Youngster Nicholls leads charge in Dalby Parkrun

Many of those attending wore fancy dress with an animal theme. Twelve-year-old Issy Nicholls was the first club member at the tape when finishing sixth overall of the record 254 which was the highest total since the opening fixture which had 276. She was also the first female and ran a personal best of 19 minutes 50 seconds. She also became one of only seven females who since the start of the event have run a time of under 20 minutesDerrick Swift followed Nicholls in eighth overall and the first Over-55, and headed Issy’s dad Ian Nicholls who was 10th overall and second Over-50. Glenn Shelton followed in a penguin costume and was 54th male finisher. Juliette Pilgrim led the remainder of club’s female runners when finishing 14th, and was followed by Sam Shepherdson in 30th and Lesley Bayes, who made an excellent event debut when finishing 43rd and the first Over-65.Other female finishers were Ciara Harper 48th with a personal best time, Holly Shepherdson 51st and also with a personal best, Sharon Parsons 93rd, Denny Stubbs 131, Jenny Marshall 133.Other male finishers were Simon Valente 60th, Donald Abbott 86thWith club runners favouring the Dalby Forest Parkrun anniversary event, Ruth Rutt was the club’s only runner at the latest Sewerby Parkrun. However there was still a good turnout of 149 overall, and Rutt achieved a notable fifth of 62 females and was first Over-55 in a personal best time of 23 minutes 49 minutes.Four club members competed in the latest and penultimate race in the Esk Valley Club Winter Series, which was the Blakey Blitz Fell Race. This consisted of a 10.5-mile route with 2,400 feet of climb. The race started at the famous Lion Inn high up on the Blakey Ridge in very wet and windy weather, then descended to Rosedale Valley and Fryup Dale then returned back to the Lion Inn.Danny Walls led the quartet when finishing in 1 hour 46 and was closely followed by Rhona Haslam who was first female finisher in 1 hour 48 minutes. Nikki Carr was next in 2 hours 9 minutes followed by Dave Parke in 2 hours 36.Three club members took on the challenge of the Hardmoors 55-mile trail race. The race consisted of a very tough route from Hemsley to Guisborough, and included some notable hills such as Roseberry Topping which was thrown in at the 49-mile stage.Chris Duck led the trio when finishing 40th overall of 329 finishers in 10 hours 15 minutes which was an hour faster than his 2016 time. Next to finish was Nikki Hanson who made an event debut and was 44th female in 14 hours 19 minutes. Experienced ultra runner Joanne Abbott used the event as preparation for the Hardmoors 110 mile event in six weeks time, was 52nd female in 14 hours 48 minutes.A total of 36 starters failed to finish and five others were timed out after 16 hours of running.

Foster first to finish at Thirsk race

Six club members competed in the Thirsk 10-mile road race. Windy weather on parts of the course affected finish times, but four of the six still achieved a personal best time.Warren Foster was the first club member to finish and was 179th overall of 969 with a personal best time of 69 minutes 45 seconds. Mark May was next and also with a personal best of 77.47.Lisa Bourne led the three club women in 83.19 and headed Glenn Shelton, who clocked 83.59.Kerry Curtis and Emma Foster both ran personal best times. Curtis clocked 84.42 and Emma Foster came home in 87.57.Paula Morris competed in the Forest of Dean Trail Half Marathon, which consisted of a scenic and undulating course. The aim was to donate to charity a prize of £200 for the best fancy dress, but when this was withdrawn, Paula opted to compete in racing clothes and go for a good finish time. This was achieved when clocking 2 hours 9 minutes and finishing up in 532nd overall of 1,250.

Fleming stars in New York Marathon

Lynzie Fleming joined 20,000 runners at the New York City Half Marathon over a course that had been cleared of recent snow storms. She achieved her best time at that distance for five years after finishing in 1 hour 54 minutes, and was up in 438th of 9,877 women.

Owen lands sixth in Podium event

Bronwen Owen competed in her first race for five months following a cycle crash when training for a triathlon, at the Podium Five Kilometre road races, which are staged at Barrowford near Nelson in Lancashire. Bronwen qualified for the A race for females that have run under 18 minutes, and came close to her best time for podium races after finishing sixth female in 17.00 minutes.