Blackburn Harriers teams win Northern 10k road titles at Ribble Valley 10k

(See race report and results on the race page)

Womens Team: Beckie Taylor, Rachel Wood (Alison Leonard missing )

Mens Team: Karl Billington, Ben Fish, Tom Cornthwaite

Blackburn do the double!

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Creating history is always special and so Saturday’s triumph was extra special because we not only had retained our league champion status 5 weeks ago at Preston but at the weekend we won the Northern League cup after many years trying. In years gone by we had reached the final a number of times but not taken the trophy. So when Claude picked up the ‘Frank Starkie’ Cup those that had strived before all had a smile on their face.

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Claude and Sarah Henton have been very important members of our team and their points haul on Saturday was yet again crucial – Sarah having been in hospital the day before having a very nasty splinter removed from her throwing hand. Claude did the ‘mad hour’ spot – pole, triple and high – did you catch him covering more mileage than a 10k runner up and down the stadium. Sarah won her discus as well as pushing the best in the shot and javelin. Sarah’s 11.52 two weeks ago by the way in the shot broke the club record set in the 1970s!

Abby having had a great season took on both hurdles and the high whilst Jordan went under 60 secs in the long hurdles for a PB and Liam broke the club high hurdles record for an under 20 at senior hurdles under 16 secs – well done mate. In the women’s 400 Rachel Leech stepped up a notch to record a 63sec PB whilst Charlotte and Ant got a 3rd and 2nd in the 800s. There were good wins in the Cup match for Alison and Chris in the 1500m as well as a big winning welcome return for Pauline in the 3000m (to add to a good 400 relay leg) whilst Phil in the men’s chase notched up another win.

In the men's distance events Karl won in style in our match capping a season of much promise and Tom C won the 10k at the start of the meeting and in the process winning the title of Northern 10000m champion of 2009 - well done Tom from all of us.

Stewart was another team player in his less favoured events of discus and shot (having set a vets club record for the hammer this season) backed by Mark in the javelin and Lewis (his recent just short of 40m throw with the senior weight a season’s highlight) in the hammer.

Carmen having covered the triple and long amassing more big points then took the final bend in our 4 X 100 team which was anchored brilliantly by Sophie GB who had given us all the points we needed in the hammer, 100 and 200. Unusually Jess passed the baton to Ali GB who ran the back straight ‘quickly’ to say the least and still managed to get the baton over. Well done that team!

Luke who is heading for Loughborough to study and run destroyed the opposition in the 100 and 200 whilst in the sprint relay the men were invincible again with Phil Paul Luke and Claude winning in a rapid 44 secs – the spirit of the club was all over the event on Saturday but no more so than Paul and Phil coming to Manchester to run the relay as did Jamie in the 4 X 400.

Finally thanks to our club officials on the day especially Sylvia Chris Janet Andy and Debbie who led their duties and Richard of course ever present.

The presentation at 5.30 pm was again to BLACKBURN – the stadium bathed in sunshine and the team photo full of smiles jokes and happiness !

Well done to all!

Tony – a proud team manager!

CHAMPIONS!
BHAC are Northern League Division 1 Champions 2009

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Bronze for Sophie at European Championships
Sophie Hitchon won the Bronze Medal with a new British Junior Record throw of 63.18m at the Euro Championsips in Serbia today (24/7/09). Well done Sophie!

LANCASHIRE A.A. TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sat 9th/Sun 10th May, Stanley Park Blackpool
Saturday Results • Sunday Results (PDFs - new window)

Blackburn Harriers & Athletic Club got their fair share of medals over two days track & field competition at Blackpool in blustery conditions and on the first day a considerable amount of rain during one period in the afternoon.

Luke Evans

First mention has to go to the performance of the weekend, which goes to Luke Evans, probably the best sprinter the Club has had for many years. On the Saturday he took the junior mens 100 metre final equalling the Championship best performance of Phil Bolton and Danny Whittaker of 10.9 beating Adam Forrest from Wigan in the process. The following day he again produced an equal Championship best performance of 21.8 equalling his PB and his own Club record, matching the times of Danny Whittaker in 2004 and Carl Dickinson in 2005. There is no doubt with the progress Luke is making his times will come down further and further big success is predicted for him this season.

There were other double winners to mention. On the endurance front Charlotte Atkinson confirmed her hard winter’s training had paid off when on Saturday she won the under 17 women’s 1500 metre final in 4.58.8 beating her rivals over the winter Bianca Pederson from Blackpool and Nicola Jackson from Preston in the process. She then followed that up the following day with a big PB in the 3000 metres to take the title in 10 minutes 42.9 seconds, just ahead of BeckieTaylor who took the silver medal to make it an excellent 1 – 2 for the Harriers.

Ever improving Abby Leigh Edmundson was also a star of the weekend when on the Saturday she broke her PB for the 100 metre hurdles to win the junior women’s title in 15.9 defeating Rebecca Ingham of Preston. Then the following day over the long hurdles she produced another PB of 67.7 seconds to win the junior women’s 400 metre hurdles title well clear of the silver medallist. Not finished yet, she moved over to the triple jump to take silver medal behind Carmen Peter-Thomas with a jump of 10.29 with Carmen winning the title in 10.64.

Team track & field captain Claude Peter-Thomas yet again came away with a Championship title in the triple jump, almost matching his lifetime PB with 13.34m and then taking second in the senior men’s 110 metre hurdles behind our Club record holder Paul Whittle who took the title in 16.3. Claude then took a silver in the long jump with another fantastic jump of 6.43.

In the younger age groups on the first day, James Blow took the silver medal in the 100 metres with an excellent time of 13.7 and the bronze in the high jump. Nathan Billington took a bronze in the 75 metre hurdles final behind fellow Club member Bailey Locke with Nathan taking a further silver in the shot put and Bailey in the discus. Young and up and coming Sally Searson was in fine form in the under 13 girls 1500 metres winning in 5.27.3 ahead of two excellent young athletes from the North West in Katie Astin of Manx Harriers and Molly Betmead of Blackpool. In the same event at under 17 mens level, William Worrall is going through a brilliant spell of running at present, proved in the number of PB’s being run by him when he took a silver medal in the Under 17 Mens 1500 metres.

Callum Ryan, our Under 15 boys sprinter who is working extremely hard in training got his just desserts when he took a bronze medal in the Under 15 boys 200 metre final with an excellent PB of 24.9 and in the Under 15 girls newcomer Darah Derbyshire also took a bronze in the under 15 girls 3000. There was a further medal in the under 15 girls when Abigail Bleasdale, new to vaulting, took a bronze medal in the under 15 girls Pole Vault with a vault of 1 metre 70 – another club record to her collection !

