Northern League Division 2WC – Saturday August 4th
Another Saturday, another glorious day and another great performance by the Club in the last of this years Northern League fixtures, held at Cleckheaton. At this time of year, all teams are affected by holidays and when you throw in work and injuries, it can be a stressful time for team managers, trying to put their best teams out. The Harriers went into this fixture missing more athletes than we have done this year, but what a reaction from everyone. New athletes came in and performed tremendously well. Other athletes took on more events than they would have been expected to do just to keep us in the hunt for a win on the day and to make it a clean sweep of four matches, four wins. In the end we came up just seven points short as the team finished second to Holmfirth – the team spirit was amazing as can be evidenced by some of our throwers who took on high jump, sprints and sprint relays after losing a number of our 1st chcoice sprinters for the day – you really can’t ask for more. What a fabulous group of athletes to be part of.
RESULTS
A great start for the Sprinters as Bailey Madden won the ‘A’ 100m in 12.7 and backed up by Emily Warren in the ‘B’ with a 2nd placed time of 13.3 followed by both women taking 3rd places in the 200m with times of 26.8 and 27.5 respectively. The Men’s Sprints squad having lost three members to holidays and injuries were under pressure – Dominic Bretherton who was nursing an injury himself still managed to run the 100m in 11.7 for 4th place and in the ‘B’ Hammer thrower Nathan Billington volunteered to step in and ran a very credible 13.6 for 6th. U17 Ethan Joyce was competing at his first Senior event and stepped into the ‘A’ 200m at the last minute to run 26.0 in 6th place with Nicholas Massey clocking 25.6 (6th) in the ‘B’.
Holidays meant that we had no women athletes in the 400m or the 400m Hurdles – in the Men’s 400m Ethan Joyce made his debut at the distance for the senior team, running 55.1 in the ‘A’ for 4th spot with Joe Gebbie taking 2nd in the ‘B’ in a new PB of 55.7.
The Women’s 800m saw Jess Judd making her debut for the Club in Team events as she tore through the first 200m, going on to win the ‘A’ race in 2.06.2 with Alison Lundy making it maxoimum points in the ‘B’ with a winning time of 2.15.9. Maximum points again in the 1500m as Alison Lundy won the ‘A’ in 4.45.8 and in the ‘B’ a great run by another U17 making her debut at senior level – Amy Davies – winning with a seasons best time of 5.03.1. The Men’s 800m ‘A’ Race saw Rob Warner run a seasons best 1.56.2 in 2nd place with Joe Gebbie running a new PB of 2.01.9 in 3rd place in the ‘B’. Tim Raynes clocked 4.06.7 as he led from the front in the 1500m ‘A’ race to come home in 3rd place – and – echoing the spirit within the team on the day, Chris Davies stepped out of his comfort zone to run his second ever 1500m, clocking a massive new PB by 20 seconds of 4.26.5 in 2nd position.
The 3000m produced maximum points again as Jess Judd ran away with the ‘A’ race from the off, winning in a time of 9.20.0 with another great run from Joanne Nelson in the ‘B’ as she won very comfortably in 11.01.9. Marc Hartley was another athlete carrying an injury who pushed himself through the pain barrier to run the ‘A’ 3000m Steeplechase finishing 3rd in 10.51.8 with Karl Billington volunteering to run the ‘B’ race and earning the team very good points with a 2nd placed run of 11.19.2. Rob Warner having run the 800m doubled up in the 5000m and won the ‘A’ in 16.01.6 with Tom Blaney making his senior team track debut running a great race to win the ‘B’ in 16.33.9.
Wonderful to see Polly Pearse back in action for the team as she ran 16.9 in the ‘A’ 100m Hurdles for 2nd place whilst Nicholas Smith ran 21.8 for 3rd in the Men’s 110m Hurdles and John iLunga 21.6 in the ‘B’ fopr 3rd spot. Nicholas and John also teamed up int he 400m Hurdles with Nicholas taking 2nd in the ‘A’ (62.5) and John 3rd in the ‘B’ equaling his seasons best of 69.6.
Anna Peers and Emily Taberner made a great contribution to the team total in the Throws. Starting in the Hammer Anna came 3rd in the ‘A’ (27.01m) and Emily 2nd in the ‘B’ with 18.13m. The two of them went on to win the Discus with Anna throwing 35.13m in the ‘A’ and Emily 22.37m in the ‘B’. On to the Javelin and another double win which saw Anna throw a seasons best of 38.40m in the ‘A’ and Emily 29.19m in the ‘B’. And in the last of the Throws events Anna took 2nd spot in the ‘A’ Shot Putt with 10.17m and Emily also 2nd in the ‘B’ with 7.95m.
