described as challenging, with some uphill sections, and a variety of terrain.
All the above are completely true.
There were a great many uphill sections, the first one beginning about 30 seconds after starting, and seeming to go on for about 3 miles! The route took us up quiet roads, over a ford (or a bridge for the faint-hearted) across boggy fields, up more roads, through woodland, where I remember a wonderful downhill section that was over far too quickly and seemed to be followed by a couple more short but brutal pulls up, before a final speedy finishing descent on road back to the start line.
Seriously, this run includes some stunning views and the chance to run around some fantastic countryside. Parts I recognised from ultra recces and from the Grewelthorpe social, so that gives an idea of the type of ground covered. It is a real leveller too; it shows those who can manage hills and those who really have to stop and walk half of them – myself amongst the latter group. However, despite the leg-draining uphill pulls, the final downhill kilometre is a bonus, as it allows everyone to have a speedy finish.
More plus points – flapjack and banana at the finish line followed by soup back at the village hall.
Described as challenging – it is. And I’ll be signing up again next year as soon as possible.
Results collected and collated by Karen Lennox:
59:45:00 Paul Layfield – 1st local male
65:44:00 Andrew Webster
68:18:00 Bridget Bastow – 2nd lady overall and 1st local lady
72:51:00 jonathan Fletcher
74:38:00 Heather Glegg – 1st FV50
75:24:00 John Skinner
76:56:00 Anne Cheeseman
79:42:00 Angela Benson
83:12:00 Stan Appleton
85:17:00 Anita Oldham
91:26:00 Helena Conlin
94:18:00 Pamela Munro
106:00:00 Karen Lennox
106:02:00 Fiona Hernandez