Sunday 9th June saw a quartet of MACs heading to Skipton for the Glorious Gargrave, organised by Grim up North Running. The journey started with MAC-blue skies but once away from the warm climes of the Midlands, the skies darkened and our arrival in Skipton was living up to the organiser’s title. The freezing foursome contemplated gloves and waterproofs; the gloriousness of Gargrave seemed to be distinctly lacking.
According to t’internet, Gargrave is famous for its beautiful countryside, historic buildings and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and it was this latter feature that we would be enjoying throughout the run. Andy had been quite excited about the prospect of a flat route, so decided not to actually study the elevation profile or contemplate the existence of locks. The majority of the course was actually flat, so we only had to worry about the barges’ tethering rings which provided an exciting trip hazard, the occasional foliage in the face, and the slightly uneven and muddy towpath. Yes – we did all decide to wear road shoes!
Fresh back from holiday and treating the outing as a mid-distance outing ahead of his Lakeland 50 adventure next month, Jack Cummins opted for the 20 mile race. Jack had a brilliant race, winning the event and we believe setting a course record in the process. As an aside, we also believe that this was the first time this particular course had been used, but still a brilliant run against a stellar field that contained many (well certainly some) other runners. Well done Jack.
The remaining MACs entered the marathon, all carrying miles in the legs from recent exploits. Just two weeks on from Sarah’s Edinburgh outing and Andy’s ‘not-Edinburgh’ run, the legs were not at their freshest. Meanwhile, compulsive marathon addict Dan Ashcroft was returning to marathoning after a whole three weeks off, but had completed four marathons in the preceding five weeks, so his legs might not be completely box fresh. However marathon number 35 ticked off.
Sarah was fourth lady, Andy third chap with Dan taking sixth spot.
The event is nice and low key, but a chunky medal for all finishers along with the organiser’s promised sense of achievement, and an enviable table of snacks at the finish line.
The real achievement of the day was the fact that Andy completed the course without getting lost, something he made up for repeatedly on the journey home – but I think we all agreed that a trip to Skipton wouldn’t be complete without a tour of Bingley and the Leeds ring road.
