Northern League – Sunday June 3rd
Another day of sunshine and another win for the Harriers which leaves them top of the Division after the first two fixtures – with 12 League Points and 836.5 Match Points. Some cracking performances on the day which saw the Team produce 19 wins, 14 second and 17 third place finishes – with one of the highlights, the breaking of the Club Record for Shot Putt by Holly Bradshaw when she threw 11.56m to beat the existing record held by Sarah Henton by just 4cms.
Northern League days always start with Hammer, Pole Vault and Long Jump, all of which provided good points for the Club as they set out to try and win the Match. Abigail Brown and Anna Peers both took 3rd places in the Women’s Hammer 32.06m and 26.14m respectively – Abigail’s throw was a massibe new PB as she added over 10 metres to her previous best. On to the Discus resulting in a double win for Anna and Abigail as Anna won the ‘A’ (33.55m) and Abigail the ‘B’ with another new PB by over two metres of 27.91m. The Javelin was next up and it was Anna again who led the way winning the ‘A’ event with a throw of 35.90m and backed up by Millie Coy who won the ‘B’ with 29.50m: And yet another double win in the final thows event of the day for the Women resulting in Holly Bradshaw breaking the Club Record as she set a new PB in reaching 11.56m and backed up by Anna Peers recording her third win of the day as she took the ‘B’ with a distance of 10.42m.
Out on the Track Morgan Angland took 3rd spot in the ‘A’ 100m in 13.2 as Bailey Madden kept her winning run going by taking the win in the ‘B’ race clocking 12.9 and she followed that up with a 2nd placed time of 26.9 in the ‘A’ 200m with Chloe Bleeks 3rd in the ‘B’ in 27.7. The two of them combined with Morgan Angland and Millie Coy to take 2nd spot in the 4 x 100m Relays (51.6 to Bolton’s 51.1). Charlie Coy and Freya Black teamed up in the 400m with Charlie finishing 4th in the ‘A (61.7) and Freya in her first ever attempt over the distance, also 4th in the ‘B’ with a time of 64.8.
The Women’s 800m saw Ellen Sagar-Hesketh make her debut for the Harriers running a time of 2.24.9 in the ‘A’ whilst Freya Black ran another good race to place 2nd in the ‘B’ to set a new PB of 2.27.0. Maddie Elliott and Katie Buckingham gave the Harriers maximum points in the 1500m which saw Maddie win the ‘A’ Race in 4.53.8 and Katie the ‘B’ in 5.11.2. Alison Lundy (Leonard) found herself in unfamiliar territory as she took on and won the ‘A’ 3000m clocking 9.53.5 and it was good to see Rebecca Shorrock back in action for the Club as she earned points for the team in 4th place (12.56.2). At the end of the day, Charlie, Maddie, Katie and Freya combined to finish 3rd in the 4 x 400m Relays with a time of 4.19.0.
The Women’s Long and Sprint Hurdles had Millie Coy placing 3rd in the ‘A’ 400m Hurdles in 69.6 with Katie Buckingham also 3rd in the ‘B’ (75.0). Morgan Angland kept the points tally building as she took 2nd position in the 100m Hurdles with a time of 16.4 and there was a win for Liberty Thompson in the ‘B’ Race with 20.1.
In the Jumps – Bailey Madden and Chloe Bleeks were 4th and 2nd respectively – Bailey jumping 4.65m for 4th spot in the ‘A’ and Chloe 4.53m for 2nd in the ‘B’. Chloe added to her total of points taking 4th spot in the ‘A’ Triple Jump with a new PB of 9.72m as Ellen Sagar-Hesketh marked her debut for the Club with a win in the ‘B’ (9.53m). Liberty Thompson placed 3rd in the ‘A’ High Jump clearing 1.40m. Olympian Holly Bradshaw, without her own poles took 2nd place in the pole vault.
