31st Dec 2008. UK Senior Rankings for 2008 - Club has 10 top 50 Ranked Athletes.

In the UK top 50 rankings, published recently in Athletics Weekly, the club once again had an athlete at the very top of the UK rankings. Emily Freeman was easily the UK's top 200m runner with her world class time of 22.72s, which ranked her 35th in the world for 2008. Martyn Bernard was equal 2nd in the High Jump with his world class jump of 2.30m, which ranked him equal 27th in the world for 2008. Charlene Thomas was ranked 5th in the UK and only missed out on the world top 50 by 0.2 secs with her 1500m in 4m 07.47s.

The club had 9 athletes in the UK Senior Women's Top 50 Rankings, with 4 making the top 10! :-
Emily Freeman was ranked 1st in the 200m with her new club record (22.72) and 8th in the 100m (11.37) ;
Charlene Thomas was 5th in the 1500m with her new club record (4:07.47) ;
Zara Hohn was 8th in the 100m Hurdles with her new club record (13.52/13.49w), and would be in the 100m rankings if wind assisted times were included (11.98w) ;
Julie Briscoe was 10th in the 5 Mile Road (28:07) and 43rd in the Half Marathon (1hr 18:27) ;
Kelly Johnson was 24th in the 800m (2:05.63) ;
Helen Singleton was 27th in the 5 Mile Road (28:55) and 48th in the 10Km Road (35:10) ;
Lucy O'Gorman was 40th in the 3000m (9:33.91), 40th in the 5000m (17:01.59) and 46th in the 1500m (4:24.07) ;
Naida Bromley was 46th in the Javelin (39.95m) ;
Caroline Nutt was 47th in the Pole Vault (3.30m).

31st Dec 2008. UK Track & Field Junior Age Group Rankings for 2008.
In the UK age group top 20 rankings, published recently in Athletics Weekly, the club has several athletes ranked, with the U17 men being our strongest age group this year :-
U13G Zoe Kerins was 5th in the 100m (13.0); 5th in the 150m (19.6); 8th in the 200m (27.1) & 15th in the 75m ;
U15G Sally Smith was 13th in the 3000m (10m 36.7) ; Grace Eyles was 8th= in the High Jump (1.60m) & 17th in the Long Jump (5.24m) ;
U17W Lauren Proctor was 10th in the 800m (2m 10.5), 17th in the 1500m (4m 42.74) & 11th in the 3000m (9m 55.51) ;
U15B Thomas Leyshon was 6th= in the High Jump (1.85m) ; Daniel O'Connor was 16th in the Discus (39.17m) ;
U17M Thomas Atkinson was 2nd in the 800m (1m 54.05) & 17th in the 400m (49.96) ; Dale Worton was 6th in the 1500m (4m 00.89) ; Josh Green was 9th in the 400m Hurdles (56.09) ; Joe Charlesworth was 15th in the Javelin (54.07m) ;
U20M Jack Hallas was 17th in the 800m (1m 52.95).

28th Dec 2008. Good Performances in Southwell 10k.
Martin Green and Neil Penn had good runs in the Southwell 10k, with Martin recording a new PB of 34 mins 18 secs, to finish the year as top of the club's vets rankings. He finished 27th out of over 600 runners, and Neil also did well to run 35 mins 34 secs in 34th place. Download Results.

27th Dec 2008. Success for Harriers in Sheffield Open Cross Country Races.

26th Dec 2008. Two Harriers Compete in Chevin Chase.
There were just two hardy runners from the club racing in the tough multi-terrain Chevin Chase, the customary 7 mile muddy slog over Otley Chevin. Out of 833 runners David Dawson came 143rd in a new PB for the course and Tony Audsley came 171st.

26th Dec 2008. Harriers Win Team Race in Ward Green 6.
The club had a good result at the Ward Green 6 Mile road race, with another team win. Nathan Elliot was 3rd, young Dale Worton 5th, and vet Paul Hallas was 3rd counter in 14th place and first home in the over 50 category.

21st Dec 2008. Harriers Competing in Denby Dale Travellers 6.
Several Wakefield Harriers tackled the many hills around Denby Dale to take part in the annual Travellers 6 road race, with Richard West leading the men home, and Alex Potter the women. Download Results from Denby Dale Travellers.

