Race date: Saturday 25 November 2023

Race distance: 8.5 km / 5.3 mile

I‘ve reported on this race before so I won’t go into detail but please go and run it!

Different from last time

• Instead of fog at the top there was frozen ground (fun in mudclaws)
• Instead of a free Saltaire alcohol-free beer there was water, and instead of delicious pie and peas there was delicious Indian food (I had a paneer tikka nan)
• I had two pre-race Greggs bakes at Woolley Edge services because I’d left the house at 5am and the race was at 2pm
• There was nobody on a BMX (but some of the cyclocross bikes are brilliant, as are the riders)
• I got to join in the ironic cheers as a cyclist overshot the last corner and the runner he’d just overtaken plodded past him and over the finish line

Same as last time

• The cow pastures of West Yorkshire are heavier and clayier and ankle-breakier than anyone else’s
• Trying to catch the runner in front on the last bit of pasture is hilariously slomo
• I ended up trying to wash the mud off my shoes in the canal, thus making the walk back to race HQ even colder

The top seven finishers were runners, led by Nathan Lawson of Dark Peak in 35:55.5, just under four minutes ahead of the first cyclist. First female finisher was also a runner, Jenny Roberts of North Leeds Fell Runners. Top cyclists were (male) Stefan Macina of Shibden CC in 39:41.2 and (female) Nicola Davies of Cyclocrossrider.com in 1:02:05.8. 62 cyclists and 185 runners got round. As usual at the moment owing to my crap form, I was slower than last time.

Striders result