How Wakefield is providing a rich seam of world champions

Just outside of Wakefield, competitors race around Gawthorpe with sacks of coal on their shoulders for just over one kilometre in an attempt be crowned the ‘World Coal Carrying Champion’.

The event is staged traditionally on Easter Monday but was cancelled this year because of the coronavirus outbreak. In the men’s race, racers carry 50kg on their backs while the women’s race requires competitors to shoulder 20kg of coal with the winner the first person to drop their sack of coal onto the Maypole village green. The race starts at The Royal Oak pub on Owl Lane in Ossett and is a gruelling uphill climb that proves a challenge for even the fittest of athletes.

Danny Thomas is a rugby league player for Dewsbury Celtic and the Jamaica national side and first took part in the event in 2019.

He ran fitness classes to help fellow competitors prepare for the event and was helping others train for this year’s race before it was cancelled.

“A couple of years ago one of my friends did it,” he said.

“He said I should do it and I run gym classes so I decided to get loads of other people involved and we had up to 30 people involved. We would use rugby tackle bags to get people used to carrying something on their back while running.

“It is challenging and different to what I am used to. By the time I got to the top of the hill in Gawthorpe I was asking myself a few questions.

“Last year, I tore my hamstring and I am sure it had something to do with the coal race because it takes that much out of the body.”

The course is lined with enthusiastic spectators out celebrating the event each year as competitors struggle up the hills. In 2008, TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle, who had previously rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in 49 days with Olympic rower James Cracknell, took part in the race.

He has also ran in the Marathon des Sables – a six-day, 251km ultra-marathon through the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco – but admitted the coal race was, “one of the hardest things I have done”.

On the challenging nature of the race, Thomas added: “I have been playing rugby league all my life, so I think I would prepare to take a big tackle off a prop! That is over in seconds. I did the coal race in five minutes but your legs, chest, everything is burning for that period of time.”

The event become so popular by 2011 that organisers were forced to add more races to the men and women’s sections, with the competitor with the best time crowned the victor.

Thomas is planning to run more classes ahead of the 2021 race and revealed that he even had interest from Ireland for this year’s training sessions. He said: “We were getting some good numbers again at the classes, people were excited for the races but we had to cancel them.

“People from all over the world come and take part. This year, I had a guy from Ireland contact me because he saw that I did training sessions.

“He was planning on coming over to do it. It creates a lot of interest from all over the world.”

David Thompson, of Garforth, was the first man to win the race while two men Terry Lyons, of Meltham, and John Hunter, of Scarborough, have won the men’s race a record-equalling eight times.

Janine Burns, a competitor from Dewsbury, won the women’s race 11 times on the trot between 1983 and 1993. The men’s world record is held by David Jones, who ran the course in four minutes and six seconds in 1991 before equalling his own time in 1995. Catherine Foley set the record for the women’s race, finishing in four minutes 25 seconds, in 2011. Next year’s event is due to be held on April 5, with competitors who had a place booked in the 2020 event able to forward their entry.

Thomas is hoping to get people prepared for the 2021 race and anyone interested in training should get in touch with T3 Training via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

“We do a Sunday morning training session once a week in December, have a bit of break over Christmas and then start back up again in January,” added Thomas.

“It is for all abilities and a massive achievement for anyone who does it. The training just helps people get used to running with something on their back. No-one runs with their arms above their shoulders, it is very awkward.

“You are going to be running hunched over, not being able to breathe very well and your legs will be burning. It doesn’t sound very appealing but is all good fun once you have finished.”