Challenge accepted – running and cycling the Yorkshire hills

Earlier this month, thousands of athletes and supporters descended onto the Harrogate district for Long Course Weekend Yorkshire (6-8 September 2024), where they had the chance to discover what a natural playground the Yorkshire Dales is for outdoor sports enthusiasts. Julia Sharpley, our colleague at Visit North Yorkshire, and her daughter Olivia, share their experience at Europe’s biggest multisport event and recommendations for cycling and running around the Harrogate district.

Harrogate has been a popular wellness destination for centuries. Apart from its celebrated spa heritage and reputation as a conference town, Harrogate is also a fantastic base for exploring the nearby Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Natural Beauty (AONB), which is another reason for Harrogate’s popularity as a bleisure event destination.

Long Course Weekend

Earlier this month, Long Course Weekend Yorkshire, the biggest multisport event in Europe that is also franchised in Wales, Mallorca, Netherlands, Belgium as well as Australia and New Zealand, brought an approximate 1,500 athletes and 4,000 supporters from 20 nations to the Nidderdale AONB.

The running component ranges from 5k to full marathon, taking athletes through the stunning scenery of the Yorkshire Dales between Masham and Fountains Abbey. The cycling component covers towns such as Pateley Bridge, Ripon and Masham, incorporating sections in the world-famous Tour de France, Tour de Yorkshire and UCI World Championships, which had already brought thousands of cyclists to Harrogate, which was used as a central hub for the race in 2019. The open-water swimming took place at Grimwith Reservoir in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

A challenge in memory of loved ones

When Long Course Weekend Yorkshire was announced in 2023, Julia Sharpley, Partnership Executive at Visit North Yorkshire, decided to start training for this multisport challenge in memory of her late mother and her late partner, Adam, who owned and ran Triangle Leeds, Yorkshire’s first triathlon shop before he passed away last year.

“The Long Course Weekend could not have been a better focus, set in the valley which my mum loved and along the routes Adam had ridden many times over his life both on his own, with his club the Bradford Wheelers and with the riders from his own shop team. The route also passes right through the village of Healy near Masham where Adam’s granny came from,” says Julia.

Nidderdale National Landscape – A blessing for training athletes

Julia started going jogging casually about eight years ago. The first running event she joined starting in Grassington opened her eyes to what a blessing the rolling hills of Nidderdale is for athletes.

“(That event) made us realise how lucky we are to run in these hills. On that day we met bus loads of running club members who had travelled from the flatlands of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire for the experience. The lovely people we met joked that the only way to train for the hills where they lived was by running over their local bridges!”

Under the influence of Adam, a keen athlete, Julia has explored routes all over the Yorkshire hills and dales on two wheels over the years.

“There is in fact only one relatively level ride out from my house near Pateley up the Nidd Valley to How Stean Gorge Café, so Nidderdale is a great training ground. For the most spectacular views after that, you can ride on to Scar House Reservoir, go up to Middlesmoor for the best overview of Nidderdale, or be really brave and head up the Cote de Lofthouse – otherwise known as Trapping Hill,” Julia enthuses.

“My friends went up there yesterday and described how they felt as if they’d left their lungs on the road! Keep going and this route leads on to Masham and Ripon with lots of cafes for the cyclists’ essentials, namely great coffee and delicious cake.”

Joining Julia is her daughter Olivia Sharpley, who took up running four years ago. In preparation for Long Course Weekend she took swimming lessons, trained on the many steep hills in Nidderdale, and did her first open-water swim at Ellerton Lakes near Richmond, which involved overcoming an unanticipated fear of deep lake water.

The Long Course Weekend experience in Yorkshire

Despite having trained for months in running, cycling and swimming, Julia unfortunately broke her arm in a recent accident and had to defer the cycling and swimming to next year. Olivia however successfully completed her first multisport event.

“The Long Course Weekend follows routes taken by elite cyclists competing in the Tour De France and UCI World Championships when these events came to Yorkshire in 2014 and 2019, so there isn’t a flat section on it. You can do a 56-mile or 112-mile route and I’m doing the 56, but because of the terrain, this is still a massive challenge for me. One hill near the village of Lofthouse in Nidderdale is notoriously cruel with an over 2 km massively steep climb out of the Nidd Valley,” says Olivia.

“It was definitely a challenge! As a local I knew what to expect from the bike ride but it was still one of the most physically challenging things I've ever done. It was incredibly well organised and everyone knew where to go even in the terrible fog that descended. It's worth coming back next year just to see all of the beautiful views we missed out on the race.” Olivia definitely caught the bug and is up for more.

Local events aplenty

International large-scale events aside, Olivia recommends the following running events for those who are after some sweaty, muddy fun:

“Two years ago I did the Yorkshire Tough Mudder and have been looking for an excuse to do it again ever since. It was great fun. My second half marathon was the ‘It’s Grim Up North’ Mother Shipton’s Shuffle (coming up on 3 November 2024) in Knaresborough, and my next challenge is the Guy Fawkes 10 (also coming up on 3 November 2024) starting in Ripley just outside Harrogate.”

“There are also the local 5K Park Runs to do. I’ve done the Fountains Abbey one several times as well as the Conyngham Hall one in Knaresborough and the Stray Park Run (every Saturday 9am) in Harrogate. It’s great to have local events that feel accessible to runners, cyclists and swimmers who are just starting out,” says Olivia.

Entries are now open for the next Long Course Weekend Yorkshire taking place on 29-31 August 2025.

Quick, easy and regular: Harrogate Early Bird Run Crew

For something quick and easy that you could squeeze in regularly between breakfast and work while staying close to the town centre, Harrogate’s Early Bird Run Crew is your answer. With two 5k runs each weekday, starting at 6am and 6:30am, the Early Bird Run around the beautiful Victorian town centre and the 200-acre Stray is a popular choice for both locals and event delegates at HCC. If you’d like to take part, meet at The Cenotaph in Prospect Crescent.

According to Visit Britain’s business event survey Harrogate is recommended by 96% of event delegates and voted first choice for return visits. With the plethora routes in the Harrogate town and the surrounding area within accessible driving distance offering stunning natural beauty and varying levels of challenge, visitors looking for a physical adventure on the side of a business event trip are guaranteed to be spoilt for choice.

Check out Visit North Yorkshire for more inspiration for an outdoor holiday in the Harrogate district and North Yorkshire.