Hall Takes Fantastic Bronze at England U20 Championships
Starting with track, England Athletics’ U20 championships took place at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, July 25-27. Club runner Benjamin Hall took an excellent bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase in a time of 9m17s. Congratulations to Benjamin.
On the same weekend in Leeds the city hosted what became only the fourth city in the UK to host the full Ironman in its classic format of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike, and full marathon distance of 42.2kms. It’s a sold-out event with around 2,500 participants including elites, pros, and quality amateurs. The course is a two-lap swim of Waterloo Lake in Rounday Park, followed by a bike ride encompassing the hotspots of Harewood House, Eccup Reservoir, Golden Acre Park, and villages of Thorner, Arthington, and Adel. To finish off there are four loops of Rounday Park and community streets. Two red vests took on this mighty endeavor, with James Scott-Farrington having a superb race to finish 10th and Ryan Snee despite experiencing mechanical troubles 27th overall.
Showing the club’s versatility across multi-disciplines we move onto fell running with the Lee Mill Fell Race. A classic summer evening fell-running event set within the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire that is held annually by Rossendale Harriers. A BM category event (medium ascent and medium distance) the 10.7km with roughly 1,115ft of climbing the race starts at Stubbylee Park, Bacup and the route winds through decommissioned quarries and tussocky moorland. Technical running underfoot is common, especially after rain so runners can expect a compact but demanding challenge with hands-on-knees climbs, careful descending, and fast transitions across uneven terrain. Whilst the summertime fell race is perfect with light summer evenings, modest entry fees and no kit requirements beyond standard fellrunning gear there is also a winter relay over the same course but be prepared for harsher conditions and full kit compliance! Club fell runner captain Dan Gilbert had a great race finishing just off the podium places with a 4th (1st vet 50) in a time of 51:16.
Staying with the off-road theme, two club ultrarunners Nick Leigh and Jonathan Bruton competed in the Lakeland 50. Part of the Ultra Tour of the Lake District, the Lakeland 50 covers the second half of the Lakeland 100 route, offering a long distance 50-mile challenge across Lake District terrain. Though shorter than the 100-mile event, it’s no pushover with a reputation as one of Europe’s toughest ultra-trail races: demanding nearly 3,000m of ascent and run over unmarked trails requiring robust navigation skills. Leigh finished a superb 12th in 8:42:29 and Bruton in 38th (9:37:34).
In the round-up of parkruns Red Vests were all over the country and world this week. A staggering 725 parkrunners took part at the hilly Heaton Park, making his way to the front was club stalwart, Marcus Taylor settling for a top 10 finish in a time of 18:42, followed by Nick Kelly 21st (19:55), Sandra Kelly 113th (24:08) and Tony Hesketh 301st (28:58). Continuing his travels across the border was Brendan Bolland at Aberdeen 205th (27:57). Richard O’Reilly was 1st Vet55 at Bolton placing 7th in a course PB time of 21:30. Mark Seddon and Andrew Storey were 41st (25:39) and 96th (29:38) respectively. In another large crowd of 671 parkrunners at Eden Project Mark Kmiec was 65th (22:35) and Angela Greene 342nd (32:23). Joe Mercer had a stellar run at Marple claiming victory in 17:16. The Taylors Abigail and Florence ran together and finished 245th (34:16) and 246th (34:20) at Seaton. Perennial favourite Witton Park saw Paul Murray take 91st (43:04). With summer holidays in full flow the ever popular and challenging Haigh Hall could only field 2 Harriers in the ranks. Jason Middleton finishing 52nd (25:54) and Gillian Smith 214th (36:16). He must have entered the course as Rob Jackson repeated a run at Sale Water Park finishing in the podium positions (3rd) with a sub 19 time of 18:48. I’ve no idea where Ford Parkrun is but Chris Charnley found himself there and took 18th place (22:07).
A “smaller” crowd of 482 runners were at Peel where Louis Yates was 84th (22:56) and Steve Jackson 412th (34:08). The increasingly popular Worden parkrun saw nearly 300 runners with Gordon Stone tantalisingly close to a sub-30, finishing 185th in 30:36. Whilst husband Jason was enjoying the delights of Wigan, his wife and son opted for something more exotic. Toby was 1st finisher at Presint 18 in Kuala Lumpur. Gracious in victory Middleton turned down the winner’s prize of the oft banned in public spaces and extremely pungent Durian fruit basket. Victory running in the family with Janet victorious in the women’s vet 55 category.