One of our top hurdlers Oliver Aspden won the 100 metre hurdles final in his first year at the longer distance taking another County title in the process. Fellow hurdler at Under 20 level also on a high following an excellent winter’s training was Liam Monaghan who took the Under 20 110 metre hurdle title in a time of 16.3 a couple of tenths behind Paul Whittle’s club record and Lewis Taylor, our junior mens hammer thrower, took another County title to add to his schools title with a throw of 39.75m.

Lewis has obviously been inspired by Sophie Hitchon who on the Sunday threw a new Championship best performance to win the junior women’s hammer of 61.56m and had taken a silver in the 100 metre final the day previous. Around about the time that Sophie was winning the hammer final, Holly Bleasdale also broke a Championship best performance with a vault of 3.30 to win her title.

The throws again were very productive for the Club with the senior women’s discus going to our very own Sarah Henton with her last and sixth throw of 44.29m, easily beating her opposition. Meanwhile, Megan Searson broke the under 17 club hammer record with a great throw of 31 metres 89, having taken a silver in the discus as did Rebecca McElroy in the junior women.

Back on the track, Christina Carr was very close to her own club record with a time of 66.1s just behind Jackie Noblett to take a silver in the senior women’s 400 metre hurdles and going longer Karl Billington won the junior men’s 3000 metre final with a PB and an excellent time of 8.45.9 with training partner Danny Maynard taking the bronze. In the same race Alan McKeown ran a PB to produce 9 minutes 20.9 and a silver in the under 17 3000m.

The final event of the day saw our Under 13 boys win a bronze medal in the 4 X 100 relay to finish off an excellent weekend for the Club. Roll on the rest of the season.

Bank Holiday Success for Harriers

It's been another wonderful weekend of success for both team and athletes here at Blackburn Harriers.

First stop has to be in Bedford with Paul Bradshaw who became British University 800m Champion. Having won his heat on Saturday and semi on Sunday he went to the front from the start to beat a strong final field in devastating fashion hitting the tape in 1min 50.77secs. Paul had worked for this title hard during the winter with a dedicated training regime of endurance,cross country,conditioning and weights. Add to that a natural ability at speed and there was the champion. I know Arthur his coach throughout the build up is proud of Paul's biggest title to date as are all of us here at Blackburn ever since he joined us as a youngster. As Paul has just said ' Happy days'

The BUSAs or the BUCS as they are now called also produced more top performances. Paul Whittle also an avid trainer and worker at his specialist hurdles broke the Oki Odudu's long standing 110 hurdles record in his heat with 15.05secs just missing out on the final but putting his name high on the national rankings - well done Paul - a big PB !

Tom Cornthwaite just missed a medal with another PB for him with 30mins 54 secs in the 10000m track final.

This all followed the senior team success on Saturday at Sportcity. It was the start of their defence of the Northern League Division 1 title and with a home fixture to come on June 6th they produced a great second place behind Sale but well ahead of Trafford York Preston and Leeds. It was an effort of complete commitment from all the team as if there was 'unbroken thread' from last August. The first fixture is so important - it takes pressure off the team if a good result comes out of it and it did.

Honours in Manchester must go to Holly Bleasdale who having committed herself to vaulting over the winter travelling 4 times a week to Manchester to train reaped the rewards with a club record of 3.80m to win the competition and put herself within reaching distance of the European qualifying height of 4.05m. To follow that she unexpectedly broke Sarah Haworth's 100 hurdles record with a very fast 14.95s. Holly is still only 17 so plenty of time in the junior womens ranks yet.

UK Record for Sophie!

Sophie Hitchon claimed the UK Women's U20 Hammer record officially on 12th April at Hull with 62.55m also winning to claim the £100 prize money.

Her series consisted of 60.61, 59.34, 58.50, 60.66, 62.55, 60.63

EXCITING NEWS FOR BLACKBURN HARRIERS !

This is a press release by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council 16th March 2009:

New facilities are welcomed at Witton Country Park

Tony Wood, Sophie Hitchon, Michael Law-Riding

It's exciting times ahead for Blackburn Harriers and Witton Park High School who are over the moon after upgraded facilities at Witton Country Park got the go ahead.

The Harriers that train at the Preston Old Road park boast two Olympic hopefuls and the club is developing a growing reputation in the North West.

Members, hammer thrower Sophie Hitchon and 800 metres runner Alison Leonard, are contenders for the 2012 Olympics.

Now the Harriers have been given a head start after the Council approved more than £2,900,000 for improvements to Witton Country Park over the next few years.

A covered spectator area is planned at the athletics track that will accommodate changing rooms, offices and a club room.

It is hoped that the new facilities will encourage high profile athletics meetings like the Lancashire Track and Field County Championships currently held in Blackpool, to return to the area.

Schools and other organisations will also be able to use the facilities.

Part of the proposals include funds to provide indoor athletics facilities at the new Witton Park High School that will allow the Harriers to train all year round.

Witton Park High School is due to be completely rebuilt by 2012 as part of the Building Schools for the Future scheme.

Gwen Onyon, Witton Park High School, head teacher, said: "We are thrilled.

"It will give our children amazing opportunities and not just our children but the children in the town.

"We are really, really, pleased. It's just fantastic."

Tony Wood, chairman of Blackburn Harriers, said: "We are probably the strongest club outside of Manchester and Liverpool.

"Last year we won the Northern league division one beating Sale, Trafford, Leeds, Wakefield and Bolton.

"We did that with limited facilities and we hope now that these new facilities at Blackburn will improve the chances of this club continuing it's progress."

He added: "We are over the moon about the possibilities that this investment will bring."

This year as part of the three year scheme the old pavilion that accommodates shower and changing rooms for the Astroturf pitches will be replaced.

And disused potting sheds at the park refurbished and turned into classrooms for the use of students from Myerscough College in Preston for environmental education training.

The classrooms will also be used by the Countryside Service that provides environmental lessons for primary schools.

Visitors to the park will benefit from improved parking facilities with funding set aside for the main car park to be resurfaced.

Executive member for leisure,culture and sport, councillor Michael Law-Riding said: "I'm delighted that these improvements have been given the go ahead at what is one of the borough's most beautiful parks.

"And with the Olympics on the horizon the investment is coming at an important time for the Harriers and hopefully it give them every chance of bringing home the gold."

LANCASHIRE COUNTY A.A. COMBINED EVENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 25th/26th, Stanley Park Blackpool
Entry Forms now available (PDFs - new window):
County Entry Form • Schools Entry Form • Schools Miniathlon Entry Form

LANCS AA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday January 10th 2009. Witton Park, Blackburn.
Results • Photos: Brian Greenwood Sports Photography

Report by Richard Taylor:

"Another excellent day for the Harriers"
Firstly, a thank you to all the marshalls and helpers. We had 10 marshalls on course, + course builders and "hospitality" and one or two officials around the start/finish area. The club has received quite a few messages of thanks for all your efforts. We had 69 Harriers finish yesterday, which I think must be some sort of record for the club. This included 17 U11 athletes which is hugely encouraging for the future of the club. Well done to everyone who took part. We should end up with around 15 athletes in the County Squad, keeping up our good record of recent years.

I normally start the report with the young ones, but today for a change, I'll work from the top down.

Perhaps the performance of the day came from the Senior Men. We were all disappointed at being pipped for the team title last year with both Team and Individual golds going to Manx.

This year the Men came out in great numbers, 12 in total. The star has to be Ben Fish with arguably the best result of his running career taking the individual gold. For those of you that don't perhaps know the calibre of field out there, 2nd place Anthony Ford is ranked 2nd and 3rd in the UK for 5k and 10K Road in 2008. He's also 2nd in the 10K track rankings with 28:30. 3rd place Keith Gerrard was reigning champion and just returned from picking up team gold and 7th place in the U23 European Cross Country Champs. The British Fell Running Champion for the last 2 years was in 6th. So a cracking result for Ben - but also for Tom Cornthwaite to be on their heels in 4th place. The team also took the gold medal with Matt Nuttall maybe just getting a county spot with 9th, then Dave Thornton, Josh Tighe and Paul Bradshaw counting for us.

The Senior Womens title also went to Blackburn. Pauline Powell led from start to finish to take victory over the GB Fell International Candice Taylor from Clayton. Pauline was also first lady VET. Alison Armour ran with great credit to pick up her first XC medal with a Bronze in the VET 45 category. The ladies team finished 5th, 3rd VET team - but were cruelly robbed of perhaps 2 team golds as Nicola King was unfortunately injured her back during warm up, perhaps also robbing Nicola of a county vest. Nicola should be back running again in the next couple of weeks.

The U20 Women were another "Double Gold " Squad. Alison Leonard took the individual gold, and with Rachel Wood and Melanie Taylor they won team gold.

The U17M was won by Karl Billington in convincing style, with an excellent debut from Ryan Smith in 6th place. Anthony Hauserman was 3rd counter to give the lads team silver.

Lucie Harrison-Patry was our sole representative in the U17 women’s race but ensured her place in the Lancs team for the Inter Counties XC with a good run for 4th place.

The U15 Boys proved a tight battle for individual honours with the Blackburn lads just getting pipped. Luke Tasker took silver and Alan McKeown bronze, with Dominic Walton and Kieran Monaghan the 3rd and 4th counters for team bronze.

In the U15 Girls Beckie Taylor in 5th and Emily Fletcher 7th should be in the Inter Counties squad and Holly Broughton and Anna Watson completed to win the team a bronze medal.

The U13 Boys had Ashley Allen highest placed in 6th which should gain him County Selection. Robert Blow, Robert Jeffers and Dale Allen made up the team that took a Bronze Medal - fantastic turnout lads - 11 athletes.

The U13 Girls just missed out on the medals with a 4th place for the team and a 4th place individually for Sally Searson.

In the U11 Boys we took another team Gold. Led by Jack Weiss in 4th place, Kyle Smith, Jake Broughton and Killian Armour-Hamill were the counters.

The U11 Girls title was won by Elizabeth Greenwood with a convincing margin. The girl’s team came 4th overall.

Richard Taylor, Team manager

UPDATE:
The selections have been announced for the Inter Counties XC on 7th March.

BBH members selected for Lancashire are:
U13 Girls - Sally Searson
U13 Boys - Ashley Allen, Robert Blow
U15 Girls - Beckie Taylor, Charlotte Atkinson, Emily Fletcher
U15 Boys - Luke Tasker, Alan McKeown, Robert Warner
U17 Women - Lucie Harrison-Patry
U17 Men - Karl Billington, Ryan Smith
U20 Women - Alison Leonard, Rachel Wood, Melanie Taylor
Sen Men - Ben Fish, Tom Cornthwaite

Blackburn Harriers Presentation Night
Sally Searson English u/12 fell running champion 2008 receives her award at the Blackburn Harriers Presentation night from Bejing Olympian Helen Clitheroe
Full Award Winners list (PDF - new window)

GOLD!
Sophie Hitchon has become Commonwealth Youth Games Hammer Champion in Pune India 15th October 2008 with a winning gold medal throw of 58.43m – a new games record.
Hammer results (pdf - new window) • Commonwealth Youth Games website


Sophie in action at the World Juniors in July - click photo for larger version

Success at North West Awards evening 27/9/08

Blackburn Harriers played a significant part at the North West Awards
ceremony in Bolton on the 27th September when they won the Senior Club
of the year award collected by track captain Claude Peter Thomas whilst
the Performance coach of the year award went to our very own Arthur
Almond and was collected by son Mark. This picture shows team captains
Abby Edmundson and Jordan Cowell receiving the runners up Junior Club of
the year from Olympian Jenny Meadows.

Records tumble !

The 2008 track and field season has been a busy one for the Club archivist. Continually checking over the results at the end of every weekend, looking for athletes and finding almost every weekend a Club record having been broken. This obviously shows the improvement not only in individual performances but reflects on the Club structure both in terms of coaching and team management to ensure that we get the best out of our athletes, hopefully at all the big competitions.

Records have tumbled regularly for the women and our girls. On the track Alison Leonard has produced a unique triple, not only eclipsing her own 800 metre record by over 2 seconds when she came 4th in the World Junior Track & Field Championships in Poland, producing a time of 2.02.15s but beating Judith Croasdale’s records on either side of that event at the 400 metres with a time of 54.91 seconds at Trafford towards the end of her season in August and 10 days before at Watford beating Judith’s longstanding 1500 metre record by 2 seconds with a time of 4.22.82. It has been a great season for Alison and we all congratulate her on her achievements.

Her fellow Great Britain compatriot in the World Junior Track & Field Championships in Poland was Sophie Hitchon. Sophie not only broke the Club hammer record by a huge margin with a best throw of 60 metres 73 in Germany but by doing that broke the British Junior Womens record, topping the rankings by a massive margin and later reaching the final of the World Championships. She competes in India in the next few weeks in the Commonwealth Youth Championships and is one of the favourites to medal. Sophie also broke the Junior Women’s Shot record with 10.75m at her first Northern League fixture at Leeds but amazed all by her impressive sprinting skills, in particular running the second fastest time by a Blackburn Harriers female sprinter with 12.3 at Sports City on the 3rd August. Mention here of her training partner Sarah Henton who took the Northern Senior discus title in June – more power to our throws squad !

In the throws Megan Searson set an under 15 hammer record when she medalled at the Northern Championships at Wigan on the 25th May with a distance of 26.54 and Abi Bleasdale set new marks for the under 13 discus at 18 metres 14 and in the Javelin at 19 metres 23. Well done Abi!

The under 13’s were not quiet as Jenny Allman passed the high jump club record with a leap of 1 metre 33 at the final Young Athletes meeting in Blackpool on the 20th July.

However, when it came to breaking Club records, there was no-one to match Holly Bleasdale who commenced her track season in April and has only just finished on the 21st September. She had already broken the 60 metre indoor hurdles record in January but soon after broke many of the under 17 records, the most impressive of which was vaulting 2 metres 80 at Sports City on the 3rd August, breaking her own senior women and junior womens pole vault record in the process. In September she broke one of the oldest records in the books beating Lesley Fish’s 9.78 from the 1970’s with a 9.80 metre throw on the 14th September. Not wishing to stop there and competing for Lancashire in the English Schools combined event championships in Birmingham she broke the Club javelin record with a throw of 32 metres 30. On that day she got very close to her heptathlon record which she had set on the 29th June 2008 with a massive haul of 3998 points. Her main event at the beginning of the year was hurdling and she did not disappoint here. On the 3rd August in our final Northern League fixture when we lifted the Northern League Division 1 title, Holly broke the Club 100 metre hurdle record for an under 20 and of course an under 17 with 15.3 seconds but by that time she had competed in the English Schools, breaking the Club record at the Lancashire Schools in Blackpool on the 14th June 2008 with a time of 11.9 for the 80m hurdles. Holly, well done we are all very proud of you!

Holly Bleasdale breaking the junior 100m hurdles record at Sportscity 3.8.08

On the mens side records went with less frequency. Jack Vickery broke the under 15 boys discus record when competing for the Club for the first time on the 17th June 2008 when he threw 33 metres 60 and on the 20th July at Blackpool Macauley Grimes, our under 13 boy, beat Sam Pearson’s long jump record with a leap of 4 metres 40. Macauley, a recent addition to the Club ranks, followed that up with a tremendous display in the final of the Street Athletic Championships in Manchester and he is prospect over the next few years in the sprints

In the senior ranks there have been some excellent efforts over the year, particularly Luke Evans with his 10.88 at the English Schools and 21.8 at Sports City in August together with Paul Bradshaw’s 48.7 winning time in the 400 metres when we celebrated our 50th anniversary at Blackburn in June. However Oliver Aspden was probably the star of the show on the male side of the Club when it came to breaking records, having set the Club record for 60 metre hurdles indoors with 9.08 in February. He followed that up with a tremendous 11.43 seconds in the 80 metre hurdles competing at the highest level at the English Schools final, picking up a bronze medal in the process. Spotted in the triple jump on the 10th May and after some research Oliver broke the under 15 triple jump record with a leap of 11 metres 17 becoming County Champion and setting a new Championship best performance at Blackpool on the 10th May. His PB’s for 2008 were very impressive with 11.8 for the 100, a 1.72 high jump, 5.67 long jump and a 9.27 shot put. The pentathlon club record came in effect on the final day of the track season on the 21st September in Birmingham reaching 2573pts when Ollie competed, together with Holly Bleasdale and Christina Carr for Lancashire in the English Schools Combined Events Championships.

Relay records went in three age groups confirming the progress being made by our sprinters

Senior women 4 X 100 50.4s 7.6.08 Blackburn (Haworth, Bleasdale, Lewis, Hitchon)
Under 17 women 4 X 100 51.3s 20.7.08 Blackpool (Peter–Thomas, Lewis, Edmundson, Bleasdale)
Under 13 boys 4 X 100 56.7s 20.7.08 Blackpool (Blow, Dakin, Doherty, Grimes)

A huge well done to all of you, including the coaches of all these fine athletes, in particular Bob Groves, Arthur Almond, Mick Hitchon and Sarah Henton.

I now need to have a lie down in a darkened room and recover in time for the 2009 track & field season when I have no doubt I will be kept busy again amending these impressive records lists.

The updated lists can be seen in the records section of this website. Any amendments can be suggested to me at aw@hardman-wood.co.uk

Tony Wood

Club Historian and Archivist
25.9.08

Northern League Champions
Blackburn Harriers won the Northern League Senior title for the first time in their history yesterday (Aug 3rd) at Sportcity Manchester

(click photo for larger version)

Congratulations to all the team! • Results (PDF - new window)

Following the win at our 50th anniversary meeting at Witton Park in June, it seemed it would take a big event to match that this season but the Harriers managed to equal the level of achievement and excitement at Sports City on Sunday when, for the first time in their Club history, they lifted the Northern League Division 1 title against the cream of the North.

The final league placing showed an emphatic victory for the Blackburn club with a total of 21 league points out of the maximum 24 that could have been obtained beating their nearest rivals Leeds City by 6 league points. Sale Harriers Manchester and Trafford Manchester came 3rd and 4th respectively with Bolton and Wakefield being relegated back to Division 2 next season.

The Harriers team produced 10 A string wins during the day. On the womens side international Sophie Hitchon not only won her traditional hammer event, took a second in the 200 metres with a fast time but surprised all by winning the womens 100 metres in a personal best and a rapid 12.3 seconds beating Trafford’s top athlete Nikysha Ferguson in the process. Her fellow GB junior track colleague Alison Leonard also starred with a win in the 800 metres and in the 400m in 56 seconds supported by the ever constant and versatile 400m hurdler Christina Carr. The Harriers produced double wins in the mens 400 and 800 with Paul Bradshaw also again ducking under 49 seconds for his 400 metres and winning the 800 metres off the top bend with ease assisted by Anthony Hauserman also in the B 400 and 800 double with an 800 PB. Top road runner Ben Fish won the mens 5000 metres towards the end of the day followed home by season’s companion in the event Scott Monk when, by that time, the Harriers were realising they had defeated Leeds on the day by a huge margin and were guaranteed the league title.

Two more vital wins were to come the Harriers way in the discus where Northern champion Sarah Henton claimed yet another superb win in her main event as well as backing up in the other throws with Becky McElroy and Sarah Pate. Holly Bleasdale, who continues to impress the experts, on this occasion improved the Club pole vault record for women with a win vaulting 2 metres 80, as well as breaking the Club under 20 women’s record in the 100 metre hurdles with an excellent time of 15.3.

There were also some fine wins in the B string events which were also vital to ensuring Blackburn’s title win. There was a fine 2nd for Paul Whittle in the A string and then Liam Monaghan on his debut won the B high hurdles. Following a big points haul by Rachel Wood in the 1500 and 3000 Lucie Harrison Patry and Linda Clarkson won the B string in those events. Abby Edmundson won having backed up Carmen Peter-Thomas in one of the Harriers stronger events, the triple jump. James Wisdom and unexpected B jumper Pete Matthews covered the mens triple with 100m sprinters Phil Vickers and new signing Jamie Vickery the long jump. Team Captain Claude despite an injury linked up with Scott Robinson in the high jump whilst in the throws Lewis Taylor produced a massive PB in the mens hammer. This was backed up by stalwarts Mark Birchall (a seasons best of 52m in the javelin) and Tony Balko throughout the day. Karl Billington produced a PB 4min 4s pb in the 1500 with Phil Hall in the B race as did Josh Tighe in the chase with Liam Barton who also covered the long hurdles and pole vault with Ant Gotts. Sarah Haworth in the hurdles sprints and long jump was ever reliable and supportive to the team with Jessica Lewis just when the team needed it.

