OVER 6,000 runners turned out for the Leeds Half Marathon last weekend and the unexpected hot weather made it a tricky race for some of the region's local athletes, including Otley AC's Matt Podd.

The race began with a run through town to Meanwood Road and competitors had to be careful to pace themselves due to the course's uphill start.

Once the runners had navigated that section of the course, they reached the ring road, meaning there was a lot of downhill racing thereafter.

The last four miles are run over the flat and Podd came into his element as the course reached its climax. He picked off runners at will, to secure himself a solid 1,113rd place finish with a time of one hour, 46 minutes and 19 seconds.

Rachel Brooke was the star for Otley though, and she achieved a magnificent placing of 703rd, finishing in 1.41.11.

As well as their efforts, there were a handful of other runners who came home in under two hours, including Andy Webster (1.53.09), Mary Hampshire (1.54.14) and club president Billy Rayner (1.54.48).

Meanwhile, the Ripon 10 offered a good alternative for Otley AC athletes who were looking to run a slightly shorter distance and Howard Jeffery took that opportunity.

He is preparing for his first triathlon of the season in a few days, and with that acting as a qualifier for the European Championships in Glasgow this August, he saw the Ripon run as important to his preparations.

The course sees the runners tackle several types of terrain and the first section is run over a bumpy, grassy area, which due to congestion, makes it hard to get a fast start.

A gentle incline afterwards is then followed by a rutted stony track. A nice downhill stretch comes next for the runners and these terrains and gradients varied throughout the 10-mile course.

Jeffrey had paced his run well and used his power to record some fast times on the descents towards the end of the race. He even pulled away in the final uphill section to record a quick time of 1.20.17, which saw him come 103rd overall.

Mark Hall has been named Otley AC's runner of the year on six separate occasions and he showed why here with a fine ninth-placed finish in a time of 1.04.08.

In a field of 455 finishers, Ian Broadbent came 214th (1.32.34), Hannah Lupton 327th (1.42.54) and Sara Richard 328th (1.43.35).