Three Harriers made the trip to the UK's largest theme park to run the Alton Towers half marathon on Sunday. Will Stewart completed the course in 1:26:27, finishing in 35th place. April Caufield was next in 1:31:02 with Verity Clements clocking 1:43:12. The athletes then enjoyed the park's rides with free access included in the race entry price. Maybe a good idea for a club trip next year?
John Moore journeyed to Lytham on the Fylde coast to compete in the Windmill 10k on Sunday, crossing the line in 55:39.
Also on Sunday, three Harriers ventured off-road to take on the Wadsworth Half Trog fell race in damp, misty conditions. The 9.3 mile course takes in a total ascent of 1,400' with plenty of varied, tough terrain in the hills above Hebden Bridge. Will Carver finished in 16th place in 1:30:01, just over a minute ahead of Fred Carver, who was first MU21 in 1:31:10. This reversed the finishing order for the Carvers at the previous week's Soyland Moor fell race (see below). James O'Rourke completed in 1:40:32.
Another trio of Harriers travelled to the Peak District on Saturday morning to run in the Dambuster 10 Trail race. This beautiful, undulating course took the runners along the shores of Ladybower and Derwent Reservoirs in the Derwent Valley. The autumn colours were magnificent on an unseasonably warm and sunny day. Jane Hobson was the first to complete the ten mile route, finishing in 1:27:07. Margaret Deacon and Martin Ellis crossed the line together in 1:35:00 and 1:35:06 respectively.
Weekend 5th/6th November
A number of Harriers were in fell racing action on the previous weekend. Four runners competed in the Soyland Moor race on Sunday 6th. Fred Carver finished in 17th pace, completing the 13.5 mile course (1,300' acent) in 1:55:08 and was first MU21. Will Carver was close behind in 1:57:45. Andrea Ackroyd was second FV50, clocking 2:25:17. Paul Hopkinson completed the quartet, finishing in 2:34:13. Fred and Andrea took maximum points in the latest race in the club's fell league.
On the same day, Phil Grimes was second MV65 in the Cop Hill fell race, recording a time of 53:22 on the two lap 6.2 miles (900') course near Meltham. James O'Rourke finished the Shepherds Skyline fell race in 53:22 on the previous day. Another 6.2 mile course, taking in Stoodley Pike.
Great representation from our young athletes at the National Cross-Country relays in Mansfield on Saturday with teams in all but the under-17 ladies. All teams have three athletes, the under-13 and under-15s running 2k each and the Under 17 men running 3k each.
The stand-out team was the under-13 girls, the team finishing 18th out of 75. Kitty Harrison Sargent took the first leg finishing in a fantastic 9th position in a time of 7.35, ably supported by Lily and Alesha Atkinson. Also representing the under-13 girls were Annabelle Aghahowa and Jessica Myers O'Connell who ran her first race for the club.
Beau Clark for the under-13 boys ran the first leg with a time of 8.11, (despite a fall) and Albert Jones and Tom Wright brought the team home in 45th position. Ralf Jones also ran for the under-13 boys, with a time of 8.51.
The under-15 boy's race saw three great runs by, Chester Gately (7.15), Eli Cattermole (7.19), and Ben Slow (7.28) bringing the team home in 37th place.
The Under-15 girls placed 42nd overall, with Nia Harrison-Sargent finishing 22nd in a time of 7.30, Annie Thorpe 8.32, and Faye Skilbeck 8.31.
The under-17 men (each running 3k) were 47th out of 81, Jacob Ewart 10.29, Will Cattermole 10.19 Euan Logue 10.48.
The event was thoroughly enjoyed by spectators and athletes alike, photographs were kindly passed on by parents.
Leeds Abbey Dash 10k
Twenty-four Halifax Harriers made the trip to Leeds for the popular Abbey Dash 10k on Sunday morning; the latest race in the club's road race championships. This is usually a flat and fast course but the runners were not helped this year by the atrocious weather conditions. Nonetheless, the first two Harriers home both set new club records for their respective age categories with Ben Crowther (M35) finishing in 33:37 followed very closely by Will Smith (M45) in 33:49. Hazel Berrett also set a new age category club record, lowering her own F60 record to 47:55. Fred Carver ran a personal best of 38:35.
Full Harriers' results are on the website: https://www.halifaxharriers.co.uk/recent-race-results/
Whixley Trail 10k
Two Harriers finished in the top ten in the Whixley Trail 10k in North Yorkshire on Sunday. This multi-terrain course was nearly all off-road across fields, tracks and bridleways around Whixley (between York and Harrogate). Will Stewart came home in sixth place in 40:24. April Caufield was the first woman to finish, just one place behind Will in 41:29.
Castle Carr Fell Races
There were also two Harriers competing in Sunday's Castle Carr fell races, which took runners across the moors above Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd and provided a rare opportunity to run through the stunning private estate of Castle Carr. Will Carver completed the tough 15 mile race with 4,000' of total ascent in 3:10:13. Martin Ellis clocked 2:10:24 in the new shorter Half Race.
Green Drive 5 Mile
Katrina Oddy set a new F55 club record at Sunday's Green Drive 5 Mile race in Lytham in Lancashire. Katrina was second in her age catrgory in 34:43, finishing 79th overall in a field of 316 runners.