31st December 2004. UK Track & Field Rankings for 2004 - Suzanne Roberts ranked 3rd.
With injuries once again effecting several of the club's women stars, we had several athletes missing from the UK Senior rankings. However with Suzanne Roberts back on form the list of our ranked athletes was still impressive, with 14 women ranked in the UK top 50 :-
Suzanne Roberts had her highest ranking with 3rd in the Hammer with her new club record (61.48);
Charlene Snelgrove improved to 11th in the 800m with her new club record (2:03.71);
Naida Bromley (U20) was 12th in the Heptathlon (5039 pts);
Aine Hoban improved to 18th in the 3000m (9:26.6) and 15th in the 5000m (16:17.3), both new club records, and was also 43rd in the 1500m (4:25.8);
Penny Thackray was 15th in the 10000m (36:07.9) and 31st in the 5000m (16:46.7);
Sarah Beevers was 17th in the 3000m S/C with her new club record (11:26.1);
Zara Hohn (U17) had a big improvement to 25th in the 100mH (14.01), with Ruth Dales ranked 45th (14.6);
Caroline Nutt was 23rd in the Pole Vault (3.40);
Laura Whittingham (U20) improved to 26th in the Javelin (41.89), with Naida Bromley (U20) 36th (39.97), Debbie Collinson (U20) 46th (39.07) and Chloe Beckett (U17) 49th (38.71);
Tiffany Lyons (U17) was 49th in the High Jump (1.68);
Fiona Westwood was 50th in the Long Jump (5.73).
In another quiet season for the men, only Chris Kirk was ranked in the UK top 50 with his 8th place senior ranking, despite being injured and still only at the age of 18 ! :-
Chris Kirk (U20) was 8th in the Long Jump (7.56);

26th December 2004. Men win team race in Ward Green 6
For the second successive week Wakefield have won the men's team prize in a local road race. At the Ward Green '6' U17 stars Nathan Elliot and Chris Price finished 5th and 6th, and backed up by Nick Mannion in 9th they took the team prize. Julie O'Mara easily won the women's race from Sharon Marshall.

21st December 2004. Chris Price wins Christmas Handicaps
Young Chris Price won the 2004 Christmas Handicap race, ahead of U17 team mate Nathan Elliot. In a race where the fast runners all excelled themselves Nick Mannion was third, just ahead of long time race leader Mark Domaille. Nathan again recorded the fastest time of the 22 runners who tackled the 4.5 mile course, on a cold icy night. Results.

19th December 2004. Another Outstanding run from Aine Hoban in Brussels Cross Cup.
Aine seems to be getting better and better as the season progresses, and she probably had her best senior run so far at international level. In a top class field that included many leading Ethiopian and Kenyan stars Aine finished an outstanding 13th, the first British runner home. Report from UK Athletics

19th December 2004. Nick Mannion leads team to victory in Denby Dale 6
Nick Mannion showed that he is getting back to form with an excellent 3rd place on this demanding course. With backing from Tony Smith in 17th and Dave Brailsford in 18th the club won the team prize. Results from ukresults.net.

12th December 2004. Penny Thackray wins Stockport 10
Penny finished 27th overall in this race to win the ladies prize, and Stuart Anderson also ran well to finish 3rd in the M65 category. Results from race-results.co.uk.

12th December 2004. Solid Performances by Vets team in Calderdale Relay
The team were competing in this tough event for the second year, and although without many of our leading vets runners, the team all performed well to finish 33rd out of 100 teams, and 3rd Yorkshire vets team. It was very pleasing so see Adrian Howden back competing after a frustrating year of injury, and he was partnered on the last leg by former Olympian Alan Slack, enjoying a rare but welcome appearance on the country. Once again this top class event attracted the north's finest fell and cross country runners so it wasn't a bad team effort. Full results in Word. Some pictures of our heroes from Richard, running leg 1 with Michael Stipe. Some more pictures of our illustrious former internationals on the last leg.

4th December 2004. Wakefield Host the Fourth West Yorkshire League Cross Country.
The club successfully hosted the fourth and final West Yorkshire League Cross Country race, in ideal conditions at a sunny Thornes Park. The club's best performance on the testing hilly course was by U17 runner Chris Price who made a brave attempt to win his race. He finally had to settle for 3rd in the run in, but scored a rare victory over team mate Nathan Elliot who finished 5th. Sam Bucknall had another fine run to finish 3rd in the U13 boys and Katie McHale was 4th in the U15 girls race. Results of all Thornes Park races.
In the final league standings Katie finished 3rd in the U15 girls, Sam was 4th in the U13 boys, Dominic Barnes 8th in the U15 boys, Chris Price 3rd in the U17 men, Jasmin Kerry 4th in the Junior Women and Eileen Mannion 6th in the W35 category. Final Individual League Positions.

