What a weekend! HARC had a squad of 13 runners who took on the immense challenge of running lap after five-mile lap of Bramham Park for 24 hours at Endure24 Leeds.
The undulating off-road course yielded lovely views with majestic red kites gliding overhead, coupled with features such as the ‘Deep Dark Wood’ and ‘Ripple Rise’. Heavy rain added to the fun, creating muddy, slick conditions underfoot just as darkness fell. Team HARC was not put off though and kept on running, with teammates cocooned in their sleeping bags between laps back at Camp HARC.
HARC runner Victoria Maidwell made her Endure24 soloist debut in style, clocking up an incredible 18 laps (that’s 90 miles or 144km) in 21:30:38. Toria finished 16th out of 240 in the female solo category. She said, “I had an amazing weekend. All the training finally paid off to help me reach a new maximum distance. The support from Nick and my mum staying awake through the night to keep me fuelled, and HARC cheering me on every lap really made it achievable.”
Our pair – Jane Kirk and Bridget Wilson – both competed in a team last year but decided to push themselves even further this time. Bridget completed six laps, and crossed the finish line for her last lap hand in hand with Toria, causing the HARC supporters to shed just the odd tear or two. Jane also bagged six laps, with her last lap only taking a few minutes longer than her first – amazing! The pair crossed the finish line together to seal their 12 laps for ‘HARCing Mad… Again’.
Team ‘Groove is in the HARC’ – Erin Marley, Gemma Wardle, Joanne Sinnott, Mike Hollinshead and Sarah Higo – completed a total of 18 laps. Team Groove faced the added challenge of juggling their running rota to accommodate a six-hour marshalling stint for Mike and Jo. This meant that from 4pm to 1am, the remaining three had just two hours between laps to eat, rest and get back out. The marshal/runners, having been on their feet for their duties, then stepped in to give the others a rest and buddy up with Toria to help her through those tough night laps.
Team ‘HARC and Sole’ – Graham Finlay, Michelle Slade, Richard Slade, Sara Sherwood and Tracey Wise – showed incredible grit and determination to reach the magical 100 mile mark, churning out 20 laps between them. Not only were they facing their own challenge, but also supporting Team Groove by helping keep track of changeover timings and walking down to the start/finish area to cheer them along. A true HARC team if ever there was one! Tracey said, “What an awesome group of people! I really threw myself out of my comfort zone – attending a busy event and running through the woods at stupid o’clock – but the confidence my teammates and the whole club have given me made it all possible. You all give so much support, perhaps not realising how much it means sometimes.”
Special thanks go to Nick Wilson for his support and photography skills. A shout-out to Charlotte Haskell and her team of friends who also took part (and camped next door!). And, of course, huge congratulations to everyone running under the HARC flag at this tremendous event!
