The Coronation weekend saw the inaugural East Yorkshire 10k and Half Marathon, organised by Runthrough from Burton Constable Hall, a country house, gardens and historic family collection located near Hull.
One member of Grantham Running Club made the misty trip across the Humber Bridge to take part in this event, with Peter Bonner finishing in a chip time of 1:28:02. The winner was Alec Gibson of the local club East Hull Harriers in 1:12;48 and the first woman was Catherine Harris who finished in 1:28:05.
The course was all on road or the access track to the estate and conditions were good, with roads closed and some very good traffic management systems. It would be unfair to call the route hilly, but it was noticed by the runners that the highest point of the course was at New Ellerby, which also happens to be the village that is passed twice in the half marathon course.
The organisers provided four water stations, which were very welcome in the warm, humid, rather misty conditions that morning. The route was well-marshalled and sign-posted. The only potential disadvantage was a 180° turn in the road within the first mile, but the race organisers did a good job in streaming the start and the runners complied, so the turn was not too crowded.
Talking afterwards, Peter said that he would have enjoyed the race a lot more if he hadn’t been toasting the King the previous day, but that it was well worth paying the toll to cross the Humber to run there in future years.