Race date:  Sunday 12th May 2019

Report by Jennie Stevens

The Pittaway Beverley 10k is organised by Beverley Athletics Club, with a well-supported route through the historic market town of Beverley and its surrounding areas.  This year’s event took place on Sunday 12th May and was in its 26th year.  It’s a popular event, with all 1800 places sold out within 8 hours of going on sale.

This was quite a special race for me as Beverley is my hometown, and I was to be staying with my Dad for the first time since becoming a runner.  A chance to make my Dad proud – he who regaled me of stories of being 800m track champion somewhere in Wales back in the day.  Dad was so proud he didn’t make it to the start line but to be fair he was there cheering me on towards the finish!

The weather was perfect, dry, sunny and calm, but not too hot.  The meeting point was a few minutes’ walk from the start, outside Beverley Leisure Centre (an attempt to keep Beverley’s narrow streets uncongested until just before the start).  The Leisure Centre was open giving access to its facilities, which meant that the lone portaloo outside the centre was without a queue for the whole 20 minutes I was there…presumably Beverley-folk don’t do portaloos!  There were big groups of various East Yorkshire running clubs all over the fields.  And me, the lone Strider, without even my Dad to support me…

The start was fairly low-key, with signage indicating where to stand for certain timings, but there were, quite surprisingly, no pacers.  There were no loud-speaker announcements, and I only knew the race had started because the people in front of me were starting to run.

The run initially wove through some of Beverley’s main streets and then through the historical North Bar, before turning left and commencing a long, steady climb through the green pastures of the Westwood.  A left turn at the top of the hill took us towards the village of Walkington before turning left down onto the Westwood again.  There was a well-manned drinks station (with paper cups) at the top of the hill before we began our steady descent back down to Beverley.  A sharp right turn took us onto Saturday market, a lovely cobbled area with a bandstand where my Dad had promised he’d be waiting.  Sure enough, he was there and I heard his shouts of encouragement along with those of my girls.  By that point though there was only 300m to go and I wasn’t in any state to smile or wave.  It seemed like an endless slog towards the finish line, through Beverley’s main shopping street, and the crowds were out in full force.  I finally crossed the line with a chip time of 47:21.  Not my best running, but nothing to be ashamed of either.

Much needed water (bottles this time) was being handed out at the finish, and then it was back to the leisure centre to collect my t-shirt and a running diary (no medal).

I would thoroughly recommend this race, and there definitely needs to be a stronger South Yorkshire contingent so come on Striders!  Entries for 2020 open on 1st February at midday, and the race will take place on Sunday 10th May 2020.  Remember, it sells out fast!  This year’s race started at 10 am and the start line is a short walk from the train station.

The men’s race was won by Kris Lecher of City of Hull AC with a time of 30:43, and the ladies’ by Becky Briggs of City of Hull AC, who crossed the line with a time of 35:26.

Full results can be found here .

Strider result: