29th Mar 2013. Fast Times from Wakefield Harriers in Guernsey 10k.
A handful of leading Wakefield Harriers have travelled over to Guernsey with their 'Team Thomas' coaching group, to take part in the Guernsey Easter 10k. Charlene Thomas was first lady home, beating internationals Steph Twell and Emily Pidgeon in the excellent time of 34:47, to go join top of this year's club rankings with Julie Briscoe, who has already run exactly the same time this year! Jack Hallas took a clear lead in this year's mens club rankings with his good time of 32:02, which gave him 8th place. U20 Iain Little also had a good run to record 35:43 in his first 10k race. Race Results.

24th Mar 2013. Great Half Marathon Performance by Julie Briscoe at Wilmslow.

As part of her London Marathon preparations Julie Briscoe returned to the scene of one of her best ever runs, the Wilmslow Half Marathon. Once again she won the ladies prize, and was 25th overall in the excellent time of 1 hr 15:15, her 2nd best time ever, and great running in the cold and windy conditions. She was obviously going for a time, as if the split times are to believed she went through 10km in what would have been a new PB of 34:18! Julie is pictured left, winning the 2011 race, which was also the English Half Marathon Championship that year. The improving Jenny Latham also had a great run, finishing 11th lady, and recording a fine new PB of 1 hr 24:01, which moves her up to 5th on the club all time list. Race Results from Power of 10.

23rd Mar 2013. Annabel Mason Competes for England for Home Countries International.
Annabel Mason was selected to compete for the England Junior (U20) Team at the Home Countries International Cross Country at Dinefwr in Wales, and had another exceptional run to finish 4th, beaten only by athletes who are at least 3 years older than her. Congratulations to Annabel again for this latest international selection. Race Results from Power of 10.

23rd Mar 2013. Northern Road Relay Championships Cancelled.
As a result of the snow the Northern Road Relay Championships, which were due to be held at Blackpool, had to be cancelled.

18th Mar 2013. Annabel Mason Selected for England for Home Countries International.
As a result of her outstanding performances in the National Cross Country at Sunderland and the Inter Counties at Birmingham, Annabel Mason has been selected to compete for the England Junior Team at the Home Countries International XC in Wales on Saturday 23rd March. After Saturday's win at the English Schools she had also been selected to compete for the English Schools Intermediate team at the same venue, but chose the U20 race to give her stiffer competition! Well done to Annabel once again. Report from England Athletics.

17th Mar 2013. Good Performances from Some of the Club's Jumpers.
At the Sale Open Meeting at Sports City in Manchester there were good performances from some of the club's jumpers who took part. Abby Ward was close to her best with 1.60m in the U15 Girls High Jump, and Abigail Roberts cleared 3.26m in the U17 Ladies Pole Vault. U15 Emily Tinsley progressed to 1.45m and 2.30m in the High Jump & Pole Vault.
Meeting Results from Power of 10.

17th Mar 2013. Distance Runners Roundup of Leading Results.
At the East Hull 20 Mile Race Helen Beck was one of several Harriers using the event as part of their marathon preparations, and she finished 3rd lady in the good time of 2 hrs 20:22.
At the South Yorkshire Half Marathon at Goldthorpe M40 Carl Quinn ran his best time for many years with 1 hr 21:35, and U20 Steven Eastwood had his first attempt at the distance, and recorded a promising time of 1 hr 23:31.
At the Liverpool Half Marathon M45 Chris Rippon ran his first serious race for many years, and recorded an encouraging time of 1 hr 28:35.

16th Mar 2013. Julie Briscoe Wins British Masters Cross Country Championships.
In spite of running her highest weekly mileage to date of 110 miles, in preparation for the forthcoming London Marathon, Julie Briscoe had one of her biggest ever victories when she won the British Masters Cross Country Championships at Sunderland, after a close battle with Claire Martin of Telford. Race Results from Power of 10.

16th Mar 2013. Annabel Mason Wins English Schools Cross Country Championships.
Wakefield Harriers were once again well represented at the English Schools Cross Country Championships at Walton on Trent in Derbyshire, with seven runners competing for West Yorkshire Schools and one for Humberside Schools.

16th Mar 2013. Yorkshire Vets Cross Country Championships.
At the Yorkshire Vets Cross Country Championships at Wentworth Castle near Barnsley we had several athletes competing. We had just the one complete team, with the M50-59 team of Mark Whitehouse, Tony Audsley and Mike Logan finishing 12th team in their category. Paul Robinson also ran well to finish 24th in the M35-49 race.
Men 35-49 results , Men 50-69 results , Women Over 35 & Men Over 70 results.

