Cross Challenge & MId Lancs Sefton Results – Another win for Rachel – Jack wins David Staff Race – Charlotte wins Paul Dickenson Award – Dave takes V45 Prize at Wesham – Park 5k Run Results Round Up

The worse conditions for a few years greeted this years Sefton Park Cross Challenge fixture, combining the Mid Lancs and Merseyside Cross Country Leagues. The Harriers had a great turnout with over 50 athletes competing on the day.

When separated out, the Harriers did pretty well in the Mid Lancs results with the U11 Boys taking 2nd place in the Team competition and beaten by just one point, U13 Boys won the Team in their age group, the U15 Girls came 3rd and the Senior Men 2nd. Individually there were good runs by U13 Matt Ramsden who came 2nd and Jamie Teare 6th, U13 Amy Davies also 2nd, U15 Girl Maddie Elliott 7th, U17 Woman Liz Greenwood 2nd, Ben Fish 3rd in the Senior Men’s with Rob Warner 9th making the top ten.

 Mid Lancs Results HERE

Cross Challenge Results HERE

In the Men’s Senior Race – with a record field of 574 combining all three competitions – the Team was led home by Ben Fish – in only his second cross country race of the year – with a time of 32.32 and 69th overall. Ben said afterwards that he “got off to a slow start, but was happy with how I moved through the field, as usual I struggled in the sections that were very muddy. I think with I’ll keep improving with cross country throughout the season, provided my ankle doesn’t give me anymore grief!” Also running impressively was Rob Warner in 106th overall (33.28) who commented that it “Was great to have so many of the Blackburn guys in there this year! Really happy with my run especially in the toughest conditions I’ve ever ran in on that course!” Karl Billington wasn’t far behind in a time of 33.54 (120th) followed by Tim Raynes who is good form taking 135th place in 34.32 and telling us that he “really enjoyed racing in such a strong field, and as part of a good Blackburn team. I found the last lap tough, but fairly pleased with my run overall”.

U23 Jack Hindle was next in (161st) with a time of 35.53 and was pleased with his run saying that it was the “First time in the senior race at Liverpool, I knew it was going to be fast but I paced it well all the way round. I finished with a strong pace. Great to have been part of a strong team again”. Jack was followed home by Shuan Livesey (180th) in 36.34 and Chris Davies (181st) in 36.55, which was a reversal of the 2014 race when Chris pipped Shaun in the home straight. Shaun said after the race that he had a “different strategy this time and just stayed behind Chris Davies and then hoped to out kick him at the end. It seemed to work this time”. 

Chris commented that he had “enjoyed the race yesterday, thought I ran reasonably well considering the tough conditions. I had another good battle with Mr Livesey again but he just out did me this time. Another great team effort as well from the senior guys, we’ve had some strong teams out this year and it would be great if that can continue till the end of the XC season. I think it’s been great for us all. I think it’s making us all run quicker and harder to get a good team score at the end of it all. Well done to all the other age groups as well on what was a tough and cold day”.

Men’s Race Video HERE

    

    

Mark Chippendale was the next Harrier home placing 209th in 37.23. After watching daughter Isabelle run in the U11’s Race, Allan Hartley finished 342nd with a  time of  42.14 followed by V40 John Cookson (419th) in 45.10 and V60 Evan ‘never seen with mud on his boots before’ Cook in 420th with a time of 45.13. John said after the race that it was “Not my fastest time at this years event but conditions underfoot were probably the wettest I’ve known at Sefton Park. The race plan was simple. Don’t get lapped by the lead runners, which has happened to me each year bar 2014. Well I nearly pulled it off, but for the sake of about 50 metres, as the race winner just caught me before I went into lap 3. So I went into the last lap peeved and then to cap it all, with half a lap to go, our very own Evan Cook floats passed me and opens up a reasonable gap between us! So it was a case of head down to see if I could close the gap. Lo and behold, we both turned into the finishing straight neck and neck and I just about had enough fuel in the tank to pip him on the line. Honours even therefore after Evan took bragging rights between us at the recent Preston 10 mile road race. Best of 3 Mr Cook?”

