Kitty Harrison-Sargent secured a Yorkshire XC Championship Bronze medal on Saturday at Lightwater Valley. She had a strong run in the U15 girls race to make sure of the medal on her birthday.
The U15 boys team of Sam Keighley, William Pickering and Harry Booth also went home with a team bronze medal, supported by Beau Clarke and Isaac Male. The U17 men's team (Chester Gately, Eli Cattermole and Ben Slow) just missed out on a podium place, finishing in 4th place.
There were impressive top 10 finishes for Harry Johnson (5th in the Senior men's race); Sam Keighley (8th in the U15 boys); Chester Gately (9th in the U17 men) and Will Cattermole (10th in the U20 men).
The full results are on the website. Entries for the Northern Cross Country Championships at Tatton Park close on the 19th January, with the English Championships at Parliament Hill closing on 31st January. Details are also on the website.
Sixteen runners braved the somewhat challenging conditions to take part in this years Christmas Handicap. Congratulations go to Harris Faulkner who, on his first attempt at the course, became the 2024 Christmas Handicap champion in a time of 56:12 (39:12). Will Stewart finished second in 58:20 (40:20) holding off Ryan Barker, who was making a Christmas Handicap comeback to finish 3rd in 59:04 (43:34). Sarah Cumber was the first lady back in 59:11 (41:11) followed by Tabitha Howe in 59:45 (44:45) and Rachel Standish in 1:00:07 (49:07). We welcomed one other first timer, Verity Clements - we hope to see you in future years too.
As is the tradition, all runners who brought a wrapped prize got to pick one in the order they finished. I have it on good authority that Santa won’t be bringing anything any better on Wednesday!
A big thank you to the officials and supports who braved snow, rain and 50mph winds to ensure a successful event.
The race was followed by a very well attended social at the 3 pigeons which is now as traditional as the race itself!
The full results from the race as well as the updated spreadsheet that shows all results since 1985 are on the top right hand side of this page of the website. See how you compare with other runners from the past!
Halifax Harriers braved the muddy and windy conditions at the final West Yorkshire XC league meeting on Sunday. The course at Oulton Sports Club did not disappoint for those who like the muddy conditions and it was touch and go if it would go ahead due to Storm Darragh. However, there was representation in all the age groups and gutsy performances by all on the tough course.
The conditions didn't deter U20 Will Cattermole who had his best run in the series to finish 16th in the men's race. The U11 girls team finished 4th on the day with the U15 boys doing one better to take 3rd place. Oliver Powell bravely battled to complete the U17 mens team who finished 4th. In the seniors, Katrina Oddy made light work of the conditions to finish 27th overall in the womens race and take 1st F55. Sarah Cumber was 2nd in the F50 category. The men fielded a full team again, finishing 7th place.
In the overall West Yorkshire league final positions, the U11 girls were 4th, U15 boys 3rd and men took 6th team place. Individual prizes went Katrina Oddy 1st F55, Sarah Cumber 2nd F50 and James Franklin, 2nd M45.
Well done to all who represented the club and competed in the league. The remainder of the cross country season consists of Yorkshire, Northern and National Championship event and details of each are on the Cross Country page of the website.