On Sunday 5th June, 13 junior athletes from Harriers competed in this year’s second Yorkshire and District Development League meeting in Cleethorpes, in cold and windy conditions.
Kitty Harrison Sargent won both her 800m and 150m races for the Under 13s girls category. The 800m brought Halifax further success with Chester Gately and Ben Slow in the Under 15 boys finishing first and second respectively, with Ben taking a massive 3 seconds off his personal best. Jacob Ewart also claimed victory in the U17s 800m with a blistering sprint finish. In the 1500m Halifax had two victories; Sam Keighley in the under 13s and Euan Logue in the under 17s.
Harriers also had many successes in the sprint races with Kitty Harrison Sargent, Sam Keighley and Poppy Jowett all cruising to victory for the U13s. Freddie Bentley and Joe Ball finished first and second in the U17s 100m with Joe Ball also winning the U17s 200 metres. Sprint hurdles provided two more first places; Tom Wright (U13 boys) and Freddie Bentley (U17 boys).
Three Harriers came away with points for the team competing in various field events for the first time; Annabele Aghahowa in the U13s long jump, Faye Skilbeck in the U15s high jump and Abbie Brown in the U15s javelin.
There were stand out performances in the jumping events. Freddie Bentley set a PB of 5 metres 17 cm in the long jump. The high jump provided two more personal bests and first places; Ben Slow (U15s) with a leap of 1 metre 35, and Jacob Ewart (U17s) with 1 metre 60.
Northowram 5
Seventeen Harriers competed in Friday's Northowram 5 mile race, organised by Northowram Pumas and the latest event in the club's road race championship. Ben Crowther finished third in 29:06, setting a new club record for the M35 age group. Sarah Cumber won the women's race in 32:19, finishing in eighth overall. David Ingle, Rob Hick and Geoff Cumber all finished first in their respective age categories.
Otley Chevin Fell Race
Last Wednesday, seven Harriers travelled to take part in the annual Otley Chevin Fell Race on a beautiful evening. Kieran Manchester completed the tough three mile course with 700' of climbing in 18:30, coming home in third place. Hazel Berrett won the FV60 category in 27:34 and Jane Hobson was second in the FV50s in 27:59. Other Harriers were: Andrea Ackroyd, Martin Ellis, Jenny St Romaine and Jude Baines.
Other Fell & Trail Races
Nigel Jamieson ran the very scenic Ilkley Trail Race on Friday, completing the seven mile course in 1:07:05.
Jane Hobson and Fiona Murphy both took on the challenging Wharfedale Trail Half Marathon on Saturday, finishing in 2:12:04 and 2:43:22 respectively. Jane was third in the FV50 category, capping an excellent week's racing.
Elsewhere in the Yorkshire Dales on Saturday, Simon Gelsthorpe competed in the classic Pen-y-Ghent Fell Race, finishing the very hilly six mile course in 1:11:10.
Full Harriers' results are on the website at the Recent Races tab.
Yorkshire Championships
Eleven athletes recently represented Halifax Harriers at the Yorkshire Championships in Cudworth near Barnsley with seven runners coming away with county medals. Five were won in the 800 metres. Nia Harrison-Sargent took gold in the under 15 girls in a time of 2.16, whilst sister Kitty won silver in the under 13 girls in 2.28. Sam Keighley was second in the under 13 boys in a personal best (PB) time of 2.21, Jacob Ewart won silver in the under 17 men in a PB time of 2.01 and there was a bronze medal for Isabel Castelow in 2.20 in the senior women category. Molly Firth won a bronze in the Under 17 women's 300 metres and Louise Royston took bronze in the senior women's 400 metres. Freya Burgin, Chester Gately, Ben Slow and Maisie Brown all represented the Harriers and achieved PBs in their respective events.
Great Manchester Run
Two Halifax Harriers competed in Sunday's Great Manchester half marathon. Liam Parkin was first home, finishing in 71st place overall in 1:21:44. Wayne Stevens completed the race in 1:49:02. There were also two Harriers in the 10k with Tom Hodgson and Tabitha Howe setting times of 32:20 and 48:59 respectively.
Blackstone Edge Fell Race
Last Wednesday evening, four Harriers were amongst the competitors at the short, but gruelling, Blackstone Edge Fell Race. Andrea Ackroyd was first back, clocking 48:32 on the 3.5 mile course with 1,200' of climbing. Paul Hopkinson (53:23), Margaret Deacon (59:08) and Jenny St Romaine (69:00) also ran. This was the latest race in the club's fell league.
Duathlon/Triathlon
The club was also represented at multi-sport events on Sunday. Simon Gelsthorpe finished first in his age group in the Dalby Forest Standard Distance Duathlon with Andrea Ackroyd taking first place in her category in the Sprint event. Martin Ellis completed the Southport Triathlon.