Danny Teare placed 479th in 48.17 and commented that he has “attended several of these Sefton Park meetings now, but it was the first time I was in a position to run. Took it steady from the start and just tried to maintain it. Found it very heavy going on the boggy sections, but was pleased that my pace seemed steady right through to the end. Getting lapped by the leaders towards the end of lap 2 was sobering – they hardly seemed to be touching the ground! Left my shiny new spikes at home for some reason – must be better prepared next time. In short, it was all “mud and corners”, but great to be on the course with GB athletes”.

Michael Sharp was 501st in 49.27 telling the Club that he“Really enjoyed today, starting to get my teeth into the XC running. Its not great getting lapped, the elite guys at the front made it look so easy. Great to be a part of it. Big thanks to Danny and John for sorting out base camp” and Paul Wilkinson 509th in a time of 49.54 rounded off the Senior Men’s team.

    

    

     

Four of the Harriers Women’s Team competed and for some of them it was their first experience at this level and all ran pretty well on the day. It was quite an experience in another way too as they were all in the same field as athletes of the calibre of Gemma Steel, the race winner, Kate Avery, Steph Twell, Laura Muir, Ellie Vernon, Rebecca Murray, Louise Damen and Jess Judd.

New Member Carly Edwards was the first Harrier home in 151st with a time of 38.32 followed by Jan Buckingham (197th) in 43.44 who said after the race that “it was a great race, well organised and fantastic turn out given the weather forecast. Well done all you senior ladies. I don’t think anyone has ever said to me ‘wanted to keep Jan in my sights’, thanks Lorna” Lorna Sharp came in (210th) in 45.07 and said she “wasn’t really up for this race, I had sore thighs and I knew it was going to hurt!! It was a case of just running and keeping Jan in my sights. Felt fab after”.  Lindsay Davies finished in 245th with a time of 48.07 and commented that she had “dreaded this race because of the extra distance but found it a lot easier than Hyndburn, great to run in a fantastic race with an excellent atmosphere, secretly enjoyed it“.

Women’s Race Video HERE

    

    

Seventy five runners in the U11 Boys Race which saw Edward Lee and Kyle Pomfret battle it out for the first Harrier home – Edward just edging it in 22nd (8.01) and Kyle 23rd in 8.03. Not far behind in 29th place was Rory Teare (8.16) and Saul Sharp in a time of 8.24 (36th). Oliver Gill in his first season gets really stuck in and placed 64th in 9.04. Great to see these young lads pushing one another on.

     

    

Seventy five in the U11’s Girls Race with six youngsters from the Harriers running and led home by Leah Hoole who is having a very consistent cross country season. Leah placed a very good 15th in 8.27 and was supported by Elaeanor Allsop (32nd) in 8.54, Kate Cookson (46th) in 9.10, Amelia Tyson 47th in 9.12, Isabelle Hartley (61st) in 9.43 and Georgina Bleeks (64th) in 9.52.

    

    

    

A quality run by Matt Ramsden in the U13 Boys where he finished 9th overall in a time of 10.39 in a field of 136 runners and first Lancashire Runner home. Jamie Teare was next in (31st) in 11.20 backed up Leon Thomas in 55th place (11.53) and Daniel Brown 81st in 12.27 battling it out with Luke Eagleson who was also given a time of 12.27 in 82nd.

    

     

Another big field in the U13 Girls (118 runners) and another quality run by Amy Davies who placed 13th overall in 12 minutes dead and like Matt Ramsden the first Lancashire athlete home. Eleesha Charnley finished in 58th spot (13.08), backed up by Jess Watson in 83rd (13.51).

     

A hat trick of Lancashire individual wins – joining U13 Boy Matt Ramsden and U13 Girl Amy Davies – on the day was served up by Maddie Elliott in the U15 girls race when she finished 28th overall in a time of 11.47. Hannah Cookson also ran well and came in 56th in 12.26 with Chloe Bleeks in 81st (13.35)  and Freya Black worked hard all the way round to place 89th in 14.19.

    

U17 Liam Atkinson lined up in the 130 strong U17 Men’s Race and ran pretty solidly for a time of 20.11 in 86th place in his first cross country race a this level. Liz Greenwood also had a good run in the U17 Women’s Race to take 24th spot in a time of 16.59.

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 LEE VALLEY – NOVEMBER 28TH 2015

Three Races in this event – 5k – 10k – 10mile. Rachel Wood, fresh from her recent half-marathon win braved the conditions and entered the 10mile Race and duly won it in a time of 65.49.

