James Habergham, representing Halifax Harriers, broke the 32 minute barrier at the Leeds Abbey Dash. Habergham’s time of 31:49 also broke the club record which had stood since 2012 and was previously held by Ben Crowther in 32:19.
As in previous years, Halifax Harriers had a large contingent of 39 at the race, which was part of their Club Race Championships. The conditions for the Abbey Dash were almost perfect, with just a slight headwind on the return from Kirkstall Abbey. This year the runners were set off in waves which improved running conditions for the 8,000 runners on their way to the finish on the Headrow in front of Leeds Town Hall.
The first three men back for Halifax Harriers were James Habergham, Watson Peel 36:55 and Niall Smith 38:12. The first three ladies back were April Caufield 39:37, Rachael Beaumont 44:09 and Angela Clarke 46:38.
Robert Hick had an excellent run to finish 3rd M60 in 43:06 and Raymond Hall was also third in the M70 age group in 46:40.
Other runners for the club were – Michael King 39:00, Andrew Wiggins 39:19, James O’Rourke 39:22 (PB), Will Stewart 39:38, David Ingle 39:51, Stephen Rainbow 40:27, Will Carver 40:36 (PB), Rob MacDonald 41:40 (PB), Marc Rocheteau 43:49, Nigel Taylor 44:46, Tim Pegg 44:53 (PB), Simon Lea 45:35 (PB), Wayne Stevens 46:20, Paul Hopkinson 47:18, Ian Giles 47:59 (PB), Sophie Baxter 48:53 (PB), Samantha Layfield 49:21, John Moore 49:53, Nigel Corns 50:06, Margaret Deacon 51:16, David Parrington 51:38, Martin Ellis 51:44, Dennis O’Keefe 52:43, Martin Haigh 56:43, Monica Gallagher 58:27, Susan Hall 60:03, Audra Naylor 61:44, Kirsty Carver 61:49, Susan Pegg 69:55 (PB), Jennifer Hopkinson 75:10.
Halifax Harriers took three first places at the Bradford Half Marathon. April Caufield was the ladies winner in a time of 1:29:05 with James O’Rourke close on her heels in 1:29:10 and first M40. David Nutton ran 1:35:56 to finish first M50. Will Stewart ran 1:30:48.
The course is multi-laps round Bradford city centre and does have a number of small inclines on each lap. The route is also used for the 5k and 10k races. In the 5k, 12 year old Katie Brook was second female junior in 28:05, whilst in the 10k John Moore ran 49:27.
At the Worksop Half Marathon, Nigel Taylor set a PB of 1:43:20 and Margaret Deacon finished in 1:54:49.
Halifax Harriers also had runners competing further afield.
At the Snowden Marathon, Sarah Cumber once again showed her strength on the hilly course. This year she finished as fourth lady (1st F45) in 3:16:22. Judith Cole had a good run to finish in 4:10:19, whilst Richard Corney on a rare outing on the roads just dipped inside five hours with a time of 4:59:19.
In Germany, Hanni Maeer took on the Frankfurt Marathon which is run on good flat roads in and around the city. She set a PB of 3:51:34 on the day.
This year's Frankfurt Marathon took place on Sunday 28th October and attracted over 17,000 runners. Running conditions on the day were very good with temperatures just below double figures and the gusty wind that had blown through the night, reduced to a gentle breeze by the time the race was due to start.
The race begins at the Frankfurt Messe exhibition centre and runs through the city for the first 10k, before heading out parallel with the River Main, through towns and villages east of the city centre. At the 30k mark, the route takes runners back towards the main part of the city where the streets were full of supporters partying hard like only the Germans can. The finish line has to be one of the most impressive of all the European marathons, as finishers are treated to a red carpet run into a giant Festhalle where thousands of spectators congregate to cheer everyone home.
The Harriers had one representative at the race, Hanni Maeer, who finished in a time of 3.51:34. For anyone looking for a flat, well supported and very friendly overseas marathon, Frankfurt is definitely one to try. The organisation of the event was exceptional, it's a great place to visit for a weekend and the city really knows how to help its marathoners celebrate....hic!