26th December 2005. Julie Briscoe First Lady in Ward Green 6
For the second successive week Julie easily won the Women's prize in a local road race. At the Ward Green '6' she was well clear of the field, and U20 star Nathan Elliot finished 6th in the men's race. Keith Singletom won the M50 class.

20th December 2005. Stuart Anderson wins 2005 Christmas Handicaps.
With last year's winner Chris Price out injured, it was the turn of one of our most senior athletes Stuart Anderson to win the annual Christmas Handicap race, just 2 seconds ahead of Keith Singleton. Nathan Elliot again recorded the fastest time of the 17 runners who raced over the 4.5 mile course, ahead of Mark Ridgway, Alan Slack and Adam Cooper. Race Results and some (upside down) photos from Tony Audsley.

18th December 2005. Julie Briscoe First Lady in Denby Dale 6
Julie Briscoe (formerly O'Mara) was a clear winner of the Women's race, with an excellent 9th place overall on this demanding course. Tony Smith was our leading man in 18th place. Race Report from Tony Smith, Full Results from ukresults.net.

14th December 2005. Lucy Holmes in U13 Girl's UK Top 20 Rankings.
In the U13 Girl's Top 20 Rankings published in Athletics Weekly the club had just one athlete listed this year :- Lucy Holmes (11th 75m with 10.2s, 10th 150m with 20.1s, and 19th 200m with 27.9s). Our congratulations to Lucy.

11th December 2005. Vets Team Compete in Calderdale Way Relay
The team were competing in this tough event for the third year, but were without many of the leading vets runners, and finished 44th out of 100 teams in this top quality event. Dave Brailsford and Richard West gave the team a solid start, but the team dropped back on the next four legs, before Mark Ridgway and Alan Slack pulled back nine places with a strong run on the last leg. Provisional Results in Excel and Some pictures

4th December 2005. Laura Whittingham Breaks Club U20 Shot Record
In her last month as an U20 Laura threw a marvellous New Club U20 Shot Record of 12.85m. Competing in an open meeting at Bath, she beat Sue Atack's longstanding U20 record by 2cm, although since it was done indoors, Sue's record still stands as the outdoor record.

4th December 2005. U17 Women Win West Yorkshire Cross Country League Title.
We only had a few runners turning out for the final race of the season at Nunroyd Park, in the West Yorkshire Cross Country League. Katie McHale was our highest finisher, with 3rd in the U17 Women's race, but there was a great improvement from Catherine Hillarby, with 4th place in the U15 Girls race. Lauren Brooke was our first finisher in the U13 Girls team with a fine 5th place, to lead her team to 6th place. Results of all races.
In the overall standings Lauren finished 4th in the U13 Girls, Catherine finished 7th in the U15 Girls and Katie and Ellie Archer finished 3rd and 5th in the U17 Women, leading them to the overall team title.

4th December 2005. Penny Thackray Wins Sheffield 'Percy Pud' 10k
Penny finished 32nd overall in this popular race of over 1000 runners, to win the ladies prize by a large margin, with the good time of 35 mins 50 secs. Results from John Schofield.

30th November 2005. Two Club Members in U15 Boy's UK Top 20 Rankings.
In the U15 Boy's Top 20 Rankings published in Athletics Weekly the club had two athletes listed :- Craig Simpson (11th 200m with 23.20s) and James Wood (12th Triple Jump with 12.13m. Our congratulations to Craig and James.

27th November 2005. Good Performances in Leeds Abbey Dash Road Race.
Nathan Elliot ran a PB of 33 mins 55 secs to finish 59th overall in the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k, to continue his steady progress. Michael Walsh was our next finisher in 164th in 37 mins 40 secs, out of a huge field of over 3000 runners. Penny Thackray was 4th woman finisher, and 82nd overall in a time of 35 mins 36 secs. Download results from Help the Aged.

20th November 2005. Nathan Elliot 5th in Rounday Park 5 Mile Road Race.
Nathan had a good run out with the seniors in the Rounday Park 5 Mile road race, finishing in an excellent 5th place in 27 min 19s. Richard West and Tony Smith completed the Wakefield scoring trio in 39th and 40th places, to give the club 3rd place in the team race. Sharon Marshall finished 2nd woman in 51st place overall. Race Results from ukathletics.net.

19th November 2005. Wakefield Harriers Host West Yorkshire Cross Country League.
The club successfully hosted the third round of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Thornes Park, although the number of runners turning from the club was very disappointing. The U17 Girls were once again our best performers, with Katie McHale 3rd, Ellie Archer 8th, and Sarah Jones in 18th winning their team race. Catherine Hillarby in 12th place led the U15 Girls to 4th team, just ahead of Chloe Bracewell. Lauren Brooke was again our first finisher in the U13 Girls team in 8th place, with the team finishing 9th. Sarah Beevors ran well to finish 7th in the Senior Women's race, with Helen Singleton not far behind in 12th. Steve Lowe was our only leading runner in the Men's race in 56th. Results of all races.

13th November 2005. Harriers Competing in Barnsley 10K.
Several Harriers were in action at the Barnsley 10K, with Steve Lowe and Tony Smith our leading runners in 17th and 36th places respectively. Results from Barnsley AC.

12th November 2005. Good Run from Aine Hoban in USA.
Aine is already showing good form during her stint in the USA, studying at Providence College, Rhode Island. She finished in 6th place to help her university finish 3rd team in the Northeast Regional Cross Country Championships at Boston. Results from Boston.