Dominic Bretherton and Ross Liddle teamed up for the 100/200m double which saw Dominic place 3rd in the ‘A’ 100m (11.4) and 5th in the ‘A’ 200m (23.9) as Ross came home 2nd in the ‘B’ 100m (11.7) and then won the 200m ‘B’ Race in 23.2. A familiar face in the ‘A’ 400m saw Paul Bradshaw improving from his last outing to take 3rd in 51.3, the same time being given to the 2nd placed athlete. Great to see Zac Howe back in action too after an injury plagued 2017, he finished 3rd in the ‘B’ race with a time of 53.4. Then a swap in the order and ack on preferred territory, Zac took on the ‘A’ 800m and had a great battle with the Holmfirth athlete to finish 2nd in 1.58.6 a tenth away from the winner – Paul backed Zac up in the ‘B race placing 3rd in 2.03.7. In the 4 x 100m Relays – Ross Liddle / Chris Brand / Nicholas Massey / Dominic Bretherton combined to finish 2nd in 46.0 and in the 4 x 400m combining Tim Raynes / Solomon Brown / Paul Bradshaw and Joe Howe saw the team come home in 5th (3.46.0).
Just four tenths separated the time Tim Raynes won the ‘A’ 1500m in (4.05.9) from a new personal best as Zac Howe ran the ‘B’ coming home 5th in 5.13.0 following the 400m he ran just ten minutes or so earlier. Chris Davies and Joe Howe were back together in the 3000m Steeplechase which saw Chris take 3rd spot in the ‘A race in 10.42.3 and Joe 2nd in the ‘B’ with 11.09.1. Ben Fish ensured maximum points in the ‘A’ 5000m with yet another win clocking 5.18.2 with great back up from Ben Costello in the ‘B’ race placing 2nd in 16.28.4.
Solomon Brown and Nicholas Smith are becoming a formidable pair in the 400m Hurdles as they did, what they did in the first match, win both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ races – Solomon taking the ‘A’ in 60.1 and Nicholas the ‘B’ (62.9). John iLunga and Joe Howe took on the 110m Hurdles – John placing 4th in the ‘A (21.6) and Joe 3rd in the ‘B’ with 22.9.
Over on the Throws – Anthony Kent – has been looking forward to competing in his first Senior season and has done exceptionally well, winning the ‘A’ Hammer with a distance of 35.92m, placing 2nd in the ‘A’ Discus with a throw of 31.82m and 2nd again in the ‘A’ Shot Putt with 10.23m to wrack up a great total of points. Nathan Billington pushed the points tally upwards by winning the ‘B’ Shot (8.57m) and taking 3rd in the ‘B’ Discus with 21.56m. Before the end of May – John Cookson hadn’t thrown a Javelin since 2012, telling the team manager he was available in needed. That 2012 Javelin throw measured 31.86m and at this fixture he set a new PB of 33.08m placing 5th in the ‘A’ event.
Jonathan Gough set a big new PB as he came in 2nd in the Triple Jump ‘A’ with a leap of 12.27m, a half a metre further than he is previous best. John iLunga followed suit as he also set a new PB of 10.40 in the ‘B’ in 3rd spot. John then took 4th spot in the ‘A’ High Jump with 1.55m as Luke Kenyon also took 4th in the ‘A’ clearing 1.65m. One of the surprises of the day was Paul Bradshaw in the Pole Vault clearing 2.30m for joint 3rd place and who knows, his Coach (Holly) isn’t half good!!
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Holly Bradshaw was competing at her third Diamond League Fixture this year in Oslo finishing 5th in a competition won by US Pole Vaulter Sandi Morris with 4.81m. Holly cleared 4.41m and 4.51m on her first jump in each round before going out. Sandi Morris heads the standings in this years Diamond League with 22 points from Katie Nageotte in 2nd place (16 points) and Holly who is in 3rd place at the moment with 12 points.
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BMC Gold Standard Races at Loughborough – Wednesday June 6th
Great results for the Harriers at the BMC the other night as Rob Warner and James Marchant both ran new PB’s in the 1500m and 800m races respectively. Also having a good run tonight was Jess Judd who won the Women’s 800m A race in a seasons best time of 2.05.36 saying that “the race went well”. This was the last race for Jess in Chelmsford colours as she has now joined Blackburn Harriers and we take this opportunity to give a very warm welcome to her.
