Youngsters lead the way for Harriers in cross-country

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As the XC season draws to a close, the final round of the Manchester Area Cross Country League at Kenworthy Woods took place. Archie Fletcher was 39th (11:07) and Oliver Hughes 44th (12:02) in the under 11 boys. Abigail Taylor ran 23:28 to take 55th in the under 13 girls category. In the under 15s, Harry Yates placed 18th (19:15) and Finlay Mann 26th (20:31). Olivia Taylor and Holly Turner finished in 37th (24:42) and 42nd (25:41) in the under 15 girls group. Mark Titmuss claimed 21st (26:24) for the under 17 team, while Tia Harris took 18th (38:20) in the respective age group. In the senior ladies aged 17 to 19, Charlotte Wilkinson 7th (36:59), Alice Tucker 8th (39:54), and Emma Bradley 10th (41:32) competed and won the 1st team prize. Sole senior lady aged 20-34, Milly Lever, was 9th (36:30). Helen MacDonald was also 9th (vet 40, 39:32). England Fell runner Isaac Battaye finished 8th (37:19) in the under 20s, while fellow international Joe Mercer placed 10th (34:23) in the senior men’s (aged 20-39). In the highly competitive vet40 category, the continually improving Michael Wilkinson was 38th (46:47), and James Titmuss had a strong run in the Vet45 category, finishing 8th (38:39).

There were some fantastic results for our junior runners in the final round of the Manchester Area Cross Country League

Joe Mercer on how way to a 10th place finish

Parkrun, with its 9:00 am gun time, does get a few groans at the early start, especially if traveling out of area. However, if you venture to Thailand parkrun there, the gun goes off at 7:00 am. Imagine the disappointment for intrepid runner-traveler, Richard O’Reilly, who, with an extremely early rise, arrived at Chiang Rai Provincial Stadium only to find he was the only participant. Back on home soil, Sean McMyler was 62nd (21:15) at Heaton Park. Lynn Smith was 95th (41:43), closely followed by Lesley Davidson in 97th (42:16) at Pennington Flash. Nick Leigh took a fine 2nd (18:29) at the challenging Bolton course, with fellow club and England international Gareth Webb having an easy day to finish in 24th (23:25) but still claiming 1st in the Vet65 category. Debut Marathon runner in preparation mode, Dominic Jones, was 18th (20:11). The Middletons, Jason and Janet, were 87th (24:19) and 316th (33:05), respectively, at Worsley Woods, while Dominic McKenna took a scenic trip to Burnley for a 221st (30:05) finish. The well-supported and club local favorite Haigh Hall boasted a number of Harrier runners. Leo Orrell was 36th (24:07), Sophie Orrell 60th (26:03), Paul Lewis 67th (26:43), Jeanette Lewis 85th (27:44), Mary White 90th (27:47), and Andrew Storey narrowly beating Gail Maxfield in 91st (27:53) and 94th (27:58). Over at Coldham’s Common, Isaac Parker had a great run to finish 5th in 20:25, while club veteran and perennial age category winner Rob Jackson finished just outside the top ten in 11th (18:52). Sam Fairhead took a 5th (19:05) at the tricky Worden Park.

The U15, U17, and U20 England Athletics National Indoor Championships at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield also took place over the weekend, with the Harriers sending 4 boys to compete in three different age groups: Oscar Burke and Jack Fletcher in the U15s, Joel Ige U17s, and Alistair Sharrock U20s. It would be a weekend of decent running but near misses. In the 60 meters, Burke ran a superb PB time of 7.83s and qualified for the semi-final. Fletcher ran a decent 7.25s, also qualifying for the semi-final. In the 200m, Ige finished 8th (23:16) overall, just missing out on the final, while Sharrock (23:16) also just missed out on the finals in what was proving to be tough age groups for the junior boys. Fletcher did, however, claim a PB of 9:54 in the 60m hurdles but unfortunately just missed out on qualification to the next round.

Another weekend event, The Long Distance Walkers Association’s annual challenge, the Amblezarke Amble, took place. The ‘Amble’, as it is affectionately called, takes in much of the finest scenery in the West Pennine Moors, is set almost entirely within the reservoir watershed, and although the cotton towns, relics of an industrial past, are on either side, they are only seen from a distance. The start of the “walk” begins with a trip through the Lord Leverhulme gifted Lever Park, passes the well-known landmark of Rivington Pike, on the way to Winter Hill before the descent to Belmont and the Turton and Entwistle Reservoirs. Across the A666 and onto Darwen Moors for a loop around Darwen Tower, which takes amblers to the very pleasant Roddlesworth Woods where the long and short routes converge. After some fortification refreshments at Slipper Lowe, it’s onto the climb of Great Hill before arriving at White Coppice with its picturesque cricket field. From White Coppice, good “walking” threads a line between, first Anglezarke Reservoir, then Yarrow Reservoir, and finally the Upper Rivington Reservoir and onto the end of the walk at Rivington. While not strictly races, the 16 and 26-mile routes have a time limit of 10 hours to be completed in. Hill running aficionado Matt Fawthrop was the first finisher in a commendable time of 3 hours 38 minutes, and Sam Sale was the First Lady finisher. Husband and wife team Nick and Sandra Kelly also completed the long route.

By Richard O’Reilly