The mens sprints were highlighted for Blackburn with a fabulous win by Luke Evans in the 200 metres, having been pipped to the line in the 100 by British International Alan Condon. Luke reversed the tables on his opposition in the 200 producing a rapid 21.8 to the cheers of the massive Blackburn contingent near the line in the SportCity stadium. This was one of the highlights of the day. The win and the presentation of the league trophy to team captain Claude Peter-Thomas was witnessed by the Club President George Kirby who made the trip to Manchester to see his team proudly take the title. It was a fitting climax to a magnificent day and a memory for all of Blackburn Harriers to treasure.

Tony Wood
5.8.08

Harriers in action at World Juniors in Poland, July 2008.

click photo for larger version

Here's a great photo of Alison Leonard in the 800m at the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships at Bydgoscsz, Poland. Alison's time was 2:02.15. Sophie Hitchon also proudly represented her country reaching the hammer final and placing an excellent 7th.

Blackburn Harriers & AC Endurance Race Evening
Wednesday July 23rd from 7.00pm to help celebrate 50 years of track and field athletics at Witton Park.

10k runners – winner Dave Norman second from the right and event
organiser Tom Cornthwaite far left

Results:
1500m A Race - 7.00pm
1002 Karl Billington M U17 Blackburn Harriers 04:11.0
1033 Ashley Kay M U17 Rossendale Harriers 04:14.9
1003 Luke Tasker M U15 Blackburn Harriers 04:24.8
1008 Beau Smith M U15 Lancaster & Morecambe 04:29.3
1010 Alex Rowe M V50 Wesham Road Runners 04:34.0
1005 Sally Smith F U15 Wakefield 04:46.0
1006 Jack Crabtree M U13 East Cheshire Harriers 04:58.1
1004 Adrian Shorrock M SEN Blackburn Harriers 05:01.3
1009 Ian Harris M SEN Spectrum Striders 05:06.1
1007 Ashley Allen M U13 Blackburn Harriers 05:07.0

1500m B Race - 7.10pm
1024 Naomi Thompson F U15 Blackburn Harriers 05:07.8
1017 Jack Weiss M U13 Blackburn Harriers 05:10.9
1016 Elizabeth Greenwood F U13 Blackburn Harriers 05:11.3
1019 Hollie Gornall F U15 Blackburn Harriers 05:14.0
1018 Sally Searson F U13 Blackburn Harriers 05:14.3
1023 Melanie Taylor F U20 Blackburn Harriers 05:22.0
1020 Dale Allen M U13 Blackburn Harriers 05:28.4
1021 Anna Watson F U15 Blackburn Harriers 06:02.4
1022 Alison Armour F V45 Blackburn Harriers 06:26.8

3000m - 7.20pm
1040 Gary Priestley M U23 Horwich RMI 09:20.8
1037 Alan McKeown M U15 Blackburn Harriers 09:39.7
1041 Jordan Beard M U17 Rossendale Harriers 09:41.5
1036 Mark Almond M SEN Blackburn Harriers 09:57.5
1034 William Worrall M U17 Blackburn Harriers 10:02.8
1035 Danny Maynard M U17 Blackburn Harriers 10:18.6
1042 Emma Flanagan F U17 Rossendale Harriers 10:24.7
1038 James Eastham M U17 Blackburn Harriers 10:32.4
1031 Beckie Taylor F U15 Blackburn Harriers 10:49.7
1039 Shannon Johnston F U15 Leigh Harriers 10:51.7
1032 Charlotte Atkinson F U15 Blackburn Harriers 11:18.6
1044 Linda Clarkson F V40 Blackburn Harriers 11:22.2

10000m Race - 7.40pm
1053 Dave Norman M SEN Altrincham AC 31:50.0
1054 Anthony Valentine M SEN Bolton United Harriers 31:57.3
1052 Tom Cornthwaite M SEN Blackburn Harriers 32:24.7
1062 Paul Guinan M SEN Blackburn Harriers 33:47.3
1056 Scott Monk M SEN Blackburn Harriers 33:51.9
1060 Michael Hunt M SEN Trafford AC 35:17.2

The Blackburn Celebration 5K Run
Sunday July 13th • Results (new window)
The Blackburn Celebration 5K elite road race produced the fastest times in the UK so far when Antony Ford beat Andi Jones and Ben Fish and two guest Kenyans in 14.08 on a quick town centre 3 lap course in excellent conditions.
He took the winners prize and course record bonus of £500 in total for a pleasing consolation following his Olympic trial effort on the track the day before in Birmingham.
Winifrida Kwamboka from Kenya took the womens title in 15.50 from Rebecca Robinson and Louise Gardner.

Tony Wood

WITTON PARK 50th ANNIVERSARY TRACK & FIELD CELEBRATIONS 7th June 2008
A dream come true!

If anybody had been asked to write a script with a perfect ending for the 50th Anniversary of the opening of Witton Park Track, then it would have been for Blackburn Harriers to win their Northern Division 1 meeting in style on Saturday.

The script was written and the dream came true when Blackburn Harriers emphatically beat the cream of the North in sensational style on this special day.

A large crowd massed on the embankment whilst by the side of the track a host of special guests and members from the last 50 years gathered to watch a new generation of Harriers defeat the best the North could throw at them. The result takes Blackburn Harriers to the top of the Northern League. They defeated their rivals Bolton by 70 points with Wakefield in 3rd place, Trafford 4th Leeds 5th and Sale Manchester in last place.

The men and women in blue and white won 12 A string events and 11 B string events throughout the afternoon which is very impressive given the high level this team is now performing at. Special awards to commemorate 50 years at Witton Park were presented by Barrie Kelly the Great Britain track and field captain from the 60's and an Olympian in 1968. The winning performances were exceptional with World Youth Games silver medallist Alison Leonard winning the 400 metres in 55.2 seconds receiving the female track award and Paul Bradshaw, also from Blackburn Harriers, had a brilliant day winning the 400 metres in a personal best of 48.7 seconds having already won the 800 metres. The best field performance for a female award went without doubt to British record holder Sophie Hitchon who did not disappoint and broke the Witton Park record for the womens hammer with a massive throw of 59 metres 32, just 1 metre short of her own British record. A second Witton Park record went to the winner of the mens best field performance in the shape of Brian Hall of Bolton United Harriers who won the high jump with 2 metres 15.

