IT may not have been a race as such, but there was little doubt about the top Ilkley Harriers performances of last week.

They came from club legends Tom Adams and Jack Wood, who combined to rewrite the record books for the Ilkley Skyline.

Conceived in 2013 by Mike Ayres of North Leeds Fell Runners, the Skyline has quickly established itself as a classic fell running route on the moors surrounding Ilkley.

The 22-mile (with over 850m ascent) loop encompasses Beamsley Beacon, Round Hill and the summits along Burley Moor, Ilkley Moor and Rombalds Moor.

And it's never been more popular as a close-to-home challenge than during the Covid pandemic.

Adam Osbourne of Leeds City held the male record at the start of 2020 with his time of two hours, 40 minutes and 38 seconds.

But Ilkley's Oli Murphy bettered that last summer with a superb 2:37:26.

That lasted until this March when Adams, again with Wood alongside, had his first crack at it and duly registered a 2:32:57.

Conditions that day were mixed, but it was a different story last Sunday with the ground dry and barely a breeze to contend with.

Starting and finishing at the Hermit in Burley Woodhead, Adams and Wood shattered that time, knocking an astonishing 15 minutes off, with the former clocking 2:17:19 and Wood just 14 seconds adrift.

"I've always wanted to have a go at the Skyline with it being such a local challenge, but 22 miles seemed like such a long way before," explained Adams afterwards.

"However, I spent most weekends in 2020 doing long distances over the moors and Jack has always been up for giving it a go too, so after a very wet and windy attempt the first time, we decided to race the route once it was dry.

"We took it in turns to open gates and stuck together right until the stepping stones in Burley where I just managed to find one final boost for the finishing drag back up to the Hermit."

Their average pace - on what was mostly moorland terrain - was under 4min/km, and it's a mark that looks set to stand the test of time.

It also comes hot on the heels of fellow Harrier Kate Archer's quickest Skyline for women, with her 3:07:05.

Looking forward to racing resuming this year, Adams added: "My main aims are the English Fell Running Championships - I've never attempted all of the champs races in one year - and also the UK Salomon Golden Trail Series."

Also excelling on the endurance front at the weekend was Ilkley's Pete De Sanctis in the 'Sir Titus Trot' Ultra Marathon over 52km on the canal from Saltaire.

Social distancing wasn't a problem over that trip and he came home in front in a time of 4:46:06, fully 11 minutes ahead of the runner-up.

At the other end of the distance spectrum, there were two more notable displays to report over 5k at the recent EvenSplits event in York.

Brit Tate set a new personal best with her 18:39, while Mark Iley's 19:34 put him high up in the MV55 age category.