The second club road race of 2021 started on a warm and sunny evening with 40 runners competing.
Thankfully the blistering sun from the day before stayed hidden behind the threatening rain clouds.
Despite being a handicapped event, all runners started together, with their handicap being applied
to their finish time afterwards. Thank you to Roger and Kath who patiently prepared these figures,
and to Deborah for ensuring the results were ready as soon as the race finished.
The Club 5 has been run many times before, but this was the first test for the newly appointed Road
Secretaries. With the support of the many other experienced club members, the race which runs
from Gynn Lane to New Mill and back again, ran very smoothly. All runners battled well against the
gradual ascent on their way through Brockholes arriving at New Mill Co-op before joining Holmfirth
Road for a short distance, then turning right down Kirkbridge Lane. A short steep hill brought them
back to Huddersfield Road for the return journey, consisting of some much-welcomed fast downhill
sections, albeit with a deceivingly long home straight!
John and Steve expertly got the race underway with the runners setting off from Gynn Lane
promptly at 7pm. It felt like the excitement(!) of trying to get 40 runners safely across New Mill
Road was going to be hard to beat. However, this was certainly not the case as Tim Street and new
member Joshua Carter sprinted towards the finish line with only 4 seconds separating them as Tim
edged ahead. Alexander Hannay came in a well-run third.
Julia Thomas wasn’t far behind (almost two minutes quicker than her last Club 5 in 2019), finishing
very strongly as the first female with Helena Croft in second, followed by Lucy Farquhar finishing just
behind.
The fantastic support from the marshals, who had some tricky road crossings to manage, and all the
finishers who waited and cheered as every runner approached the 5 mile mark, ensured that
everyone crossed the line with a smile. Thank you to all!
A special mention must go to Bill Wade, a valued and long-standing member at the club with an
impressive collection of PB’s and performances, seeing him hold a number of club records at almost
every age group. Bill recently moved into the M80 category with the Club 5 being his first race for 2
years.
Finally to the handicap winners…running strongly and showing that they had both recovered well
from their recent Boston UK Marathon achievements, Claire and Tracey took the top spots with a
surprised but delighted third place for James.
First place – Claire Leader
Second place – Tracey Newman
Third place – James Spencer
Full results are available on the attached link
Hope to see you all again on Tuesday 6th July for the Club 10 mile race!
Heidi and Helen – HH Road Secretaries