9th/10th Mar 2013. Medals for Jennifer Ibbitson at British Masters Indoor Champs.
At the British Masters Athletics Federation Indoor Track and Field & Winter Throws Championships, held at Lee Valley, we just had Jennifer Ibbitson competing this year. But she did well, winning the W55 Shot & Hammer, and coming 2nd in the Pole Vault.
Indoor Results and Throws Results.

10th Mar 2013. Some Excellent Times at Trafford 10k Road Race.
Julie Briscoe, Helen Singleton & Chris Price took part in the top quality Trafford 10k road race, and came away with some excellent times. Julie with 34:49 was very close to her PB from 3 years ago as she finished 5th lady and 1st in the F35 category, and Helen wasn't far behind as she was 7th lady in 35:18. Chris also did well, running his fastest time for 4 years when finishing 66th in the fine time of 33:50. Race Results.
Also competing well on the roads was Stephen Tilford, who as part of his marathon build up ran a solid 2 hrs 13:15 in the Spen 20 Mile race at Cleckheaton. Race Results.

9th Mar 2013. Harriers Run for Yorkshire at Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships.

The club had several runners selected to compete for Yorkshire at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships at Cofton Park, near Birmingham, and they all ran with distinction. In the U17 Ladies race Rebecca Firth in 30th & Faye Beckett in 159th helped Yorkshire to come 3rd team, and Lucy Robinson was 74th in the U15 Girls race as Yorkshire came 8th. For the U20 Men Matthew O'Connor was 62nd, helping the Yorkshire team to 3rd. Pictured from left to right, Faye Beckett, Lucy Robinson & Rebecca Firth who competed in the Yorkshire teams at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships.

For the older age groups the event incorporated the trials for the World Cross Country Championships, and for this reason U17 Annabel Mason chose to move up an age group and run as an individual in the U20 race, and she once again did well against older opposition to finish 7th. Charlene Thomas also had an attempt to make the British team, and came 28th in the Senior Ladies race, running as an individual. Race Results from Power of 10

9th Mar 2013. Pole Vaulters Out in Force at 'Vault Manchester' Indoor Meeting.
At the 'Vault Manchester' Indoor Meeting at Sportcity the club's pole vaulters were out in force. Abigail Roberts was as usual a leading performer with her Grade 2 leap of 3.31m in the U17W event, and Andrew Jones was close to a Grade 2 with his PB clearance of 3.61m in the U17M event. Results from Power of 10

4th Mar 2013. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in March.
Here's the list of athletes that have been accepted into membership this month by Wakefield Harriers. Please welcome them all to the club. List of New Members.

3rd Mar 2013. Excellent Ladies Victory for Julie Briscoe at Norton 9 Mile Race.
There were several Harriers taking part at the Norton 9 Mile road race, near Doncaster, the 2nd race in this year’s Club Distance Runners League Championship. Julie Briscoe showed that her London Marathon preparations are going well with a superb victory amongst the ladies, finishing 11th overall in the excellent time of 52 mins 24 secs. Stephen Tilford was the next Harrier home in 18th place, running 53:12, and he was followed by Tony Smith (45th in 57:15) & Hugh Allen (71st in 59:24). Joanne Biltcliffe was our 2nd lady home in 170th out of over 500 runners, in a time of 66:11. Race Results from Power of 10.

2nd Mar 2013. Scott Atkinson Wins Scottish National U20 Indoor 800m Title.
Scott Atkinson had one of his best performances to date when winning the Scottish National U20 Indoor Championships over 800m, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. Usually more noted as a 400m runner, he used his terrific speed to make up 15m in the last lap to take victory in a superb new PB of 1 min 56.87 secs. This was his 4th race of the day after the heats of both the 800m and the 400m, where he ran 51.40s. Meeting Results from Power of 10.

26th Feb 2013. League Dates for Wakefield Harriers Track & Field Teams.
Here are the dates of the matches for Wakefield Harriers Track & Field teams during the 2013 season :-
The Senior Men & Women are competing again this year in Division 1 of the Northern League, against Bolton United H, City of Manchester, Kingston upon Hull, Leigh H & Preston H. The match dates are 5th May (Leigh), 9th June (Preston), 7th July (Manchester) & 3rd August (Wakefield). Link to fixtures.
The U20 & U17 athletes are competing in the Northern Premier 2 Division of the new Youth Development League (which replaces the National Junior League), against City of Sheffield, Kindom Athletics (composite), Leeds City, South of Humber (composite) & Team Forth Valley (composite). The match dates are April 28th (Pitreavie), June 2nd (Leeds), June 30th (Wakefield) & July 28th (Spinkhill). Link to fixtures.
The U15 & U13 athletes are competing in the Northern Premier 2 Division of the new Youth Development League (which replaces the Young Athletes League), against City of York, Crewe & Nantwich, Kingston upon Hull, Leeds City & Wirral AC. The match dates are May 4th (Leeds), June 1st (Bebington), June 22nd (Wakefield) & July 13th (Hull). Link to fixtures.

