THE inaugural Ilkley Half-Marathon was a spectacular success - and the Harriers had a day to remember in every sense.

A brilliantly organised and wonderfully well-supported event - which raised £40,000 for local good causes - saw nearly 2,000 runners line up.

And Ilkley were to the fore when the prizes were handed out - Jack Cummings becoming the race’s first winner with a superb time of one hour, 11 minutes and 24 seconds for the 13.1-mile route which looped up to Ben Rhydding before heading out to Addingham and then back via the scenic Nesfield road.

Cummings was in front not long after the start and had soon opened up a considerable gap on the rest, eventually crossing the line more than two minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

Cummings’ heroics also set up Ilkley for the team prize, with Alex Hirst and Rob Cunningham both making the top 30 to complete the leading trio.

And in the women’s event there was a second and third for Ilkley, with Lucy Williamson (1.26.12) and Rachel Carter (1.29.56), who won the FV40 category, chasing home winner Caroline Turner (1.25.04).

That saw the ladies top the team standings, with Jane McCarthy (who was the second FV40) also well inside the top 100.

Nearly 100 Harriers took part - a record in recent years - and there was an outstanding performance from the club’s ex-chair Geoffrey Howard.

His time of 1.39.53 was not only an MV75 all-time record, it also placed him second in the UK rankings.

But the race transcended medals and times, even record ones, with more than 200 volunteers, thousands of spectators and closed roads making it an extraordinary day.

Away from the Ilkley Half it was another busy week, with the nearby Addingham Gala fell race seeing some great displays.

The Harriers placed five runners in the top 20 - Jon Denniss leading the way in ninth in a time of 45.43 for the route up to Beamsley Beacon and back.

And Kate Archer’s 16th place in 48.58 meant she was the first lady.

Jack Wood was the organiser of the Addingham Fell Race and as soon as it was done and dusted he hot-footed it to Wales.

That was for the Snowdonia Trail Marathon, chosen to be the GB Trial race for the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in Argentina this November.

Ascending 1,685 metres over 26 miles of iconic and spectacular trails, this epic event circumnavigated and eventually climbed Wales’ highest peak - Snowdon.

And Wood was a tremendous third in 3.23.10, putting him right in the frame for the GB squad, with fellow Harrier Tom Adams 11th (3.37.30).

Another eye-catching challenge was the new Pinnacle Ridge Extreme Sky race, which weaved its way around Helvellyn in the Lake District.

It required climbing experience to gain an entry and the 28km route, with 2,700m of ascent, was won by Rob Sinclair - with the Harriers represented by Alison Weston, who was 15th overall and fourth female.

Elsewhere, Steven Gott was sixth (and first MV40) at the Baildon Canter Fell Race while the prestigious Challenge Roth Triathlon in Germany attracted a stellar field which included the Harriers’ very own David Howe.

After an endurance swim and bike ride it was rounded off with a marathon run, which Howe completed in 4.42 to make the top 2,000 in the overall standings.