4th December 2004. Outstanding run from Aine Hoban in Reebok Cross Country.
The last time Wakefield hosted the WY League in 1999 Aine was a promising U17 runner. Read about Aine's race in 1999.
She has now gone on to reach international level, and yesterday beat many established internationals when finishing 3rd in the Reebok Liverpool Cross Challenge. Julie O'Mara also had a fine run to finish 14th. Results from UK Athletics

28th November 2004. Wakefield Women win Team Prize in Leeds Abbey Dash 10K.
The club was well represented in the record field of 4000 runners in the popular Abbey Dash 10K. In the women's race Julie O'Mara was representing the North of England in the the inter-area challenge and finished 5th in the top quality field, just one place and five seconds ahead of club mate Penny Thackray. They were both just outside 35 minutes in the windy conditions. Unfortunately Sharon Marshall had to drop out through illness when the club seemed certain for the team prize, but young Lucy O'Gormon came through to complete the team.
In the mens race our first runner home was U17 Nathan Elliot, running a new PB of 34.01, who just got the better of experienced vet Adam Cooper in the closing stages. U17 Chris Price also had a good run, again with a new PB of 35.24, just ahead of Nick Mannion.
Results from Help the Aged and ukresults.net

23rd November 2004. Aine Hoban breaks Club 5000m Record in Japan.
Aine was selected as travelling reserve for Great Britain's Ekiden Relay team, to compete in Chiba, Japan. In the end she didn't get to run in this event, but was able to compete instead in a track 5000m, where she ran a New Club 5000m Record of 16 min 17.3 secs. Our congratulations to her. Report from UK Athletics

21st November 2004. Good performances in Roundhay Park 5 mile road race.
U17 runners Nathan Elliot and Chris Price had excellent runs, in quick times, finishing 5th and 8th overall against senior opposition. Backed up by Tony Smith the club finished 2nd in the team race. Results from ukresults.net

21st November 2004. Vets Team finish 3rd in the Final Yorkshire Vets League race.
In the 9th and final league race at Halifax the team finished 3rd behind league leaders Knavesmire and host club Halifax. Pete McNamara made a welcome return to the team and was first man home in 10th, followed by Steve Wilkinson 17th, Richard West 21st and Peter Young 22nd. The team finished in second place in the final league standings. Denise Tibbs had a fine run to finish 3rd in the Women's race. Race Results from YVAA.
In the individual rankings for the season Steve Tibbs finished an excellent 3rd overall, and Steve Wilkinson was rewarded for his best ever season with 10th overall and first in the M45 category. Mens Individual Standings from YVAA.

20th November 2004. Julie O'Mara 19th in European Cross Country Trials.
Julie had another excellent run in the 3rd Reebok Cross Country Challenge at Parliament Hill in London. She finished 19th in a top quality race, which incorporated the trials for the European Cross Country team. Results from UK Athletics

20th November 2004. Third West Yorkshire League Cross Country.
We had a few runners tackling the tough muddy conditions at Ilkley, with Sam Bucknall 4th in the U13 boys and Katie McHale 3rd in the U15 girls race our highest placed runners. Results of all races.

14th November 2004. Nick Mannion our leading runner in Barnsley 10K.
Nick had his first road race for some time, and finished a creditable 16th out of nearly 600 runners in 35:17. Helen Singleton, running on home territory on the new course from Royston, was 3rd woman home in 38:50, well clear of her dad! Results from Barnsley AC

6th November 2004. The Senior Women finish 2nd in English Cross Country Relays.
In these 3-stage relays at Mansfield the women's team excelled themselves yet again, finishing with national medals for the second time in a fortnight. The three runners in the 'A' team, Penny Thackray, Julie O'Mara and Aine Hoban improved from last year's 6th place, and their 2nd place this year confirms the club as a national force in women's distance running. Aine was 4th fastest time of the day. The club showed it's strength in depth by placing the 'B' team of Charlene Snelgrove, Helen Singleton and Eileen Mannion in 11th out of the 70+ teams, the second 'B' team to finish.
As last year it was encouraging to see the club completing teams in most age groups, with the U17 boys best placed in 31st, exactly the same position as last year.
Results of all races from SportSoft, and Report from UK Athletics

