Horsforth Marathon

At this time of year it is a good time to look to the future and to also look back over the past. I have been busy scanning a lot of old photos and turning up some surprises which I aim to share on this site over the next few months.

I thought I would start by adding some photos from the first marathon I ever ran up in Yorkshire at a place called Horsforth on the 31st of March 1985. I remember entering as part of a team of 3 when I worked for the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food ( MAFF ) the race acting as the Civil Service National Championship. The chap in the middle of the photo with the ginger hair I remember for being ill in the hotel. He managed to reach a waste paper bucket and then told the owner at breakfast what he had done whilst we tried to enjoy our food.

I certainly didn't train particularly hard for the race and looking at my diary from Christmas onwards it doesn't show any more than the odd week when I touched 35 miles in a week. I did run the Bury 20 that year on the 24th of Feb turning in a time of 2.27.11.

I remember traveling up the night before and cursing the fact that the clocks were due to change and thinking we would lose an hours sleep. From what I remember the course seemed to touch upon Ilkley Moor and Bradford/Leeds Airport and was 2 laps. The course was open to traffic.

My finish time of 3hours 46 mins 31 didn't do much in competition with the other civil service teams. I wondered if this race is still run and did a search on Google and find a story of the history of this race by Janet Kitchen. Not surprisingly like many races especially marathons they were short lived and many ceased to be organised beyond the 1980's