No races again this weekend, sadly, but here's Nigel Warner's Goole Times report of the Beverley 10k/Askern 10k double-header from 2015

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The first two big Yorkshire 10ks of the year always take place close together in May and both are very well attended.

Beverley attract over 1300 runners, while at Askern last Wednesday night the start had to be delayed by 15 minutes for them to process 300 late entries, boosting the field to nearly 800.

Ryan Hamilton led the Striders in at Beverley, the more difficult course, while Ben Adderley did the same at Askern, coincidentally both in 19th place, great efforts considering the quality and quantity of the opposition.

Jonny McFaul was close behind Ryan with a new PB, while Ryan King was second in at Askern but just missed out on a PB.

A few Striders ran better than they have for years, notably Brian Cook, Sandra Brooks, Jo Mouncey and Tim Harper, but Karen Harper undoubtedly took the Most Improved award, knocking over three minutes off her previous best at Beverley, the tougher course.

Nicole Masterman’s PB at Askern followed up her sister Faye’s impressive debut 10k at Beverley.

Good to see Andy Trotter back from injury, and was that John Kaye running a rare 10k? Home in well under the hour, well done Big John.

Striders’ times:
Beverley (Askern time second if did both): Ryan Hamilton 36.53, Jonny McFaul 38.29 & 39.34, Pat Harness 41.02, Julie Masterman 45.00 & 44.30, Lee Clarkson 45.33, Steve Whitlam 46.25 & 46.22, Richard Anness 47.23, Mike Pollard 48.48 & 47.09, Brian Cook 49.48, Karen Harper 50.03, Faye Masterman 51.08, Andy Trotter 52.15 & 49.30, Jo Mouncey 52.25 & 54.05, Nicole Masterman 53.15 & 51.48, Graham Walker 53.42, Carren Taun-Jackson 54.42, Sandra Brooks 55.35 & 54.50, Philippa Oldridge 62.33.

Askern: Ben Adderley 35.34, Ryan King 38.21, Martin Booth 40.49, Mark Johns 44.08, Dave Hanney 47.20, Nigel Warner 47.34, Tim Harper 47.49, James Williamson 48.52, Simon Greenwood 50.48, Debbie Andrew 53.11, Claire Thornton 54.14, Alison Hoggarth 56.22, John Kaye 57.05, Steve Dixon 60.21. ... See more

There is no competitive running to speak of at the moment, but we have raided the quite remarkable archives of GVS legend Nigel Warner and are going to periodically share the historical race reports, just for your amusement and to see if you can spot yourself. Hopefully it will remind us of happier times and make us further look forward to when we are all running together again!

This week we have 2008 Great North Run

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The Great North Run always takes centre stage at this time of year, but the running season has continued unabated throughout the year, and one or two recent Viking Striders’ performances are well worth highlighting.

Carlie Payling’s first races for the club (48.47 at the Clumber Park 10k and 113.56 at the Major Stone Half Marathon in Hull) have been rich in promise, and how the club needs a challenger for the number one ladies spot currently held by Julie Masterman. Julie cemented that position with an excellent 3.34 at the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham, never an easy course.

At the same meeting Giles Harris (81.39) and Andy Masterman (83.45) were doing the club proud in the Half Marathon. Their positions of 78th and 111th may not sound all that good, but when you consider there were over six and a half thousand finishers, those positions suddenly take on a superhuman quality!

But back to the Great North Run, a race which continues to attract well over 50,000 entries despite the ludicrously high entry fee. The credit crunch has clearly not invaded the world of athletics, and it was certainly at the back of the minds of the ten Striders as they lined up for the race on Sunday.

Steve Durose was so keen to complete his 20th consecutive Great North that he fell over after seven miles and sprained his ankle, but somehow complete it he did and in a very creditable time, along with his son Daniel who was doing the first of his twenty.

Andy Masterman had a stormer to lead the Striders in, and Julie of course was the first Striders’ lady. Nigel Kirkby ran his first half marathon for the club despite only having a short time to prepare, and like Carlie has the potential to go much faster.

Great North times: Andy Masterman 81.49, Julie Masterman 95.57, Keith Wilson 109.44, Steve and Daniel Durose 113.06, Dave Pullman 113.15, Rob Oldridge 121.33, Graham Walker 121.34, Michaela Shepherd 124.48, Nigel Kirkby 127.47. ... See more

⚠️ Important Announcement ⚠️

Hi all,

It's with a heavy heart that we announce that this year's Riverbank Challenge 10k on Sunday, June 14 has been postponed due to Covid-19.