24th Feb 2013. Abby Ward Equals Her U15 Club High Jump Record.
At the Sale Open Meeting at Sports City in Manchester there were some good performances from the Harriers who took part. The standout performances were from Abby Ward, who equalled her club record of 1.65m in the U15 Girls High Jump, and from Abigail Roberts, who wasn’t far off her U17 Ladies Pole Vault record with her 3.45m clearance, but it was a new indoor best. Meeting Results from Power of 10.

23rd-24th Feb 2013. England Athletics U20, U17 and U15 Indoor Championships.
We just had one athlete competing in the England Athletics U20, U17 and U15 Indoor Championships at Birmingham this year. Scott Atkinson finished 2nd in his semi-final of the U20 Mens 400m in a superb 49.38s, after running 50.36s in his heat. Meeting Results from Power of 10.

22nd-24th Feb 2013. BUCS Indoor Championships at Sheffield.
At the BUCS Indoor Championships at the EIS in Sheffield there were a handful of Harriers competing for their universities or colleges. Sally Smith came 5th in the final of the 800m in 2m 16.43s, after coming 2nd in her semi-final in 2m 14.7s, and winning her heat in a fast 2m 13.45s. Will Mulroy came 7th in the High Jump with 1.85m, Lucy Holmes came 11th in the final of the Shot with a throw of 10.71m, after throwing 11.40m in the qualifying round, and Rebecca Watts ran 27.24s in the heats of the 200m. Meeting Results from Power of 10.

24th Feb 2013. Fast 10 Mile Road Time from Helen Beck.
At the Pocklington 'Snake Lane' 10 Mile road race Helen Beck had probably her best run to date, as she finished 4th lady in a fine new PB of 63 mins 06 secs. Race Results. This time moves her up to a clear 4th in the club's All-Time Road Rankings.

23rd Feb 2013. Annabel Mason Wins U17 Ladies National Cross Country Championships.

Annabel Mason had the biggest win of her Cross Country career by winning the U17 Ladies English National Cross Country Championships, which were held in wintry conditions at Sunderland. She made history by becoming the first Wakefield Harrier to win an individual title in this prestigious and historic championship, our only other win being a team victory by the Youths team in 1968. What makes her win even more remarkable is that she is only in the first year of this age group, as are her team mates Rebecca Firth (28th), Faye Beckett (52nd) & Rachel Firth (70th), who all ran well too to finish an excellent 4th team, with Gina Vickers also doing well to finish 119th. Annabel is pictured above battling through the snow, and receiving her trophy from Steve Cram.
This was our only complete team, but also doing well were Steven Eastwood (87th U20M), Daniel Franks (132nd U17M), Cameron Dye (149th U17M), Lucy Robinson (46th U15G), Saskia Lewis (154th U15G), Ben Read (55th U15B) & Holly Kitching (187th U13G).

19th Feb 2013. Club Distance Runners 2012 League Championship Presentation.
Presentations were made to the winners of the Club Distance Runners 2012 League Championship at the runners' 2nd clubhouse, 'The Redoubt', with trophies being presented by our former 400m Olympian Alan Slack.
The 2012 winners were :- 1st Pete McNamara, 2nd Chris Ward, 3rd Nicky Steel, 4th Hugh Allen, 5th Joanne Biltcliffe, with Nicky Steel being awarded the trophy for 'Most Improved Runner', and Joanne Biltcliffe the trophy for competing in the most events. See Club Distance Runners 2012 League Championship page for all race results and final league table.

Pete McNamara and Nicky Steel receiving their trophies from Alan Slack.

17th Feb 2013. Wombwell 5 Mile Road Race.
Eleven Wakefield Harriers ran in the Wombwell 5 Mile road race, near Barnsley, which incorporated the first round of the 2013 Club Distance Runners League Championship.
U20 Steven Eastwood was first Harrier home in 25th place, in a time of 29:19, with M50 Pete McNamara not far behind in 29th place. Claire Sykes was our first lady in 106th place, out of 275 finishers, recording 35:25. Race Results.