The manner of the Harriers dominance was the most pleasing aspect of the day. In the sprints Luke Evans won the 200 in a flying 22.3 and Jerome Duxbury the B 100 and in the endurance events Tom Cornthwaite doubled up to win the A steeplechase and the B 5000 metres with team mate Ben Fish winning the A 5000. The team was lead both in action and by his huge charismatic vocal support in the shape of Claude Peter-Thomas, the Blackburn Track & Field Captain who notched up wins in the triple and long jump, as well as leading the 4 X 100 metre team to an emphatic victory in the penultimate event of the day in one of the fastest times by a Harriers team ever of 43.7 seconds.

The womens team confirmed their equal status in the success of this current Harriers team. The women hurdlers impressed with wins by Christina Carr with a rapid 65.8 seconds and Abby Edmundson in the 400 metre hurdles. Sarah Henton covered the throws and had an excellent 2nd in the discus backed up by a win in the B event by Rebecca McElroy. Further big points for the Club came with Carmen Peter-Thomas winning the triple jump. There was a senior club record for Holly Bleasdale in the pole vault with 2m 50 and she was also part of a sprint relay team of Sarah Haworth, Jessica Lewis and Sophie Hitchon who broke the sprint relay record with a time of 50.4 seconds.

One of the highlights of the day was a firework display in the middle of the arena which was quickly put together in between the womens hammer and the mens discus. The presentation party of members of the Harriers both old and young came down to the track side with Tony Wood, the Club Chairman, who gave the crowds a brief history of the track.. Importantly he introduced the Harriers President George Kirby who had been involved in the formation of the Club after the Second World War and who is still involved with the Harriers as Club President and now in his 80's. It was an emotional day for George but he, more than most, appreciated how significant this milestone was. There was no prouder man at Witton Park on Saturday especially because he saw the Club thriving more than ever, its success ever increasing and its place at Witton Park being not only part of history but part of a bright future.

Tony Wood

Photos: The excellent photo of Claude (above) is one of many that can be viewed/purchased at the Heart to Heart Photography website.

Lancashire AA Track and Field Championships 2008
May 10/11th 2008, Stanley Park Blackpool.
Saturday Results • Sunday Results • Report (PDF files)

Northern Division 1 Track & Field League
Leeds 3rd May 2008
1 Leeds 389 pts
2 Blackburn 381 pts
3 Sale 350 pts
4 Trafford 336 pts
5 Wakefield 318.5 pts
6 Bolton 308.5 pts
Full Results • Report (both are PDFs open in a new window)

Lancs Schools Combined Events Championships 2008
April 26/27th 2008, Stanley Park Blackpool.
2 champions and 2 club records! u17 Heptathlon Holly Bleasdale and u15 Pentathlon Oliver Aspden Results (PDF file)

Lancashire Cross Country Championships
Saturday 5th January 2008, Witton Park.
Results (42K PDF file)

RIBBLE VALLEY 10K
Sunday 30th December 2007


(click photo for larger image)

Results (UKresults website - new window)

With over 1000 entries for this popular and fast 10k race spectators saw Antony Ford national UK 5k track medalist beat off the challenge of fell international Andi Jones winning in 29.51. Perfect conditions in the shadow of Pendle Hill saw Ford pull clear of Jones after a sub 4.30 first mile. Rob Berry held off Blackburn Harriers Ben Fish for 3rd with Fish and Tom Cornthwaite 5th leading the host Blackburn club to the team title. European u23 medallist Ben Lindsay came off the country to record 31.21 in 6th. Fellow GB international Helen Clitheroe picked up the winners cash prize with a seasons best of 32.42 just missing the course record bonus. She outpaced Aldershot's Vicki Gill who ran 33.28 and Clare Entwistle of Wigan 34.12s.

PRESENTATION NIGHT
Friday 7th December 2007
St Marks Club was packed to the rafters for the Harriers 2007 presentation night - almost 150 attended. View photographs (new window)

Mick Morton 1978 World Junior Cross Country Champion presented the awards 30 years after his greatest race in particular to Alison Leonard World Youth Games Silver medallist 2007 - a film was shown of her triumph this summer to a cheering audience as well as a clip from Micks win in Glasgow.

Aaron Hargreaves was presented with his road award by international John Calvert a Harriers stalwart from the 1970s and Tom Cornthwaite his fell running award by former Harrier and 3 time 3 peaks winner Harry Walker.

A great night for the Club looking back on a very successful year. See full list of award winners at the foot of this page.

SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY
2007 Blackburn & Darwen Schools Cross Country Championships
Dec 1st Witton Park Blackburn
Full Results (26K PDF file - opens in new window)

North West Champions 2007
Blackburn Harriers enjoyed an extremely successful day at the North West Road Relays at Sefton Park, Liverpool on the 15th September.
The 4 counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester come together and in addition to the overall North-West title, the teams are competing with their own county rivals for the County Title. Our headline team were undoubtedly our Senior Men who became North West champions as well as collecting the Lancashire title. Aaron Hargreaves headed the race after leg 1, Dave Thornton ran a great 2nd leg to keep us in 3rd place. Ben Fish then quickly recovered the lead and opened up a 40 second gap with Tom Cornthwaite extending the lead a little more to bring us home well clear of runners-up Liverpool Harriers with Salford Harriers in 3rd. To further emphasise their dominance, Ben ran the fastest leg, Aaron 2nd fastest and Tom 3rd fastest.

Club Track & Field Championships & BBQ Night
6th Sept 2007 Witton Park
Results (PDF - new window)

Thanks to everyone who came to our Club Track and Field Champs and BBQ night. The weather was fortunately favourable, but the traffic unfortunately not. For those that didn't manage to make it, I'm sorry that you missed a good night. We held up the events programme as much as we could to allow people to get to Witton.

It was great to see all sections of the Club together, and some great performances right through from U9 to Senior level. As well as thanking the athletes for a super night, I would like to thank all the officials and helpers on the BBQ that allowed us to put on such a great event.

I hope that you all enjoyed it, and hopefully we will hold the event again next year.

Richard Taylor

PROMOTION IS SWEET....
NoEAA Athletics League Qualifier 1/9/07 Wavertree, Liverpool
Full Results (PDF - new window)

After winning Division 2 of the Northern Senior Track and Field league for the 5th time this decade Blackburn Harriers Senior team finally succeeded in gaining promotion to the top division when on Saturday 1st September at Wavertree Liverpool they came a close second to rivals Bolton in the play off match and defeated their other 5 rivals Preston Middlesbrough Rotheram Boston and West Cheshire for the coveted top two spots in the match needed to gain promotion.

There was no knowing the final result until both leading teams pulled away two thirds through the meet. At one point Blackburn had a 26 point lead after a fantastic set of wins on the track mid way through the afternoon. This rich vein of form came with wins in the steeplechase Ben Fish and Aaron Hargreaves and both the mens and womens high hurdles in the shape of multi eventers on the day Sarah Haworth Christina Carr Paul Whittle and Claude Peter Thomas. The hurdles wins were much to the delight of coach Bob Groves watching from the stand. The Harriers gathered at both ends of a crowded stadium erupted with shouts and cheers as the scores were announced and promotion suddenly became a live prospect. Bolton were always gong to be strong having won the National Plate the week before but Blackburn despite notable absences were not going to let this chance go.

