If you’re looking for some good fun, accessible races with an opportunity to have some fun representing the club, getting to know new people and the potential to (like me) feed a Toblerone obsession, then we’ve got the series for you!
The Yorkshire Veterans Athletics Association put on various races throughout the year, and the Grand Prix Series is certainly a good series to take part in. It’s open to all abilities who are 35years old and above (technically you can do it when you’re 34, but the age categories start at 35). Yes it’s a bit depressing being classed as a Veteran at 35, but that’s the only downside.
The series consists of up to 10 multi terrain races which are approximately 10k, and it’s the best 6 scores that count. For those that know me, I am not a fell runner, but really enjoy trail and this series I would say falls into the Trail category and are all good fun. The races take place on a mixture of weekday evenings and on weekend daytimes and starts with our Race on Star Wars Day (May 4th). In terms of costs, it’s £10 for the entry fee and then £6 for races booked when you register, or £6.75 if you book the races separately. You’ll be hard pushed to find a race that cheap with snacks afterwards.
Personally, I got so much out of the series, not only did I get loads of Toblerone’s for being in the top 3 of my age category, but there’s normally a good set of snacks available after the races (and I sniffed out a good ice cream van at Middleton) along with an array of spot prizes.
There’s a good attendance from clubs within Yorkshire, and I spotted some people from Cross Country races and the Track and Field season which was nice, I’ve also been able to make friends at some of our more local clubs which has helped to give other training partners for weekend runs and of course a little bit of rivalry at other races. Unfortunately we tend to have only a few dedicated runners that take part in the series, it would be great if we could get more of the club to attend. There’s a raft of us that are eligible to partake, and I’m sure that if we went, we’d do well in the various age categories especially in FV35, FV40, FV45, MV35, MV50 and MV55, and it would be good to provide some competition for the club prize (note that our friends from across the Valley at Slaithwaite turn up on mass).
Having put hand to keyboard for this, I’ve made sure I’m entered for 6 of the races. It’d be great to see you at some of the races. Due to progressing to MV40 and knowing who’s still in that category I suspect I’ll need to buy my own Toblerones this year.
