A Nidderdale off-road running group formed just over six months ago has become affiliated to England Athletics.
Nidderdale Fell and Trail holds three organised runs a week and a club training night on Tuesday evenings at Nidderdale Showground.
Many of the runs are around Pateley Bridge and allow members to enjoy safe and social running in some of the most beautiful routes in the Harrogate district. Some runners also compete in events.
The club, which was originally called Pateley Runners, has now become the fifth in the Harrogate district to be formally recognised by England Athletics, which is the governing body for athletics.
It joins Harrogate Harriers, Ripon Runners, Nidd Valley Road Runners and Knaresborough Striders as official affiliates.
Running in the dark with head torches.
Si Lawson, chairman and co-founder of the group, said:
“England Athletics affiliation is an amazing achievement for a club that is only six months old.
“We’re all excited about running and racing for our club and proudly wearing our new eye catching running tops.
“We live in a rural part of the Harrogate district and as well as being an off-road running club, we are providing a safe and secure environment for our members, and are making a significant impact on our members mental and physical health.”
Mr Lawson said he expected the club’s 200-strong membership to dip because affiliation meant the introduction of an annual fee of either £36 or £20, depending on the type of membership.
Fees are necessary for insurance and coaching purposes.
Experiencing Nidderdale’s beauty close up.
The club plans to train up to 16 club members as UK Athletics-qualified run leaders to cater for the wide range of runs and distances the club offers. They range from gentle five kilometre jogs to long off-road runs of up to 40 kilometres.
Now it is affiliated, it aims to offer at least seven weekly sessions.
The club is also applying for grants on the grounds that it supports health and wellbeing as well as combating loneliness and social isolation.
Some female runners did not feel safe running alone through woods and on footpaths before the group came along. Mr Lawson said:
“Running has such a positive impact on physical and mental health. However, running solo in a rural area is isolating and motivation is difficult, particularly in winter months.
“Nidderdale Fell and Trail has forged a community where everyone is welcomed and encouraged, and a safe running environment created. This has already had such a positive benefit on mental health, and has helped numerous members with anxiety, low mood, loneliness and confidence. “
Harrogate woman wins brutal 41-mile race in red-hot Pyrenees
Harrogate’s Helen Price ran for more than 12 hours in temperatures close to 40 degrees to win a prestigious race in the Pyrenees on Saturday.
Ms Price, 52, set off at 6am and crossed the line at about 6.30pm to win the female over-50s category and finish fourth female overall in the Luchon Aneto 40 mile trail run.
She was one of a team of eight runners representing Harrogate International Partnerships, the charity responsible for Harrogate’s town twinning links around the world.
Luchon, which is among the places twinned with Harrogate, hosts an annual trail run through the French Pyrenees with various distance options.
Competing in the 65 km event, Ms Price set off in darkness in woods but was soon under the non-stop glare of the mountain sun, in temperatures ranging from 35 to 38 degrees centigrade.
There were four water stops but it was so hot she also had to get water from mountain streams to stay hydrated as she climbed over 4,000 metres.
Ms Price, a sports massage therapist who is a member of running club Harrogate Harriers, is one of the best fell and mountain runners in the district but even she found it tough. She said:
“The heat was exhausting. I was a bit shaky at the end.”
Two other members of the Harrogate International Partnerships team also finished on the podium.
Caroline Lambert
Caroline Lambert, a former pupil of St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate, won the 20km female race in a new course record.
Bianca Dyer was the first over-40s female in the 40km race.
North Leeds Fell Runners‘ athlete Martyn Price, who is married to Helen, was fourth in the 45km men’s race. He said:
“The conditions were absolutely brutal. People were dropping like flies.”
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