Early on good points were earned by club record holder Holly Bleasdale and Toni Aldridge in the pole vault as did Abby Edmundson in the 400 hurdles. This was followed up by dominant wins for World Youth games silver medallist Alison Leonard in the 800 and 400 a fitting end to the season according to her coach Arthur Almond. In the throws, injuries to stalwarts Mark Birchall and Alf Oddie were being patched up by the club’s travelling masseur during the day with so much success that Mark took second in the mens javelin with a final crucial throw over 50metres. Sarah Henton, Blackburn’s top thrower was crucial in massing the points on the field backed by Becki McElroy in the shot and discus. To add to that Carmen Peter Thomas won the triple jump and the B high jump at an important time towards the end.

Back on the track Rachel Wood doubled up in the 1500 and 3000 hauling in the points as did Paul Bradshaw. He is currently the clubs top middle distance prospect and showed big commitment by travelling from Cardiff to win the B 800 and the A 400 as well as vital points in the 200 and both relays. The day was rounded off with fell international Tom Cornthwaite winning convincingly the 5000m .

Tony Wood team manager said ‘This was a big day for the club and the culmination of a number of years work by our athletes to move up to the top division. I cannot mention all of our athletes this season and today who have contributed to this success but it has needed a good squad to do it. With the young team we have, combined with the quality amongst our seniors we hope to stay there and consolidate over the next few years. I want to thank all the coaches for their work at the club and if I was to single out one individual it would have to be our track and field captain Claude who is not only a fine athlete but an inspiration to all the team.’

Well done Alison!

Probably the best performance by a female athlete in the history of Blackburn Harriers took place in Ostrava on Sunday 15th July when Alison Leonard representing Great Britain took the silver medal in the 800m final of the World Youth Games 2007

Congratulations Alison from all of us at the Club – we are extremely proud of you and your tremendous efforts to get through your heat, semi-final and then medal in the final against the best in the world!

Tony Wood - Club Chairman

Read the full report (link to UK Athletics website)

New Training Top


Click here to order our new club training top (pdf file - new window)
Order early for £10 discount!

Big success for the Harriers at County Championships!
Lancs AA Track & Field Championships
Stanley Park Blackpool, Saturday 12th/Sunday 13th May 2007
Weblinks: Saturday results - Sunday Results

Northern 12 stage success!
North of England Road Relay Championships
Silksworth, Sunderland on Sunday 1st April 2007
Full Results link

Although it was April 1st 2007 Blackburn Harriers senior road teams were nobody’s fools in Sunderland when the A team produced the best relay performance by the Club since 1981 coming a magnificent 6th!

6th Blackburn Harriers & AC 'A' 2:48:35
Chris Hart (5) 20:18
Matt Wood (3) 10:16
Ant Gotts (9) 11:39
Tom Cornthwaite (9) 20:34
David Thornton (7) 10:14
Richard Stones (8) 10:41
Paul Guinan (8) 21:34
Aaron Hargreaves (7) 10:10
Adrian Shorrock (7) 11:47
Ben Fish (6) 20:11
Matt Nuttall (6) 10:44
Paul Bradshaw (6) 10:27

Much appreciation to our university young lions Braddy, Harty, Woody and Stonesy for making the trip from the South for the race and good luck to those guys for the track season until we see them again in May and June.

The B team ran very well taking 36th overall and 4th B team and first from the North West:

36th Blackburn Harriers & AC 'B' 3:24:34
Mark Almond (42) 24:37
Richard Taylor (43) 12:37
Etienne Sharrocks (42) 12:34
Roger Schultz (40) 24:31
George Woodburn (40) 12:54
Mark Emmett (37) 12:15
Matt Cooper (39) 27:02
Evan Cook (38) 12:36
John Aldridge (37) 13:12
Mick Blackburn (36) 25:39
Allan Hartley (36) 13:03
Tony Wood (36) 13:34

It was a great day from start to finish - the coach trip, the race, the constant support from all of you for the teams and finally the Kings Head post race feast!

Michael Green top of Power of 10 - 10km rankings
(This article- dated Feb 26th 2007 - is reproduced from the uk:athletics website)

"News arrives from the USA that Michael Green (Blackburn Harriers) has gone to the top of this year’s 10km rankings on the Power of 10 website, devised by UK Athletics and its governing partners to generate raised standards in every event in every age group in every region on the way to London 2012.

"Green, who is currently based in Atlanta and is preparing to run in this year’s Flora London Marathon, clocked 29 minutes 31 seconds in winning the Charles Harris Run for Leukaemia 10km in Tucker, Georgia, on Saturday February 24.

"He is the first UK runner under 30 minutes on the Power of 10 website this year but is still below UK target of 29:15.

Well done Michael !

17 Harriers Selected for Lancashire!
The Club are pleased to announce that 17 Blackburn Harriers have been selected to run for Lancashire in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships in Nottingham on February 24th and 12 athletes are selected to run for Lancashire Schools in the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Leeds on March 24th.

Blackburn Harriers success in the Lancashire Cross Country Championships 2007 Witton Park Sat 6th Jan 2007 RESULTS LINK

The day started with the U13's. Kieran Monaghan led home the boy's team in 8th place for a team Bronze with Josh Robinson 9th, Ryan Hurley 11th and Ashley Allen 19th. James Gaffney provided back up in 31st place.
In the girl's race Beckie Taylor picked up a silver medal for her 2nd place and led the Girls team to Gold. Charlotte Atkinson 6th, Naomi Thompson 7th and Megan Searson 9th capped off an excellent team performance to get all 4 girls inside the top 10.

The U15's races were next. Jordan Cowell produced probably his strongest race yet for the Club, gaining 8th place , and hopefully his 1st county vest. Twin brother Johnny was next in 14th and Jamie Gallagher 20th, despite the loss of a spike on the saucer.
Lucie Patry was our only U15 Girl, but produced her best XC race to date, winning a bronze medal in the U15 Girls race.

The U17 Men had a successful day. Tom Melody was the lead runner in 4th, Adam Hurley 7th, and Peter Matthews in 8th for team gold with Jamie Jordan in his 1st County Champs running an excellent 11th place.
The U17 Women went slightly better with Rachel Searson in 2nd taking an individual silver medal, Alison Leonard ran a fine 4th but is not yet qualified to count for the team, so Holly Robinson 6th and Melanie Taylor 7th brought home the team gold.

Richard Stones ran an excellent race to take 2nd in the finishing straight of the U20 Mens race whilst Katie Morris ran a good race coming back from illness to take 6th in the U20 Womens race.

The day was capped off fantastically in the Senior races.

