THIS week saw some great performances and feats of endurance out on the trails.

Five Harriers headed to Chamonix to take part in races around Mont Blanc. Between 23-28 August, 10,000 runners participate in one of seven races as part of the UTMB festival, and Harriers featured in two of the events.

On August 25, Helen Waddington took part in the OCC, a point to point route which covers 55km and 3500m of elevation of the full Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc race.

A brand new course for 2022 it included a trip up the Col De Balme located on the border between Switzerland and France, a technical climb towards the top and a section that Helen described as a “vertiginous catwalk”. Helen completed the race in a fantastic 11:45:37.

Four Harriers then took on the full UTMB course. A staggering 170km route with over 10,000m of elevation travelling through France, Italy and Switzerland this is truly a feat requiring guts, determination and a huge amount of training. It was a tough race given the high temperatures and Jane McCarthy and Andrew Merrick were the first Harriers home in joint 1224th position in a time of 42:55:31, both finishing in the top 20 in their age categories. Dave Reynier was next over the line in 45:17:13.

Finally, Dick Waddington completed nearly half of the distance and over half of the elevation before having to retire at Courmayeur. An amazing effort from the whole team!

On slightly lower hills, Harriers Tom Adams and Ben Rothery took part in the Scafell Marathon on Sunday 21 August. A trail marathon incorporating England's highest peak, the route follows beautiful lakeshore trails, wooded valleys to spectacular high mountain trails, incorporating some of the most dramatic rock scenery in the Lake District. Adams, running for INOV8, took a podium third place and 1st in his age category in 3:31:56, with Ben running a great race finishing sixth in 3:52:38.

On the same day, Abbie Rothery took on the Borrowdale Half marathon in a fantastic time of 2:28:38.

On the track, Wednesday 24 August saw the second event in the summer seires of the Evensplits Leeds 5k series. A timed event, the series encourages runners to measure their improvement across the 5k distance from month to month, with their results contributing to the club championship competition too.

In the men’s race Edward Hobbs, in superb form, took second place in a blistering 16:17! Michael Abrams-Cohen came in 10th for the Harriers with an impressive time of 17:34. And in the women’s race Ruth Kitchen continued her run of podium places in the series with third place in a time of 19:50. There were top three age category placings also for Mike Williams, Tracey Watson and Diane Kitchen. Our juniors also put in some fantastic efforts with Jake Norris coming first in the junior race followed close behind by Sam Norris in third place.

27 Harriers took part in the timed 5k parkrun events across the country on Saturday 20th August. Ruaridh Mon-Williams and Michael Abrahms-Cohen were the first male finishers at the Edinburgh and Conyngham Hall parkruns, Ruaridh in an impressive time of 15:15.

Junior Harrier Jake Norris and Tom Worboys were the second male finishers in the Skipton and Horton parkruns respectively, and Robert Cunningham was the third male finisher at the Bedgebury Pinetum parkrun in Kent.