The Flat Caps 10k saw Halifax Harriers Joe Crossfield triumph on this hilly course. Some runners described the route like a fell race on the roads. The route was certainly not one for PB’s. Joe Crossfield finished in a respectable time of 39:03 and first runner back.
Halifax Harriers had 11 runners at the race in total. Simon Lea and Tim Pegg both finished in 48:31, some way below their normal times for a 10k.
The first lady back for Halifax Harriers was Sally Shacklock in 57:23, just edging out Rachel McCauley 57:48.
Other runners for the club were Will Carver 50:10, Nigel Taylor 53:27, Martin Ellis 57:02, Dennis O’Keefe 59:27, David Parrington 1:02:05, Susan Pegg 1:16:18.
Halifax Harriers runners made a great start to the Spring marathon season with five PB’s recorded at the Manchester Marathon. This marathon continues to grow in size each year due to its flat and fast course. First back for Halifax Harriers was Andrew Wiggins in 3:03:46. The next five runners all set PB’s- James O’Rourke 3:06:39, David Ingle 3:23:40, Tom Paget 3:28:21, Rachael Beaumont 3:29:25 and Deborah Kirkbride 4:13:14.
At the Wuthering Heights Wander Marathon Halifax Harriers Will Carver came an excellent third in 3:52:55. Sarah Sladdin finished in 5:07:19. Steve Sladdin took on the shorter 20 mile race finishing first in 2:41:52.
The Joe Salt Memorial Cowm Reservoir 5k had seven Halifax Harriers competing. Will Smith finished second in 16:49, just in front of fast improving Harry Johnson 16:51, whilst his brother James Johnson set a PB of 18:03. Other runners for the club were Charlie Spencer 17:27, Liam Spencer 19:02, Mark Knowles 20:21 and Laura Knowles 20:30.
The Overgate 10k as usual had good support from local clubs. Halifax Harriers Johanna Sutcliffe was an excellent first lady back in 40:19 whilst Ben Crowther ran 35:25 for second place in the mens race. Other runners for the club were Will Stewart 42:03, Mark Crabtree 43:42, Robert Hick 46:24, Marc Rocheteau 47:02, Ian Giles 50:27, Rachel McCauley 55:14, Jane Stewart 58:15.
Two members of the club ran in the Overgate 5k. Nichola Hinchliffe ran 30:02 and junior Katie Brook 30:32.
This weekend saw the return of the very popular relays held over a gently undulating cycle track of 1mile. It was a good day for racing and yet again the men and ladies were in top contention.
The ladies proved once more they are a top team in Yorkshire by finishing in 6th place behind winners Holmfirth Harriers , Richmond and Ilkley. Each of the 4 legs was approx 4.8k. The ladies were given a great start by Helen Smith finishing 3rd on leg 1 running the 3 mile circuit in 17.35. Katrina Oddy ran leg 2 in 20.27 6th and relay debutant Helen Ward ran a fantastic 19.55 bringing the team back to 4th place. Laura Knowles was up against stiff competition on the last leg and Laura finished in 6th place running 20.45.
We had 3 teams in the mens race and again there were 4 legs of 4.8k. The A team finished 8th , the B team 29th and the C team unfortunately finished as a incomplete team only having 3 men. Not withstanding that our squad maintained their reputation as a top Yorkshire team. James Habergam finished 8th fastest overall out of 200 runners finishing 5th on stage 1.
A team James Habergam 14.55 5th Ben Crowther 15.55 6th Will Smith 16.36 8th & Simon Johnson 17.14 8th
B team Niall Smith 17.10 29th Andy Wiggins 19.04 34th Joe Crossfield 17.06 29th & Rob Macdonald 20.02 29th
C team Will Stewart 18.45 Mark Knowles 19.53 & Paul Sutcliffe 18.38
There were also supporting junior races. The juniors ran 2 laps totalling 3.2k.In the U15 Boys James Johnson ran 11.13 to finish 10th and he was supported by Danny Baxter 18th 12.37 and Ethan Clarke 19th 13.21 and they finished a very good 4th team.
In the U17 boys race Harry Johnson just missed a Yorkshire medal in 4th place 10.36 and Charlie Spencer 6th in 10.59. It was their last race as U17s as they now join the Junior / Senior ranks.
A massive thanks and congrats goes out to Elliot Clarke U13 who was the only U13 Harrier to compete and he finished 36th in a highly competitive race to finish with a time of 13.49 over 2 miles.