Hardmoors 55 - 24 Oct
Yesterday three Ripon Runners where on the start line for the Hardmoors 55. This race starts in Guisborough and finishes in Helmsley, following the Cleveland Way anti-clockwise. The 55 is the only race offered by Hardmoors that comes up slightly short on distance at just under 54 miles but it never seems to fail at throwing some challenging weather at its runners. All runners have 16 hours to complete the race. First home for the club in a cracking time of 11 hours 48 minutes was Matt Holt. Matthew was followed by Steve Silver in an equally impressive time of 12 hours 20 minutes. Kim Holden completed her first ever 55 in a great time of 15 hours 8 minutes. Very well done to all three runners. Reports below form each of them about their race
Report by Kim Holden
I was surprisingly nervous as I stood on the start line for the socially distanced HM55. It had been rescheduled from earlier in the year so I’d had a long time to think about it and the furthest I’d been before was 34 miles on the Ripon Ultra so quite a step up to meet the challenge.
The Covid secure arrangements at Guisborough Rugby Club were very well thought through and still friendly despite the staggered start, face masks, hand sanitiser etc. However it did mean I would not be setting off till 9.20am, with my group, so I knew I was in for the long haul in the dark.
The weather forecast wasn’t great but when I set off the sun was shining and all was calm. However, by the time I’d reached Roseberry Topping, 6.5 miles in, the wind was blowing so hard that me and several other small people had to hang onto the trig point, which we were told to touch, to avoid being blown over the edge! The high winds continued over Blowarth Crossing and then stopped to be replaced by an absolute downpour over Wainstones. Not that this really surprised me as the weather is usually rubbish on the 55, as veterans of the race will tell you.
Runners were not allowed to have a support with them until Square Corner, near Osmotherley, and I was happy to have remembered the route so well with no navigation issues. The last thing I needed was to add any more miles on to this one :) At Square Corner my fabulous support team kicked in – the amazing and inspiring Nicole Sutton, delivered by Jill Holt who waited a long time for me to reach there without complaint.
At that point I thought well there’s only 20 miles to go, but they turned out to be 20 miles of mud, drizzle and mist. Also my legs were thinking about going on strike by then so the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak! It was lovely to see Tony Carr at the White Horse Checkpoint. He very kindly sorted out my water bottle for me and encouraged me to make the climb back up to the top.
The home stretch into Helmsley should be very runnable but we mostly fast walked and arrived at the swimming pool in the early hours of the morning. There is a cut off time of 16 hours so I was happy to finish in 15:08 and not get timed out.
Would I do this race again? Probably not, but you never know….
Report by Steve Silver
This was my third attempt at the 55 and I was looking forward to some kinder weather after the last two years of challenging conditions, with a strong Southerly headwind for the first half of the race and a good downpour midway through, unfortunately this wasn’t to be.
The Covid procedures entailed a staggered start and I set off with 5 other runners at 0826hrs, this stopped the mass stampede of runners jostling for an early position before reaching the narrow paths. With the start seeded with fastest runners first it did make it a bit of a lonely day in places.
My race didn’t quite go to plan as I had hoped for a sub 12 hour finish this time round, unfortunately I had some issues with nutrition and hydration and a bit of a painful hip which hampered my ability to push on. All things considered I was satisfied with my days work although that sub 12 is still there in the back of my mind as a target.
Report by Matt Holt
Three RR finished the Hardmoors 55 on Saturday, I am sure they will let you know their own story of the race, but here’s mine.
The total course was 53.9 miles long with about 8,500 feet of ascent, the weather through the day went a bit like this: Sunny, windy, very windy, dry, mild, wet, very wet, muddy underfoot, very wet and muddy underfoot, cold and then very dark (like head torch dark).
A number of checkpoints and a support crew made the trek south across the NY Moors possible, with food and drink top ups keeping me refuelled to the point where I think I gained a few pounds in weight overall.
As usual, the race was only possible due to a number of helpers. For me personally they were Jill and Lilly Dog for getting me to start line in Guisborough, Jono Baker for popping up along the route with motivational chat (!), coffee and an assortment of edible delights, Jane n Stu for an impromptu appearance at Sneck Yate, which lifted the dampened spirits. Also, Kristie Taylor who cracked, minipulated and generally prodded my twisted back/hips back into place on Thursday, which made the run a pain free enjoyable day out.
This was my 4th 55 having done in it 2014/15/16 and first for four years, so happy with a sub 12 hour finish in 11 hours 48 mins.
One thing that was reinforced on this little tootle out on’t moors was “there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing”.