As a club we were very excited to launch our new-look race and entries had been promising and vindicated the tough decision we made to switch distance. Thank you to everyone who supported us, including our generous sponsors who we will be contacting to arrange refunding.

Sadly we do not think a rearrangement will work in 2020. These times mean we can't proceed with any financial certainty and a club of our size and resource simply cannot risk laying out money we may never see again.

The current situation will have ramifications for the future of our club. We are working hard to remodel it financially so that we can have a future as a running club - the race underpinned everything we do. However, rest assured, we will continue to run on as GVS.

To those who entered the race, if you wish to claim a refund, please send an email to hello@racebest.com with the subject line RIVERBANK REFUND. Please note that refunds are subject to a processing charge of £2, which will be deducted from your entry fee.

Refunds are being prioritised by race date; so the later the (cancelled) race date, the longer you may need to wait. RaceBest will not confirm each request individually. Only get back in touch, if you haven't received your refund by 14th June 2020.

With great thanks,
GVS ... See more

Dear all,

In light of today’s government advice, we are suspending organised club nights on Wednesdays for the time being.

We cannot, and would not, stop anyone exercising, but equally as a responsible club serving the community, we can’t be seen to be encouraging people to come together in one place either.

Running is really important. But our health and the health of those around us more so. Hopefully we can get this show back on the road soon, but the show only goes on if we act responsibly now.

We will post updates on here accordingly, but don’t let the conversation be over. Look after your health, run how you see fit, share your runs on Strava, make use of WhatsApp groups and DMs. For all we love our running, lots of us rely on the friendships we’ve forged. Keep the wheels turning safely and we’ll be back before you know it 💪

Stay safe,
GVS committee

The show went on for Goole Viking Striders runners at the weekend, with races around the county providing some with blessed relief.

Sunday saw the Dalton Dash 10k, with GVS' Dave McKinnon second overall in a fantastic time of 33.55.

James Williamson ran in 42.01, David Maddison 44.14 and Fiona Whitaker landed a PB of 50.03.

The Spring marathon season may have been decimated by current events, but the Spen 20 - a brutal but popular marathon primer - still went ahead on Sunday and four Goole runners returned fantastic results.

Steve Tether was the first back with a course PB of 2.27.12, while the same honour went to Jeremy Gibbins 2.43.06 and Paul Brewer 2.44.32, with Mark Johns tucked in the middle in 2.44.21.

At Goole parkrun on Saturday, Jonny McFaul was the overall winner (18.46) and Gemma Oughtred first woman (23.20), while several first timers completed, having gone through GVS’ ‘Armchair to Athlete’ 5k course for the last 10 weeks.

Andy Masterman was fourth at Sewerby (20.04), James Williamson fourth at Wakefield Thornes (19.56) with Emma and Clare Tune second and third women (23.05 and 23.27).

Racing continued apace for Goole Viking Striders runners at the weekend, with a number of events bringing about impressive results.

Saturday saw the Golden Fleece 28-mile race around South Cave and the surrounding areas, Steve Tether (3.48) and James Williamson (4.11) returning course PBs, with Patrick Harness also running well (4.16).

On Sunday, Mark Johns ‘Raced the Train’ in the Yorkshire Dales, attempting to beat a steam engine from Leyburn Shawl back to Leyburn Station.

He had two hours 15 minutes to take on the 14-mile journey, with some 1,500 feet of climbing thrown in, and managed to make it with two minutes to spare!

Elsewhere on Sunday, it was Retford half-marathon, with David Madison setting a PB with 1.36.08, followed by Jonny McFaul (1.39.32) and Mick Pollard (1.49.00).

At the Cambridge half-marathon, Fiona Graham ran 2.08.14.

At Goole parkrun on Saturday, Dave McKinnon made it six victories in a row with a time of 16.53, with Jonny McFaul second (18.49). Clare Tune was the first female finisher (22.54) and there was a PB for Paul Brewer (23.37).

Andy Masterman was the second finisher at Northallerton parkrun (20.21) and Julie Masterman the first female (24.52).

Well done, too, to GVS member Steve Gelder who represented Great Britain in the European Sprint Duathlon Championships in Spain on Saturday, finishing in 1.06.57. ... See more