Race Date 4th November 2018, by David Forrest

The Guy Fawkes 10 is, perhaps predictably, a ten mile road race that takes place on the Sunday nearest bonfire night. Set in the stunning North Yorkshire countryside, the race begins and ends at Ripley Castle and undulates wildly through the surrounding villages. It’s organised by the Nidd Valley Road Runners and brings together club runners from across our great county, but despite lots of competition at the sharp end the race has a very relaxed community feel, too. 

This is a beautiful but brutal course, with 1068 ft of elevation spreading itself across three particularly demanding hills. The first, and worst, is the ‘Birstwith Brute’ which is mile long climb that ends at the half way point. Some welcome downhills lull runners into a false sense of security, and then it’s back up the hills for miles 7 and 9.

Thankfully, the rewards are ample: a goody bag containing a long sleeved top, four chocolate bars (I got a Mars, a mint Aero, a Kit Kat, and a Yorkie), and a packet of Yorkshire  Tea complements a lovely array of cakes – available for just 50p a pop at the local church hall.

I can’t recommend this race highly enough and would encourage the club’s many hill junkies to get involved next year. 

801 runners completed the race with Jack Wood of Ilkley Harriers winning in a time of 55:88. Aisling Wall of Horsforth Harriers was first lady in 1:06:48. Me and Laura Fletcher ran for the Striders.

Full race results here: