The streets of Knaresborough were awash with colour once again last Saturday (June 10th) as bed race fever hit the town, attracting an audience of 30,000, amid high temperatures.

The theme selected this year by Knaresborough Lions was ‘That’s Entertainment’, and once again the teams showed remarkable levels of creativity. The judges remarked on the high standard of fancy dress, with The Rocket Men’s ‘Jurassic Park’ creation, complete with moving dinosaur, selected as the worthy winner.

Due to the severe heat, there was an unprecedented delay to the parade as a medical issue was dealt with, but spectators remained patient and in good spirits, listening for the traditional tones of the Leeds Pipe Band who led the parade through the town.

The bed race runs over a 2.4 mile course around Knaresborough, taking in all aspects of the town’s scenery, including a challenging climb up Castle Ings to the town centre and finishing with a swim across the River Nidd.

First over the line were GH Brooks, followed by Ripon Runners Men.

Ripon Runners and Nidd Valley Clownettes came through as fastest ladies’ teams. GH Brooks made light of the warm conditions to take top spot once again, with a time just seven seconds slower than their performance in 2022.

Martin Brock, Bed Race Chairman from Knaresborough Lions, was pleased overall with how the day went:

Martin said: “With the extreme heat, we knew that it was going to be a tricky day for the runners and we’d like to thank our team from Medics UK who helped out a number of spectators who were caught out by the heat. The costumes from the teams for the parade were excellent once again and many congratulations to all runners who took part.”

The volunteer-organised Bed Race has run every year since 1966, bar a break in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

Martin added: “On behalf of my fellow Lions, I’d like to thank all those who gave up their time both in advance and on the day to make the occasion such a success. It is almost 9 months in the planning but all the positive feedback we have had makes it worth it.”

The event is Knaresborough Lions largest fundraiser of the year, and with many teams also raising money for chosen charities, the total raised can be put in the tens of thousands. At least 80% of all money raised by Knaresborough Lions goes straight back into the local community, so the bed race truly does benefit groups and residents in the local area.

The Lions will now be busy planning for their annual beer festival which takes place in August as part of the towns FEVA festival.