| Mid Lancs XC Update |
The 6th and final, xc league fixture of the season is at Leigh Sports Village on Sat 4th March.
The course details and arrangements are here. Let's see a really good turnout! Details of the Mid Lancs League Presentation Night on Friday 21st April are also noted here..and for people to purchase League badges for the 16/17 season |
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National Cross Country Championships – Saturday 25th February 2017
The National Cross Country Championships returned to Wollaton Park, Nottingham for the first time since 2014. The venue has been used also for the Inter-Counties Championships, and the courses set out were different across rolling & undulating parkland. There was a full range of age groups races, starting with the under 17 women at 11am and the last race was the senior men at 3pm. Conditions were generally good, overcast with some brief rain in the afternoon. The ground became boggier as the day wore on and there were some interesting water features to run through too. Preston Harriers athletes had a good day. In the under 17 men’s race over 6k, Nathan Dunn had a brilliant run to finish 10th in a field of 302 finishers. He was always in the chasing pack just behind the leaders and he recorded a time of 21.06. The race was won in 20.28 by James Puxty of Tonbridge. The Under 20 men took a team bronze medal behind Aldershot and Tonbridge. Patrick Dever finished 4th over the 10k distance in 32.42, missing third place by just one second. Matthew Wigglesworth was 33rd, Jake Lonsdale 38th, Tiarnan Crorken 77th and Ben Read was 189th. Benjamin Preddy was a fine 38th in the u15 boys race whilst Darcey Lonsdale (67th) and Caitlyn Preddy (275th) were in the u15 girls race. 426 ran. Last Updated (Saturday, 04 March 2017 09:03)
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National XC ResultsWinter Hammer Throw Competition, Blackburn - Sunday 19th February 2017Harriers Hammer Thrower in World Record attempt
Hammer thrower Ed Jeans failed in his world best attempt to throw the hammer (the women's weight of 4kg) further than any female in the world. The record he was trying to break was 82.29 m (269 ft 11 in) which was thrown by Anita Włodarczyk ( POL ) on 15 August 2016. His longest throw was 80.30’ just 2 metres short of the record but it was the furthest throw at the event. The competition at Blackburn was part of a national competition held at various venues all over the country as part of the Hammer Circle's Winter Hammer Throws Competition. Teams of 4 throwers threw lighter hammers than they do normally and were handicapped to produce a points score for the team. The winner of the competition is the team nationally that scores the highest number of points.
Emma Vickers was Harrier's second furthest thrower with a distance of 43.17m. Alex Bernstein threw 42.50m closely followed by Caitlin Hornby with 41.37m. Liam Wilkes recorded 38.91m and Macy Noblett, a promising beginner, threw 38.00m. Rhiannon Lowe (36.96m), Abbey Codarin (34.53m), Megan Metcalfe (33.92m), Ed Cox (25.05m) and Harvey Noble (22.11m) were the other Harriers competing.
Run, Bike & Tri ExpoRun, Bike & Tri expo at Event City Manchester (next to the Trafford Centre) on 18th & 19th March 2017. Under 16's are FREE when accompanied by an adult, details of the show here: http://triexpo.co.uk Winter Warmer 10k, Witton Park, Blackburn - Sunday 5th February 2017On a good day weatherwise, the second Harriers Club Championship race saw only twelve Harriers taking part. Conditions couldn't have been much better, it may have been 'Buncer Lane' that deterred some! The race started on the track with a lap to prepare the legs for what follows, a gradual uphill out of the Park and onto Buncer Lane where the hill steepens a little at first and then after a detour round the houses on the left comes a much steeper climb to the road junction. Turning left alongside the wall the road keeps on rising for quite a while before finally levelling out leaving most people gasping for breath. From here it is good running towards Pleasington where runners turn off the road at a church and come back towards the park past the football fields and following the river.