16th Feb 2013. Leeds Young Athletes Open Indoor Athletics Meeting.
There were a few Harriers competing at the Leeds Young Athletes Open Indoor Athletics Meeting, with a few useful early season performances recorded. Meeting Results.

14th Feb 2013. Second Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Athletics Meeting.
Once again we had a good turnout of young athletes for the second Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Athletics Meeting. Download Results in XL.

9th/10th Feb 2013. Harriers Competing at UK Indoor Championships at Sheffield.
At the UK Indoor Championships at the EIS in Sheffield, which incorporated the British Athletics European Trials, there were a couple Harriers competing. In his first track race of the year Jack Hallas came 7th in his heat of the 1500m in 3m 54.42s, but Zara Hohn was out of luck, and failed to finish her heat of the 60m Hurdles. Meeting Results from Power of 10.

4th Feb 2013. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in February.
Here's the list of athletes that have been accepted into membership this month by Wakefield Harriers. Please welcome them all to the club. List of New Members.

3rd Feb 2013. Wakefield Harriers 'Mixed Team' Win Category at Castres Relay in France.

3rd Feb 2013. Ladies Team Easily Win Team Prize at Dewsbury 10k Road Race.
The Dewsbury 10k Road Race was held in windy conditions, but nevertheless there were some good performances, from the Wakefield ladies in particular. Julie Briscoe and Helen Singleton had excellent runs, recording 35:32 and 35:59 as they finishing 2nd and 3rd ladies, and with Jenny Latham recording a new PB of 38:29 as 10th lady the girls easily won the team prize. Nicky Steel was nearly 3 minutes faster than last year, and was just outside her best with 40:52, ahead of Sarah Bostwick who recorded 41:23. For the men Stephen Tilford was first home from the club, salvaging male pride by just beating Julie! He finished 46th out of the field of over 800 runners in 35:30, and Joe Schofield was next home in 36:54. M50 Vet Paul Hallas ran 37:36 & Glen Shelley with 38:47 were the only others to break 40 minutes. Race Results.

2nd Feb 2013. Zara Hohn Finishes 2nd at Loughborough Students Open.
Zara Hohn showed much better form when finishing 2nd at the Loughborough Students Indoor Open Meeting, running 8.52s in the final of the 60m Hurdles, after running 8.58s in the heats. Earlier in the week she had competed twice in Austria, running 8.63s at Vienna and 8.75s at Linz. Meeting Results from Power of 10.

2nd Feb 2013. West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships.
There was a large contingent of Harriers competing for Wakefield District and for other schools districts in the West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships, which took place at Batley Grammar School. Athletes from the club dominated the Intermediate Girls race, with Annabel Mason winning easily, and Rebecca Firth & Faye Beckett coming 3rd & 4th, just ahead of Lucy Robinson. Ben Read finished a good 3rd in the Intermediate Boys race, and Matthew O’Connor & James Saxton were 4th & 5th in the Senior Boys race. Libby Greatorex was 8th in the Senior Girls event, and all these runners have gained selection for the English Schools Championships at Catton Hall, Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire on Saturday 16 March. Race Results.
Saskia Lewis also qualified for the Championships, being selected for the Humberside Schools Intermediate Girls team after her race at Barton. Our congratulations to them all.

26th Jan 2013. Northern Cross Country Championships at Knowsley Safari Park.
At the Northern Cross Country Championships at Knowsley Safari Park near Liverpool we just had a small number of runners who braved the snowy conditions to take part. We only had one complete team, the U17 Women who were 7th, led home by the fast improving Faye Beckett. She had an excellent run to finish 14th, and was supported by Rebecca Firth 48th, sister Rachel 72nd and Georgina Vickers 78th. There were some fine individual performances, in particular Ben Read who was a superb 14th in the U15 Boys race, with Max Rose finishing 46th. Matthew Hill was 27th in the U13 Boys and Steven Eastwood 55th in the U20 Mens race. For the girls India Elliott was 27th, Holly Kitching 59th & Rebecca Sheppard 86th in the U13 Girls race, and Lucy Robinson was 42nd in the U15 Girls race. Results of all races from frsystems.

25th Jan 2013. Good 5k Road Time from Jasmine Kerry in London.
London based Jasmine Kerry has been making good progress in recent months, and improved her 5k road time to 18 mins 53 secs, as she was 2nd lady at the Brooks Serpentine 5K in London's Hyde Park. Race Results.

24th Jan 2013. First Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Athletics Meeting.
There was a very good turnout of young athletes for the first of the Indoor Athletics Meetings at Thornes Park Stadium. Meeting Results.

