Four seniors and five juniors represented Harriers at the English Cross Country National Championships on Saturday. The event took place at Parliament Hill Fields in London; a testing course at a venue that many regard as the home of cross country.
The event consisted of ten races with a total of almost 8,000 runners taking part. Three Harriers ran in the senior men’s race over a 12k course. Ryan Barker was first home in 1:01:41 followed by Michael Gaughan (1:03:19) and Steve Fitz-Costa (1:14:33). Bethan Davies represented the club in the senior women’s 8k event, finishing in a time of 47:03.
Five juniors participated across the various age group races. Nia Harrison-Sargent completed the Under 15 Girls' race in 19:49 whilst Kitty Harrison-Sargent ran the Under 13 Girls' event in 14:03. Sam Keighley (13:43), Ben Slow (14:42) and Thomas Wright (17:03) all ran in the Under 13 Boys' race.
Halifax Harrier, Josh Hall-Brown, put in a superb run in appalling weather to win the popular Great North West Half Marathon on Sunday. Josh posted a great time of 1:17:34 to take victory on the Blackpool coast. Fellow club member, Tom Needham, finished seventh in 1:22:59.
Five intrepid Harriers braved atrocious weather conditions on Saturday to take part in the Flower Scar Fell Race. The nearly 8 mile race begins and ends in Centre Vale Park in Todmorden, taking in a total of almost 2,000’ of ascent. The course features a number of steep climbs, rough moors and paths, which were all covered in several inches of fresh, and falling, snow. There were reports of numerous falls on the slippery and frequently boggy terrain. Ryan Barker led the Harriers’ contingent home in a time of 1:23:13 in 67th place followed by Michael King in 1:28:27 in 99th position. Jane Hobson was the first placed lady in 1:51:19 and was third in her age group (F50). Martin Ellis (1:59:11) and Margaret Deacon (2:01:19) completed the quintet.
This was the last race in the club’s Fell Race League for the 2021/22 season. The results did not affect the final placings with both Will Carver and Jane Hobson confirmed as the season’s champions. Many congratulations to both. (Details of the final standings can be found on the Fell Running section under the Disciplines tab on the website.)
The first race in the 2022/23 season will be the Ian Roberts Memorial race from Marsden Cricket Club on Sunday 20th March.