The Flat Caps 10k, the latest race in the club Road Championships was held on Sunday 11th June, hosted by Sowerby Bridge Snails running club on what was one of the warmest days of the year. This is a race of two halves, the first half being pretty much all uphill with 980 ft of ascent and then a long downhill to the finish.
Five of us made the trip to Sowerby Bridge to enjoy a very well organised road race. The start and finish were at the cricket club in the village where parking, registration and number collection was very easy. The race got underway at 10:30 and after a short (maybe 200m) flat section round the field the route hit the tarmac and started to climb. With a brief respite after about 1 mile, the route continued upwards to the 3 mile point high above Calderdale. Thankfully a water station just before the final climb allowed some re-hydration before you could let go on the downhill back to the cricket club (assuming you had anything left in the legs of course).
There was a short uphill section about ½ mile from the end to catch you out before you hit the starting field and ran/jogged/crawled to the finish line. The route was described by Adam as a fell race that happened to be run on tarmac and so suited him and the other hill specialists very well.
Refreshments were laid on by the club, with money raised going to the Christie (in Manchester, one of the leading cancer treatment and research centres in Europe).
The winner, Harry Johnson from Halifax Harriers, beat the course record by 1min 19s coming in at 37:11.
The Harriers results were:
| Name | Overall Position | Chip Time |
| Adam Sunderland | 9th | 44:30 |
| James Washington | 13th | 45:10 |
| Kevin Dessoy | 20th | 47:38 |
| Gary Putnam | 48th | 56:53 |
| Keren Pearson | 131st | 1:14:55 |
Age categories in this race were in 10 year groups and meant that Adam took the trophy for 2nd M50-60 and Kevin the prize for 2nd M60-70.
An excellent morning’s work which is highly recommended if you fancy a run of two halves.
