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07
Sept
Long Course swimmers brave the depths of Grimwith as sports festival gets underway
Yorkshire’s first Long Course Weekend kicked off yesterday with some 400 swimmers braving the depths of Grimwith Reservoir.
The event, which originated in Wales in 2010, is being held in collaboration with North Yorkshire Council. The authority agreed a £75,000 deal with the organisers to host the event annually over a three-year period.
The Long Course Weekend is based loosely on a triathlon – with events in swimming, running and cycling – but participants can choose to enter as many races as they like.
The first swimming race began at 2pm, and while the late summer heat made a rare appearance in southerly parts of the Harrogate district, the athletes were up against strong — and cold — winds.
Around 150 people took part in the 1.2-mile race, which was followed by a 2.4-mile event, as they battled with the choppy water to the finish line.
19-year-old Australian, Madoc Lanfear-Appleby, took home first place in the men’s category, completing the swim in 29 minutes and 20 seconds.
Madoc Lanfear-Appleby. Credit: Long Course Weekend Yorkshire
Hannah Angell, who travelled from Hampshire, was victorious in the women’s category – finishing in 32 minutes and 28 seconds.
One woman, who was visiting North Yorkshire for the first time, made the three-hour trip from Leicestershire to take part in today’s cycling event.
She told the Stray Ferret yesterday:
I’ve done the Welsh one before, and events like Ironman, but I’ve never been to North Yorkshire and I wanted to see different things.
It’s great to attract people to this area and the organisers are good at putting these events on – they’ve got a lot of experience.
The Stray Ferret reported on concerns about the 112-mile and 56-mile bike rides taking place on open roads previously, but it was something else that worried the Leicester woman:
I’m alright about the open roads, that doesn’t really bother me. It’s actually the narrow country lanes that I’m worried about. I just hope motorists are patient with the cyclists.
The Long Course Weekend came to Masham in September. Here swimmers brave the icy waters at Grimwith Reservoir.
Mother-and-son duo, Rachel and Alfie Whitwell, had made their way over from East Yorkshire to take part in the swimming event.
Alfie, who was making his open water debut, kept on the tail of the leading athletes throughout the race – aged just 14.
Rachel told the Stray Ferret she and her son had been “training together over the summer” after hearing about the event through friends.
Rachel has done “plenty of open water swimming”, she said, and she was all set to take on the 2.4-mile swim later that afternoon.
But she questioned why organisers chose a location more than 20 miles from the registration area in Masham Market Place, where the event is based:
I don’t really know why they chose somewhere so far from registration. Our caravan got stuck in Masham and then overheated on our way here.
However, not all the swimmers were smiling from ear-to-ear after the race. One man, who ventured from Liverpool to take part, told the Stray Ferret he had to be “pulled out of the water” just three quarters of the way round.
The man said:
It was rough – I swallowed a lot of water. I’ve done three Long Course Weekend’s in Wales, but this was far too rough for me. They had to pull me out of the water.
Another lady named Nina, from Pontefract, said she has done “lots of triathlons before” but felt this was her “second worst race”.
Whilst shivering in her wetsuit, Nina told the Stray Ferret:
It’s a beautiful place but the wind made it so difficult – and I’m a strong swimmer. I’m doing the cycling tomorrow though, so let’s hope it’s less windy then!
Masham Market Place has been converted into an athletes' village with trade stands, clothing stalls, a bar and even a stage.
But the owner of the Galphay Inn, Christopher Duke, fears the road closures for tomorrow’s running races could heavily impact trading.
We asked Masham businesses how they found the first day of the event and whether they shared Mr Duke’s concerns.
A staff member at The Curious Merchant, just off the Market Place, told the Stray Ferret it was “too early to tell yet”, adding most people were up at the reservoir.
However, the woman was positive and said “there’s no reason it can’t work here” following its success in Wales and Belgium.
Bah Humbugs Sweets Shop also said the Long Course Weekend is a “good opportunity for the town – we’re embracing it”.
The Stray Ferret has covered the Long Course Weekend extensively over recent months, despite little media information being shared by the council or the organisers since it was announced last September.
However, the council expects the event to generate up to £2 million for the local economy.
There is expected to be 600 cyclists on the roads today and around 750 runners taking part tomorrow.
The running events – including a marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k – will take place on closed roads. You can find a full list of road closures here.
For a breakdown of this weekend's events, click here.
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