The instructions went something like this:
"It's easy - you go out of the gate, turn left up the hill, left again, down the hill to the bottom, left again and back up the hill to the top again, then back in to the finish. There, I told you it was easy!”
That's all there is to the West Yorkshire 5.
Thirty years later it sounds just as easy, however, as many have found out the hills don't get any smaller and the bits in between don't get any shorter. Since the first race the course has changed a little to start on Whitehall Road by the motorway bridge so as to make it a full 5 miles (Now officially measured). The race isn’t going to help break any PB’s as its got lots of climbing involved, the first hill is nice and gentle and lasts one and a quarter miles from the start. Then you get nearly two miles of downhill, with the final sting in the tail going upwards all the way to the finish with the exception of the last 300 metres.
That simple 5-mile race was borne of several major events that occurred within the Fire Service during 1974. Firstly the demise of the County Borough Fire Brigades and the creation of the West Yorkshire Fire Service. This coincided with the move to Headquarters by David Edward Atkinson as a Staff Officer, thus bringing about the meeting of himself and a certain Charles David Turpin.
Charlie and Dave had remembered the days of the West Riding Road Race (6 miles) that had some years earlier, been a very popular event. The race had been abandoned some years previously due to a minor hick-up called the M62 and also the M606. However, during Dave’s lunch-time training sessions he quickly realised that with a little imagination a 5 mile course could be created that didn't involve crossing any roads, so a tentative approach was made to the then Chief Fire Officer-Kevin Horan, who took the idea with great enthusiasm that has lasted many years.
There was a great effort to make the event a little different by ensuring that all the finishers were awarded a certificate with their time on it. It was also arranged to have every mile marked. Accommodation was to be provided for teams wishing to stay overnight at FSHQ and all results were published on the day of the race (A rarity at the time).
On occasions entertainment was arranged for teams that stayed overnight. On one occasion a visit to a Working Men’s Club was arranged as a team from down south, had never seen one. On being asked what was the traditional dress to wear in Working Men’s Clubs. It was replied that the wearing of flat caps and mufflers was compulsory. They duly arrived kitted out with flat caps and scarves of all descriptions and insisted on wearing them at the local Club.
The teams that featured prominently in the early years were London, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, Lancashire, Tyne & Wear and although the rivalry was intense, friendships made at that time still endure, with many of the original participants still running at an acceptable level today.
Also, many of the previous winners have gone on to international level-particularly Geoff Smith of Liverpool, who I believe, won the New York Marathon twice and gained recognition as one of the countries best middle distance runners.
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