Harries Celebrate the End of 2025 in Style
Despite the wintry conditions over the last few days, the road runners saw some excellent performances. Three Harriers went to Tatton Park in Knutsford for the latest in the Run Tatton series of 5k and 10k races. Katie Lever was racing in her first ever 10K race in Horwich colours and clocked a very creditable 56:36. Ellie Baker finished well inside the top 100 and got under the 45-minute mark, coming home in 44:26, and Millie Lever produced some stunning running to register a 4-minute personal best to take the third senior lady position in 40:15.
Also looking to burn off some New Year calories in the bracing conditions were Ian Hamer and fellow press stalwart Sam Fairhurst. Their terrain of choice was the undulating tarmac of Garstang for another 10K from the organisers of the Lancaster Race Series. In clear conditions that saw temperatures fall to around minus 5 degrees Celsius, Hamer came home safely in the middle of the pack of around 350 runners in a very respectable 52:22 whilst Fairhurst stormed around with typical elan to take second place overall in a very fast 34:38.
Fell runners looking to celebrate the New Year in style also enjoyed the Trails and Ales fell race from Mad Bull Events, featuring seven miles of Rivington fells, close to 1,500 feet of ascent and a piper to start things off and welcome runners home. Matt Fawthrop showed he had plenty of puff, coming home as first Horwich runner in 6th of 260 finishers in 53:48 whilst Adam MacDonald rounded off the top ten in 55:32. Lindsay Brindle was first lady home by nearly five minutes and the only one under an hour, hearing the piper after 57:47. Nick Kelly was second V50 in 59:02 and Kevin Newall was third in the same age category in 1:01:30. Gary Chadderton just missed the top 50 in 1:05:08 and Sandra Kelly was first lady V50 exactly a minute later. Helen MacDonald and Alison Mort came in as the first two lady V40s, MacDonald a second under 1:07:00 and Mort came in a mere eight seconds afterwards. Katherine Newall finished in the top half in 1:15:33 and Mary White was first lady V70 in 1:20:14. This also meant that Horwich took first place in the ladies’ classification.
The various parkruns saw a few Harriers burning off the New Year calories as the Middletons, Jason and Janet, popped up at Heaton Park where Jason ran 24:22 and Janet handed in her barcode after 34:04. Nick Leigh took on the four-lap course at Skipton and came third, as well as first V45 in 18:19. Joe Mercer faced the tough Lyme Park route and sneaked in just under 20 in 19:59. Chris Essex-Crosby chose a new course with the out-and-back Monsal Trail event near Bakewell and crossed the line in 21:33. Mark Seddon shot around Witton in 27:14, Andrew Crickmore fancied a saunter around Clitheroe Castle’s course and got home in 22:26 and two Harriers went to Worden, as Richard Howarth got a fine 19:24 and Ava Winstanley clocked 22:08. Lastly, despite not training as much as he’d have liked, Rob Jackson blasted around Sale Water’s route on their New Year’s Day edition in 19:39.
