THROUGH his excellent result at the Redcar Triathlon, Ilkley Harriers' Tim Ashelford has gained qualification for next year's World Age Group Sprint Triathlon Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Despite having to endure a choppy swim and very windy bike ride, his efforts in the North East also saw him secure the first V50 prize.

Elsewhere, Ben Sheppard excelled in the Lakeland 50 at the weekend for Harriers, finishing an exceptionally long race in a fantastic 12th place with a time of eight hours, 59 minutes and 20 seconds.

It was a tough run, taking place in mainly wet and windy conditions. The Lakeland 100 begins and ends in Coniston, but runners doing the 50 are bussed to the Dalemain estate in the northern lakes for the start.

They take in the second half of the 100 course back to Coniston via Pooley Bridge, Howtown, Fusedale, Mardale Head, Kentmere, Ambleside and Langdale.

Camaraderie on the course was incredible and it seemed to inspired Sheppard in the poor weather conditions. He was within a few minutes of schedule throughout, only finishing about 60 seconds slower than the previous year.

Also competing in an ultra event was Colin Williams, who took part in the Manvers 12-hour Dusk to Dawn race in Wath-upon-Dearne.

Unfortunately for Williams, after eight and a half hours and 51.36 miles of racing, his head torch failed. He managed another lap, using his mobile as a torch, before calling it a day.

Meanwhile, in the 5k Parkruns, Steven Gott achieved victory at Bramley, winning with a fine time of 19 minutes and 27 seconds.

Archie Budding ran well at Delamere in the 11-14 years category, coming 21st overall in 21:45. It was a Budding trio in that race, as Rob and Nicola finished in 34th and 72nd respectively in 22:36 and 25:15.

Steve Murray performed well at Portrush, securing 14th place with a time of 20:58. Hilda Coulsey also competed in the Northern Ireland race, 27:17 enough to see her finish in 121st.

James Lee came 42nd in Bradford, after coming home in 23:01, while Paula Reynier managed 103rd with a time of 27:14. Petra Bijsterveld came 198th in 28:42 at Abingdon, a solid effort in a field of 363 runners.

Finally, seven Harriers braved the scorching weather for the sixth race in the Brownlee Evensplits 5k series. Just warming up was a trial and many felt that it was not so much a race as just getting to the finish.

Despite the heat, there were some very good times recorded. Colin Williams was the top Harriers finisher, coming 46th in 19:29, while Rhys Jones, in 59th, completed the run in 20:03. Robert Budding (21:55) finished 96th.