English Schools T & F Championships
Blackburn Harriers had five young athletes at this years Championships having won selection for Lancashire following the County Schools Championships; And the athletes did very, very well indeed.
Sam Gaskell contested the Inter Boys Hammer and in the Final, the first seven all threw distances further than the National Standard with three more achieveing the English School standard, so it was going to take an exceptional throw to win – and that is exactly what Sam did with a distance of 68.75m which was a new PB, broke the Club Record and left him ranked No.1 in Britain for the U17 Age Category. What a fabulous performance and after the championships Sam in his own modest and unassuming way told the Club “Just want to say that I am thankful for what the club does to help and support me as a Blackburn Harrier, I really appreciate all of it. I would also like to thank Mick Hitchon (my Coach) who helps me day in and day out. Thank you“.
Myah Booth was over the moon to win selection for the Junior Girls 75m Hurdles after achieving victories in the Lancashire County Championships as well as Lancashire Schools Championships. Drawn in Heat 3 Myah ran a fabulous race to clock a National Standard and new PB time of 11.34 placing 3rd and qualifying for the Semi-Final – her time also breaking the Harriers Club Record. In the Semi-Final she ran an English Schools standard time of 11.41 to come home 6th. Speaking to the Harriers after the Championships Myah told us “This weekend has been the most amazing experience and I am very pleased with my races. In the heat I was in lane 7 which I wasn’t too pleased about however went and ran 11.34 which was a new PB and under the national Standard!!! I had an automatic place in the semi-final as I finished 3rd in the heat. In the semi-final I wasn’t in the best lane again (lane 8) however I still ran a very good race with a time of 11.41. It wasn’t as quick as the heat and I didn’t qualify for the final but I ran a PB which is most important and I’m very pleased with my races. Overall it was an amazing experience, well done to all the Lancashire team and the four other athletes from Blackburn Harriers who did extremely well! Thank you to all my coaches and the support from the club”.
For Kyle Mashiter it was at his first English Schools Championships in the Junior Boys 100m where he ran 11.97 in Heat 3. Although this a a bit off his personal best of 11.6, it is worth pointing out that the last three in the Final all ran slower times than Kyle’s best. Speaking to the Club after the Championships, Kyle was really positive commenting “It was an amazing experience and just to get their was an accomplishment no matter what place I came”.
Matt Heywood was also at his first English Schools, a fine achievement in many ways, as until this year Matt had only ever thrown in one Hammer competition – a local end of season Open Meeting where he reached a distance of 23.33m with the 4kg Hammer. In the Final of the Junior Boys Hammer featuring seventeen throwers, Matt came in 10th with an English Schools standard distance of 38.64m which was great reward for the efforts he has been putting in over the first six months of this year. Matt told the Harriers “English Schools was great. In my hammer i didn’t do as well as i wanted but as it was my first time there I blame it on nerves. When i walked into the circle there was alot of people crowded adound which made me nervous I came 10th over all and got all my throws out of the cage”.
Nicky Saunders an all round thrower was selected for the Junior Girls Discus in her debut at the the English Schools Championships and perfomrmed very close to her personal best as she threw an ES standard 27.99m coming 12th out of 20 in the Final telling the Harriers that “it was a great experience and would love to go again, everyone who went had good fun“.
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Athletics World Cup – July 14 & 15th at Olympic Stadium
Holly Bradshaw ‘collected full points for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She had a perfect series leading up to 4.75m which was an impressive show for the British crowd who really got behind the first event of the evening. Clearances at 4.50m, 4.60m, 4.68m and 4.75m put pressure on her opponents who could not respond. America’s Katie Nageotte held her own against the Briton up until 4.68mm but three fouls at 4.75m saw her competition come to a close’ (Athletics Weekly). Holly said afterwards: “It was good. I was really excited to come here and compete. It’s a different event, it takes me back to my roots when I used to compete for Blackburn Harriers when you used to collect points. I was really excited to get the win and the eight points. It feels amazing. “I am really pleased with my height. I kind of wanted to go over 4.82m which would have been a British record. But for me at the minute I am building nicely towards the European Championships. I had so much fun out there. I am really pleased. The crowd was amazing; it really picks you up and energises you.” (Athletics Weekly)
Sophie Hitchon had a great competition too as she took Silver Medal with a seasons best throw of 73.48m which followed her success in winning the British National Title throwing 72.22m. Adding seven points to the British team total meant that with Holly’s win in the Pole Vault, the team got off to a great start on the first day.
Athletics Weekly Video Interview with Sophie
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Run For All Burnley 10k – Sunday July 15th
Over eleven hundred finishers in this Race – not easy with a number of climbs included – won by Tom Cornthwaite in 32.32 from Morpeth’s Nick McCormick in 2nd place (33.08).