18th Dec 2008. Jack Mitchell Wins 2008 Junior Christmas Handicaps.
There was a good turnout of runners in the younger age groups, with Jack Mitchell winning the race and Ryan Hartley taking the honour of the fastest time on the night. Lauren Brooke led the girls home finishing 5th overall.
Dave Radcliffe's Report and Full Race Results.

18th Dec 2008. Young Sally Smith Wins 2008 Senior Christmas Handicaps.
It was a night of great performances by the girls, as young U15 Sally Smith took on the seniors and was a clear winner ahead of Chris Ward and Tom Coney. Helen Singleton was the fastest lady again, as she finished 4th overall with the 3rd fastest time, and Nathan Elliot was fastest overall for the 3rd year running. Report and Full Race Results.

14th Dec 2008. Mens Team Have Best Ever Result in Calderdale Way Relay.
The club had 2 teams in the tough Calderdale Way Relay, which consists of 6 legs with 2 runners from each club running as a pair, and with many of the country's leading fell runners taking part. The mens team had their best ever result, with a fine 22nd place out of the 117 teams, and in a best overall time of 7 hrs 14 mins, which is good running in the wet and very muddy conditions. The best performance was by the 2nd leg runners Neil Penn and Martin Green who were 13th fastest in a club best time on their leg, after Neil Dutton & Carl Quinn had got the team off to an excellent start in 21st place. Tony Audsley & Pete McNamara on leg 3, Chris Ward & Brian Horsfall on leg 4 and Tony Smith & Richard West ran solidly to keep the team well up, for David Brailsford & Paul Hallas to make up a few places on the 6th leg, where they were 26th fastest.
The club also has a mixed team competing for the first time, and they finished a creditable 106th team, with Dave Dawson & Sarah Beevers running particularly well on their leg 5.
Download Provisional Results in Excel from Halifax Harriers

13th Dec 2008. Some Fast 60m Times at Sheffield.
Several Wakefield athletes took part in the 2nd Northern Athletics Indoor Meeting at Sheffield, with a some good performances. Grace Eyles ran a fast 60m in 8.29s, and hurdles star Zara Hohn was also competing, running 7.84 secs for 60m.
Download Results from Northern Athletics

7th Dec 2008. Two Harriers Teams are Complete Runner League Champions.

7th Dec 2008.  Club Cross Country Championships.
The final meeting of the Complete Runner Cross Country League at Thornes Park incorporated the Club Cross Country Championships. Results and photos of all the medallists.

7th Dec 2008.  4 Team Victories and 3 Individual Wins in Final Complete Runner Cross Country.
The club successfully hosted the 4th and final meeting of the Complete Runner Cross Country League at Thornes Park. Three Harriers took individual victories, and there were also good team victories from the U13 boys, U17 boys, U13 girls and U17 girls, to complete a very successful day for the Harriers. The most emphatic win of the day was by last year's Northern U15 cross country champion Lauren Proctor, returning from a long layoff through injury to comfortably win her first U17 girl's race. Other wins were recorded by Daniel Franks, who won the U13 boy's race ahead of team-mate Michael Callaly, and by Libby Greatorex who took the U13 girl's race.
Detailed Report, and Results of all Races, and Photos available from ARMADA Photography.

29th Nov 2008. Charlene Thomas Finishes 15th in Trial for European Cross Country.
The club had some of it's top distance runners competing in the 2nd round of the McCain UK Cross Challenge at Sefton Park, Liverpool, which also incorporated the trials for the forthcoming European Cross Country Championships. Our leading competitor was Charlene Thomas who came 15th in the senior women's race, but there was also a fine run by Sally Smith who finished 16th in her U15 girl's race. Nathan Elliot finished 139th in the senior men's race, and Dale Worton was 50th in the U17 men's race. Report and Results from UK Athletics

23rd Nov 2008. Good Performances in Leeds Abbey Dash Road Race.

22nd Nov 2008. Harriers Invited Again to Compete in Race in France.
The club have been invited once again to take part in a relay race at Wakefield's twin town of Castres, France over the first weekend in February next year. This is a fantastic long distance event for senior runners, and here's the report of this year's trip.

22nd Nov 2008. Wakefield Harriers In Action at North of England Open.
At the North of England Open Meeting at the EIS, the club had several athletes in action. With athletes of different ages competing together all the results are mixed up, but the Track events and Field events can be downloaded from NoEAA.

16th Nov 2008.  Some Good Performances in Barnsley 10k.