Lancashire Schools XC Championships, Witton Park, Blackburn - Saturday 4th February 2017Held once again at Witton Park in good weather, even sunshine and blue skies later on. However parts of the course soon turned very muddy from the previous night's rain and with not all the youngsters having appropriate footwear for the conditions there was a bit of slipping and sliding going on for some. There was some good racing, particularly the senior boys, with a group vying with each other all the way to the finish. Other age groups had good tussles with pupils anxious to get into the first eight positions for a chance to get in the Lancashire team or to enhance the chance of their district coming out first in the team competition. Individual winners came from across all the districts of Lancashire but the team championships were dominated by South Ribble taking four of the eight placings due to their good packing of their runners.
Mid Lancs Cross Country, Rossall - Saturday 11th February 2017
The penultimate event of the season was held at Rossall School near Fleetwood on a day for wrapping up well. The athletes braved a cold and breezy day under threatening skies but thankfully the rain held off. The course was relatively mud free and with just a small rise it suited the faster competitors as the fields of runners thinned out. In the U11 girls, running 2k, the Harriers had a good team out and Anna Thompson led them home followed by Isabella Buraimo, Megan Ind, Grace Waring Yeukett, Grace Horne, Olivia Coupe having her first run, Anna Lenton, Rhiannon Magee and Sophia Ince. 70 girls ran, we were 8th team with Anna, Isabella and Megan counters. Our U11 boys were not as plentiful as the girls, only four taking part. James Ince led them home; he gave everything in the finishing straight and came a great 2nd place. Hayden Ridgley, Ethan Chadwick and Connor Mitchell all put in good efforts to come in 6th team with James, Hayden and Ethan as counters. 58 ran.
NORTH OF ENGLAND U13 & U15 INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, SHEFFIELD - Sunday 5th February 2017A dozen Preston Harriers athletes ventured across the Pennines to compete in the Northern Athletics under 13 and under 15 Indoor Championships and came back with 2 silvers and a bronze medal. The Blackwell family collected a silver with Liam finishing second in the under 15 800m in a time of 2.07.47 while his younger sister Imogen won a bronze over the same distance in the Under 13 girls event posting a time of 2.30.69.
Mickleden Straddle fell race - Sunday 5th February 2017Another long race of 23k saw several Harriers go over to the Peak District to run the Mickleden Straddle. Much of the race follows stony paths but there are deep bogs too! Andrew Harrison was 32nd in 2hrs 03.07 and David Parkington was just behind in 2:03.23. Alun Beckett was 40th, John Rainford 47th and John Griffiths 56th Alan Martin finished in 2:29.35, Michael McLoughlin in 2:30.29 and Roy Parkinson in 2:31.52. Roger Taylor and Jim Doherty were also running, Doherty just missing to finish in under 3 hours. Vicki Sherington in her first really long race recorded 3:10.09 Wadsworth Trog Fell Race - Saturday 4th February 2017The Wadsworth Trog is a long fell race of 31k and over 1,000 metres of climbing. The start is the Old Town Cricket Club from above Hebden Bridge and it covers an almost figure of eight route on the high moors. The sun shone brightly and Nichola Jackson set a new ladies record in 2 hours 51.26, demolishing the old one by over 17 minutes. Jackson finished 11th overall and was 30 mins in front of the 2nd lady. There were 177 finishers and Rob Jebb of Bingley Harriers won in 2:37.26. Hunters 10k road race - Sunday 29th January 2017This popular annual race round the cycle paths of Walton le Dale and Avenham Park took place in sunny but chilly weather and there were a few slippery patches underfoot to catch out the unwary. The race was won by Chris Livesey of Salford Harriers in 33.10. Gary Pennington was second in 33.29, Jason Parker was 5th and first MV40 in 34.51 and Steve Smith was 13th overall and first MV55 in 36.46. These three runners combined to win the first team prize for Preston Harriers. Next Harrier to finish was Dougie Potter in 41.02 and John Russell completed the race in 48.20. Marian Hesketh finished 4th lady and first FV60 in 43.24. Despite struggling through the mud of the Northern Cross Country championships only the day before, Olga Wiggins clocked a new PB of 55.46. Lyndsey French and Kenny Gawne ran together and finished in 63.14 and 63.15 respectively. |
