32 runners, 16 marshals, two timekeepers and one tail-cyclist descended on Neiley Pavilion on Tuesday ahead of the 2022 instalment of the Club 10, as the event saw the highest turnout since 2009. The favourable weather forecast may have had something to do with this; a warm and bright evening greeted all the runners, which was a marked difference from last year’s event when the participants received something of a drenching.
The Club 10 is a handicapped event; this means that an anticipated finish time is calculated in advance for each runner, and this is not revealed until after the race. Whoever beats their estimated time by the greatest margin wins the race and in this instance takes home the Beaumont Rosebowl. As an added bit of fun, each runner’s handicap was written down and sealed in a brown envelope; they were all laid out on a table in Neiley Pavilion, and runners were invited to open them after the race to see whether they had managed to beat their handicap. 17 of the 32 runners managed to achieve that goal this time around!
Runners set off in two waves to ensure that everyone was finished for around 20:30. They started on Holme River View – a slight amendment to the starting point used in previous years. This meant that the race finished directly opposite Neiley Pavilion, which made it a little easier and safer to congregate at the beginning and end, and also meant that all runners were met with a rapturous applause as they finally crossed the finishing line. The first to do so was Mike Hall, who ran in the early wave and had an excellent run as he completed the course in 81:25 – three minutes quicker than anyone else in the first wave. This turned out to be enough for him to claim the handicap win overall, as he smashed his estimated time by over 10 minutes.
Second on handicap was Grant Clarke-Wood, who also had a fantastic run as he finished just 23 seconds behind Mike on handicap time. Paul Girdlestone completed the top 3, as he ran 12 minutes quicker than in his last 10 mile road race; his training for the Yorkshire Reservoir Dogs ultra is clearly paying off!
The fastest time of the day was recorded by Phil Hinchcliffe, who completed the course in a very impressive 60:58. Helena Croft was again fastest female as she came home in 67:22.
Huge thanks to everyone that helped out with the race; without you guys it simply wouldn’t be possible to stage these events.
The Club 10 forms part of the Summer Championship along with the Club 5 and the Holmfirth 10k. 22 people have taken part in both the Club 5 and the Club 10, so I hope to see as many of you as possible on the start line for the 10k!
Full results can be found here: 2022 Club 10 Results
