Toby celebrates England call-up with fine display

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19th September

By David Barnes

HORWICH youngster Toby Middleton celebrated his first ever international call-up by leading the club’s under-17 boys’ team to sixth place out of 33 teams at the Northern Road Relays at Manchester’s SportCity. Middleton secured fourth place in stage one ahead of his trip to represent England in the junior Home International mountain race this coming weekend. The u15 boys ran well for 20th place and Lucy Dixon and Eva Baldwin ran fast times as part of an incomplete team at u15s.

Harriers at road relays – photo by Katie Lever

James Scott-Farrington at road relays – photo by Katie Lever

Horwich’s senior men were out in strength with two teams of six. The A team had a good result, finishing 16th out of 107 teams which gives them qualification for the National Road Relay Championships this autumn. James Scott Farrington got the team off to a fast start and there were consistent results on each leg. The B team were 77th as the club celebrated one of its strongest senior team results in recent years.

Alistair Sharrock – photo by Trevor Williams

There were also good turnouts for Horwich at two regional track and field events, at Blackpool on Saturday and at Wigan on Sunday. At Blackpool there were three u13s involved, with Imogen Andreassen having a great run in the 70m hurdles, coming second in her heat in 14.7secs. Emma Bradley doubled up in the long jump and 100 metres. She had three good jumps and got a 3.90m personal best. In the 100 metres, she had a good start and finished again with another PB of 15.2. Alistair Sharrock had a great all-round day, picking up two silvers and one bronze medal. He equalled his PB in the long jump with 4.20, coming second, while in the 100 metres he had a great start and just got pipped at the line into second place in 13.8. His last event was the 200 metres where he ran 29.3 in third.

Imogen Andreassen 70m hurdles – photo by Trevor Williams

At Wigan, Andreassen appeared again in the 70m hurdles and got a PB of 14.2. Isabella Merritt, at u15s, came away with two gold medals in the 200m and 300m and at u17s, Niall Maloney continued a strong series of results by winning the long jump with a 6.14 jump and then ran the 100 metres, finishing second in 11.6.

Meanwhile, Bradley swapped the track for the fells on Sunday and at Embsay succeeded in securing an excellent third place for the series at u14s, following eight races in this tough test of fell running. Also at Embsay, Graham Schofield returned to racing and achieved the M60 prize.

In the Lake District, Dan Gilbert and Mark Seddon took on the tough test of mountain skills in the La Sportiva Mountain Trial where competitors navigate difficult and dangerous terrain. They both opted for the Classic route of 18 miles and 7,500 feet of ascent and had excellent results in 28th and 34th places.

Rob Jackson at Bury 10k – photo by Sue Yates

Rob Jackson had a fine result in the Bury 10k, finishing 20th of 1,607 finishers to win the M50 prize. Tony Hesketh also won the M70 prize at the Yarrow River Splash trail race. Steve Thomasson has resumed his travels and ran the Praski and Stockholm half-marathons in successive weeks and is aiming for a PB at Lindau in Germany which, following a time of 1:44:00 at Stockholm, is possible.

In parkrun, Marcus Taylor, in his 22nd run, set a PB of 18:48 at Haigh Woodland which is a bit of a Harriers favourite for fast times, despite the hill. Marty Arnot-Smith was first at the Queens Park event, where Ellie and Jamie Rockliffe were completing their 107th and 110th runs respectively.

Horwich RMI Harriers results: Tour of Bradwell fell race – 44th David Barnes 2:51:48; Yarrow River Splash 10k trail race – 45th Tony Hesketh 56:27; Embsay fell race – 34th Graham Schofield 24:35; La Sportiva Mountain Challenge – 28th Dan Gilbert 6:08:54, 34th Mark Seddon 6:24:12; Northern Road Relays – A team: James Scott Farrington 20:32, Ian Conroy 21:13, Sam Wardle 21:33, Phil Marsden 21:30, Nick Leigh 21:49, Alastair Murray 22:31; B team: James Jordan 23:12, Glyn Kay 23:33, Chris Essex Crosby 26:03, James Titmuss 23:00, Sean McMyler 25:59, Stephen Williams 26:55; Asda Foundation Bury 10k – 20th Robert Jackson 38:07, 224th Geoff Leech 47:45.