23/01/2026
West Yorkshire Winter League β Queensbury RC (18/01/26)
What a day. What a course. What weatherβ¦ π§οΈπ¨π«οΈ
And yet, thanks to an incredible group of volunteers, the race went ahead and was a huge success.
While this event was very much about teamwork and resilience, there were some fantastic performances from our runners that deserve a mention.
Tom finished an outstanding 2nd overall in 30:35, Richard Roulson took 2nd place in the MV60 category, and Carole secured a brilliant 4th in the FV60 category.
That said, massive credit goes to all our runners β just getting round that course in those conditions was an achievement in itself.
This post, however, is mainly about the people who made the event possible.
Our marshals were absolutely outstanding. Standing out for hours in truly appalling conditions, keeping runners safe, smiling, encouraging and ensuring the race could go ahead as planned. Normally our marshals are experts at directions along the lines of βrun towards that gap in the treesβ or βhead for the marshal over thereββ¦ unfortunately the thick fog had other ideas. Even so, everyone stayed in the right place and the race ran smoothly β which says everything about the quality of our volunteers.
A huge thank you as well to everyone who helped behind the scenes β those in the ARCH, in the kitchen keeping people fed and warm, and everyone who supported with the raffle. These roles often go unseen, but they are just as vital to a successful event.
Special thanks must go to:
Glenn, our Race Director, who put in an enormous amount of work behind the scenes. Countless hours, plenty of sleepless nights, and total commitment to making sure everything ran smoothly.
Dave Faulkner, who somehow managed to organise and coordinate all the marshals β no small task at the best of times, never mind in wet winter conditions.
Nicola, who took on the challenge of arranging the licence (an achievement in itself!) and went above and beyond β even missing picking up one of her daughters from the airport so she could cover her marshal area.
Weβve received a huge amount of positive feedback from clubs across the league, and every single comment comes back to the same thing: the volunteers. Your time, effort and commitment are what made this event happen.
Thank you all β Queensbury RC did itself proud ππ§‘
The final race in the series is:
Stainland Lions β 08/02/2026 @ 10:00am
See you there! πββοΈπββοΈ