Full Results HERE

After the Race Rachel spoke to the Club and said that “It was great to race at one of my brother’s runthrough events at the weekend. I usually volunteer to help out but on this particular morning, I was feeling competitive so decided to race! The course consisted of 10 laps around Lee valley velopark in the Olympic park. It was a good race for pacing but the only downside was the wind which was against me most of the way. Nonetheless, it was a decent training run and I enjoyed winning the race”.

(Rachel 2nd from the left with Race Organiser and brother Matt Wood all in yellow)

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Wesham 10k – Saturday 28th November

Full Results HERE

Dave Almond gave the cross country a miss and raced the Wesham 10k which worked out well for him finishing 14th overall and first V45 in a time of 36.38 which was a good run in the conditions. Kaylie Panaro also took the road option and had a good run placing 139th in the nearly 400 strong field with a time of 46.13 which wasn’t that far from her PB. Given good conditions it looks as though Kaylie will break that soon.

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David Staff Race – Sunday 29th November

In about as bad a set of conditions weather wise that you can imagine, one hundred and twenty eight runners lined up for this race in honour of local Darwen Dasher David Staff. Six Harriers turned out and Jack Hindle was the star of the day, winning the Race in a time of 29.11 and given his exertions at the Liverpool Cross Challenge the day before, wasn’t a bad effort at all. In 20th came Allan Hartley who also ran at Liverpool in a time of 34.07 as did Paul Wilkinson in 81st (41.15) were followed by Richard Taylor 89th in 42.49, Ian Clarkson 96th in 44.40 and Jack Wilkinson back racing (116th) in a time of 50.11.

Full Results HERE

The Story Behind the Race and David Staff

David turned 17 years of age on 5th December 1994 which then allowed him to compete as a senior for the Dashers. His first race (and last) as a senior was in the Clitheroe 10k on 27th December 1994. David collapsed and died by the road side at 5 miles from a condition called Hyperthropic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, which in laymans terms is an abnormal thickening of the heart muscles which interrupted the electrical pulses which keeps the heart working. This condition takes the lives of approximately 8 so-called fit and healthy young people a week, most of them are actively engaged in sport, but it is not the sport that kills; it is the exertion that acts as a trigger. The race is run in memory of David Staff, who joined the Dashers as a 15 year old and competed in many fun runs as a junior. In September 1994, he completed the Great North Run in 1 hour 49 minutes 02 seconds along-side his dad Granville wearing his Blackburn Rovers home and away kit, needless to say the comments along the route in Newcastle cannot be repeated. David was a very likeable person who got on with everybody he came into contact with; young and old and had a very bright future ahead of him, not only as a young man preparing to take his A-levels at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School but also as a member of Darwen Dashers.

We host this race to raise funds for Cardiac Risk in the Young, the charity that David’s father Granville actively supports. The funds raised are used to provide heart screening in the young; so far over 60 people have had heart defects identified as a result of Granville’s fund raising. Since David’s death, Granville has raised over £100,000 and we are proud to continue to support this cause.

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This trophy is  – the Paul Dickenson Award – awarded to the Hammer Circle member who has combined prodigious distance with a good competitive record in the preceding season at Under 15 level. Blackburn Harrier Charlotte Wilkinson won the award after a great first season at the event and told the Club that the “The award means a lot to me to say I had only been doing hammer for half the season and I managed to get this amazing reward. I feel really proud of myself and thankful of my coaches”.

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 Park 5k Results

Witton Park – 21st November – Results HERE

A much smaller turn out at the latest Witton Park run with ninety five runners involved including nine from Blackburn Harriers. V45 David Almond was the first Harrier in and 2nd overall with a new Park Run PB of 18.32 and not far behind came V50 Michael Toms in 5th place (19.04) in his first run on this course. V55 John Chaplin was just four seconds outside his PB when he took 8th spot in a time of 19.48 and had V45 Mark Almond one place behind in 9th and new Park Run PB of 20.04. Carly Edwards in her second Race after quite a time out with injury ran well for 18th and a time of 22.44. Sarah Toms ran this course for the first time and finished 28th in 24.30 and followed by a welcome return to racing by U17 Megan Clarkson – another athlete returning from a long term injury, running solidly in 33rd (25.08). Another new Park Run PB for V60 George Woodburn in 42nd (26.40) and also from 10yr old Samuel King who came home 49th in 27.37.