15th Nov 2008.  Charlene Thomas Returns to Competition.
Our international middle distance runner Charlene Thomas returned to competition for the first time since injury wrecked her Olympic ambitions in the summer. Competing against most of Britain's best distance runners she came a fine 12th in the McCain UK Cross Challenge Races at Gateshead. Dale Worton was also invited to compete in the U17 men's race, and he finished 25th against top class competition.

15th Nov 2008.  More Good Results at Third Complete Runner Cross Country League.

4th Nov 2008.  Martyn Bernard and Emily Freeman Continue to Get Top Lottery Funding.
Because of their excellent performances at the Beijing Olympics Martyn Bernard and Emily Freeman were amongst the list of 33 athletes announced to be on the UK Athletics top tier of lottery funded athletes, which are those considered to be potential Olympic and World Championship medallists. Martyn finished 9th in this year's Olympic High Jump final, whilst Emily reached the semi-finals od the 200m, and was part of the 4 x 100m relay team.

2nd Nov 2008. Good Run from Mark Domaille in New York Marathon.
Whilst Paul Radcliffe was flying the flag for Britain winning the Women's race, Mark Domaille was flying the Harriers flag in the New York Marathon. Mark is currently working and living in New York, and came home in 1,325th place overall in the huge field of over 30,000 runners, running the very respectable time of 3 hrs 05 mins 21 secs.

1st Nov 2008. A Successful Day at the English National Cross Country Relays.
The club had a good day at the English National Cross Country Relays at Mansfield, competing against the best cross country runners in the country. The best result was from the U17 Men's team of Dale Worton (9:38), Sam Bucknall (10:06) & Tom Coney (9:58), who continued their fine form with a superb 13th place finish, whilst their 'B' team of Daniel Wild (10:34), Ashley Raby (11:14) & Ryan Hartley (10:56) also did well to come 65th. The U15 Girl's team of Sally Smith (7:28) Loise Long (8:03) & Olivia Radcliffe (8:03) were our next best performers, finishing an excellent 16th. The U13 Boy's trio of Daniel Franks (7:18), Ben Read (7:52) & Will Ingram (8:10) finished in 31st place, whislst the U13 Girl's team of Libby Greatorex (7:53), Sally Spur (9:11) & Beth Graham (9:00) came home 40th. The Senior Men had a solid performance, with their 'A' team of Nathan Elliot (16:31), Jack Hallas (16:32), Neil Penn (18:29) & Steve Faulkner (18:13) finishing a fine 64th. The 'B' team of Paul Hallas (18:21), Neil Dutton (19:16), Martin Green (18:43) & Jonathan Prideaux (18:50) came 101st out of the 151 complete teams. The Senior Women were decimated by injury at the last minute, so were unable to complete a team, but Helen Singleton tested her fitness with a good run on the first leg.
Results of all races from the English Cross Country Association.

26th Oct 2008. Another Good Day at Second Complete Runner Cross Country League.
At the second meeting of the Complete Runner Cross Country League at Guiseley the club had another good day, with one team victory and one individual win from the 10 races. Star performer was Lauren Brooke, who won the U15 Girl's race in fine style, and with Samantha Brook in 21st and Page McCurdie 37th the team came 5th. The U13 Girls were a good 3rd, led home by Libby Greatorex with an outstanding 2nd place, and backed up by Sally Spurr in 25th and Heather Ludvigsen 26th. The U11 Girls finished 5th again, with Kennedy Nuttall 15th, Derin Olaleru 33rd and Dami Olaleru 41st. The team victory came as expected from the U17 Men's team, who continued to dominate their age group. Dale Worton returned to form with an excellent 2nd, and with Sam Bucknall 4th and Tom Coney 7th they were easy winners. The U13 Boy's team were 3rd, with Michael Callaly and Daniel Franks repeating their excellent 2nd and 3rd places from the last race. Benjamin Read in 30th and William Ingram in 31st completed the scoring. The senior men's team had their best performance for several years, finishing a very respectable 6th. Jack Hallas made his senior debut in the league in 28th, and Steve Faulkner continued his good form in 46th place. Neil Penn (49th), Carl Quinn (56th), Paul Hallas (58th) and Jonathan Prideaux (60th) were the other first team scores, and they packed well out of the field of 225 runners. 800m star Kelly Johnson made her first appearance over the country, finishing 17th and leading the senior ladies to a 10th place team position, with Clare Sykes 39th, Alice Butler 50th and Tammy Chow 82nd the team scorers. Results of all Races.

