2018/19 Off Road Championship – Hyde Park Harriers

10 races formed the club Off Road Championship with the best 6 scores to count. Could our reigning champions Scott Watson and Rebecca Gray defend their crowns.

First up was an Easter Sunday race at the Guiseley Gallop which attracted 12 men and 8 ladies. Was great to see some new faces to the club out at what can be quite a muddy run. 1st Harrier home was Tom Thomas who claimed top 2nd division points and 7th overall. Jack Rose was next home claiming the premier division points. Ralph Kidner took top points in the 1st division. Into the ladies and Nichola Moreland started strongly taking top points in the 1st division. Rebecca Gray was 2nd home but got max points in her quest to retain her premier division crown. Sarah Underwood took the 2nd division points.

Round two has everything. Good trails, plenty of hills and a river crossing. Yep the Bluebell trail saw 15 ladies and 14 men take on the challenge. Tom Thomas continued his strong start to the year as he came home 4th overall and first Harrier. 6th place and 2nd Harrier was Adam Lomas claiming top points in the 1st division while Michael Vargas came home 13th and took premier division points. These strong overall results gave the men the team award. Amy Young claimed top points in the 1st division as she came home first Harrier lady. Honor Baldry took the premier league points and Sarah Underwood again took the 2nd division.

Round 3 is the ever popular Apperley Bridge Canter. We always get a great turnout and a lovely evening welcomed 20 men and 19 ladies. We were lucky enough to be given numbers 1 – 45 which made a great group photo and the support at the end for everyone was amazing. Adam Lomas lead the way home claiming top points in the 1st division. Not far behind was Michael Vargas with top points in the premier. Chris Carrick claimed the 2nd division points. In the ladies Amy smashed out another great run for top 1st division points, Honor again the premier points and Sarah the 2nd division.

Round 4 and its the Pudsey 10k, again plenty of hills awaited the 19 men and 8 ladies. Adam was in good form again coming home 5th overall and 1st Harrier. Michael Vargas was next home taking the premier division points and Jonathan Spain took the 2nd division points. Rebecca Gray took top points in the ladies premier as she came in 1st Harrier lady. Laura Edwards took the points in the 1st division and Lizzie Coombes the 2nd.

The half way point saw the championship head to the East Leeds 10k. What a lovely Friday evening race this is and the weather was great as 18 ladies and 13 men took to the start. We had some great results on the night. Amy Young was first Harrier lady home and 2nd overall for top 1st division points. Nichola Moreland was 3rd lady home for great podium. Clare Evans took the top points in the premier division and Manesha Chauhan the 2nd division. Adam Lomas came home a great 3rd overall and took 1st division points. Michael Vargas wasn’t far behind taking the premier win in 5th place with Chris Carrick taking the 2nd division.

The Kirkstall 7 is a regular for us and is well loved with 19 men and 12 ladies taking on the trails and the run along the river before the finish in the grounds of the Abbey. As always some great runs and battles but still there was no stopping Adam Lomas who came home 8th overall. Also in the top 10 was Michael Vargas taking the premier league points and Jonathan Spain took the 2nd division. The 2nd division dominated in the ladies race with Sarah Underwood coming home first Harrier but Charlotte McGarry was close behind. Leading premier runner home was Honor Baldry while Claudia Bauer took the 1st division.

Round 8 the Holly Hustle….Plenty of drama on this one. We had the 22k run as the point scoring round which was 2 laps, there was also a 11k run which some chose to do and a few ended up doing even though they had started the 22k. A few runners got lost but we had 7 men and 7 ladies score for the championship. It was the ladies that dominated the event taking the top 3 honours with Amy Young (1st division), Meghan Bentley (2nd division) and Honor Baldry (premier division). Amy was 1st Harrier home overall in 6th place ahead of 1st mens finisher Chris Carrick in 7th and taking the 2nd division points. Paul Dickens got top points in the premier and Mark Haddrill in the 1st division.

Boxing day and it was time for the Chevin Chase. 14 men and 15 ladies decided to run off the Christmas excess. Amy Young was again the first Harrier lady home while Rebecca Gray took the premier division while her mom Carol Rogers claimed the 2nd division. Adam Lomas is taking some beating this year and took top spot in the mens and the 1st division. Michael Vargas took the premier division and Steve Rhodes the 2nd division.

Nearly done, round 9 was the sold out Temple Newsam 10 miler. We took 20 ladies and 18 men. Amy was again in top form and was the lady winner of the race in a great 1.10.18. Honor Baldry was 2nd Harrier back some 10 minutes back but claimed premier points. Fiona Blyth took the 2nd division points. Michael Vargas was in a battle for the race win most of the way, eventually come home in an excellent 2nd place. Angus Milne (1st division) and Tom Thomas (2nd division) both also came in the top 10 (8th and 9th) for what was an excellent race for HPH.

The championship came to an end with the National XC championship at Harewood House. Quite a daunting challenge which 8 men and 1 lady took on. Robin Culshaw was the solo lady and scored premier league points. Not unexpected after an excellent year Adam Lomas was 1st Harrier home followed by Michael Vargas and Chris Carrick.