James ran his second 800m of 2018 – only his third race over the distance since 2016 – running superbly to win the race and set a new PB by over a second and a half of 1.53.30. Afterwards he spoke to the Club and was delighted with his perforamnce telling us “Its been a very rocky last 2 years, but finally seem to be finding my feet and some consistency again. Second 800 of the season, and certainly plenty more to give ! Excited to see what sort of times i can run in the near future”
(James Marchant No 19)
Rob’s time 0f 3.48.45 has put him into the UK top 100 – in which the athlete needs to better 3.48.50 – at number 58 and was understandbly pleased with his latest race commenting to the Club that he was “Really happy to get a PB in the 1500, it was a tough race with the pace going up and down a bit but I was happy to hang in there and get under 3:49! It was a tight finish as there was only 1 second between me in 7th and the 3rd place finisher, just slightly disappointed that I wasn’t higher up position-wise but cannot be disappointed with another PB really”.
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Mountain Running Championships at Sedbergh – Saturday June 2nd
Chris Arthur had an outstanding day at the misty Mountain Running Championships at Sedbergh – a race which was used to select those who would represent Britain in the European Mountain Running Championships on July 1st 2018 in Skopje, Macedonia. Chris runs for Bowland on the Fells and for Blackburn Harriers on the Road, Track and Cross Country.
Chris finished 2nd on the day in a time of 47.17 – 22 seconds behind winner Andy Douglas and 15 seconds in front of 3rd placed Nick Swinburn and was 1st counter for the winning England Team. Over the moon with his performance he told the Harriers “Yesterday was one of those days when it all just comes together. Given the quality of the field I’m absolutely blown away to have come 2nd. I felt strong and relaxed the whole way round and the two lap format really helps in working out when to turn the screw. Helping England to the team prize against a strong Scottish contingent was the icing on the cake (and a relief to finish a race in that vest after the Snowdon incident)”.
Thomas Marchant also entered the Championships after some decent perfomances in a number of local Fell Races of late and similar to the Seniors, the Junior race was packed with quality runners which meant a tough day for Thomas with the Race being won by Matthew McKay in a time of 23.42. Thomas placed 19th overall clocking 29.04 and given the level of preparation that he has been able to put in prior to the Championships, the run respresented a pretty solid perforamnce. Thomas is next out on the Fells in a weeks time, taking on the Buckden Pike fell Race.
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Ironman Lanzarote – Saturday May 25th
The Ironman held in Lanzarote recently is an imposing event consisting of a Swim of 3.8km, a bike ride of 182.2kn and topped off by running a Marathon at the end!!
Brian Fogarty entered this Race – his first as a fulltime professional – against the backgound of battling with a relatively long term foot injury of nearly a year in duration. In the Race, Brian finished 23rd overall out of over 1500 competitors and 14th professional. His Bike Ride was phenomenal, being the fastest of anyone in the Race including the winner and put him in 4th place overall as he entered the Marathon run stage. Finishing with a total time of 9hrs 33.32, he spoke to the Harriers after he arrived home, commenting about the event and how he thought it had gone saying that it was a “Tough day for me on Saturday at Ironman Lanzarote. It was my first race as a professional and I was hoping it would be my best. Unfortunately for the last 9 months I’ve not been able to run with any consistency due to a fractured bone in my foot and despite long periods of rest it still hasn’t healed as of 2 weeks ago. I was still determined to race and see how I’d get on. Unfortunately the lack of running showed at around 16 miles into the marathon. I managed to gain some credibility from the day by posting the fastest bike split by over 5 minutes, despite a poor swim I came into T2 in 4th place amongst some world class athletes which was a nice feeling. In the end I slowly fell down the field to finish a disappointing 23rd overall. In truth I was kidding myself to think I could have done any better. I loved it being back on the start line. I’m just praying now my foot will settle enough for me to race to more of my potential in 6 weeks”.
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John on the Fells
John Orrell has been putting in the miles in Fell Races of late and had a busy busy May where ‘every race was hot’. Chasing a PB on Fairfield on the 12th May featuring three hundred and four finishers, “soon became a bad idea, as seconds gave way to minutes by the top. It’s a good run down, but with Hart Crag, Dove Crag, High Pike and Low Pike still to negotiate, I was only just about standing up by the end. No beer here, just water!”
