A record turnout of runners completed the twenty second Hall Construction Beverley 10k road race last Sunday.
Cheered on by crowds of spectators, finishers experienced a fantastic sprint to the line along Toll Gavel as hundreds lined the finishing straight from Saturday Market to Wednesday Market.
Many others cheered on the runners as they returned to town over the Westwood. The weather was ideal for running, and competitors could enjoy the scenic route out over the Westwood, across to Walkington, and then downhill back into town and the finish line.
Organised by Beverley AC, the race has acquired a deserved reputation for being a friendly and well-organised event and for providing a great atmosphere at the finish. As well as representatives of many local running clubs and club runners drawn in from further afield, many local runners use the race as a target to spur them on to completing their first 10k, or achieving a personal best time over the distance. For the first time Beverley AC supplied pacers to help runners hit their target 10k time, something many found useful to spur them on.
Completing a hat-trick at Beverley, the race was won by Phillip Tedd of Thames Hares and Hounds. Tedd completed the course in 33:03, a little slower than the time he recorded at the previous year’s race. Tedd led the race almost from the start, pulling away from his rivals to win by a convincing margin of over forty seconds.
Second place was taken by well-known local runner Phill Taylor, of Bridlington Road Runners. He crossed the line in 33:49. Taylor was followed home ten seconds later by unattached athlete Jonathan Carter, who took 33:59 to complete the course.
In the women’s competition, the winning athlete was Carla Stansfield (City of Hull AC), who was last year’s runner up. Taking an impressive 16th place overall in the race, Stansfield crossed the line in 36:40, over thirty seconds faster than her previous time at Beverley.
Stansfield’s time gave her more than a two minute advantage over the second female runner, Sara Rookyard (East Hull Harriers), who finished in 38:36. Beverley AC supplied the third placed woman, with Ellen Harrison putting in a great run to finish in 39:10, 47th overall in the race.
Beverley AC’s runners were mainly committed to marshalling duties during the race, but the club still fielded 18 runners. Several put in noteworthy performances, and it is encouraging to see that the club can field strong athletes at both ends of the age spectrum. At the younger end, Becky Briggs has graduated from the fun run to the 10k race and ran superbly to finish as 5th female runner overall, was first in her female U18 age group, and second finisher for Beverley AC.
She finished the race in 39:58, demonstrating great potential for the future. Similarly, Edward Prew was 4th in his male U18 group, again showing future potential with a finishing time of 43:24. Towards the other end of the spectrum, Frank Harrison was first finisher in his V75 age group, finishing in a commendable 1:06:25.
The men’s team competition was taken by last year’s winners, City of Hull AC, with East Hull Harriers taking second place. The winning team included James Pearson, Jim Crisp and Peter Baker, and the East Hull runners up were Alec Gibson, Lance Kirlew and Nigel Sisson.
City of Hull AC also won the women’s team competition with team members including Carla Stansfield, Keri Pearson and Corinna Turner. In second place were Beverley AC’s women’s team, consisting of Ellen Harrison, Becky Briggs and Eleanor Boyd.
First and second prizes were awarded for all the standard age categories, with Beverley AC runners taking two awards through the achievements of Becky Briggs and Frank Harrison.
Other male age categories were won by Jim Crisp (City of Hull AC, V40, 35:47), Darren Bilton (Leeds City AC, V45, 34:35); Mark Colling (Scarborough AC, V50, 35:42); Steve Mason (unattached, V55, 35:54); Martin Booth (Bridlington Road Runners, V60, 40:11), Neil Scruton (Scarborough AC, V65, 41:56) ; Robert Eyre (Bridlington Road Runners, V70, 48:10) and Robert Thomson (Haltemprice Road Runners, V80, 1:10:23).
The women’s age group prizes were taken by Zoe Parkin (unattached, V45, 43:05); Tracey Haigh (unattached, V50, 44:51); Amanda Dean (West Hull Ladies, V55, 44:32); Hilary Burkitt, Cleethorpes and District AC, V60, 46:06); and Susan Heywood (Saddleworth Runners, V65, 53:04).
Beverley AC would like to thank all the organisations and individuals who supported the race and contributed in a number of different ways. Hall Construction is the main sponsor of the race and also provided staff and road signage on the day. B&A Scaffolding set up barriers and also sponsor the fun run. Thanks to staff at Beverley Leisure Centre and to Rod Towse at ERYC for traffic management and parking signs. St John’s Ambulance provided valuable medical cover during the event. Cafe Nero provided cups for the water stations, and at the finish Marks and Spencer provided water, Malcolm Pattison provided fruit, and Mars provided well-earned chocolate bars. The club also thanks all the members who helped organise and marshal the race.
While runners in the Beverley 10k were preparing themselves for their race, over 200 fun runners lined up on the Beverley Leisure Complex playing field for the start of the B&A Scaffolding Fun Run. They were joined by Bertie the Beaver who encouraged them all around the 2km course.
Athletes of all ages completed the race, including 8 members of Beverley AC and representatives of many other local clubs.
The race was won by Kyle Richardson (Scarborough AC), who had been runner up last year. Richardson beat his previous time by a few seconds to finish in a fast 8:01. He was followed in by Shaun Foster (Bridlington Road Runners) in 8:09, with Jack Martin of Goole Viking Striders coming in third place in 8:13. Beverley AC’s boys ran well too, with Taylor Arnott finishing 5th in 8:15 and Jonathan Dennison taking 8th place in 8:33. In the girls’ race, first finisher was Beverley AC’s Laura Duncan in 8:54, Kezia Barnard was second in 8:57 and Blossom Green came thrid in 9:42.
The runners clearly relished the challenge of completing this mixed terrain race and enjoyed the atmosphere. They were cheered home by enthusiastic spectators, and deserved the specially designed medals and goodie bags they were awarded once they’d crossed the finish line.
The next race organised by Beverley Athletic Club is the Airkool Walkington 10k which takes place at 7.30pm on Friday, 10th July. There is also a 1.75 mile family fun run at 6.45pm. Entries for this race are open. The third College Canter will be held at Bishop Burton College on Sunday 27th September, and will include grass track races of around 3 and 7 miles. Full details are available from the Club website.
Beverley AC finishing times (10k). Ellen Harrison 39:10; Becky Briggs 39:58; Jonathan Oxley 39:54; Jordan Arnott 41:02; Curtis Arnott 42:57; Edward Prew 43:24; Andrew Tate 44:56; Eleanor Boyd 49:24; Steve Ostler 53:10; Sandra Dawson 53:43; Steve Ogden 53:28; Ruth Maltby 56:18; Dayna Arnott 58:25; Francesca Brittain 59:40; Neil Sergeant 59:44; Ivor Roberts 1:01:46; Frank Harrison 1:06:25; Peter McNally 1:10:40
Beverley AC finishing times (Fun Run). Taylor Arnott 8:15; Jonathan Dennison 8:33; Laura Duncan 8:54; Aiden Glover 9:05; Guy Harbridge 9:29; Blossom Green 9:42; Jack Marsay 9:54; Ryan Broadbent 11:01
Reported by Lewis Holloway
