This was the third of three gruelling weekends for John Boothman and this week, it was the Leeds Marathon.  The weather was perfect and was nice and cool for most of the race with a few hills to slow everyone down.  The support in Otley and back into Leeds was really good.  John did tire in the last 4/5 miles, but after those two previous weekends, it was to be expected.  In John's own words, his time was not brilliant, but taking into account what he had done recently, he was happy with it.

John is having a week off next week and than going to Edinburgh in a fortnight.

949 John Boothman 3:47:30

22 Beulah Cranham 10:20 PB

216 Richard Shilton 28:50

2026 Full Results

It was almost perfect conditions for this race which saw Matthew Heppenstall of Settle Harriers, for the second time this week, race up to the summit of Pin Haw.  As on Wednesday in the Lothersdale Race, he led the way to the top and back down to the finish, except that this time, he was chased by fellow team mate, Matthew Cardus.  What a pair of runners to have in your club.  They were followed home by our own Tom Corrigan who is always somewhere in the mix.

In the ladies race, the leaders were more space out, with April Thorpe, the winner, making the ascent to the summit look easy.  She won the race comfortably, with Josephine Wells and Victoria Mousley following her home.  The first Barlicker home was Paula Cullen.  

The Barlickers finished as follows:

Men
3 Tom Corrigan 32:05 (1st M40)
5 Ben Whitehead 32:44 (2nd M40)
14 Carl Nevison 34:58 (1st M55)
15 Luke Butler 35:14
18 Robert Cranham 36:28 (3rd M45)
32 Stan Dreiling 38:19
47 Shane Muller 40:20
69 James Austin 43:16
92 David Pease 48:14

Women
52 Paula Cullen 40:47 (2nd F45)
58 Jacqueline Collins 41:35 (3rd F45)
72 Hayley Whitehead 43:53
79 Karen Lemon 45:49
91 Emma Pease 48:12
98 Lisa Gee 48:44
103 Hannah Craig 49:23
108 Nicola Muller 50:40 (2nd F50)
129 Lucy Mirfield  54:01

Youngster Matthew Heppenstall of Settle Harriers won this race by over a minute, despite going wrong on two occasions.  He looked quick and the result confirmed it.  It was good to see Andy Collins out in another race and he finished in a respectable 5th place and although Robert Cranham is still recovering from the London Marathon, he cannot keep away from the fells and he managed a top ten finish.

Our only woman out, Hayley Whitehead, had a good run to come home in second place.  All in all, a good night out for the Barlickers.

5 Andy Collins 25:44
10 Robert Cranham 27:15
24 Hayley Whitehead 33:57 (2nd woman, first WS)

Under 8
6 Woody Corrigan2:59

Under 10
3 Jude Mirfield 2:06

Under 12
5 Theo Mirfield 11:17
20 Oliver Throup 13:20

What a race.  Not only did Matt Watson win this race, but he won it by a massive three minutes.  That is quite some victory in a race which saw the Barlickers dominate the top ten.

Men's Race
1 Matt Watson 37:32 (1st M45)
2 Tom Corrigan 40:31 (1st M40)
5 Dave Mirfield 40:50 (2nd M40)
6 Gary Shaw 41:25 (1st M50)
23 Robert Cranham 47:56

Women's Race
6 Laura Craig 52:44 (1st F40)
7 Jacqueline Collins 53:56 (2nd F45)
27 Lisa Gee 1:06:20
34 Lydia Hirst 1:10:41

John Boothman took part in this race in 2023 and he did it again this year in a slightly faster time, but for some reason, they did not go all the way to Ingleborough trig, so times were probably very similar.  John was very happy with his time considering what he describes as his not so great race last week at the Three Peaks.  In retrospect he puts that down to being already tired before the start and to the hot conditions. 

This race is twice as far and takes in all of the three peaks, plus an extra run up the shoulder of Pen Y Ghent in addition to going twice over Fountains Fell. A total of 52 miles with some serious climbing and not a race to be taken lightly.  After last week, in the Three Peaks race, John was a little hesitant, but the race went well, although he was rather tired on the last section.

122 John Boothman 11:13:19

615 starters

52 Sean Fitzpatrick 25:05

34 Lucas Payne 20:38
94 Ian Livesey23:33
193 Richard Shilton 27:23
288 Stephen Jackson 30:23