4 teams (40 runners) and many supporters out on a beautiful hot sunny day. Ladies reports here. Men to follow.
Photo credits : Becky Weight, Bruce Duncan, Stephen Fry & Nicola Jones. See Gallery for more.
Full results : https://www.dropbox.com/s/iw0qbo2aixlmmfy/2023%20final%20Results.xlsx?dl=0 )

Ladies A Team – Nicola Jones
Following many previous changes, the final line up was only decided the evening before. Both Ruth Thackray & Sarah Flaherty had been determined to run and did everything possible to recover from their injuries but sadly had to pull out within 48 hours of the race. On the day, 5 of the 10 in the team were originally reserves:
L1 – Huge kudos and thanks to Mary Green & Jo Henry who stepped in on L1 the evening before the race. With no time for a recce, both had to rely on previous knowledge and aim not to get confused by other similar routes. Their target was to ensure a safe handover to Millie & Jenni without getting lost – but in fact they ran a fantastic leg, finished as 3rd fastest ladies and the whole team is truly grateful for their willingness to step up.
L2 – Jenni Boocock & Millie Hindle ran a fantastic leg as the heat was rising. Millie, just recovering from a sickness bug and not at her best, was disappointed with their time – but they were still fastest ladies on L2. Big thanks to Millie from the team for still being keen to run so soon after being ill – and in a fantastic time too. Millie & Jenni started and finished their leg in 3rd but closed the gap on the leaders, Wharfedale, by almost 8 minutes.
L3 – Lesley Watson & Nicola Jones stepped in as reserves two weeks before the race. Despite recovering from injury and struggling in the heat, Lesley absolutely went for it on the leg, twisted an ankle and finished with nothing left to give. They overtook both Ladies teams ahead, finishing 17 and 13 mins quicker than Wharfedale and Wakefield, giving the Team a lead of 2m 22secs. As a result, Lesley & Nicola were fastest ladies on L3 – and faster than both Bingley Mens teams! Ice creams and fizzy pop in Silsden was the reward!
L4 – Shona Stone & Sue Cordingley ran a fantastic hilly leg extending the lead by over a minute. With the heat rising, running the hills became tougher – especially for Sue who is normally found sprinting 5k’s on more even surfaces and was feeling sick for most of the leg! With their awesome efforts they were also fastest ladies on L4 and got to the handover to give L5 a great chance of victory with a 3m 28 secs lead over Wharfedale.
L5 – Emma Moran & Jo Buckley were simply awesome. Jo switched from L1 to L5 in the final reshuffle as the only other runner capable of trying to run with Emma. With a 3m 28secs lead over Wharfedale, we were confident of victory until we realised Helen Smith was on the Wharfedale leg. With many nervous club members at the finish, we were relying on the team WhatsApp for updates. With the gap seemingly closing to 2 mins 30 seconds on Shipley Glen, we were anxiously awaiting their arrival. Despite the crazy heat and tough competition, Jo & Emma managed to extend our lead by 1 minute 15 seconds, be first over the line and were very proud to be the fastest ladies on leg 5, as well as beating both Bingley Mens Teams on the leg! A huge congrats to Jo who naturally finished the race absolutely boiling hot and exhausted. A phenomenal effort keeping up with Emma and ensuring the fastest Wharfedale runners weren’t able to snatch a victory in the final stages.
As a result of this amazing team effort, we won and were:
• Fastest Ladies Team – 4m 43secs ahead of Wharfedale in 2nd and an hour ahead of Horsforth in 3rd.
• Fastest Ladies Legs on 4 of the 5 Legs
• Faster than both Bingley Mens teams on 2 of the 5 legs
Photos : First Ladies back, 8 of Team A at the finish, 8 of Team A at the presentation,
Fastest L2 Ladies, Fastest L3 Ladies, Fastest L4 Ladies, Fastest L5 Ladies

