A record forty-five athletes from Beverley Athletic Club lined up at the start of the Snake Lane 10 race on Sunday.
It was a mild morning and with little wind on the flat, exposed course around Pocklington conditions were perfect for a fast race.
However, only a few seconds after the hooter had sounded to start the event, shouts brought the race to an abrupt halt and runners were told to turn round and go back behind the line. Witnesses reported that the hooter had been sounded by a member of host club Pocklington Runners. He had been given the honour of starting the race and had asked a race official how the hooter worked. He pressed the button to have a practice and set the runners off before the time keepers were ready.
With an inflatable arch spanning the start and restricting where athletes could line up it was a tight squeeze to get the front runners back behind the line and under starter’s orders once more. After a slight delay the hooter was sounded again and runners set off at a cracking speed. Andy Norman of Altringham set the pace at sub-5 minute miles and although Beverley’s James Pearson was able to keep up for the first mile he had to drop back after that. Nevertheless Pearson benefitted from the stiff competition, broke 33 minutes for the first 10k for the first time and then went on to set a new personal best for the full ten miles. He finished in sixth place in 54.07, exactly two minutes faster than last year.
Ross Flood was the next Beverley runner to cross the line, finishing in 16th place overall in a commendable 57:25 in his first road race for the club. He was followed a minute later by club mate Rob Snaith in 21st place in 58:21. It was Snaith’s first race this year but one of a series in his carefully planned training programme for the London Marathon in April.
With Pearson, Flood and Snaith all finishing in the top 21, Beverley won first prize in the men’s team competition beating arch rivals City of Hull into second place.
Not far behind those scoring points for the team was Steve Peacock, a V45 athlete on excellent form. He finished in just under an hour in 59:21 recording his fastest time for a ten-mile race for several years. He was third in his age group.
In the ladies competition it was Julie Donald who finished first for Beverley. She was almost a minute faster than last year and was the 23rd lady to cross the line. Sam Allen followed in a new personal best time of 1:12:08 despite developing a painful blister during the race. Lucy Stamford finished next in a commendable 1:13:59.
There were more fine performances from Beverley athletes and a number of personal bests, among them Lucas Meagor who finished in 1:08:31, beating his previous best by 30 seconds.
Alan Flint was forced to retire from the race early last year when he pulled a muscle after three miles. He made up for the disappointment this year by finishing in 1:06:59 and coming second in the V60 category.
Reported by Kay Farrow
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