The Snape 5K and 10K races regularly appear in most local runners list of top ten races - the courses are good, they're not expensive to enter and the post-race spread at The Village Institute is second-to-none - so why there is never a massive entry is a mystery.

This years' races, on Saturday 4, enjoyed the best of the late summer weather and there were close to eighty runners in each race. There are Trophies for all ages in both races but the addition of School Team Trophies in the 5K is a major factor in determining who runs which distance.

Richmond and Zetland Harriers had almost a clean sweep of the Trophies in the 5K with the first three runners home and half of the top 20. The Roberts family had a particularly successful day with Douglas winning the race, his sister Jessie first girl in sixth place and younger brother Fergus first under-11, just two places behind. Additionally, Allertonshire took the Secondary Schoolgirls Team Trophy with Jessie, Jo and Rosie Adams the winning trio.

The club didn't manage quite as well in the 10K with eight runners toeing the line and Sarah Gregory, winner of the Ladies race, the only one to take a Trophy home. From the start, a group of four broke away, two each from Richmond and from Ripon Runners.

The Harriers' Philip Fitzpatrick made most of the running, across the fields and along farm paths to the Bedale road, back through the school and then into the Thorp Perrow Estate where John Wilson of Ripon caught him, passed him and put 6 seconds between them, in first and second places. Behind them, Steve Smith of Ripon employed similar tactics to overtake Paul Roberts, to finish third and first Veteran and prevent an addition to the collection of Trophies for the Roberts family.

RZH plus family & friends results: 5K - 1st Douglas Roberts 19:50, 2nd Chris Andrade 21:03, 3rd Shane Darby 21:24, 4th Josh Miers 21:30, 5th Andrew Ramsbottom 21:35, 6th Jessie Roberts 21:37, 8th Fergus Roberts 22:24, 10th Jo Adams 23:48, 11th Rosie Adams 23:52, 14th Sophie Broadway 24:30, 16th Katie Roberts 25:34, 21st Leanne Shaw 27:53, 25th Nick Andrade 28:42, 30th Jane Thornton 29:48, 35th Norberto Andrade 30:15, 36th Linzi Brooks 30:21 & 40th Jenny Maycroft 32:11; 10K - 2nd Philip Fitzpatrick 38:16, 4th Paul Roberts 38:31, 5th Mike Brooks 39:34, 7th Mike Shaw 40:12, 16th Colin Sewell 42:30, 18th Paul Scott 42:50, 21st Sarah Gregory 46:52 & 27th Neil Piper 49:10.

This weekend there is the opening race in the Reebok Challenge Series, on Saturday at Callander Park, Falkirk and at 11 am on Sunday, there is the Richmond Castle approximately 6 miles Run.

* www.rzh.org.uk