THOUSANDS of runners crossed the finishing line of the annual York 10K race, raising thousands of pounds for local and national charities.
Runners of all ages and abilities came to York today (Sunday, August 7) to run one of Yorkshire’s biggest 10K races.
The race was launched by Run For All in 2009, as part of the legacy of late Jane Tomlinson, who raised nearly £2 million for charity by undertaking a series of gruelling challenges, despite being diagnosed with incurable cancer.
The runners took part in a group warm-up session at 9.15am, followed by Lord Mayor of York, Cllr David Carr wishing them well.
He said: “Good luck fellow athletes, I wish you the best of success.
“You have wonderful weather for it, are running in a wonderful city, and I wish good luck to you all.”
Setting off at 9.30am, the route took them from Knavesmire Road, next to York Racecourse, past York’s famous landmarks, including the Minster and Clifford’s Tower, and looped back round to where they started.
In first place was Tim O’Donoghue in 30 minutes 48 seconds, beating the previous record set in 2012 by just one second.
Matthew Nelson reached second place in 30 minutes 57 seconds, and Jack Kelly came third in 32 minutes 10 seconds.
The first woman to cross the finish line was Leila Armoush in 35 minutes 54 seconds, followed by Sarah Hunter at 36 minutes 26 seconds, and Emily Gibbins at 36 minutes 33 seconds.
Before the race, runners told The Press how they were feeling and how they had trained and prepared for the day.
A group of four runners said: “We’re terrified and can’t wait to get to the pub afterwards! What if the road reopens and we’ve still not finished running?”
Another runner, from Sheffield, said: "I run to stay healthy, and because its a fun thing to do.
"I started running the 'Coach to 5K' with my wife, but I'm here solo.
"I listen to comedy podcasts while I run - people see me laughing to myself and I have to point to my headphones so they know I'm not insane!"
Another solo runner, from York, said: "I only started running in lockdown and now have a half marathon coming up later this year, so I'm running the 10K as part of my training for that."
After the race, Sara Harbord wanted to thank the volunteer pacers, who supported the runners at different time intervals along the route.
Sara was supported by them at the one-hour mark due to sustaining an injury.
She said: "I stayed with them the whole way and they were spot on.
“Huge thanks to them, they were wonderful – I didn’t get a chance to say thank you at the end.”
The runners were encouraged to fundraise for either a charity of their choice, or one of this year’s partner charities, which included the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, Refugee Action York, York Against Cancer, St Leonard’s Hospice, and Mind York.
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