WHEELCHAIR athlete Jason Richards was the fastest of the 1,050 competitors at the THIRSK TEN-MILER on Sunday.

The Harrogate athlete has a GB vest but is most famous for a 2008 stunt swimming in a shark-infested pool at Chester.

The flat back-roads around the Vale of York was ideal terrain and he won in 46min 57sec.

The second wheelchair competitor was Tiaan Bosch from York, three minutes adrift.

Two north-east runners scooped the able-bodied men’s and women’s prizes. Jonathan Taylor, from Morpeth, won in an excellent 48min 45sec, ahead of Tesfaye Debele (Leeds City) in 52:20 (chip).

It was a personal best for Taylor by a minute in only his second race at the distance. His PB for 10K is 29:13 but his main event is steeplechase, where he ranked fifth in the UK two seasons ago.

Otley’s Scott Harrington was a minute back in third, and in another personal best, by 22 seconds. Skipton’s Julian Hood was tenth in 55:43, almost a minute faster than he had run before.

Will Kerr, who is returning to his best after a period of ill-health, was 13th in 56:52.

Winner of the ladies' race was Justina Heslop, from Elswick Harriers, in 58:15. This was her first race at the distance since 2009, when she ran 55:51. In the meantime she has been ranked second in the country at 5K, regularly beating the 16-minute barrier.

On the same gorgeous day, 227 runners took part in the HEPTONSTALL FELL RACE.

Calder Valley’s Ben Mounsey won in 1hr 47min 15sec over club rival Karl Gray. Haworth-based Jo Buckley was second lady in 2:20:51 and Rachel Pilling (Pudsey & Bramley) third in 2:26:01.

The previous day, 23 members of Ilkley Harriers reinstated their club event of running the Dales Way from Bowness back to Ilkley in a 13-stage relay. Andrew Sheldon and Andrew Merrick started in the dark at 5am, with Andrew Jackson and Sally Wright ceremoniously dropping the relay pebble in the Wharfe at 7.40pm.