Ilkley Half-Marathon: 1 1:11:24 Jack Cummings; 21 1:23:07 Alex Hirst; 30 1:25:25 Rob Cunningham; 33 1:26:12 Lucy Williamson second lady; 38 1:27:08 David Foyston; 42 1:27:18 Andrew Overend; 58 1:29:43 Jim Ryder; 59 1:29:56 Rachel Carter first LV40; 63 1:30:13 Jonathan Turner; 80 1:32:19 Sara Mclean; 83 1:32:40 Rhys Jones; 84 1:32:34 Jane McCarthy second LV40; 115 1:34:32 John Hayes; 116 1:34:53 Derek Oliver; 119 1:34:55 Michael Duffield; 144 1:35:56 Michael Abrams-Cohen; 154 1:36:57 Andrew Marshall; 173 1:38:39 Steve Newell; 186 1:39:17 Daryl King; 203 1:39:46 Richard Reeve first V60; 209 1:40:20 Peter Roll; 212 1:39:53 Geoffrey Howard 1st V70; 236 1:41:12 Colin Williams; 247 1:41:55 Robert Budding; 265 1:42:43 Mary Fairclough; 284 1:42:59 Mark Judkowski; 285 1:43:22 Martyn Stocker; 301 1:43:54 Steve Murray; 318 1:44:34 Nicky Liptrot; 324 1:45:05 Kay Pearce; 339 1:44:48 Rebecca Mon-Williams; 344 1:45:22 Harry Sime; 361 1:45:35 Nigel Tapper; 390 1:47:23 Craig Berry; 419 1:48:14 Simon Jenkins; 430 1:47:53 Oli Street; 432 1:47:54 Oscar Street; 480 1:50:11 Keith Wood; 542 1:52:18 Tom Lally; 598 1:53:47 Philip Hirst; 601 1:53:54 Geoffrey White; 602 1:54:08 Lucy Jacques; 642 1:54:39 Michael Eardley; 722 1:57:40 Joe Rigby; 724 1:57:59 Charlotte Smithson; 732 1:57:40 Jane Thomas; 754 1:58:39 Adrian Weatherly; 789 1:58:55 Andrew Merrick; 811 1:59:48 Clare Boyle; 824 2:00:27 Sally Westlake; 826 1:59:27 Ros Brown; 831 1:59:50 Stephanie Fox; 835 2:00:40 Bess Sturman; 867 2:01:56 Will Worboys; 877 2:02:04 Alex Stanley-Hyde; 898 2:02:51 Hilda Coulsey; 918 2:03:09 Jill Ezard; 967 2:04:21 Andrew Wilson; 992 2:05:53 Sarah Hayes; 995 2:05:55 David Ibbotson; 1,001 2:06:00 Lisa McDonell; 1003 2:05:59 Peter Tapper; 1008 2:06:14 Barbara Bullock; 1010 2:05:40 Andrew McCallion; 1084 2:08:01 Dawn Turner; 1092 2:08:26 Paul Sugden; 1102 2:08:25 Fiona Schneider; 1106 2:09:25 Melanie Edwards; 1124 2:10:38 Ian Conyers; 1131 2:10:56 Sheena Pickersgill; 1138 2:10:29 Amelia Miles; 1139 2:11:13 Donna Jackson; 1163 2:11:27 Claire Greenwood; 1164 2:11:12 Rachel Corrigan; 1208 2:13:10 John Marshall; 1223 2:13:28 Ruth Jones; 1232 2:13:57 Sue Harris; 1245 2:16:05 Paula Reynier; 1246 2:15:09 Bernadette Gibbons; 1253 2:15:30 Nicola Budding; 1316 2:19:00 Natalie York; 1318 2:18:27 Abigail Bailey; 1334 2:20:10 Jo Pattinson; 1359 2:21:33 Sue Verspyck; 1413 2:25:00 Diane Ollier; 1439 2:26:25 Sue Williamson; 1466 2:28:51 Elaine Ibbotson; 1469 2:29:03 Tracy Russell; 1519 2:34:24 Emma Roberts; 1520 2:34:25 Jill Roberts; 1529 2:35:53 Christine Airey. 1,626 finished.

Addingham Gala fell race: 1 38:53 Gary Priestley, Salford; 9 45:43 John Denniss; 11 46:44 Paul Castle; 13 47:11 Dave Robson; 16 48:58 Kate Archer 1st lady; 20 51:29 Will Buckton; 34 58:31 Paul Stephens; 36 59:02 Norman Bush; 47 66:50 Helen Waddington; 53 89:22 Peter Lewis. 54 finished.

Baildon Canter fell race: 1 18:58 Josh Tighe, Salford; 6 20:27 Steven Gott 1st V40. 92 finished.

parkruns: Bradford: 1 16:17 Matthew Merrick, Aldershot, Farnham and District AC; 164 28:44 Paula Reynier; 165 28:45 Dave Reynier. 380 ran

Cliffe Castle: 1 18:44 Christopher Loftus, KCAC; 34 28:13 Fiona Schneider. 134 ran.

Skipton: 1 18:19 Samuel Williams, Skipton AC; 21 22:28 Catherine Gibbons; 74 26:09 Joanne Williamson. 219 ran.

Teignmouth Promenade: 1 18:30 Shaun Yeoman, U/A; 2 18:58 Michael Lomas. 213 ran.

Woodhouse Moor: 1 17:17 Sam Robbins, Chapel Allerton Runners; 206 26:54 Petra Bijsterveld. 497 ran.