12th November 2005. The Senior Women finish 5th in English National Cross Country Relays.
After the recent disappointments in the 4-stage road relays, where the team were clearly missing Aine Hoban, away on a scholarship in the USA, the Senior Women's team bounced back in the 3-stage English Cross Country Relays at Mansfield, finishing an outstanding 5th team. The three runners in the 'A' team were Penny Thackray, Julie O'Mara and Charlene Snelgrove, making a welcome return from injury. They confirmed the club as a national force in women's distance running, and the club showed it's depth by placing the 'B' team of Sharon Marshall, Helen Singleton and Sarah Beevors in 20th out of 78 teams, the second 'B' team to finish. Lucy O'Gorman also ran a very fast leg for the 'C' team. Once again the club completed teams in most age groups, with the U17 Women best placed in 30th, and the U15 Girls not far behind finishing 31st team in their race.
Results of all races from SportSoft.

9th November 2005. Two Club Members in U17 Women's UK Top 20 Rankings.
In the U17 Women's Top 20 Rankings published in Athletics Weekly the club had two top ranked athletes :- Mikaela Harrison (3rd 400m with 57.16s and 15th 200m with 25.19s) and new member Adele Lassu (2nd High Jump with 1.77m). Our congratulations to Mikaela and Adele.

6th November 2005. Penny Thackray Second Woman in Guy Fawkes 10.
Penny had a solid run in the Guy Fawkes 10 Mile race, finishing 2nd woman and 21st place overall, in a time of 60 mins 34 secs. Our leading male runners were Matthew Dodsworth in 31st place and Michael Walsh in 42nd, in a field of nearly 700 runners. Results from Nidd Valley RR

6th November 2005. Lucy O'Gorman finishes 4th in Lotto Crosscup in Belgium.
Lucy was invited to compete in the U20 Women's race in the Lotto Crossup at Wachtebeke, Belgium, and showed she is in good form by finishing an excellent 4th place. Race report from UK Athletics.

30th October 2005. Surprise Yorkshire Team Gold in Holmfirth 15.
In the Holmfirth 15 Mile Road Race, which incorporated the Yorkshire 15 Mile Championships, the team of Richard West, Paul Croft and Michael Walsh were the surprising winners of the Yorkshire team title. They all ran solidly and packed well to take the title from those that had entered the championships. Race Results from John Schofield

29th October 2005. U17 Girls Win Again in second West Yorkshire League Cross Country.
Our best result was once again in the U17 Girls race, where Katie McHale and Ellie Archer finished 3rd and 4th, and with Sarah Jones in 20th they won the team race. Catherine Hillarby in 9th place led the U15 Girls to 6th team, and Lauren Brooke in 8th was our first finisher in the U13 Girls team who also finished 6th team. There was a disappointing turnout from the boys, and from our senior athletes, with Steve Lowe our only leading runner in the Men's race in 55th, and Sarah Beevors our only leading Woman finishing 8th. Results of all races at Otley.

26th October 2005. Five Club Members in Junior Women's UK Top 20 Rankings.
In the Junior Women's Top 20 Rankings published in Athletics Weekly it was good to see the club with five top ranked athletes :- Laura Whittingham (2nd Javelin with 50.57m & 11th Shot with 12.20m), Zara Hohn (4th 100mH in 13.88s & 20th 100m in 11.99s), Naida Bromley (5th Heptathlon with 4758 pts & 19th Shot with 11.85m), new member Adele Lassu (7th High Jump with 1.77m) and Lucy O'Gorman (13th 3000m in 9 min 53.67s). With these talented athletes the future of the Women's team continues to look good.

16th October 2005. Steve Tibbs 8th in Bridlington Half Marathon.
Steve had another fine run in the Bridlington Half Marathon, which incorporated the Yorkshire Vets Championships. He had a similar result to last year, finishing 8th overall and 3rd Vet. Nick Mannion finished 15th, and Stuart Bannister 28th in the field of 500, to finish 2nd in the team race. Race Results from Bridlington RR

15th October 2005. Steve Lowe Returns in first West Yorkshire League Cross Country.
After several years away from serious competition Steve reminded us of his talent by leading our Men's team home in the first race of the season at York Knavesmire. He finished strongly in 28th, and there were other fine runs from first year U20 runners Chris Price and Nathan Elliot in 38th and 52nd places. In the Women's race Sarah Beevors finished a fine 3rd, with Helen Singleton 9th.
Our best result was in the U17 Girls race, where Katie McHale and Ellie Archer finished 3rd and 5th, and backed up by Sarah Jones in 19th they won the team race. The U13 Girls were 7th team, with Lauren Brooke finishing an excellent 3rd. Results of all races at York.

12th October 2005. Wakefield Harriers in Northern Premier Division on NJL.
Following the successful season in the National Junior League for both the Junior Women's and Junior Men's teams, the club have been selected to compete in the Northern Premier Division next year, for the first season of the combined men's and women's scoring league. The 8 leading clubs in the Northern Premier division are Gateshead, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds City, Liverpool, North Wales, Sale, Trafford and Wakefield.

9th October 2005. Fast 10K by Penny Thackray in Liverpool.
Penny competed in the City of Liverpool 10K and ran the fast time of 35m 01secs, finishing third woman, and beaten only by two Kenyon runners.

3rd October 2005. New Team Managers and Captains Appointed at Club AGM.
At the Wakefield Harriers AGM some new officials were appointed. Steve Tibbs has volunteered to look after the Mens Road section, with Sharon Marshall taking on the Womens Road section. Sally Holmes has taken on the job of Young Athletes Team Manager, and the Mens and Womens T&F Captains for next season are Darren Thomas and Penny Thackray. It is hoped that all club members will give them their full support over the next 12 months.

1st October 2005. Shirley Griffiths in action in New York.
Competing for her employers the Royal Mail, Shirley competed in the Corporate Challenge Final in New York. She finished 30th in the 3.5 mile road race, helping them to team victory.