31st October 2004. Another Yorkshire Vets medal for Steve Tibbs.
Steve won another medal to add to his collection this winter in the Yorkshire Vets 15 Mile Championships. Running in the Holmfirth 15 he finished 9th overall and 3rd vet in 1:30:43. Sharon Marshall was 2nd woman home in a fine 1:38:23. Results from ukresults.net

30th October 2004. Aine Hoban and Julie O'Mara in top 20 in Reebok Cross Challenge.
Aine and Julie continued their fine form with excellent runs in the second Reebok Cross Country Challenge at Birmingham. They finished 11th and 18th respectively in a top quality field containing many international runners. Results from UK Athletics

30th October 2004. Chris Price & Katie McHale second in West Yorkshire League.
The turnout from the club at the second West Yorkshire Cross Country league race of the season at Bramley Falls woods was a bit disappointing, but there were excellent runs from Chris, 2nd in the U17 Boys, and Katie, 2nd in the U15 Girls race. There were also fine runs from Dominic Barnes, 8th in the U15 Boys, and from Jasmin Kerry who finished 18th in the Womens race, and 2nd U20 to finish. Results of all races

25th October 2004. Aine Hoban gets International selection for Ekiden Relay.
For the second year running a Wakefield Harrier has been selected for Great Britain's Ekiden Relay team, to compete in Chiba, Japan. Last year Penny Thackray was called up, and this year Aine has been selected to travel with the team on 23rd November. Our congratulations to her. Report from UK Athletics

23rd October 2004. Women's Team 3rd in National Road Relays.
The Women's team of Penny Thackray, Angie Dickie, Aine Hoban and Julie O'Mara achieved probably the greatest senior team performance in the history of Wakefield Harriers, by finishing 3rd in the AAA of England National 4 Stage Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham.
Despite suffering from a cold Penny had a solid run, finishing 15th on the competitive 1st leg, before Angie brought them up to 9th at the end of the 2nd leg. Aine then ran a wonderful 3rd leg, sweeping the team into 2nd place with the 12th fastest time of the day. Julie on the last leg was unable to hold off Hayley Yelling, but running the day's 25th fastest time she enabled Wakefield to finish a clear third, and bring home the bronze medals from the National Championships - a magnificent result.
Full results from Race-Results.co.uk - html format pdf format. Report from UK Athletics

17th October 2004. New Club Marathon Record for Sharon Marshall.
Sharon was desperately unlucky not to break the 3 hour barrier, but still had a great run in the Abingdon Marathon. She was 4th lady to finish in a New Club Record of 3 hrs 00 mins 08 secs, beating Eileen Mannion's previous record by over 6 minutes. Race Results from Abingdon AAC

17th October 2004. Steve Tibbs 7th in Bridlington Half Marathon.
Steve had another fine run in the Bridlington Half Marathon, which incorporated the Yorkshire Vets Championships. He finished 7th overall and 3rd vet, to add to his growing vets medal collection. Race Results from Bridlington RR

16th October 2004. Aine Hoban wins first West Yorkshire Cross Country League.
Aine got her Cross Country season off to a flying start with a runaway victory in the first league race of the season at Shipley. There were other fine runs from Chris Price 4th in the U17 boys, Sam Bucknall 4th in the U13 boys, and Alora Adie 10th in the U13 girls race. Results of all races

10th October 2004. Julie O'Mara Close to her Club 10 Mile Record.
Competing with a top quality field in the Great South Run at Portsmouth, won by World Cross Country Champion Benita Johnson, Julie finished 10th woman in the superb time of 57 mins 49 secs, just 10 seconds slower than her club record. Race Report from UK Athletics

3rd October 2004. Good Runs from Nathan Elliot and Chris Price in Northern Road Relays.
Running in the North of England Young Athletes Road Relays at Woodbank Park, Stockport, Nathan had an outstanding run in the U17 relay to hand over in 2nd place at the end of leg 1. Chris then took Wakefield into the lead with a fine run on leg 2, but with no 3rd leg runner the team were denied almost certain medals. Nathan was 5th fastest of the day, beating many highly ranked runners.

3rd October 2004. Steve Tibbs and Adam Cooper just out of medals in Yorkshire Vets 10K.
The Horsforth 10K incorporated the Yorkshire Vets 10K Championships this year, and Steve and Adam had a race long battle, with Steve proving the stronger in the last half mile. They finished 13th and 14th overall in the race, and 4th and 5th in the Vets O40 category. Full Race Results from Horsforth, Vets Championships Results.