You’d expect June 10th to present a reasonable opportunity for sunshine, well you couldn’t be much further from the reality. On a night that would normally be presenting people with the problem of deciding what factor sun cream to put on, the main topic of conversation was do I use Trail or Road shoes ? As it happened and against the odds, trail shoes definitely were the best option, as the conditions were on a par with anything we face in the Winter league, except it was a tad warmer.

This was the second Sledmere Sunset Trail 10k, a race introduced by Driffield Striders after their famous “Mucky Duck” had to be shelved due to traffic issues. From a personal point of view, I have to say the ducks loss is my gain, as I love this kind of race, even though (some would say stupidly) I am currently nursing a couple of niggling injuries.

The Harriers present at this race were few and far between, mainly due to it clashing with the Swaledale Marathon, However those of us that did make it had a thoroughly enjoyable race, up hills, through woods, across fields, into the valley (coffee in the club to the first person who can name the group who sang that), on chalk paths, through puddles, in rain, mist, drizzle and definitely without any sign of the sun, never mind the sunset. The race as the name suggests is in the magnificent grounds of Sledmere House and is extremely well organised and marshalled, with plenty of water stations and as much flapjack and banana as you could eat at the end, coupled with this you were presented with a medal as you crossed the finish line so what’s not to like ?

Before the main event, there was a well attended 3.6k fun run in which John Bakers Granddaughter Chloe took part, this helps to make it a great family occasion and definitely one which should be marked on the calendar for next year.

Harriers taking part in the main event were as follows :

• Neil Gordon 46:15
• Myself 48:56
• John Crosby 57:46
• Paul Backen 61:00
• Carol Cooke 70:03