Arduous route for Otley runners

The race was won by Ian Holmes of Bingley Harriers in 63.50, well clear of second-placed Richard Pattinson of Pudsey and Bramley. Joe Wright of Todmorden finished third.

Jo Waites of Calder Valley was first lady, finishing 42nd overall in 78.14.. Otley’s Laura Martin won her class, finishing 90th overall in 86.10.

Other Otley finishers were Martin Smillie (164th), Sarah McBrinn (201st) and Liz Fawcett (213rd).

On Sunday the March race in the club’s handicap series took place in the delightful surroundings of Harewood. The course is a mixture of road and trail and a little over four miles in length.

First home was Antonio Cardinale in 41.32, collecting 16 points into the bargain. John Armitstead was second and Mark Berry third. Zack Whitehead had fastest actual time of the day (26.10) and Rachael Bamford set a new women’s record for the course with an actual time of 29.08.

Also on Sunday, three Otley members travelled to the Lake District to join about 500 others taking part in the Haweswater Half-Marathon.

This follows an undulating course in spectacular scenery and the weather was ideal. The race was won by Dominic Raby of Chorley Harriers in 74.07 but he was pushed very hard by Otley’s Julian Mawson, who finished just eight seconds behind.

Keith Johnston (also of Chorley) was third. Julian was well-supported by clubmates Scott Harrington (6th) and Mick Jeffrey (66th).

Tom Paget travelled rather further to be Otley’s sole representative in the Leith Hill off-road half marathon.

This is run from Dorking in Surrey and takes in the highest point in the South East (about 900 ft: not much by Yorkshire standards!). The race is very popular with runners and supporters. Full results were not available at the time of writing but Tom finished 26th in 1h 40m.

Otley AC meets for training at Otley Cricket Club on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7.15pm. New runners are always welcome.