Running up that hill
In 2021, members of Kingston Upon Hull Athletic Club (KUHAC) were looking for a venue for a new 10K race and were delighted when the Pavilion committee at South Cave said that their building could be the new race HQ and that the run could finish on the Bully Field. Then Cave Castle agreed that the runners could start in front of the hotel and run down its drive and out into the village. With a loop round Ellerker, and a nice scenic stretch round Common Road, the South Cave 10K was complete and eventually 414 runners competed the inaugural event.
Since then the race has become established on the last Sunday in July as an annual event in both villages. It is also a fixture in the local running calendar with 1000 runners expected to take part this year. The feedback from participants has always been enthusiastic and positive with many of the runners commenting on the attractive and challenging course and even more saying how much they appreciated the warm and friendly support from spectators all around the course.
Some 50 KUHAC volunteer will cover all the corners and turning points, helping to keep everyone safe and making sure that there are as few traffic holdups as possible. A professional traffic management team will be brought in to install temporary traffic lights as the organisers try to cause the least possible delays. This year, they will be introducing a requirement for all cars leaving the parking spaces on the Bully Field to turn left at the bottom of Wadley Plump so that they can leave the village via Willow Flats and not block the exit from Church Street into Market Place. In the weeks leading up to the big day, KUHAC will be putting up warning notices around the course and leafletting all houses in Cave, Ellerker and Broomfleet that will affected by the race.
As in previous years, the event has a chosen local charity with a donation being added for each person taking part and £3 going into the fund if any runner does not want the special t-shirt. With many runners also adding their own contribution to the charity fund, Hull and East Yorkshire Mind should benefit by at least £1000. In addition, and as a thank you to the village, KUHAC will be donating £500 to the South Cave parish council for its Christmas lights appeal.
If you know someone who is running, or would just like to join in the fun, please come out and give the runners a cheer. Remember that once they have run six miles, they still have to run up that hill to get to the finish by the Pavilion so they deserve your support!
Anyone who is worried that the event might cause them problems on the day can contact one of the organisers by emailing paulfclarke@onetel.com and we will do our best to help.