“The Wolds is a term used, in England, to describe a range of hills which consists of open country overlying a base of limestone or chalk” (Wikipedia).
“The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. Most of the area takes the form of an elevated, gently rolling plateau, cut by numerous deep, steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys of glacial origin. The chalk formation of the hills provides exceptionally good drainage, with the result that most of these valleys are dry; indeed, surface water is quite scarce throughout the Wolds. Typically the valleys are hard to see from above, creating the visual impression that the landscape is much flatter than is actually the case. The unusual topography results in an “upside-down” farming system – livestock (mostly sheep and cows) graze the valleys, with the hills above used for crops” (wikipedia).
Ok Geography/Geology lessons over….
The Hardwolds 80 is a new race for this year and part of the well-established Hardmoors Race series of long-distance trail races https://www.hardmoors110.org.uk/. The Hardwolds 80 route pretty much follows the Yorkshire Wolds Way national trail from Hessle to Filey with a couple of extra bits added on here and there.
All competitors had 24 hours to complete the 81 miles and the start time of 8.00am meant that everyone would be running the latter stages of the race in the dark when the legs were tired and the brain fuddled. I had no experience of the route and had never been to this part of England before, so it would be a totally new experience and I was looking forward to experiencing dry valleys…
I met up with John Ryan at the race start under the mighty Humber Bridge. Both of us were feeling decidedly under-prepared having peaked earlier in the season in different events and had been on very long tapers ever since. For me this was double the distance I had run in any one go this year, so it was going to be by far my biggest challenge for 2018. It was pretty easy running to start with and I managed to keep up with John for the first 13 miles, but then watched him gradually pull away into the distance. Between 20 and 33 miles I really struggled and my pace slowed dramatically. My vague race plan had been to try and get as far as I could in daylight then hang on to the end in the darkness, but having gone off too fast at the start this now seemed like a bad idea. However I was still enjoying the route, with the changing scenery, autumn colours and of course the dry valleys:
The weather had also was perfect for running: about 9 degrees, cloudy with a gentle breeze. After reaching the Millington checkpoint (33 miles) I managed to get my race legs going again and got some good chat with fellow runners on route. Total darkness finally fell as we reached the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy at the bottom of a secluded dry valley (49 miles). The village ruins had been adorned with fairy lights and monastical music, which made it all very un-spooky. It now started raining which it would do on and off for the remainder of the race, but it was never heavy or persistent. The main difference was now having to concentrate really hard on spotting the route signs and not doing any extra miles in error. The Yorkshire Wolds Way national trail is generally well sign posted and the Harvey map of the route is very clear, but there are frequent twists and turns, and innumerable gates, hedges, woods, fields, farms, minor roads, etc. so you daren’t relax. Having an extra pair of eyes helped, so I ran pretty much ran all of the last 23 miles with a lad from Pocklington who had experience of the route, but I still frequently stopped to check the map (just in case we missed a sign-post). Despite being well-drained, a lot of recent rain meant there was a fair amount of mud around which was either hard-packed, loose-sandy, sticky, or slidy and you were never quite sure which variety you would encounter next. I managed to remain upright the whole way apart from, when in the dark my foot clipped a rabbit hole and fell flat on my face. Finally reaching the bright lights of Filey was a relief upon which we ran up the seafront to File Brig (official end of the Wolds Way and final checkpoint) and back down through the town to the finish at the Sea Cadets hall. I met John on the way up to the Brig (he was on his way down). We were well looked after at the finish with hot food and drinks (my other half Eleanor Mackenzie had been roped into helping out serve tired runners in the Sea Cadet hall). Not really knowing what to expect I was very happy with finishing just before midnight, in less than 16 hours and well up the field.
In first place overall and over 40 mins ahead of the field was Cees van Der Land (Tyne Bridge Harriers and the Netherlands) in 12:23, and first lady was Helen Pickford (Sheffield RC) in 15:46. First shire (14 stone+) was Jay Morfoot in 15:39. John Ryan was first Carnethy in 15:38 (15th overall) with Phil Humphries 15:53 (20th overall) and Gordon MacCulloch 18:43 (58th overall). 177 out of 203 starters finished the race.
John and I ran unsupported as I think the majority of runners did (you could do this race with or without a motorized support crew). We were allowed 2 drop bags at 33 and 57 miles, and there were also another 4 checkpoints with food and water on route. I had never done a “Hardmoors” race before, but I was very impressed with the efficient organisation, yet friendly low-key feel to the race, so I suspect I will be back for another one of their events in the future.
Phil Humphries