You don't need this report to tell you that a bus full of Harriers had fun in the sun in Bradford yesterday. 10K, beer and curry all before the Eastenders omnibus. The official results are not available yet so what follows is subject to ratification by the stewards and post race tests that will pick up on any dubious practices taking place in the minibus beforehand. Read on for DeeGeeBee's race report.
We also had a much smaller than usual contingent taking part in parkrun on Saturday, was everyone resting their legs for Sunday?
York parkrun
Danny Clayton 19.54
Darren Baker 20.55
Markeaton parkrun
Helena Senior 32.25 - Markeaton is a lovely parkrun, near Derby. Run round the park and relax in the orangery afterwards.
Druridge Bay parkrun
Lucy Turner (and Grace) 39.08 - another beauty of a parkrun, even in torrential rain. Couple of laps in a country park around a lake not far from Alnwick. Also featured a Harrier doing some outstanding barcode scanning this week!
Heslington parkrun
Phil Raddall 34.03
Hardmoors 55
Two of our resident ultra marathon team, Dee Bouderba & Dave Cook took part in the legendary Hardmoors 55 from Guisborough to Helmsley following the route of the Cleveland Way. This was the race that made national headlines last year when it was rightly abandoned due to heavy snow. It doesn't look like the weather was much kinder this year either so well done Dee & Dave for getting to the start line, part of the total start list of 442. 287 of those guys made it to the finish inside the cut off time, telling its own story of the conditions. Our two made it 30 miles to Osmotherley before retiring. Great effort guys, you still ran an Ultra!
And so on to the Bradford 10K. Billy's big 60 birthday bash and if you haven't seen the Facebook footage of his dance routine then you're in for a treat. Travolta modelled himself on Billy's hip movements whilst he was training for Grease. Here's the run report from our resident wordsmith, DeeGeeBee,
Rita, Sue and Billy (Bob) too
Not since the heady days of filming this iconic movie, of the same name, has the streets of Bradford seen such pelvic thrusting. Billy, take a bow. He was excited, he was tipsy, he was enjoying his birthday, he was dancing with a Roman Candle. This was Billy, Bradford style. What a lovely and fulfilling day.
On a cold and breezy morning the YPH posse was out in force. Some 25 YPH beautiful and bold Harriers braved the conditions to celebrate Billy’s birthday. It is not everyday you get a free bus pass and milk tokens. In celebration of our very own running guru the boys and girls of YPH wore the royal blue and red sash with pride. Think Lord Mayor of York, think YPH.
The star of the day was a bouncing bundle of fun. Yep, a six month beauty. He loves cuddles. He loves laughing. He entertained us. He made us all feel happy to be alive. Reid Partridge was in da house. A close second was Glynn. He came 18th out of 3000. He wore blue. He looked good. He is one of our own. Close behind was the big dawg. Simon ran way way above expectation. Not that we have not seen Si run this fast before, but he did so on very little training. He is back. Not so far behind was Ed (Marc) a super duper 38 minute 30 seconds in the middle of his London Marathon training. Danny ran another very good time dipping under 40 minutes on tired legs. Stu, Mark, Billy and Patrick ran great times in the low 40s with Andy, Jon, Jim and Flan not too far behind. To keep the pride of YPH brimming there was more great runs from Mel, Sean, Chris, Jon, Laura, Sue, Kev, Carl, Andy, Lisa and Chris’ lovely wife. It was a joy to support and cheer the Harriers on. A real joy. I experienced some humbling moments. A chap from Dewsbury Harriers ran the course on his crutch. He was fantastic. I waited for him to come home. We did not speak. Just a look. A nod of respect and a hearty hand clap. If he can, we all can.
Well done the lovely Harriers for making Billy’s birthday special.
Take care, run happy, be happy.