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26
Apr
Details of three-day Masham sports festival released
A three-day sporting event will return to Masham this year.
Long Course Weekend Yorkshire, which made its inaugural appearance last September, is loosely based on a triathlon, with events in running, cycling and swimming.
The difference being participants can enter as many events as they like, as well as choose from a range of distances.
The concept was established in Wales in 2010, but North Yorkshire was chosen as its first home in England after North Yorkshire Council and Long Course Weekend organisers agreed a £75,000 deal to hold the event annually over a three-year period.
Despite concerns raised about the first event, it was last year announced the Long Course Weekend Yorkshire would return to the local area from August 29 to August 31, 2025.
The organisers' website advertises more than 3,000 athletes expected to take part, as well as 10,000 spectators from 30 nations.
The weekend will be kicked off by the Yorkshire Dales Swim, which will be held at Ellerton Park in Richmond – around 18 miles north of Masham – on Friday, August 29.
Similarly to last year, there will be a 2.4-mile and 1.2-mile swim, but the event has been relocated from Grimwith Reservoir.
The swimming event is capped at 1,000 people, the website says.
You can find an image of the route below.
The swimming events will be held at Ellerton Park in Richmond.
Cycling
Event organisers have also released the course map for the cycling events, which will both take place on Saturday, August 30.
People can choose between two routes: a 112-mile bike ride or a 56-mile bike ride, both set in the rolling hills of Nidderdale.
Cyclists will set off from Masham before making their way towards Middlesmoor and Pateley Bridge, down to Bishop Thornton and through Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, before heading back to Masham.
Participants will complete the 56-mile course, pictured below, twice to tot up 112 miles.
But roads will remain open during the cycling event, despite fears for cyclists' safety last year.
According to Long Course Weekend Yorkshire, there will also be “fully loaded feed stations at regular intervals” along the way.
The cap on the number of participants for the cycling events has not been released.
The 112-mile cycle route.
Running
Long Course Weekend Yorkshire will culminate with a range of running events on Sunday, August 31.
There are four options for prospective runners: a marathon, a half-marathon, a 10km run and a 5km run.
According to Long Course Weekend Yorkshire’s website, organisers are expecting “thousands of runners” on the day, as well as “crowds of supporters and plenty of sheep to cheer them along”.
Roads will close for the running event, but these have not been confirmed.
As with the cycling event, organisers have also promised feed stations along the route.
For those feeling brave enough to take on all three days, the full and half Long Course Weekend options encompass all disciplines.
There are also events for children, including the junior Long Course Weekend and the Long Course Kinder.
'A complete lack of communication’
The Stray Ferret covered the inaugural Long Course Weekend Yorkshire extensively last year, despite little media information being shared by the council or organisers since it was announced in September 2023.
We also attended part of the weekend, including the swimming event, when Masham Market Place was transformed into an athletes' village.
Christopher Duke, owner of the Galphay Inn, debated closing his pub for a day during last year’s event as road closures meant “people would struggle to event get there”.
The Stray Ferret asked him for his feedback on the event once the festival had finished and how it affected business.
He said at the time:
Apart from the effect on the pub, which was dramatic with little business during the road closure times, the effect on Galphay village was deeply felt.
Who was this organisation that decided they could close roads and affect businesses with no regard for residents or local businesses?
Mr Duke felt there was a “complete lack of communication” between the organisers and Galphay residents about the extensive road closures.
“This cannot be allowed to occur again”, he added at the time.
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