The contribution to the teams success this year by the Throws squad cannot be over emphasised as the men and the women have been tremdously consistent throughout the whole season. Today the Men started off winning both ‘A’ and ‘B’ Hammer with Anthony Kent throwing 38.33m in the ‘A’ and Nathan Billington 36.82m in the ‘B’. In the Discus Anthony placed 3rd in the ‘A’ with 32.66m followed in the ‘B’ by a win for Tony Balko with a throw of 29.05m. In the Javelin, Anthony threw a new PB by over 2 metres of 38.78m in 3rd with Nathan Billington placing 4th in the ‘B’ (26.77m). And in the final throws events – another double win – with Anthony winning the ‘A’ (11.09m) and Tony Balko also winning the ‘B’ with 9.42m.
In the Jumps Polly Pearse was back on old territory as she jumped for the first time since 2016 posting 4.54m in the ‘A’ Long Jump in 4th, leapt 9.78m in the ‘A’ Triple Jump in 2nd place and won the ‘A’ High Jump with a clearance of 1.50m for a fabulous return to competition. And what about thrower Anna Peers who took on the ‘B’ High Jump to help the team gain points clearing 1.15m in 3rd place. Bailey Madden backed this up really well with 3rd in the ‘B’ Long Jump (4.37m) and then won the ‘B’ Triple Jump with a leap of 9.44m – her first time ever at the event!! In the Men’s Jumps Ben Branton is another promising U17 making his senior debut in the Long Jump where he placed 5th in the ‘A’ with a distance of 5.49m just outside his seasons best. Dominic Bretherton carrying an injury, stepped into to help the team in the ‘B’ and managed to get only one jump, before retiring, which was good enough to win the ‘B’ (4.89m). Nicholas Smith and John iLunga teamed up in the Triple Jump with Nicholas placing 4th in the ‘A” (10.96m) just 3cms outside his personal best and John leapt to 9.94m in the ‘B’ for 2nd spot. The lads then took two 3rd places in the High Jump with Nicholas clearing 1.65m in the ‘A’ and John 1.55m in the ‘B’.
In the Relays, the Women’s 4 x 400m team produced a fine win in 4.09.8 – just a second outside the Club record which has stood since 2005 (4.08.4). In that 2005 team was one Alison Leonard (now Alison Lundy) who was also part of this squad which was led off by Emily Warren, handing over to Alison Lundy on Leg 2, with Bailey Madden on Leg 3 who handed over to Jess Judd on the final leg which saw her catch the leading Bolton athlete at about 250m, pushing on to finish with a 57 second last leg. Another example of the wonderful team spirit here as Emily Warren was running only her second ever 400m and Bailey Madden had never raced the distance before.
When it comes to team spirit, the men weren’t lacking either as the Harriers finished 5th (51.8) in the 4 x 100m – a team which included two hammer throwers who volunteered to make up the squad – so hats off to Nathan Billington, Nicholas Massey, Nicholas Smith and Anthony Kent. Similarly in the 4 x 400m where U17 Ethan Joyce who had already run two races took on Leg 1 (55.7) handing over to Chris Davies who is not a 400m specialist (57.6) with Tim Raynes who had run the 1500m previously along with Chris clocking 56.5 on Leg 3 and then Rob Warner posting a final Leg time of 55.3 after running the 800m and 500m.
(Back Row – Rob Warner – Chris Davies – Ethan Joyce – Tim Raynes — Front Row – Jess Judd – Alison Lundy – Emily Warren – Bailey Madden)
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Snowman Triathlon – Sunday August 5th
Jack Hindle took on the Snowman Classic Distance at the weekend – an event described as one of the toughest in the country. Not only did Jack win the event by over five minutes from the 2nd placed finisher Llewellyn Holmes he smashed the Course Record by some twelve minutes to top of a magnificent overall performance clocking 3hr.11.47. Also competing in the event was Craig Greenough who finished with a total time of 4hr 07.29 to finish 32nd male and 10th V40.
