Sutton Park, Birmingham
After a very successful qualifying campaign at the Northerns at Manchester 2 weeks ago, spirits were high for Halifax's debut in this prestigious event. Standards are very high with many teams fielding international athletes.
The men finished an excellent 48th place of 80 teams from the Midlands, Southern and Eastern regions. The winners were Aldershot with Leeds 2nd and Cambridge 3rd. We are now hoping to build on today's event and we have several runners on the sidelines who are now challenging for the first team.
In leg order for Halifax (5.8k)
Tom Hodgson 18.11
Max Wharton 18.14
Ben Crowther 19.45
Alex Franklin 20.10
Ewan Wheelwright 18.48
Will Smith 20.21
The action continues at the National XC relays in Mansfield on the 5th November where both the men, ladies and juniors compete for Halifax.
Pictured in the photo is Ewan Wheelright (19 years old) who ran outstandingly.
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Harriers were well represented at both the London and Chester Marathons yesterday. Congratulations to all who ran and very well done!
London Marathon
There were seven in club colours at London where the sun shone on a warm, dry Autumn day. Luckily, the heavy rain that had been forecast for the capital did not materialise.
James O'Rourke led the contingent home, finishing in 3:09:42. Rob Hick also broke the 4 hour barrier, clocking a PB of 3:55:15. Chris Kirkbride finally ended an 11 year wait to run at London, crossing the finishing line in 5:12:38. Other Harriers were: Steve Denniss (4:50:33), Rachel McCauley (5:08:13), Angela Cowton (5:15:19) and Kirsty Carver (5:59:48).
Chester Marathon
Four Harriers competed in the Chester Marathon. Tom Paget was the first to finish in 3:19:18. Hazel Berrett set a new club F60 record to add to her host of other club records, completing in 3:55:43. Paul Hopkinson crossed the line in 4:00:57 with Stef Dickinson finishing in 4:11:08.
Great Scottish Run Half Marathon
Jane Stewart travelled across the border to take on the challenge of the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon in Glasgow yesterday. Jane finished in a time of 2:10:12.
Holme Valley Trail Half Marathon
The club was also represented at Saturday's Holme Valley Trail Half Marathon. This is a hilly course comprising two loops of moorland and forested tracks near Holmfirth. Fred Carver was fifth overall in 1:49:11. Andrea Ackroyd (2:19:25) and Margaret Deacon (2:41:32) were second and third respectively in the F50 age category. Jenny St Romaine won the F55 category in 3:04:38.
As a club, we have often failed to field a single team in the Northern 6 Stage Road Relays, so it was some achievement to put out teams in every category (except U17 Girls) at the Eithad Stadium in Manchester on Sunday.
Not only that, but the teams put in some excellent and highly competitive performances. The Men's A team finished in 20th place and qualified for the Nationals in Birmingham on 8th October. We think that this may be a first for the club. There were superb runs from Tom Hodgson, Max Wharton , Ben Crowther, Harry Johnson , Ewan Wheelwright and Alex Franklin.
A ladies team consisting of Verity Clements, Ellie Horrocks, Cara Bintcliffe and Katrina Oddy
finished a very creditable 45th team out of 90 teams.
Not forgetting our Men's B team members Will Smith, LIam Parkin, Adrian Thomas, Ned Hughes and Michael King who performed heroically in a record attendance field.
Simon Johnson said, "So proud to be Team Manager today."
As well as all the full teams, a special mention for Poppy Jowett, Annabelle Aghahowa and Oliver Powell who turned up and ran in incomplete teams.
Some notable performances: Kitty Harrison-Sergeant ran the 8th fastest leg in the U13 Girls and Sam Keighley ran the joint 6th fastest leg in the U13 Boys. The future looks very bright.
Nick Small commented, "Well done to all the athletes, parents, helpers, team managers and the coaching staff."