Although our lone Senior Lady, Pauline Powell produced a top class performance. She ran away from Vicky Gill on the 2nd lap to open up an impressive gap and leave the field strung out behind.

Ben Fish had a similarly impressive race in the Senior Mens and like Pauline, will hopefully have a successful campaign in the Regional and National races to come. Going to the front from the start, his lead extended with each of the 4 laps to win the race by over a minute from a strong field, the first individual County title ever by a senior man from Blackburn Harriers. He lead the Men's team to a convincing Gold Medal, defending the title they took last year. With Tom Cornthwaite 6th, Brian Cole 7th, Scott Monk 10th, Paul Guinan 21st and Jonathan Bridge 24th we should also be well represented in the Lancashire Team. Gary Pearse, Craig Greenough, Mick Blackburn and Allan Hartley all completed for the Harriers.

The final tally of 6 Gold Medals was double that of our nearest rivals Lancaster & Morecambe and with 3 silver and 2 Bronze, we took more medals in total than any other club. Well done everyone who took part.

Richard Taylor.

Ribble Valley 10K Road Race
Sunday 31st December 2006 from Roefield Leisure Centre, Clitheroe.
Full RESULTS are published on the UK Results website (new window).

GB International Stuart Stokes of Sale Harriers won the last big domestic 10K of 2006 holding off Inter Counties 10000m track champion Ben Fish of Blackburn Harriers in an exciting finish ahead of a field of almost 1000 starters at Clitheroe Lancashire on New Years Eve. The leaders had gone through the first mile in 4.29 with a group of 5 which included Stokes and Fish, Matt Barnes Altrincham, Andi Jones Salford and Steve Hepples of Newham & Essex Beagles. Fish took up the lead from 2 to 4 miles until Stokes and Barnes pushed on near the Whalley junction. Soon Barnes and Jones slowly dropped off the pace as Fish tucked in behind Stokes. Stokes drew away for a 5 second win at the finish at Edisford Bridge in a time of 30.13 with Fish at 30.18. Mark Buckingham 7th of Holmfirth lead his team to a victory just edging out Sean Dirrane of Leeds.
The bad weather held off but the race had blustery conditions which just prevented another international Helen Clitheroe of Preston Harriers breaking her own women’s course record after going through the first fast mile in under 5 mins. She won in 32.32 to go 5th in the UK 2006 rankings beating Jenny Blizard Rotheram Harriers 34.08 and Vicky Gill Chorley Harriers 34.14 with ease.
It was her 3rd consecutive win in the race.
Blackburn Harriers senior men took second in the team race with Ben Fish Brian Cole and Scott Monk whilst Pauline Powell Rachel Searson and Rachel Wood took the womens team title

Tony Wood
Race Director
Blackburn Harriers

"Transforming Athletics by 2012" - Power of 10
Visit the Power of 10 website to find out more. You can see the current target for your event and check out the current ranking tables (all sorted by region, gender and age group).

Best Ever Season for Young Athletes...
Blackburn Harriers Track and Field young athletes team had their best ever season when they came 6th in the Northern Premier Division of the National Young Athletes League - a great performance!

... and we are the Top Club in Lancashire!
To add to the success the young athletes combined with the seniors to become the top club in Lancashire winning the Mid Lancs Track & Field league division 1 titles for men and women - another first for the Club!

Silver
Tom Cornthwaite - Senior Men 5000m
Claude Peter-Thomas - Senior Men Long Jump
Richard Taylor - Vet Men 5000m
Paul Bradshaw - U20 Men 400m
Adam Hurley - U17 men 1500m & 800m
Mohammed Moosa - U17 Men 100m Hdls
Kieran Monaghan - U13 Boys 75m Hdls
Sarah Haworth - Sen Women - 100m Hdls
Holly Robinson - U17 Women 1500m
Abby Edmundson - U15 Girls 75m Hdles
Holly Bleasdale - U15 Girls Javelin

Bronze
Liam Barton - Senior Men 400m Hdls
James Wisdom - U17 Men 400m
Michael Carr - U17 Men 400 Hdls
Tom Melody - U17 Men 1500m Steeplechase
Josh Robinson - U13 Boys 1500m
Kieran Monaghan - U13 Boys High Jump
Christina Carr - U17 Women 300 Hurdles
Carmen Peter-Thomas - U15 Girls 75m Hdls
Lucie Patry - U15 Girls 3000m
Bracken Sturgess - U13 Girls 70m Hdls

National 12 Stage Road Relay Championships
Sutton Park, Birmingham : Saturday 8th April 2006
Results link

Blackburn Harriers Senior Mens team produced the best ever performance by a Lancashire Club since the creation of the new county placing 16th in the National 12 Stage Road Relays at Sutton Park on Saturday.

It was a performance that bettered their previous best form of 23rd place set way back 25 years ago in 1981. Peter Banks and Kieron O’Connor were the stars then and who ran the fastest long and short stage for the team. The squad that year included Mick Morton World Junior Cross Country Champion. The team 25 years on contained a whole new generation of up and coming Harriers distance prospects, although there was one common link. In 1981 present team manager Tony Wood ran 16.15 for the short stage and 25 years later his son Matt Wood ran 6 seconds faster in a time of 16.09. Times can be compared because the course is exactly the same. All the greats of Britain’s distance running are contained in the top 10 best ever performances on that course, including David Moorcroft who was present on Saturday and Brendan Foster.

Having taken 7th place at the Northern 12 stage two weeks previously, the Harriers team management expected a top 20 place was possible but this position was beyond their expectations. The team was strengthened from the team that performed well at Heaton Park by the inclusion of GB Junior international Chris Hart who ran a solid first leg for them. Matt Wood, Max Colligan and Richard Stones, another addition to the Northern squad, allowed them to set up Ben Fish who ran the fastest long stage for the Harriers of the day in a time of 27 minutes 35 seconds. Excellent runs from Mark Almond, Paul Bradshaw Matt Nuttall and in particular the ultra distance international Brian Cole set up the fastest short stage runner Toby Banfield in a time of 15.53 and Tom Cornthwaite to bring the Harriers up to 16th place with a time of 27 minutes 54 seconds on the long stage. The icing on the cake was that Scott Monk ran the glory leg in isolation but by then deteriorating weather conditions to hold on to 16th place with a very pleased Harriers team cheering him on at the finish. The result was that they were 6th Club from the North to finish just behind relay giants Salford Harriers who finished in 15th place.

The quality of the racing on the day was excellent with Mo Farah, fresh from the Commonwealth Games leading the Newham & Essex Beagles team to victory. Fellow Commonwealth competitor Stuart Stokes took the first leg for silver medallists Sale Harriers, which team ran in memory of former Blackburn Harrier Frank Starkie, their secretary who had died the week previous. It was a wonderful day’s athletics and Blackburn Harriers are now confident that their improving form can continue in the years to come.