Lyke Wake Challenge
Report by Colm O’Cofaigh
I did the ‘Lyke Wake Challenge’ race on the weekend. It is a 40’ish mile race, superbly organised by the Quakers Running Club, that starts near Osmotherley and heads eastwards across the North York Moors to finish at Ravenscar by the coast. It largely follows the route of the famous Lyke Wake long distance walk with great scenery in some of the more remote parts of the moors. For 50 years it was run as the ‘Lyke Wake Race’ until the Quakers took it over in 2015 and re-named it the Lyke Wake Challenge. It is handicap race in that runners are allocated a start time between 4 am and 10 and based on their previous or predicted finish time. It is an absolutely brilliant race and I recommend it highly. This was my 4th time doing it. Conditions were misty to start with but gradually improved throughout the day, ending up fine and sunny. I completed it in 8 hours 52 minutes which was a PB for me.