A week later, John surprised himself recovering so well…..“12 miles of the Clapham Circuit. Limestone scenery this time, with Nick Pot, Sulber Nick, Wharfe, and Austwick. Aiming for that PB again the heat put paid to that. No photos, shame as I had a top 10 finish in 7th”.
In the subsequent eight days, John ran four Fell Races in total including Hutton Roof Crags on the 26th May, Austwick Amble on the 28th, Ingleton Waterfalls on the 31st and finally Pen-y-Ghent on 2nd June.
Ingleton Waterfall Trails Results
Two Hundred and seventeen finishers at thw Hutton roof Race which saw John come home in 134th position with a time of 79.48. At Austwick John came in 109th (76.22) out of one hundred and eighty three finishers. A smaller field of sixty seven took on the Ingleton Waterfall Trails Race with John placing 47th in a time of 44.32 – and – his final race at Pen Y Ghent on June 2nd saw John complete a gruelling week of race in placing 90th out of a field of one hundred and forty two in a time of 72.09 and trying to chase down Nick Oddy from Keighley just in front of him.
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John Horrocks ran the Sedbergh fell Race on May 20th coming home in 5th place overall with a time of 22.54 – the Race being won by Jack Cummings of Ilkley Harriers in 20.52. (Sedbergh Results)
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Kelbrook Fell Race – Friday June 1st
One hundred and seventy one runners t this race won by Danny Collinge in 21.40. V40 Paul Whittaker ran for the Harriers finishing in 104th with a time of 31.32.
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A very good perforamnce by U15 Zach Walmsley who entered entered the 3k Abersoch Beach race on his holday competing on a picturesque course, with a mixture of hard and soft sand and trial. As the tide was in they had to hurdle many groins in the course and Zach completed it in 11.56. He was fourth overall but 1st in the under 14s category winning £50! Well done Zach.
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Astely Park Series _ Wednesday June 6th
Race 2 in this years Astley Park Series featured one hundred and thirty five runners. Race 1 in May saw the Harriers win the Team Race with Josh Holgate, Matt Nuttall and Chris Davies the three counters. Some different athletes in Race 2 with the same result – a Team win – with four Harriers in the top eight places.
Jack Hindle won the Race in a time of 24.42 from Chris Davies in 2nd spot (24.54 and nearly a minute quicker than Race 1) which suggested a close race for a good part of the time. Chris took 1st V40 prize and he was followed home by Paul Guinan in 7th position clocking 26.34 (fifteen seconds faster than than Race 1) – just one second in front of Derek Reilly in 8th (26.35). Next across the line for the Harriers came V45 Paul Brindle in 14th place (27.02) followed home by Allan Hartley V40 in 50th (33.22), V50 Michael Nolan in 72nd (35.04 and V40 Lorna Sharp in 93rd with a time of 39.01.
The Junior Race featured nearly as many as the Senior Race with one hundred and seventeen youngsters all having a go over the Junior distance. Keith Gill reported on the night, telling the Club “Race 2 in the Astley Trail series saw nine (6 boys and 3 girls) of our Juniors run in a field of 118 youngsters on a very warm sunny evening. Unfortunately Will Grundy fell at the start so only 8 finished.The remaining 5 boys were very well grouped and had strong runs.Codie Dewhurst was first Harrier home in 19th place with a time of 5:53 (15 seconds faster than Race 1). Next was “first timer” Matthew Smith in 5:57 giving him 20th overall and 1st in the M10 category. Just behind was Oliver Gill in 6:01 and 24th overall and 2nd in the M10 category. Then with 6:05 was Harry Sambrook giving him 28th overall and a really impressive 32 seconds faster than Race 1. Closely following was Saul Sharp in 34th place with 6:12. First girl home for the Harriers was Hannah Davies in 60th place with 6:43, this was 13 seconds faster than Race 1 and good enough for 1st place in the F9 category. In 88th place was Lulu Sharp with 7:50, again another faster than Race 1 Harrier knocking 13 seconds off her previous time. Finally Charlotte Smith, the smallest and youngest Harrier runner on the night, running in the F7 age category, produced a fantastic sprint finish and collected a time of 8:14 and 95th place”.
