A cold, damp & misty Witton Park was this years` venue for the Northern Cross Country Championships. The mist didn`t leave the venue all day, with it occasionally dropping right down obscuring the much feared climb to The Saucer. The majority of the courses were challenging and really good cross country terrain.

The U13 boys took a fantastic & deserved team 3rd place, with good consistent performances. Patrick Dever was 18th, Rory Judd 29th, Luke Penswick 36th & Daniel Neal. Kingsley & Perry Judd were 111th & 128th in U15 boys. Ben Akin u& Richard Morrell were close together in the U17 race, finishing 33rd & 36th. Calum Rowett was 83rd in a high quality field.

Bethany Blackwell ran well for her 32nd place in U13 girls and support came from Emma Hargreaves, Isabel Hughes, Maxine Smith for a team placing of 13th. For the U15 girls, with the mud now getting deeper, there weren`t enough runners for a team placing but Rachael Scott had a very good run for 26th and Aimee Gallagher keeping her poise throughout was 41st and Jessica McDermott was 70th in a field of 170.

Steve Hallas, Jon Green, Steve Smith and Sharon Trusch from Preston Harriers along with Averil McClelland from Lancaster and Morecambe AC went over to Sheffield to compete in this meeting and for Steve, Jon and Averil it was a chance to get some competition in before the World Masters Indoor Championships being held in Canada in early March.

In the 400m, Sharon competed in the second heat along with the men as there were unfortunately few female participants. She acquitted herself well coming 2nd in the race in 60.45 the winning male clocking 60.08.

Next to compete was Steve Smith in heat one of the 800m. This turned out to be a fast race as the winner, Anthony Whiteman, used to be an international runner for GB. He finished in 1.55.14. Steve was happy with his run coming 4th in 2.08.05.

In the first of this year’s events, organised to raise money for the children of Chernobyl, 23 Preston Harriers braved the wet and cold conditions to take part in the Chernobyl 10K race and there was a big field.

The first Preston Harrier was Paul Lightfoot, 41st, in 39.35 with Gema Adams pushing him to the line with a gritty performance, after recent injury, to crack the 40 minute barrier in 39.48 and be 2nd lady overall. Tunde Buraimo was next to finish in 42.11 followed in by Christopher Scott 44.22, in his first 10k. John Langhan  was home in 47.04, Anthony Ward 48.50 and Carla Dawson 49.47. Evidence of continued coaching support to the Wed. Running Fitness Group, was present with Steven Jackson pushing Charlotte Rawcliffe all the way round, with both in a time of 50.03.

Peter Knight had a good run in 1:25.10, knocking over 5 minutes off his previous personal best for a half-marathon, at the popular Brass Monkey half in York

Three bronze and a silver medal was not a bad haul for Preston Harriers at the Northern Indoor Championships at Sheffield last weekend. Many of the athletes representing the club were competing in these championships for the first time, and they acquitted themselves well, gaining valuable experience in the process.

There were four athletes who gained more than experience, and top of the list was Curtis Mitchell, attending his first championship event and coming away with a silver medal in the under 15 boys Long Jump with a new personal best of 5.19 metres, as well as making the semi final of the 60m sprint. Bronze medal winners were under 15’s Rachel Scott in the 800m with a time of 2.28.0, Rhiann Beaumont in the Shot with a putt of 8.96, and under 17 Kati Williams in the 60metre hurdles with a time of 9.14.

With most of the Preston Harriers juniors having a deserved break following the County Championships, and the Northern Cross Country Championships taking place next weekend at Blackburn, only a small number travelled to a wet and windy Lawson playing fields at Blackpool. Conditions underfoot were testing with lots of mud after the thaw and some heavy rain in the few days before the event.

Under 11’s Grace Handley and Charlotte Crook both produced their best performances of the season. Both girls showed experience beyond their ages, picking their way through the field. Grace ran superbly, finishing extremely strongly for a well deserved second place, just a few seconds behind the race winner, while Charlotte improved to 11th place with a determined effort and will be looking to emulate Grace’s performances next season.

Florie McLeish captured her third consecutive County title at a snowy & sunny Witton Park as she stepped up to the under-15 girls category. The conditions proved no obstacle to McLeish as she produced yet another tremendous run, leading from start to finish and proving once more too strong for the opposition.

Rachael Scott had another fantastic run working her way through the field on the climb up the saucer to capture the bronze medal. It is worth noting that both Florie & Rachael were competing at the bottom of the age group. They were backed up by a very strong team performance which ensured a silver medal. Jessica McDermott 11th, Ashley Smith 13th, Aimee Gallagher, 16th and Laura Sullivan 18th, all had fine runs.

The next highest placed Harrier was Kristian Bibby who despite having a winter disrupted with minor injuries, showed his ability by claiming the silver medal in the under-17 men’s race. Richard Morrell 8th and Callum Rowett provided good support to gain a bronze team medal. Patrick Dever was also on the podium as a typically strong run meant a third place finish and a bronze medal.

Although a number of road races recently have had to be cancelled because of icy conditions, the 16th Auld Lang Syne fell race, always run on New Years Eve didn`t let a heavy snow fall or ice around the car park area postpone the race and the usual fancy dress outfits from a number of runners were on show too.

However, with the route using the bridleways near the Bronte waterfall and Top Withens being sheets of ice and completely un-runnable, the old & original route which was changed after the 2003 race was used instead.

The old route then used the bridle-tracks which were mostly snow on ice from Penistone Country Park, above Haworth, leading up to the moors. The turn round point at Oxenhope Stoop and the route across the moor to the highest point at the Stoop was covered in snow, making progress difficult as runners periodically sank into the drifts.