Just over 200 runners competed in the County Orienteering Championships last weekend which were held in the Yorkshire Wolds at Londesborough Park, near Market Weighton.

A mixture of steep-sided woodland and parkland made for very fast terrain except for the dense brashings and marshy areas in parts of the wood. The area is not highly technical and, although there were some route choices on the longer legs, runners knew that any navigational errors would prove costly.

In the Junior races, Airienteers were prominent in the results where eight of the successful youth squad became county champions.

One of the best runs of the day was by Ben Stevens (M18) of Ilkley, who averaged a little over six minutes per km in winning his 7.0km race in 43.47.

There were also fine runs by George Stevens (41.40) and Jack Wood (43.45) who came first and second respectively in the 6.0km under-16 race.

Other title winners were Daniel Calvert (M10), Robert Kelly (M12), Sam Brown (M14), Beth Woodley (W10), Chloe Haines (W14) and Victoria Stevens (W16).

At senior level, wins were not as common. Frank Kew, of Ilkley, won the 6.0km M55 race in 48.42, closely followed by veteran international Tony Thornley, also of Ilkley, who was second in 50.53.

Meanwhile, Tom Crowther (M65), of Guiseley, was second in his 4.9km race but becomes county champion because the winner was from Cleveland.

Other good runs were recorded by Steve Watkins (M35) who was second on the 9km course in 62.05, Maurice Calvert (M45), second in the 7km race in 49.05, Peter Jones (M45) fourth in 54.54, Dave Shelley (M50) who was third in his age-group in 54.36, and Michael Cox, fourth in 56.30.

Amongst the women Becky Carlyle (W21) had a fine run for second place in 55.09, as did Susan Stevens (W50), second in 54.21.

The next major event for Airienteers is the Jan Kjellstrom Festival of orienteering, one of the premier events in the calendar, which this year will be held in the Lake District over the Easter weekend.

At a more local level, Airienteers start a series of informal events on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer - an ideal time for those who want to have a go at orienteering. Details of all these events are on the club website at www.aire.org.uk.

Skyrac Fellrunners

THE Lad's Leap Fell Race from Crowden in the High Peak used to be one of the many low key fell races of the 500 races listed in the FRA Calendar and known only to the 13 people who turned up to run it in 2000.

Then in 2001, the year of the Foot and Mouth epidemic, it was the first fell race to be held in an area declared clear of F and M and it attracted a seven fold increase in runners to almost 100.

Needless to say Graham Breeze and Malcolm Coles were there from Skyrac.

This brought the race to the attention of the great and the good of the Fell Runners Association and in 2003 the race was a counter in the English Championship when it attracted 340 runners, including five from Skyrac.

Unfortunately the race's day in the sun was marred by the first two runners home taking a short cut towards the end which, because English Championship points were at stake, led to cries of cheating and eventual adjudication by the FRA.

Last Sunday things were back to normal with 87 runners turning up. Foot and Mouth and the English Championship were a distant memory. There were no allegations of cheating. Jonathan Ingram (Saddleworth) won in 47.15 and Graham Breeze and Malcolm Coles were present again to finish 43rd in 64.23 and 60th in 68.46 respectively.

Malcolm had run on the previous day along with others from Skyrac in the Meanwood Valley Trail Race won by erstwhile Skyrac member Gary Devine in 44.17.

Duncan Asquith, enjoying the fast terrain of Adel Woods and Meanwood Park, was 28th in 49:48 followed by 34th Jonathan Lester (50:21), 64th Bob Pritchard (53:56), 75th Damian Burrass (55:25) and Stephen Burrass, in his first race over this type of terrain, was 135th in 60:36.

Supervets Peter Rawnsley and Malcolm Coles were 113th and 116th respectively in 58:25 and 58:35.

Skyrac is based at Nunroyd Park on the Guiseley/Yeadon boundary. You can get in touch via 01943 874046, www.skyrac.org.uk or at the Guiseley Gallop on Easter Sunday.

Bethany wins

Fifteen year-old Horsforth athlete Bethany Staniland (Leeds City AC) took part in the annual Pendle AC Winter Warm Up Open Meeting at Nelson's cold and windy Seedhill Arena.

This was her first outdoor meeting of the season, and she came home with three victories in the combined under-17, under-20 and senior women's age group, setting two personal best performances in the process.

In the 300m hurdles she knocked almost two seconds off her 2003 best with 46.4s, a new club record. She then won the javelin with 34.68m and finished off with a slightly below par putt to win the shot (4kg) with 10.76m.

Sportshall awards

A TOTAL of 82 children gained their Norwich Union Shine Awards at the Ilkley Sportshall Athletics presentation session at Clevedon House School.

Since September the children have been working towards the Agility Challenge Decathlon Award. Of the 82 medals and certificates presented one was for gold, two for silver and seven for bronze.

The remainder were blue, green, yellow and orange awards. The awards were presented by Kirstin Bailey, representing the John Taylor Foundation for Young Athletes.

Otley Athletic Club

THE club enjoyed an active and successful weekend, with members taking part in four separate races. The most notable success came in the Ackworth Half Marathon, which incorporated the AAA, CAU and the Yorkshire Championships.

The overall winner was Sammy Malakwen, of Kenya. Otley's Ian Fisher was eighth in 67.35, ably supported by Julian Mawson (22nd in 72.47) and Neil Cayton (23rd in 72.55). Howard Jeffrey and second claim member Jamie Noon finished in approximately 88 and 75 minutes respectively. Otley's team performance gave them gold in the Yorkshire Championship and Silver in the AAA Championship - a truly excellent result.

Further afield in the Lake District Kath Robertshaw and David Fox took part in the scenic but quite demanding Coniston 14. The race was won by Mike Scott of Border Harriers in 1-14.55. David finished in 1-45.51 and Kath won her category with a time of 1-47.55.

Also in the Lakes Andrea Robertshaw and Dale Foster ran in the Causey Pike Fell Race. Like all fell races, this is a tough event, covering about 4.5 miles with 1,780ft ascent. The race was won by Simon Booth, with Andrew in 14th position and Dale finishing 39th.

The club meets for training at Otley RUFC on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.15pm. Members are reminded of the joint training session with Ilkley Harriers at Otley on April 6. New members are always welcome. Further information from the club's website (www.otleyac.co.uk).

Prizes for Ilkley sisters

Two young Ilkley Harriers were among the prize winners in junior races at The Meanwood Valley Trail on Saturday.

Ilkley's Mary Gibbons claimed first prize in the girls' 15-16 race and younger sister Catherine took second place in the girls' 13-14 event.

Recent rain made for difficult conditions as runners took to muddy paths and scrambled over slippery rocks and trailing tree roots. The course was partly on The Dales Way long distance footpath from Leeds to Bowness on Windermere.

Results: Mary Gibbons, first girl 15-16 years, 13min 38 sec; Catherine Gibbons, second girl 13-14 years, 14 min 53 sec; Patrick Gibbons, fourth boy 11-12 years, 14 min 12 sec; Eileen Gibbons third girl 9-10 years, 8 min 08 sec.