Three Blackburn Harriers running in this race with Marc Hartley the first one home in a time of 34.55 taking 3rd place overall and after the race, commented to the Club that “Despite knowing the roads and the route really well it was tough going out there today. Quite a few testing climbs and tight turns which upset my rhythm somewhat. I thought the heat might get the better of me with a couple of K’s to go but I thankfully managed to hold on for 3rd as Tom and Nick were having a race of their own!”.
Next home was Pauline Powell in 15th place overall clocking a time of 38.16 to be the winner of the Women’s Race and 1st Vet. Jonathan Bridge was 2nd V50 and came home in 28th place overall running a time of 40.05. Post Race Pauline spoke to the Harriers saying “I enjoyed the Asda 10k today is was a great event and a really good atmosphere! Didnt feel too good in myself after suffering with a bad cold all week, so was happy to break the course record!”
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British Masters Combined Events Championships
Tony Balko who has targeted the World Masters Championships in Malaga this coming September was out at the British Masters Combined Events Championships held in Sheffield on Saturday competing in the Throws Pentathlon. Tony won this event in the V50 category in 2017 with a points total of 2503 and this year he replicated that victory to take the title again with a points total of 2918 – a new personal best points total for the competition which includes Hammer, Shot, Discus, Javelin and Weight.
CalderVale 4 – Thursday July 12th
A reasonably close race to establish a winner of this one with Gareth Booth taking the honours from Chris Davies – Gareth clocking a winning time of 20.37 and Chris 20.46. Victoria Mousley won the Women’s Race and was also the 1st Vet in a time of 24.12 coming home 13th overall out of the near 150 strong field. Allan Hartley was the next Harrier home in 33rd place running a time of 27.53 with Lindsay Davies just one place further back in 34th in a time of 28.18.
UK Road Races Facebook Results
After the Race Chris Davies who runs Blackburn Harriers Club Championships, commented on the events of the night saying “The Calder Vale 4 Mile Supper Run is not a race I have done before. I decided to put it into the Club Championships and thought it would be a good run for everyone just to have a bit of a blast out. It didn’t get the turn out that I was hoping for but never the less we did get a few Harriers out on the night. Unfortunately the course comes out a little short of 4 miles but is still a good run. I had a game plan for the run but just before the race I was told what the course would be like. The first mile doesn’t allow you to set a fast pace with a decent climb at the start which slows you down. After the first mile I decided to attack and look to run the course as fast as I could. I wanted to see how good a condition I was in and I thought this would be the perfect time to do it. My speed was great but unfortunately Gareth Booth of Horwich was in Town and I couldn’t quite keep up with him. I was only nine seconds of him in the end but the main goal of the night was to have a good run, use it as a training run if you like and I feel that I got what I wanted out of it. A good nights work. Very happy”.
Women’s Race winner Victoria Mousley told us that she “Entered this one as a last minute idea with my friend Jo. After warming up on the first mile which was steep uphill, I got into a bit of a panic as we set off. The last time I had an uphill start I had a bit of a breathing issue and I got myself all wound up going up the first hill and got a bit panicky and didn’t feel good at all. Once we got to the top I was OK. It was def an undulating course. But managed to keep going and was happy to take the win. Great to see the other Harriers there and we all finished close together really. Great pie and peas too!!“
(Photo courtesy of Run Photo Run)
Lindsay commented too on her Race telling us “Fantastic race, one hell of a climb in the first mile. Fantastic views when you get to the top and could see the front runners (Chris and Gareth Booth) in the distance. Enjoyed the race and was chasing Allan Hartley all the way round, he just got away from me at the end. It was a great 600-800 metre descent back to the finish line. Really pleased to win my age category again after winning it at trawden and well done to Victoria, Chris and Allan who also put in brilliant performances”.
(Photo courtesy of Run Photo Run)
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Rose Inn Series – Race (2) Tuesday July 10th
Paul Bradshaw was running his second race of the Rose Inn Series which was won in a time of 20.19. In the first race of the Series, Paul ran a time of 22.58 finishing 20th overall. In the latest Race he came home in 13th out of a field of nearly two hundred clocking a time of 22.24, over half a minute improvement on the same course.
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Saul Sharp competed in the Ironman kids today – Saturday July 14th – in Bolton Town centre. The distance was 1200m starting and finishing at the town hall. It wasn’t officially timed, but unofficially he ran a time of 4:06. He showed a great attitude and had a cracking run with a brilliant sprint finish.
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Meanwhile – Saul’s mum – Lorna Sharp – who is a Junior Endurance Coach with the Harriers competed in the Pendle Running Festival at the weekend finishing 28th out of seventy five runners in a time of 56.48 for the 5 mile race. (RESULTS).
