26th August 2024
Key Race Information:
Race location: Upper Denby. A village within the parish of Denby Dale in West Yorkshire. It is 7 miles NW of Barnsley and 11 miles SE of Huddersfield.
The Senior Race is a 5.6 mile (9km) loop with a total ascent of 700ft (my Strava came in at: 8.79km with 203m elevation gain)
The course is both scenic and undulating. It includes: quiet roads, footpaths through fields, woodland, arable land, meadows, narrow walled passages, rocky trails, steps and more. There are also many stone stiles and kissing gates to negotiate.
The route crosses conservation land, passes a pirate ship (it does!) and a historic Quaker Village at High Flatts.
The race is open to both recreational and club runners – the route is well marshalled and well marked.
Three welcomed water stations were provided en-route,
Senior Race registration opened from 9.30am to 11.45am at: The George Inn, Upper Denby, HD8 8UE
The Senior Race started at 12 noon, in a small field right behind The George Inn (handy).
Homemade flapjack and water/squash were available for all finishers.
Senior prize giving was at: approx. 1.50pm
Prizes were available for all the usual age categories and a trophy for ‘1st local’ lady and man home.
Weather: After a warm sunny start to the day, conditions were cool with a brief hint of drizzle (perfect!)
After registering just outside the pub to collect race numbers and pay £9 we gathered behind the tape on an open field just behind the pub, for a full safety briefing. This included a reminder to be polite when crossing the many stiles. Basically don’t jump the queue. Though for me there were never more than 2 people ahead of me.
As the route left the village, it headed down a steep footpath before turning up hill for a steep (it had to be walked) ascent. There was a fair bit of up and down after this, (with more steep walking sections), in both deep dark valleys and up on open meadows. A “Beware of The BULL” sign was visible on the entry to one of the fields – but the bull wasn’t seen. Though a number of fields did have very fresh cow pats (for detail) and horses.
Sadly I didn’t spot the Quaker Village, so have good reason to return.
This was a very interesting and varied route with a lot to see and appreciate.
The marshals were all very supportive as were the crowds at key junctions.
Live music, burgers and pub pies were all available back at the pub (near the start/finish). Very tasty it was too.
Thanks go to everyone involved in putting on the 8th running of this fundraising community event. It’s a great route and a nice place to visit. There’s some great views from up there. As a pointer, it’s also very near the infamous Ingbirchworth, for those that got to the distant start point and survived the recent “event”
Hopefully a few Striders will register early (as it’s a sell out) for next year. Junior races are available and all profits support the local conservation group.
Special and personal thanks go to Anne for sorting my now fairly common late entry.
Striders results:
Martin Downham was the only Strider running in the M60 Category, finishing 79th in 52:49
Ful race results: https://www.denbyvillage.org.uk/_files/ugd/aa29f8_8c454dadb66d4d6d9261bc2baaa236cb.pdf
