Katrina Oddy finished third in the F55 age group at Sunday’s Wilmslow Festival 10k in a time of 42:43; a new club record for her category.
Three Harriers competed in the Doncaster 10k on the same day. Will Stewart finished in 121st place in a field of over 2,500 runners, setting a personal best time of 37:33. April Caufield and John Moore completed the race in 40:08 and 53:37 respectively.
Martin Ellis ran in the London Half Marathon, recording 1:59:53 on the twisting course around the sights of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Tadcaster 10
Nineteen Harriers made the journey east for the Tadcaster 10 on Sunday morning; the latest race in the club's senior road challenge. Gareth Burrell was the first in club colours to finish, recording a time of 1:01:24 in 48th place on the flattish 10 mile course on fully closed roads. Will Carver (1:02:48) and Will Stewart (1:04:20) were next. April Caufield was the first of the eight Harriers women, clocking 1:06:33.
Three Harriers came third in their respective age groups: Erika Nightingale (FV45) in 1:13:37, Hazel Berrett (FV60) in 1:18:20 and Susan Hall (FV70) in 1:47:16. Hazel also broke her own age group club record for 10 miles by more than two and a half minutes.
Full results are on the website:https://www.halifaxharriers.co.uk/recent-race-results/
The next race in the club's championships is the Myerscough 10 near Garstang in Lancashire on the 4th December.
Conwy Half Marathon
Elsewhere, Stephen Rainbow took part in the Conwy Half Marathon in Wales on Sunday in fair but breezy conditions. The course took in a scenic route beginning on the bridge in front of Conwy Castle. The race made its way along the coast into Llandudno before proceeding up and over the Great Orme, which involved approximately 2 miles of sustained uphill then downhill running. The race returned via the same coastal route into a headwind.
Stephen finished in 22nd place overall out of just under 2,000 runners and was second in his age category (M40). Stephen's time was 1 hour 23 minutes and 45 seconds.
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.