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Wins and seconds for the Harriers at Red Rose – at Chorley 10k Joe takes 2nd place & Evan makes it 100% V60 wins in 2015

Sunshine, blue skies and plenty of mud at Leverhulme Park for the third fixture in this years Red Rose Cross Country League saw some cracking racing with a number of races finishing in sprint finishes involving Blackburn Harriers athletes.

Full Results HERE

Series Results after Three Fixtures HERE

The U11 Boys got the Club off to a great start in the 76 strong field, taking 2nd team place and just missing the win by one point behind Bury. Kyle Pomfret who improves with each race led the Harriers team home in 6th place overall (7.31) and backed up with good runs from Rory Teare in 10th (7.38), Edward Lee (14th) in 7.50, Saul Sharp in 21st (7.58) and Oliver Gill in 44th position (8.41). The lads have everything to play for going into the final fixture at Rossendale as they currently lie just one point behind Clayton for the Series. In the Individual Standings Edward (5th) , Kyle (7th) and Rory (=9th) all lie in the top ten overall too.

    

     

Eighty nine runners in the U11 Girls which was great to see and a Race which saw the Harriers come 5th team of 12 teams competing. Leah Hoole continues to run well coming in 6th overall in a time of 7.42 to be the first Harrier home followed by another good run from Hollie Cubbon in 11th place (7.52). Amelia Tyson also had an improved run to finish 33rd in 8.40 with Kate Cookson  just three places further back in 36th (8.47). Isabelle Hartley, as game as they come placed 55th in 9.16 and an equally game run came from Georgina Bleeks – and probably the smallest kid in the field at 8yrs of age – in 74th (10.05). Leah (5th) and Hollie (10th) are in the top ten for the overall Individual series.

     

     

     

The U13 Boys lie in 2nd place in the Team Series Standings with 43 points to Horwich’s 30 and with Matt Ramsden 2nd overall in the Individual Standings and Jamie Teare 3rd which gives the lads every chance of picking up Team and Individual medals. On the day Matt Ramsden featured in a great tussle and a sprint finish with Francis Woodcock from Bury, just being edged into 2nd place by two seconds (11.33) and leading the Team to a 2nd placed finish on the day. Jamie Teare had a really good run too finishing an impressive 3rd place in 11.58 with Leon Thomas in 23rd (13.01) and Daniel Brown (27th) in a time of 13.30.

     

    

A very impressive run from Amy Davies in the U13 Girls in a 67 strong field which saw Amy and Charlotte Edwards absolutely battle for every stride in the finishing straight resulting in Amy winning the race by just one second. Eleesha Charnley also had a good run finishing 16th in 14.16. Amy heads the Individual Standings and looks to have won the Series.

     

Yet another win in a time of 17.09 for Maddie Elliott in the U15 Girls Race, her third in a row in this years Red Rose League and shows what a good cross country season she is having – and – like Amy in the U13’s, has already won the Individual Series. Also having a good solid run on the day was Hannah Cookson in 8th spot (17.59) and 8th overall in the Series with Chloe Bleeks in 19th (19.37) which took the Girls to 3rd placed Team.

Just three Senior Women out for the Harriers in a field of 135 runners won by Joanne Nelson who has now recorded three straight Individual and Vet Wins in all three Red Rose fixtures. The Harriers –  finishing 16th Team on the day – saw Jan Buckingham come in first for the Club in 94th overall with a time of 29.53, Lorna Sharp in 101st (30.52) and Lindsay Davies 107th in a time of 32.12.

    

The Men’s Senior Race featuring 208 runners witnessed the third sprint finish on the day involving a Blackburn Harriers athlete. This time it was Rob Warner who in an eyeballs out finish with Tom Carson was given the same time of 34.49 but having to settle for 2nd place. After three races the Harriers are in 2nd place in the Team Standings with every chance of a Team Medal as is Tim Raynes in the Individual Standings lying in 4th place just one point off 3rd place.