Ladies B Team – Joanne Henry
This year I was tasked for the first time with organising the BMW Ladies teams with Nicola Jones. From experience running this race I know it is important to have lots of subs. Lots of ladies wanted to take part which is brilliant and made it much easier to arrange. Once Nicola had decided an A team and subs I could plan the B team.
I wanted to make sure ladies who hadn’t run for Bingley or done the BMW before were included. Becky Weight, Mary Green and I were subs. This worked well because we could also step up to the A team if needed.
Unfortunately Sarah Jones who had recced leg 4 with Cheryl and was looking forward to the race for the first time was injured so Becky stepped up to run with Cheryl. Mary was now needed for the A team and we were down to 1 sub for both teams. Fortunately there were no more changes for the B team.
Cheryl was nervous about the race after the recce with Sarah took longer than planned. Cheryl ran L4 with Becky quicker than expected and liked having jugs of water thrown over her to cool down.
There are always lots of logistics to sort out but everyone was at the start of their legs when they needed to be. I was at the start of L1 so saw Lucy and Rebecca set off, they were well equipped on a hot day with plenty of water and completed L1 quicker than they expected. At the finish Lucy said that’s the hardest she has run.
The B Ladies finished a very reputable 8th Ladies team and 43rd of 49 teams on a very hot day. They should be very proud. Here are some of their words about the experience below.
L1 – Bingley to Oxenhope Rebecca Whitford & Lucy Hall
Huge thanks to Jo and Nic for organizing us all and it was lovely to feel part of Team Harriers. Lucy
L2 – Oxenhope to Laycock Caren Crabtree & Caroline Francis
At Penistone Hill we saw the first L1 runners arriving. Caren & I set off on the mass start at a steady pace to settle in, and passed a couple of teams by Brontë Falls. A team that hadn’t recced followed us! Paul (Crabtree) met us with water as the temperatures rose. The hardest part was running past the Turkey Inn and finishers enjoying a pint, and up the steep hill to the finish, but Caren kept me going and we managed a final ‘sprint’ determined not to let Otley behind us catch us. Success!! Caroline
Having decided to set off at the back of the mass start, we slowly worked our way past a few teams by Bronte Waterfall. We had a cat and mouse chase with a Saltaire team but they went wrong twice so we beat them by 4 mins. We kept a reasonable pace going to catch a few more teams across the open moor, with Paul bringing us water at 3 points. Near the end Otley were catching us, we sprinted the final tarmac to keep them at bay. Really happy to have 15 teams behind us. Caren
L3 – Laycock to Silsden Alison Marks & Sue Fulton
Hi Jo, thanks for organising. I really enjoyed the day and support at beginning and end of leg. Bruce saved us from having to run down to Silsden station with a lift back to Bingley. Heat was unbearable for me particularly down in the bottom nr bypass but Alison kept me going. Sue
L4 – Silsden to Ilkley Cheryl Jepson & Becky Weight
Thank you to you and Nic for organising. I wasn’t looking forward to it after the recce disaster 🙈 but really enjoyed the full day and being part of the club 😊 and nice atmosphere x Cheryl.

I slept well and got down for breakfast just after 8. I realized, with a shock, and a smile, that the Relay had started. I had had a good nights’ sleep, hadn’t had to sort any last minute changes, or be at B&B Sports Club registering teams, or cheer L1 runners off from Beckfoot Lane, or whatever came next, lifts, vests etc. I simply had to sort myself to run L4. So a massive thankyou from me to Nicola and Joanne who took on the Team Manager roles. After a gentle start they have been on an increasingly frantic roller coaster getting the teams to the start line with the final line up only settling less than 24 hours before the start. I hope the great day and results, and all the smiles made it feel worthwhile.
On L4 we had good run with Cheryl in just over 2 hrs despite Cheryl struggling with her breathing (hayfever) and the heat (she went for the full dousing at the water station above Addingham). I did think she was a little quieter than normal and it was only after she admitted that she had felt sick at the start. So doubly well done to Cheryl for running (we did walk the up hills!) and smiling all the way. Becky
L5 – Ilkley to Bingley Chloe Weatherhead & Trish Gavins
To say that I was anxious in the run up to the event is an understatement. 11 miles would be my longest run, record temperatures were predicted and, having never done the Relay before, I didn’t have a clue what to expect. Most of all I didn’t want to let anyone down.
I spent the days leading up to the event eating pasta and praying for rain whilst silently cursing my sister in law for convincing me to enter. Actually it wasn’t silently… at one point my partner said quite loudly that he’d be glad when it was all over!
I was really pleased to be paired with Trish. We arrived in plenty of time and agreed our strategy – a grand description for a plan that basically consisted of trying not to die! Once we’d set off we stuck together and checked in constantly. We took it in turns to lead, listened to our bodies and tried to enjoy the day.
Whilst the heat was brutal, there was a breeze to ease the pain. The first couple of miles are up hill but, once past the Cow & Calf, the route flattens and you can find your pace. We stuck to a gentle jog, chatting as we went and enjoying the views.
It didn’t all go to plan. I hit the wall several times and Trish had to deal with both blisters and a fall, but we supported each other and took it in turns to cheer the other on. When we finally got to the finish it felt like a massive achievement but I think my favourite aspect of the whole thing was making a new friend. Chloe