Ronseal used to have and may still have the advertising strap line, ‘it does exactly what it says on the tin’ and I thought it would be an insightful start to my race report on my effort to run the Round Ripon Ultra on Saturday 4th October but in actual fact the strap line doesn’t apply in this case, as the route doesn’t actually doesn’t go all the way round Ripon, well not all of the way round anyway. So, imagine my disappointment that I could not use the masterpiece of an advertising strap line in my report!
Anyway, I ran the so-called ‘Round’ Ripon Ultra, organised by the Ripon Runners on Saturday and despite the mis-selling of the event, really enjoyed it. The 35 mile route was mostly runnable and goes through some very pretty countryside and woodland and has a variety of terrains (probably a bit too much road for me) and manages around 3000ft of ascent.
The race finishes with a wonderful downhill run through the Studley Royal Deer Park. The winner was Rob Harrison, breaking the course by around 12 minutes in 4:18, despite the conditions as it was very wet and windy, thanks to Storm Amy. First Female was Katie Harrison in 6:14. I ‘stormed’ home in 6:43, a time I managed despite a few navigational blips. I really need to invest in one of them fancy gps watches. Despite the above, I would thoroughly recommend the event, particularly for those wanting to try an ultra for the first time, everyone was super friendly and the casserole and apple crumble waiting for me at the finish was a real treat! I have no photos to post as my wife dropped me at the start and collected me at the finish with no offer of support, choosing instead to go and explore Ripon for the day!?!
