A 22-strong group of runners from Skipton AC travelled to Mirfield to take part in the first round of the West Yorkshire Winter League.

The fixture, which comprises a fancy dress element, was hosted by Dewsbury Road Runners at Hopton Mills Cricket Club. The figure of eight, single-lap, course was run over 4.2 miles and took in a good variety of terrain with, of course, mud aplenty.

The leading Skipton male was Julian Hood who was fourth overall. The women were led home by Jayne Butterworth who was 14th overall.

Michael Keedy (15th), Mark Shakeshaft (22nd) and Neil Maloney (23rd) were next home for the men whilst Mel Ives (15th), Hilary Seward (30th) and Helen Lindley (40th) scored highly for the women.

The main emphasis of the WYWL though is on the teams and being a relatively small club - based on last year’s stats Skipton were numerically the third smallest of the ten participating clubs - it is impressive that Skipton managed to finish highly in all the categories.

The women’s team were third and the men’s team fourth with the veteran’s team picking up fifth place leaving the team third in the overall standings.

The next race is in the new year at Stainland.