Ripon Ultra
Report by Claire Baker
Well done to all club members who took part and it’s great to see runners out on the trails being part of an ultra who maybe wouldn’t normally enter such events. I hope you all enjoyed the mud!
Special mention to our club prize winners:
Anneke Imeson 1st lady 5:54
Alex Fawcett 2nd Male 1st FV50 4:55
Trevor Bosomworth 2nd Male – time unknown
Heather Glegg 4th lady and 1st FV 50 in 6:41
I know that there were other individual entrants but the only ones I have received times for are:
Colm O’Cofaigh 6:49
Nicole Sutton 7:40
Lucy Smith 7:40
Alex Fawcett said there was lots of mud sweat and a few swear words to himself on the course! Alex ran the first 16 miles with Robin carter ( eventual winner) then just kept pushing in his words ‘best he could’, finishing slightly faster than last year. He was aiming for a sub 5 hours completion but at Sawley cramped a bit so the last 4 miles were painful! Alex commented that it was a brilliant race as always and support from marshalls and club members was great, especially seeing Ray Raper, Paul Morgan and Steve Silver popping up en route was very heartening.
Here are a series of reports by the teams.
Report by John Skinner
A fabulous day with amazing club camaraderie. Who knows what happened to the army team but their non appearance led to complacency at CP2 from the squadron of Vulcan Bombers allowing the relay trophy to be taken from RR by the jubilant (and excellent) Boroughbridge Runners A team, skippered by Ray.
I am pleased to report that of the club ‘mixed’ teams then the Park(es) Runners forecaster, Graham, was spot on as Jenny brought Skinner’s Dippers home in bronze medal position after a grueling but highly enjoyable day. Team work was the winner all round from the marshals to the lift organisation and fabulous atmosphere. Such a fabulous event for all abilities in the club to come together and compete. A top effort from all of my team of Bruce, Lester, Alex and Jenny – thanks guys. A few slips and trips but I am not aware of any leaving Storehouse later on, after another cracking social night.
PS Vulcan Bombers – is the point of a relay to carry the ‘baton’ with you at all times.
Report by Karen Lennox
Pink Panthers Ultra Relay Team race Report
I was very excited and honoured to be asked to be Captain. The team was made up of Kate and Stephen Riley, Jackie Turner, Jonathon Dunk and myself. Kate was our Leg 1 and Stephen Leg 2 they had decided to run both legs together as final preparations for their Snowdon Marathon in 2 weeks, both running fantastically arrived at leg 3 ahead of time to hand over to myself to set off up the hill to Bivouac also arriving ahead of time to where the fabulous Jackie was waiting to start leg 4. Jackie set off like a rocket and ran her socks off again arriving ahead of time into leg 5 to hand over to our final runner Jonny who ran a speedy pace to bring home the team. The Pink Panthers had a magnificent fun running day competing against and supporting other teams.
Report by James Parkes
Team Park(es)runners had a blast at the Ripon Ultra Relay on Saturday. First off was team captain, James, who set off a little too quickly at the start, but did manage to settle into a nice pace to be able to pass over to Lesley at Sleningford who said she was relieved to stay upright and not get lost in the woods! Linda was ready and waiting for leg 3 – she loved being part a relay team and was particularly grateful to see fellow team mate, Andrew and running buddy Karen coming back to run the last part of the hill before leg 4 with her Andrew headed over the moors on leg 4 and a highlight was seeing rival team mate, Graham Tinsley still at check point 4 when he got in for his handover to the teams final runner, Lenny (Andy was slightly gutted he didn’t catch Jackie Turner up after showing her the route on a recce!!). Lenny took the team home with an impressive speed smashing 12 mins off his PB from last year’s time on the final lap segment. From humble Park(es) runners to Untra Relay runners, the team thoroughly enjoyed themselves and would like to thank everyone for the encouragement on the course. Final thanks go to the organisers for another wonderful Ripon Runners Club Race. See you all next year for the re-match!!
Report by Andy Purll
A friendly, good natured run in the country with fun and comradeship along the way, was how I sold the Round Ripon relay event. The reality, 13 teams, hell bent on success, strategies planned, hand overs practiced and runners primed, the stress of putting together 7 even paced teams, nearly killed me.
Team Init 2 Winit, sent George Allison off first, as he hit the first corner in the lead, I watched nervously knowing I’d meet him at Sleningford, wondering where we would be. A terrific run, saw me leave Sleningford in second place, George had laid down the gauntlet. Splashing through Hackfall, I failed to maintain the advantage loosing 4 places to quicker runners, as I handed over to Jayne Goodwin.
She powered up the hill to the Bivouac in great style and handed over to Mel Dutka who mastered the moors to ensure we didn’t fall any further behind.
Graham Tinsley then had the loneliest run in the world to finish the final league alone.
A great day, with new friendships formed and the bond between Ripon runners stronger, a terrific day.
Report by Victoria Pang
Team Special K report (Paul Brockett, Victoria Pang, David Oakes, Dewi Winkle and Suzanne Rickard)
Fantastic camaraderie, waiting at checkpoints and cheering on other runners. Enjoyed the hills, nettles, mud and moors. We are very privileged to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Great way to get to know members of the club; we all agreed we loved it, and can’t wait to go again next year.
Tori Easey advised scrambled legs and aching completed the course in 6:30 and Wendy Marks’ team also completed but no time or report has been provided.
Report by John Grundy
Once again the Krazies entered a team in the round Ripon Ultra and in addition to the four original members of Pamela Munro, Andrea Richardson, Anne Marie Brown and John Grundy a fifth John (Bully) Bull was added in order to take the level of Kraziness to a much higher level.
Andrea ran the 1st leg then continued to complete the full distance after handing the baton to Pam who mastered the mud of Hackfall skillfully before handing on to Bully for his section ( not sectioned yet ????) to hand over to John Grundy at Bivouac for his Sprint up to Ilton and across the moors to hand on to Annie for the final leg who despite the terrible underfoot conditions managed to knock off 13 minutes from her time on the same leg last year. So proud of my team and a big shout to the organisers for staging the event and to all the marshals and helpers for their enthusiastic support.