Hundreds of people turned out in Beverley on Sunday to watch the annual 10k road race organised by Beverley Athletic Club. A record 1089 runners completed the testing course in cool and damp conditions.
Darran Bilton of Leeds City AC won the race for a record tenth time, finishing in 31.42 and beating last year’s winner Tony Valentine of Bolton United Harriers by almost a minute.
The pair had run together for the first half of the race, pulling away from the pack after the first mile. After two miles they had broken away completely and were 50 yards clear of the rest of the field. On the way back across Beverley Westwood Bilton took the lead and with less than a mile to the finish he was 100 yards ahead of Valentine. There was no danger that Bilton would be caught and he looked comfortable as he cruised along Toll Gavel and Butcher Row to the finish in Wednesday Market, cheered on by hundreds of spectators.
Former Beverley AC athlete, Bilton, was delighted with his performance especially as it comes only two weeks after he won the Masters title in the London Marathon for a fourth successive year.
In recognition of his tenth win in Beverley Bilton was awarded free entry to the event for life. “I’m looking forward to running the race for many years to come,” he commented afterwards.
A new course record was set by the first lady to cross the line – Lizzie Adams of Hallamshire Harriers. She finished in 15th position overall, completing the course in 34.53 and breaking the record set by Melanie Hayward in 2002 by 32 seconds. Amazingly this was the first road race for the trail runner from Sheffield. Adams finished two minutes ahead of the second lady, Harriet Canter of Lincoln Wellington AC and four minutes in front of third placed Katy Rawnsley of Scarborough AC. The new course record earned Adams a bonus of £200.
Host club Beverley AC fielded a strong team and there were some notable achievements.
Twelve Beverley men finished in less than 40 minutes and with three of them in the top 14 they took the men’s team prize for the second year running.
James Pearson was the first Beverley runner to cross the line, finishing in a new personal best time of 33.44 and in fifth position. Rob Snaith and Aubrey Morrell completed the men’s team and also recorded new personal best times. Morrell also took the vet 40 – 44 prize.
Hall Construction, sponsor of the Beverley 10k, entered a 13-strong team of runners in this year’s race. Chairman and Managing Director, Martin Hall, an experienced athlete who completed the London Marathon last month, led his team home in 47.13.
Now in its 17th year the Beverley 10k is well established in the race calendar and attracts club runners from all the local running clubs as well as a number from further afield. The race is highly regarded as one of the best for organisation and support. This year the event incorporated the Yorkshire Veterans 10k Championships and attracted more club runners from around Yorkshire competing for prizes in age categories from 40 to 80+.
Amongst the prize winners was 82-year old Ray Peirson of City of Hull AC. He completed the course in 75.16 and won the prize for the 80+ age group.
The 10k race was supported by a 2k fun run from Beverley Leisure Centre which attracted a field of over 300 including Bertie the Beaver and Roary the Tiger.
Goole Viking Striders fielded 23 runners but it was Beverley AC Juniors who won most of the prizes. The race was won by Beverley’s Peter McGill in 8.02, 45 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Second and third places went to two unattached runners, Joe Wardill and Toby May in 8.47 and 8.49 respectively.
The first girl to finish was Nicole Dawson of Beverley in 9.15. She was followed by Nicole Peters in 9.34 and club mate Dayna Arnott in 9.44.
Full results and more photographs from both races are available from www.beverleyac.karoo.com
The next race organised by Beverley Athletic Club is the annual Walkington 10k and fun run on Friday 9 July 2010. Further information is available from the club’s website.
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