19th Oct 2008. Two Top 6 Team Finishes at ERRA Young Athletes Road Relays.
At the ERRA Young Athletes Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham all the top teams from England were on show, and the club had some excellent performances. The best result was by the U15 Girl's team who finished an outstanding 5th overall, and were just half a minute away from the medals. The team of Sally Smith (14:00), Lauren Brooke (14:53) and Olivia Radcliffe (15:08) were always amongst the leaders, and Sally's fine run gave her 9th fastest time of the day. The U13 Boy's team of Daniel Franks (13:44) Michael Callaly (14:07) and William Ingram (15:36) almost matched them with their excellent 6th place overall, after being as high as 2nd place after the first 2 legs. With his excellent run on the first leg Daniel was 7th fastest overall. After their recent successes the U17 Men's team of Dale Worton (12:51) Sam Bucknall (12:22) and Tom Coney (12:22) will have been a bit disappointed to finished 13th, but just like the other teams they were still easily the first team home from Yorkshire. The U15 Boys' team was incomplete, but Jack Mitchell (13:52) and Matthew O'Conner (14:22) ran well, and were in 42nd place after 2 legs. Results of all races from Sportsoft.

19th Oct 2008. Encouraging Runs in Bridlington Half Marathon.
In the Bridlington Half Marathon we had a number of runners competing. Matthew Dodsworth was first Harrier to finish in 1 hr 26:38s, and Alex Potter was our first lady home, and 10th lady overall, finishing in a new PB of 1 hr 35:49s. Race Results.

12th Oct 2008. Good Day for the Club at First Complete Runner Cross Country League.
In the first meeting of the Complete Runner Cross Country League at Otley the club had a very good day, with 3 of the teams winning their races, and with 3 individual 2nd places from the 10 age group races.
The U17 Men's team continued their dominance with a clear team victory. Sam Bucknall was an excellent 2nd, Tom Coney confirmed his recent breakthrough with 3rd, and Dale Worton came home 7th to complete the team. The U13 Boy's team were also victorious, with new member Michael Callaly finishing an excellent 2nd, a few seconds ahead of Daniel Franks in 3rd place. William Ingram in 27th and Daniel Thompson in 39th completed the scoring for a narrow team victory. The U15 Girls also won their team race, with Lauren Brooke finishing a fine 2nd, and well supported by Louisa Long in 10th and Samantha Brook in 14th.
The U13 Girls were a good 3rd, led home by Libby Greatorex in 6th, and backed up well by Annabelle Mason in 9th and Bethany Graham in 23rd, whilst the U11 Girls finished 5th, with Kennedy Nuttall 12th, Bethany Oates 18th and Jessica Parker 22nd packing well. The senior teams were a bit below strength but the men still finished a respectable 11th, with Steve Faulkner first home for the club in a solid 40th place, and it was good to see Alice Butler back running on the country, finishing 35th and leading the ladies to a 9th place team position. In the races where we didn't have complete teams the best performances were by Jack Mitchell first U15 Boy in 10th, and Louise Whitely first U17 Lady in 15th. Results of all Races and mens photo gallery and ladies photo gallery from Otley AC.

6th Oct 2008. New Members Elected to Harriers Committee at AGM.
At the Annual General Meeting there were a few changes to the Club Committee, with a few new members volunteering to help out. Two major changes were the election of Fiona Lancaster as Membership Secretary, and of former Olympian Alan Slack to the post of Treasurer, after Janet Smith stepped down after 9 excellent years of service.

5th Oct 2008. Medals for Three Teams in Northern Young Athletes Road Relays.

5th Oct 2008. Harewood House 10 Mile Trail Race.

4th Oct 2008. Wakefield Harriers Voted Yorkshire Track & Field Club of the Year.
At the England Athletics Yorkshire & Humberside regional awards ceremony the club were voted Track & Field Club of the Year. We have for more than 10 years now been Yorkshire's leading Women's team, riding high in the UK Women's League, and the men have also had a good season this year. The crowing glory for the club of course was being the only Yorkshire athletics club to have athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics, so it is an award of which we can be proud. Club officials were also recognised, with Club Chairman Michael Brennan being joint winner of the Services to Club Development award, and Sheila Scowcroft shortlisted for the Services to Athletics award.