Thirsk 10M Road Race 2nd December 2007

A very cold and wet day greeted the runners at Thirsk 10 Mile Road Race on Sunday 2nd December, which attracted over 600 competitors on the day. The event starts behind the race course and takes in a loop around the village of Sowerby, before doubling back on itself and taking the long route out onto the Northallerton road, where the runners then turn into Sandhutton village, continue through Carlton Minniot and run back along the road to the race course. It is a flat and fast, rural course, which lends itself to a potential PB time for 10 miles.

The mini-marathon event was the first to get underway, which was slightly changed this year to an off-road course of approximately 2.6 miles around the racecourse itself. Liam Fletcher had an excellent run and was second overall, only 10 seconds behind the winner and took 2nd place in the Under 17 Men’s category with a great time of 8.53 . Laura-Mae Gregory also completed only her second competitive race to date, finishing in 91st place from 168 competitors and took 5th place in the Under 17 Ladies race, despite being only just 13 years old. She was pleased with her run and completed the course in a fine time of 15.05, which she now hopes to build on.

Ken Harker

The 10 mile main event got promptly underway at 11am, with 3 Richmond and Zetland Harriers amongst the runners taking part. Ken Harker is using longer races during his winter preparation for next year’s track season, when he will step up to 1500m, so this was the perfect time to get in some additional mileage. He finished in 16th place overall with an excellent time of 58.40, which will serve him well for other distance races. Tony Ditchburn meanwhile, enjoyed another strong race, crossing the line in 67.02 and taking 111th place in the process, showing that he is gaining strength and stamina over the longer distances, since his appearance in the Great North Run back at the end of September. Sarah Gregory was the sole female Harrier and returned to racing in good shape, also using the event once again to build winter mileage. Finishing in 71.25 and 201st position, she was pleased with a new 10-mile PB by a small margin of 15 seconds, as well as 5th place in the Female Vet 35 age group in a competitive race.