Leeds Country Way – Clare Evans

The Leeds Country Way is always a popular event amongst Hyde Park Harriers and the 2017 edition proved no exception. 2017 saw HPH put out 5 teams which meant we had 60 runners descending on little corners of Leeds and the surrounding areas. About half of those entered were completing their first LCW for the club and everyone seemed to really enjoy the day with no major wrong turns and all teams getting safely round.

Leg 1 saw an early start from Garforth and whilst some team members were still tucked up in their beds, our 5 teams were set off with baton in hand to run 11.75 miles to Stanley. As expected, Phil and Aron were first HPH to finish and hand the baton on for our men’s team (nicknamed Tom’s Tornados) before a sprint finish between our Mixed 1 team and Ladies team, who finished in consecutive positions with only 18 seconds separating the two pairs. Andy and Lucy also got their baton round, despite Andy being almost taken out by a wildebeest on the Stanley savannah (or so he claims!) before Sara and Sam brought up the rear with big smiles on their faces.

Leg 2 saw the regular pairing of Ben and Kevin put in another solid performance for the men’s team but the real stars were Paul S and new boy Fred (whose membership had only come through 2 days before the event) who flew round in 1.28.42, overtaking 15 pairs on their way, meaning the Mixed 1 team rocketed up the standings from 39th to 24th place. The ladies also beat the cut-off by about 15 minutes but Chris and Jane missed out by 4 mins, causing Chris to throw the baton away in disgust. Don’t worry, Jane climbed over the fence to retrieve it so it was safely delivered back to Kippax Harriers ready for next year!

Leg 3 is well-known for an early turn through the woods that is very easy to miss (and was indeed missed on two recces undertaken before the day itself). Alys decided to give us all a helping hand on the day by going down in the week of the event and putting an extra arrow on the tree to make sure HPH (and others) didn’t go wrong within the first mile! Rebecca and Dan kept up their brilliant LCW record by being the fastest mixed pair round in 1.21.04; that’s 3 years in a row they’ve managed to win their leg and both are claiming that they are already in training for Leg 4 next year! Honor and I nearly got taken out by two horses on the narrowest part of the course, although it was uphill so we were grateful for the break. Even Alys and Tom finished still smiling, despite both feeling the after effects of taking part in the Otley Run on Saturday (not too sure how I feel about this pre-race strategy)!

Leg 4 seems to be developing a reputation within the club of being the toughest of the 6 legs. Our teams showed that there really “ain’t no barriers” by making this leg the most fun. Tom Thomas decided to go all country and run the leg in a straw hat, which apparently became a sort of mascot as he and Scott completed the leg with the men’s team in 6th place. Gary and Graeme got the baton to leg 5 for the Mixed 1 team and actually finished a relay race together for once (although Graeme is still bragging about crossing the line in front by about 20 seconds)! Maika and Caroline had great fun spotting all the animals enroute, whilst Curtis and Nicola put in a brilliant effort from the mass start and came home as the 2nd placed team from the mass start, probably helped by Curtis sprinting off the front at 6.40min/mile pace (apparently this was team tactics). Mike and Emma put in a heroic effort to finish without getting lost despite only signing up in the week before the event and not completing any recces!

By leg 5, only two of our teams (Mens and Mixed Team 1) still had the baton and anticipation was high as to whether they would manage to get it round before the final cut-off. George and Gus put in an outstanding effort to not only overtake two pairs on the way but win their leg overall by completing the 10 miles in a scarcely believable 62.45! John and Jonny put in a good effort but unfortunately missed the cut-off by 7 minutes. Paul Dickens decided that running the leg once was not enough so, upon reaching the finish, turned back round and ran back to the start. Part of me wonders if he’d spotted the Golden Acre ice-creams at the start and decided he fancied one!

Rob and Matt put in a great effort on Leg 6 to bring the men’s team home in 5th place, the 3rd year in a row that a HPH team have finished in the top 5! The rest of our pairs were off on the main start so the question was which order they would finish in. Tilly and Steve were second home, despite Steve having raced in Italy and France as part of the UTMB series in the week. Jen and Julia managed to make it back, bringing the ladies team home in 4th place (does this mean we’re better than the guys?!) despite not managing a recce before Jo/Cara and Claire/Caroline finished for our other Mixed Teams. Caroline in particular had taken full advantage of the lie-in afforded to the later legs and kept Claire entertained the whole way by singing the “Rocky” theme song the whole way round.

All good HPH Relay events finish with a social and this year we went to the Water Lane Boathouse to take full advantage of their pizza offer (Buy two, the second one is £1). Whilst most people paired up to share their pizzas, both George and Gus celebrated winning leg 5 by having 2 pizzas each. Perhaps if we all did that, we’d run that fast! The social provided a good opportunity for us to hear how the other pairs had got on and, as you can tell, there were many stories to tell. Some people were able to collect their pottery (this year’s is a money box), which Paul S then tried to take into a Call Lane bar, to the great amusement of the bouncer and the HPH still standing!

Thanks again to everyone who took part, it really was a great effort by all involved to get 5 teams out and enjoying the Leeds Country Way. Same time next year?

For those who care about stats:

Men’s team – 5th place (out of 54 teams finished) in 07.34.33

Mixed team 1 – 21st place in 08.58.46

Ladies team – 36th place in 10.04.14

Mixed team 2 – 38th place in 10.26.34

Mixed team 3 – 54th place in 12.30.40

Clare Evans

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