Backing up  Rob (1st in 34.49) and Tim (6th in 36.33) with good packing and helping the team to cement 2nd place were Chris Davies (22nd) in 38.19; Shaun Livesey in 23rd (38.34); Joe Howe who is doing a lot of racing for his university in 24th (38.38) and Brian Fogarty (50th) in 41.33.

    

     

     

Next in came Richard Fogarty (61st) in a time of 42.12 followed by Chris Balderson in 70th (43.01); Allan Hartley (82nd) in 43.43; Craig Greenhough (115th) in 46.53; John Cookson 130th in 48.11; Danny Teare in a time of 51.27 (163rd); Michael Sharp in 172nd (52.40) and Richard Taylor (174th) 52.56.

     

    

         

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Joe Monk and Evan Cook were out early at the Chorley Fire 10k this Sunday which resulted in good runs for both of them in a field of four hundred and five finishers.

Full Results HERE

Joe finished in 2nd place (33.45), to Anthony Valentine who won in 33.10. Evan took yet another V60 1st Prize when he finished 47th in a time of 41.30. This was Evan’s fifth 10k Race of the year and he has won the V60 Age Group in every one of them. Kaylie Panaro was just short of setting a new PB finishing 114th in a time of 45.38, just 13 seconds out.

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Rachel wins Shakespeare Half-Marathon – PB for Joe at Abbey Dash – Preston 10m – Tour of Pendle – Up in Edinburgh – Witton Park Run

In only her fourth road race of the year and her first since the London Marathon, Rachel Wood is showing good form at the moment and demonstrated that by winning the Shakespeare Half-Marathon on Saturday 14th November in a good time of 86.54.

Full Results HERE

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Leeds Abbey Dash

Full Results HERE

Congratulations to Joe Monk who had been targeting the Abbey Dash 10k for quite a while to try and improve his 10k PB. In difficult conditions Joe delivered placing 137th in a new PB time of 33.16. Joe commented on his Blog after the Race that “The race got underway and I got into a good tempo  and just sat at the back of a big group. I thought `brilliant`, I don’t have to worry about the pace and I made sure that I got into a sub 33 minute group. We got to 5k in 16:33, just what I wanted, as I was confident of maintaining a good pace given the last half is slightly quicker. The wind was behind us at that point, so the hard work was done really, and I managed to put in some good splits at miles 4 and 5 (5:20 and 5:19) which pretty much ensured that I was going to run a pb. I went through 5 miles in 26:33 and I was sure I wasn’t going to run over 5:30 for the last mile. I seem to be holding my pace now with the recent track sessions and I managed to run 5:26 coming in at 33:16”.

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The final race in this years Club Championships with less than helpful conditions and featuring four hundred and sixteen runners, took place at Preston over 10 miles which saw seven Blackburn Harriers competing with the Race being won by Dave Rigby in 55.53.

 Full Results HERE

First home for Blackburn was Chris Davies in 12th place (59.23) who was slower than last year, but given the conditions, quite understandable. V45 Dave Almond was next in and is good nick after setting a good time in the 10k last week, but again the conditions played a part which saw Dave come home in 24th (62.11). V60 Evan Cook came in 108th in 70.20 (3rd V60 on the day) and when you consider he is 65 in December this year, he has been a credit to himself with the way he is still performing. V40 John Cookson was making his debut over the 10 mile distance and finished with a solid run to place 140th in 72.46 as did Jan Buckingham (V50) in 287th in 87.04 which was her second only attempt at the distance. Michael Sharp really struggled with an hip injury and finished   in a time of 1:22:38 telling us that he “had to slow down just past the halfway mark, literally a pain in the butt. Struggled with the hip and glutes again”. Another Harrier – Bryan Searby – unfortunately had to pull out of the Race due to illness.

                                            

                                            

                                              

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 Tour of Pendle – Saturday November 14th

Full Results HERE

An amazing number of runners turned up in appalling conditions for this years Full Tour of Pendle – four hundred and nine in total – to find that the course had to be cut short due to the weather. Six Blackburn Harriers were among the starters, all producing pretty good performances on the day in the race which was won by Rob Hope in a time of 1.46.30, just a minute in front of 2nd placed Chris Holdsworth (1.47.31).

