James Pearson Continues Excellent Form Finishing Third In Ferriby 10

Twenty-nine members of Beverley Athletic Club turned out for last Sunday’s Ferriby 10, the first club handicap race of the year. They joined more than 500 other athletes to run the tough ten mile route from Skidby to Riplingham via little Weighton and back via Raywell.

The first half of the course is hilly but after Riplingham crossroads the road is fairly flat until the final climb up to the finish near Skidby Mill. Conditions were perfect for running – it was comfortably cool and there was no wind.

This year the race seemed to have attracted more clubs from outside the area and Doncaster, Barnsley, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Salford and Kimberworth all had runners in the top 20. Beverley athletes performed well against the strong competition and there were a number of personal bests, course bests and good performances.

James Pearson continued his excellent form by finishing first for Beverley and in third place overall in a new personal best time of 54:30, more than a minute faster than his previous best.

The next Beverley runner to cross the line was Darren Rodmell who also recorded a new personal best. “As always it was good to reach halfway and pick up the pace in the second half of the race,” he said. “I felt good and was pleased to set a new PB – 1 minute 47 seconds faster than previous!”

The first Beverley lady to finish was Julie Donald. She had an excellent run, finished 30 seconds faster than last year and was 14th in the ladies’ competition.

With many Beverley runners commenting that it was their best run in recent months there are a number of contenders for maximum handicap points. Mike Blamires is a potential winner. The last time he ran the Ferriby 10 was in 2009. This year he finished an amazing 10 minutes faster. The leading contender amongst the ladies is Miranda Hunt. She had a brilliant run at Ferriby and took more than three minutes off her previous best time for this distance.

Pam Atkins came first in the F65 category for the second year in succession and finished more than a minute faster than last year. She has run the Ferriby 10 many times and always enjoys it. She commented: “What I enjoy about this race is the support and encouragement from marshals and other onlookers, including members of Beverley Athletic Club.”

Other notable achievements included: a new PB by six seconds for Andy Grainger; Mark Dalton second in the M50 category; Alan Flint fifth M60; Jackie Hardman fourth F55; Lucy Stamford seventh F35; and Tina Wardropper eighth F45.

It was the first Ferriby 10 for husband and wife Chris and Rachel Woolner and it was also the first time that Chris had finished a race ahead of his wife since joining Beverley Athletic Club last year.

His maintained a steady 9.5 minute mile pace for the hilly first half of the course and with the hard work behind him he increased it to 7.5 minute miles for the flatter second half.

He found the last hill up to Skidby Windmill very hard and could sense another runner trying to overtake him when the road levelled out. His target time was sub-85 minutes and when he saw the clock above the finishing line he was determined to outsprint his rival as well as achieve his goal.

He said: “I got a sudden burst and kept the sprint going, keeping the other runner at bay and crossed the line in 84:59.” He was thrilled to beat his target and to be able to cheer his wife home when she finished seven minutes later.

Congratulations to new member Naomi Stephenson who ran her first race in a Beverley vest. She enjoyed the event and finished in a very respectable 88:07.

There were 559 finishers and the race was won by Carl Ryde of Doncaster AC in 52:50. The first lady was Jenny Blizard of Rotherham Harriers in 62:45.

Beverley Athletic Club finishing times:
James Pearson 54:30; Darren Rodmell 61:07; Mark Dalton 61:49; Mark Walsh 63:53; Andy Arnold 68:45; Alan Flint 68:56; Lucas Meagor 69:46; Mike Blamires 71:38; Julie Donald 72:09; Pete Watkinson 72:12; Lucy Stamford 73:55; Martin Hall 74:05; Graham Pittaway 74:29; Tina Wardropper 75:52; Andrew Foster 76:27; Miranda Hunt 79:21; Angela Collins 80:01; Jackie Hardman 80:14; Helen Storr 81:14; Andrew Grainger 81:22; Amanda Ritchie 82:41; Steve Hadley 83:05; Chris Woolner 84:59; Naomi Stephenson 88:07; Paul Evans 88:28; Rachel Woolner 92:44; Pam Atkins 93:38; Fiona Holland 95:58; John Boardley 99:58.

Reported by Kay Farrow | Photos taken by Brian Richardson & Dave Gowans