This was the second running of the Hardwolds 80 race after its inception last year. Phil Humphries and John Ryan ran it last year, and it was Phil’s write-up that gave me the inspiration to take part. The route follows the Yorkshire Wolds Way from Hessle, under the Humber Bridge, to Filey on the coast. The terrain is undulating interspersed with steep-sided chalk valleys (think of an inverted Pentlands). Weather in the lead-up had been very wet with flooding across many parts of Yorkshire and the forecast for the day itself was bleak.
We set off from Hessle Rugby club at 8am in rain that would last most of the day and in to the night. Conditions under foot were challenging ranging from muddy through to swampy with occasionally bits of chalky gravel providing dry relief. Even so, I found myself enjoying it as I ran through an area I had not explored much before and found myself relaxing with nothing to worry about except enjoying running the rest of the day.
By checkpoint 4 (Thixendale 44 miles) it was starting to get dark and I left with a group of runners who provided encouragement and help with the navigation. While well signposted it was quite twisty making it easy to miss a turning in the dark (in fact we did make an error at one point and had to backtrack adding on an extra mile).
After about 60 miles I could feel blisters starting, not something I usually get, I assume due to having wet and muddy feet all day. I had not brought any fresh socks so continued on with my running technique getting more hobbly as the race progressed. I found the last 20 miles hard but my group of Rachel, Jamie, Danny and Tom were great encouragement, plus I didn’t want to be left behind in the dark, so I kept on plugging on. Eventually the bright lights of Filey came in to view along with the sound of crashing waves. We followed the Wolds way along the promenade and up many steps to Filey Brig before returning to the promenade and finally to the Sea Cadets Hall for winners medals and food.
The winning man was Juhana Kirk in 15:25 and the winning woman was Charmaine Horsfall in 16:28. I finished in 33rd place in 20:43. 78 finished within the 24 hours and another 9 finished outside the final cut-off. 31 DNF’d, and a winning time 3 hours longer than in 2018, probably gives a good indication of the conditions on the day.
This was a well-organised event with well-stocked checkpoints and helpful marshals. I finished on Sunday thinking that was as far as I could go and I should retire from running. By Monday morning, I was looking to see what other races they did. https://www.hardmoors110.org.uk/hardwolds-80/
Lee Murphy
(No photographs I am afraid, as it was mostly wet. And dark).