20th Jan 2013. Annabel Mason 2nd at McCain Cardiff Cross Challenge.
Although the wintry conditions meant that most road races had to be cancelled, it didn't deter the cross country runners, and many top quality athletes were competing in the snow at Cardiff in the McCain Cross Challenge. In the U20 Womens race over 5Km Annabel Mason continued her close rivalry with young Bobby Clay, and after taking an early lead had to finally settle for 2nd place, just 7 seconds behind the National Champion. Father John also had a good run, finishing 45th in the Senior Mens 10.4Km race. Report from UK Athletics.

12th/13th Jan 2013. Three Gold Medals at Northern Athletics Indoor T&F Championships.
At the Northern Athletics Indoor T&F Championships at the EIS in Sheffield, the club once again had a good haul of medals, including three golds. Abigail Roberts retained her U17W Pole Vault title with a leap of 3.20m, Sally Smith won the U20 Womens 800m in 2m 16.10s, and Abby Ward took the U15G High Jump title with 1.63m. Scott Atkinson won silver in the U20 Mens 400m in 49.43s, James Saxton was 2nd in the U20 Mens 3000m in 8m 53.81s, and bronze medals were won by Helen Singleton (SW 3000m 9m 54.15s), Dylan Roberts (U15B Shot 9.78m) & Emily Tinsley (U15G PV 2.20m).
In addition, there were top 6 finishes from Kieran Thackray (4th U20M Shot 10.73m), Zoe Kerins (4th U20W 800m 2m 21.85s), Steven Eastwood (5th U20M 1500m 4m 28.53s), Bethany Sharp (5th U20W 60mH 10.07s), Andrew Jones (5th U17M PV 3.30m), Rebecca Tolson (5th U17W HJ 1.55m), Vicki Greensmith (6th SW Shot 11.06m) & Patrick Thackray (6th U17M 60mH 9.66s). Results from Northern Athletics.

7th Jan 2013. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in January.
Here's the list of athletes that have been accepted into membership this month by Wakefield Harriers, and includes several athletes joining as associate members, who want to train with us on club nights. Please welcome them all to the club. List of New Members.

7th Jan 2013. West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships.
The West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships will be held at Batley Boys Grammar School on Saturday 2nd February. There are many members of the Harriers running for Wakefield Schools, and here are more details of the event, and the runners competing. Download details

5th Jan 2013. Yorkshire Cross Country Championships at Lightwater Valley.
The Yorkshire Cross Country Championships were held at the new location of Lightwater Valley, near Ripon, and the event was a great success, although the rough grassland course made it hard work for the runners in the earlier races. It wasn't a vintage year for the club at these championships, with no individual medallists, although there were still some fine performances.
In the Senior Mens race Jack Hallas was an excellent 13th in a high quality field, and Chris Ward & Andy Cartwright also ran well to come 69th & 79th respectively. In the U20 Mens race Matthew O'Connor had a superb run to finish 4th, and with Steven Eastwood 12th & Jack Mitchell 14th they won the team trophy. In the Womens race Sally Smith had a good run to finish 30th overall, and 5th U20 runner.
In the younger age groups our best results were in the U17 Girls race, where Faye Beckett 6th, Rebecca Firth 7th & Georgina Vickers 30th were 3rd team, and from the U13 Girls team of India Elliott 10th, Holly Kitching 24th & Rebecca Sheppard 26th, who also won team bronze medals. The U15 Girls team of Lucy Robinson 9th, Bethan Oates 20th & Chloe Fitton 28th were 6th overall, and the U17 Mens trio of William Ingram 20th, Daniel Franks 24th & Cameron Dye 33rd were 8th. In the U15 Boys race Ben Read was 10th, Edward Dunbavin 28th & George Heppinstall 37th, as the team finished 6th, as did the U13 Boys team of Max Rose 19th, Matthew Hill 21st & Benji Morton 36th.
Download results in XL from Northern Athletics, Women, and Men.

5th Jan 2013. Charlene Thomas & Annabel Mason Compete in Edinburgh International XC.
Our distance running stars Charlene Thomas and Annabel Mason were invited to compete at the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country meeting, which was televised by the BBC. Charlene found herself up against some of the world's greatest distance runners, including World Champion Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya and Olympic 5000m Champion Meserat Defar of Ethiopia, but still put up a good performance, and was prominent on the first lap of the race. Annabel was competing for the GB Under 20 team, and once again produce a superb performance to finish 6th, to complete a clean sweep for the GB team. Congratulations to them both.
Report from UK Athletics.