On Sunday evening Jack told the Harriers “I’ve had the Snowman as a target race ever since the Slateman. The course on paper looked tough and on the day it lived up to that. I led out of the swim and quickly settled into a lonely ride on the bike. For the first time in a race, it challenged me mentally to keep focus and hold a strong pace. I was happy to come in off the bike and be on familiar mountain running territory. I didn’t feel the best I ever have done off the bike, but still managed to increase my lead over 2nd, making further inroads on the course record. Once again a great and well organised event, and thanks once again to my individual sponsors and supporters”.
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Astley Park Trail Race (4) – Wednesday August 1st
The final race in this years Series took place last Wednesday featuring one hundred and seventeen athletes and was won by Chris Davies in a time of 24.44, over a minute in front of second place and meant that he also took the overall Series Winners prize.
Paul Guinan finished in 7th place on the night clocking 26.50 which gave him 4th place in the Series – Chris and Paul also took 1st and 2nd places in the V40 age group categories for the Series. Lindsay Davies was the next Harrier home in 59th place ( 33.43) – 11th woman and 1st V40 with David Morris (V55) in 109th (44.36).
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Eighty four youngsters took part in the Junior Race which continues to show that young boys and girls are turning out in increasing numbers at these local short distance races and is good to see. Matthew Smith who has been running very well in this format of events took 7th place overall in a time of 5.46 and being quite a bit younger than all of the runners in front of him – Matthew finished 1st M10 on the night and the leading M10 for the Series.
Codie Dewhurst won the M11 age category on the night as he came home in 12th place overall (5.53) with 8yr old William Grundy just behind in 15th place and 1st M8 in the Race running a time of 6.03 which made him also the 1st M8 for the Series – Codie was 2nd overall in the M11 Series. Felix Thompson took 36th spot on the night in 6.45 and was 2nd M9. Hannah Davies was 2nd F9 on the evening and placed 40th overall with a time of 6.50 and was the leading F9 for the Series with F11 Isabelle Hartley three places further back in 43rd (7.07) and 3rd F11 in the Series, Kady Thompson – also F11 in 48th spot with 7.18 and Charlotte Smith in 63rd running a time of 8.05 and 3rd F7 as well as taking a Series 4th place. Oliver Gill who didn’t run on the night finished 2nd M10 over the Series with his bets three races already done
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England Mountain Running Championships (Seniors and U20)
Thomas Marchant ran well today and is beginning to find his feet again on the Fells and Mountains after a sustained period of injuries. In a tough race against the the top U20s and in hot conditions Tom battled the whoie way to come home in a time of 51.09 and 19th overall.
After the Race Thomas spoke to the Club telling us how his Race had gone “Today was a tough hard climb testing not just strength endurance but speed endurance, despite not being back to full fitness I was pleased to complete the run especially after being out with injuries over the past few years! The conditions were dry and very hot making it hard to breath, it was an extremely steep climb and long climb that lasted for roughly 4.5 miles and once again the pace of the race was fast from the start onwards despite how steep the course was, overall I’m very happy to be back running on the fells and having this run as good experience”
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Whittle Pike Fell Race – August 1st
John Horrocks has been running really well on the Fells and had another very good run in his latest outing taking 7th place overall in a 95 strong field with a time of 48.57 – the race being won by James Kevan in 46.06.
Speaking to the Harriers about his race John commented “Second of the rossendale summer fell series. Slightly extended course this year due to some paths being eroded but stil as tough. Set off well up the first climb, got to the top in 5th and thought I might be able to push for a podium spot but the legs had other ideas. Still enjoyed it and looking forward to next weeks race pilgrims cross!”
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Wortshorne Moor Junior Trail Races – Sunday August 5th
Four age group categories at this latest Race in the Burnley & Pendle Grand Prix Series featuring nearly one hundred youngsters in the four races.
(Thanks to David Belshaw for all the photos from this Race)
The U7/U9 Race with twenty one runners saw Charlotte Smith clock a time of 4.14 to finish 9th and looking at this photo there is little doubt about this young girls determination to do her very best!
It was another win for the in form Matthew Smith in the U11 Race as he was first home in the thirty two stong field running a time of 6.01 with Tippi Francis in 22nd spot overall and 4th F11 in a time of 7.33.
Impressive running in the U13 Race saw the Trawden lads finish 1,2,3 with Blackburn Harriers – Codie Dewhurst (11.04), Oliver Gill (11.29) and Daniel Smith (11.51) in 4th, 5th and 6th places – Libby Neal took 15th spot overall in a time of 14.07.
In the Senior Race won by Thomas Corrigan ahead of a field fearuing one hundred and sicty seven runners, Richard Taylor came home in 84th place with a time of 63.25.
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