Bed race contestants battle through tough conditions

Crowds of more than 20,000 spectators watched the 47th annual Great Knaresborough Bed Race on Saturday when 90 teams competed to secure the fastest time around the 2.4-mile course, which includes having to swim across the River Nidd.

Organisers from the Knaresborough Lions had feared the river crossing would have to be abandoned for only the third time in the race’s history after heavy rainfall had swelled the Nidd. But the decision was taken on Saturday morning to go ahead with the famous part of the race, although the fast-moving waters made for challenging conditions.

The Ripon Runners celebrated a double win after triumphing in both the men’s and women’s team events. The men’s team came in with a time of 14 minutes and 43 seconds, while the women completed the course in 17 minutes 19 seconds.

The slowest team was the Kippax Templars Bisons who took 50 minutes 51 seconds to finish – an indication of the testing conditions as an average time is around 30 minutes. Organisers hope to have raised more than £100,000 for local causes and charities.

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