Club member Richard Johnson is taking on this year’s Great North Run to raise money for the MS Society, a charity that means a great deal to him. Richard was diagnosed with MS in his late teens and has seen first hand the impact the condition can have on people and families.
05
Sep
Sep
Update, 15 September: Clare completed her first-ever half marathon in 2:58, just 21 weeks after major abdominal surgery. With jelly babies, incredible crowd support, and a lift from Harry and Richard in the final 400m, she crossed the line to hear “Well done Clare, you’ve just run the best half marathon”, and the emotion poured […]
21
Aug
Aug
At the end of Selby Fun Day, alongside the medals and the marquee, there was a table nobody expected: a library of running books, donated to the club by Kevin Moseley. Kev is one of ours and he knows what it is to lose the thing you love and find your way back to the […]
07
Aug
Aug
After the big high and hype of the London Marathon, I have found it a little hard to stay motivated for running, but luckily the York and District 10K Road Race League was right there… two days later! I managed to complete five out of the six league races plus the end-of-season handicap in good […]
01
Aug
Aug
Congratulations to Ash Walden, Northern Masters M40 400 metre champion 2026. Ash ran one lap of the Trafford track last month in a M40 personal best time of 56.47 and is now rapidly closing in on his season’s goal of sub-56 seconds. Pushing Ash every step of the way this season have been fellow Vale […]
31
Jul
Jul
We delivered our first full-scale athletics meet at the University of York Athletics Stadium on the afternoon of Saturday 27 June. The meet was a pilot of England Athletics’ new Funetics Multi Challenge (FMC) format that is the future of local U10 and U12 athletics competition. Vale of York was chosen to pilot the format […]
09
Jul
Jul
A local high school’s sports day report was co-written by former Vale of York athlete Merryn, and features Isaac, Amelia and Niamh.
01
Jul
Jul
Six competitors across two Humber open meets have produced some fantastic results. Three under-12s competed in the triathlons (sprint, jump, throw) at Meet 2. Reuben set a personal best (PB) in the 75m followed by a strong PB in the howler, throwing over 20m. Molly also ran a PB in a strong 75m to finish […]
10
Jun
Jun
Back in 2024 I attempted Dalby’s Inferno and managed 8 out of the 10 laps. The laps are now 5.5km around the beautiful Dalby forest and feature a mix of running conditions including some quite steep trail. Training for Dalby is tough in Selby as we have no hills and this was definitely what I struggled with the first time around. At the end I resolved that I would try again […]
05
Jun
Jun
This week I’ve been re-reading Daniel Friebe’s biography of Jan Ullrich, The Best There Never Was. Ullrich was an interesting character. East German, and a somewhat reluctant standard bearer for cycling in unified Germany, he was a powerful rider, with masses of potential, who ultimately spent most of his career riding in Lance Armstrong’s long shadow. Ullrich won the 1997 Tour de France aged 23 but never went on to win it again.
In Friebe’s book, the bit that really stands out for me is the description of Ullrich’s off-season.
Ullrich took the concept of an off-season to extremes. He would kick back and completely relax off the bike in winter, swinging from his race-ready Tour weight of 73kg to ten or more kilos heavier over winter. This included — according to cycling legend — a penchant for microwaving jars of Nutella and drinking the contents like hot chocolate through a straw.
Ullrich’s off-season has got me thinking about my own approach to taking time away from running as we move into summer here in the UK. I think I may be Jan Ullrich, but in reverse.