Eight members of Halifax Harriers took part in the Stainland Trail Race at the weekend. This well-established, mainly off-road race, is organised by Stainland Lions running club and, starting from Stainland Recreation Ground, covers 10km through woods, trails and quiet rural roads around Stainland Dean. Following a torrential downpour the day before, conditions were perfect for race day with moderate temperatures and bright blue skies.
First home for the Harriers was James Franklin in a creditable 6th place in 48 minutes, 43 seconds, closely followed in 12th place by James O’Rourke in 51:17. Next home was Amy Radford in 21st place in 56:08, then Chris Standish in 23rd position in 56:16. Other Harriers finishers were Robert Hick, 30th in 58:10, Jane Hobson, 63rd in 67:46, Lucia Cattermole, 78th in 74:25 and Martin Haigh finished in 81st place in 78:56 which secured him first place in the MV70 category. The race was won by Andy Smith of Slaithwaite Striders and there were 97 finishers.
It was rain all day for the 'Joe Galvin' Northern Athletics Road Relays at Leigh Sports Village on Saturday. This didn't deter Halifax Harriers from fielding teams across almost all the age groups though, no doubt inspired by Max Burgin's incredible performances on the World stage.
The relays consisted of 3 legs of 3.2km for the juniors, starting on the athletics track and then into the surrounding tracks and paths which became muddier as the day progressed.
The U13 Boys started proceedings with James Neil (12th in 10:48) and Oscar Thornton (21st in12:07) putting in a great effort despite being a team member short. The U13 Girls went next and finished 25th with Ellie Smith (11th, 11:26), Orla Madden (16th, 13:27) and Florence Paynter (25th, 15:07).
In the U15 Boys, Isaac Male (13th,10:00), Harry Booth (11th, 10:26) and Raphael Agahahowa (33rd, 14:42) finished in 33rd place. The U15 Girls A Team were 21st with Fleur Parkinson (24th, 11:39), Lacie Jagger (18th, 11:52) and Hollie Webb (21st, 13:42) with Katie Alexander running in an incomplete B Team in 15:22.
The U17 Women had just one runner with Kitty Harrison-Sargent running the first leg and finishing a very creditable 10th place in 11:01. The U17 Men had three teams. The A Team consisting of Ben Slow (21st, 9:39), William Pickering (22nd, 10:09) and a strong finishing leg by Sam Keighley (13th, 9:24) brough them home in 13th place in a strongly contested race. The B Team finished 28th overall with Henry Hallam (39th, 10:45), Oliver Powell (33rd, 10:06) and another strong finish by Beau Clarke (28th, 10:22). The C Team closely followed in 30th place with Thomas Alexander (25th, 9:53), Matthew Booth (27th, 10:34) and Daniel Hord (30th, 11:32) who stepped up from reserve.
The Senior Women competed over 4 legs of 6.5km and were led out by U20 Nia Harrison-Sargent who finished 29th in 24:21, handing over to Katrina Oddy (40th, 27:20) followed by Laura Tracey competing in her first relay event for the Harriers and finishing in a very creditable 28th in 25:08. On the anchor leg was Sarah Cumber, who despite having a cold, brought the team home in 25th place in 26:26.
The Senior Mens team sadly succumbed to last minute drop-outs and had only one runner for the 6 legs of 6.5km. Ben Crowther showed his grit and completed the first leg in 71st place in 21:54.
You can view the Harriers' full results on the Recent Races page of our website.
The complete results for the Northern 6&4 stage Road Relays 2025 are HERE
A total of 9 new club records were set at the West Yorkshire Track & Field League Final at Thornes Park Athletic Stadium on Sunday. In the U11 Boys 75m, Sean Duffy set a new West Yorkshire League record in a time of 10.44 seconds. He also picked up the overall U11 Boys trophy for the 2025 League season. In the U11 Boys 2kg shot, Solomon Clarke set a new club record of 6.16m. Isaac Male set a new U15B mile record of 4:53.98 whilst Sam Keighley set a new U17B mile record in 4:54:29.
Autumn Good set another U11G club record in the long jump of 3.81m to add to her 75m and shot put records. She also received the second place trophy in the overall League standings. In the mile, Sarah Cumber set a F50 record of 5:47.68. Claire Ryan bagged 2 new records in the F45 category; 30.99 in the 200m and 4.17m in the long jump.