Shaun Livesey was the first Blackburn Harrier home taking the 3rd V40 spot and was 21st overall in a time of 2.00.40. Sharing his experiences of the Race Shaun told us that he “Arrived in Barley to receive my race number only to be told that the race had been shortened and would miss out the the last two climbs. This news was a disappointment as I had based a lot of my training and race strategy on these climbs. I had an initial goal to run under 2:40 and place in the top 20 in a very good field on the long course. This had to be revised due to the change. The race started and I soon established a good pace and position. Once I started the long descent to cp2 I lost a few places due to my inability to descend. I passed Churn Clough res and started the climb up to Spencer moor, as I neared the top I took a different line and managed to gain a few places as I started the drop of Geronimo to cp4. The run across to cp5 I lost a place but I gained it back as I neared the top of the memorial cairn. I reached cp6 (this is where the course changed) then it was a 3 mile run back in back to what was cp4 and back to the finish, I lost another place again on the descent. It was a good race in tough conditions I placed 21st and ran 2hr 00m.40 sec, reasonably pleased with my effort”.

Next in for the Harriers came Mick Toms who was the 2nd V50 and 37th overall in 2.05.55. Gary Pearse wasn’t far behind and took the 3rd V50 spot and 46th overall in a time of 2.08.27 followed by Andy Heys in 182nd (2.31.37) and Craig Greenhough 214th in 2.36.00. Danny Teare was tackling the Tour for the first ever time and ran well placing 298th in a time of 2.48.21.

Danny Teare who was a first timer on the Tour of Pendle told the Club about his experiences on the day saying that “The tail end of Hurricane Abigail thankfully deferred its wrath until the Tour was well and truly complete. What was looking to shape up as a ‘bad weather tour’ route (9m instead of 17m) ended up being more of a ‘moderately inclement weather tour’ route (14m). This removed the last 2 climbs & 1500ft of ascent. Cagoules, decent gloves and hats seemed to be the chosen attire from the start. Once the starters gun went (actually just a shout of ‘Right, off you go then!), we began the congested trot up the tarmac road for 1 mile before starting the ascent of Big End into the mist. Keen to capitalise on my extensive reccying, I was looking forward to forging my own path through the fog and leaving the hoards to battle with their map and compass. However, soon after checkpoint 1 on the gradual descent to the Nick o P, we dropped into the clear and that was the last we saw of the grey stuff. The previous weeks rain had definitely taken their toll on the moor sections which were very heavy going. Whilst most were disappointed not to be taking on the full tour (me as a first timer included), there was mild relief being expressed on the start line, and plenty more after the finish in the car park! BBH were well supported on the hill by Ian Clarkson, John Orrel and Tom Cubbon. Gels and drinks were dispensed to order. Tyrolean cow bells guided us in to the refuel stops, courtesy of John Orrel. As a first timer, I was very happy with my efforts and will definitely be entering early for 2016, hoping that the weather allows for the full tour experience.”

(Harriers Star Support Team – John Orrell and Ian Clarkson)

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Joe Howe has settled into University Cross Country running well and was up with Manchester University’s team at the Edinburgh Hill Race at the weekend over a 10k distance.

Full Results HERE

Joe came in 39th out of the 253 athletes competing and said “I ran the Braids xc 10k hill race on Saturday for the uni. which was a really great race with stunning views over Edinburgh”.

(Joe ‘shivering’ in the black jacket at the front!)

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  Witton Park 5k Results

Pretty horrible conditions for the 114 runners who turned up for the latest Witton 5k Park Run and among them eleven Blackburn Harriers with the ‘unknown’ Neil Tattersall coming out the winner with a time of 19.56. Danny Maynard set a new PB of 20.13 finishing 4th with Mark Almond just two places back in 6th spot (21.07). U15 Hannah Cookson banged in a new PB of 21.44 in 10th and first female home, followed by Carly Edwards making her way back from injury in 19th (23,16).

                                            

                                            

Next came U15 Chloe Bleeks who just missed a PB by two seconds when she came in 25th in 24.26 and followed by another new PB for 9yr old Saul Sharp. 8yr old Oliver Gill also did well coming in 37th with a time of 26.20 followed by new PB’s for 7yr old Hannah Davies (41st) in 26.38 and her mum Lindsay Davies in 48th (27.28). Another 6yr old – Lulu Sharp had a go for the first time and ran with her dad Michael. Lulu finished in 83rd with a time of 33.17 which was a great effort.

                                           

                                           

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