23rd Mar 2014. Great Half Marathon Performance by Julie Briscoe at Wilmslow.

Julie Briscoe showed her London Marathon preparations are going well with another good run in the Wilmslow Half Marathon. Once again she won the ladies prize, and was 33rd overall in the excellent time of 1 hr 15 mins 28 secs, one of her best ever times. If the split times are to believed she also went through 10 Miles in what would have been a new ladies club record of 57 mins 23 secs! Race Results from Power of 10. Stephen Tilford also showed he is also on track for London (and might even be able to give Julie a race!), with a big new PB of 56 mins 55 secs in the Thirsk 10 Miles, finishing in 12th place. Race Results.

22nd Mar 2014. League Dates for Wakefield Harriers Track & Field Teams.
Here are the dates of the matches for Wakefield Harriers Track & Field teams during the 2014 season :-
The Senior Men & Women are competing again this year (as reigning champions!) in Division 1 of the Northern League, against Blackburn H, City of Manchester, Derby AC, Kingston upon Hull & Preston H. The match dates are Sun 4th May (Hull), Sat 7th June (Manchester), Sun 13th July (Derby) & Sat 9th August (Blackburn). Link to league webpage.
After their promotion last year the U20 & U17 athletes are competing in the Northern Premier Division 1 of the Youth Development League (which replaced the National Junior League), against City of Sheffield, Gateshead H, Sale H, Team Edinburgh (composite), Team Glasgow (composite). The match dates are Sun 27th April (Meadowbank, Edinburgh), Sun June 1st (Spinkhill, Sheffield), Sun 29th June (Sports City, Manchester) & Sun 27th July (Wakefield). Link to league webpage.
The U15 & U13 athletes are competing in the new Yorkshire League, for which we're still waiting for details.

15th Mar 2014. Harriers at English Schools Cross Country Championships.
Wakefield Harriers were once again well represented at the English Schools Cross Country Championships at Donnington Park, with 8 runners competing for West Yorkshire Schools.
Annabel Mason had a good run to finish 14th in the Senior Girl's race, and Rebecca Firth was 112th to help West Yorkshire to 4th team. Bethan Oates was 58th & Lucy Robinson 131st to help West Yorkshire to 4th in the Intermediate Girl's race, India Elliott was 1st counter for West Yorkshire in 64th & Rebecca Sheppard 222nd in the Junior Girls' race, as the county finished 20th. Ben Read was 143rd in the Intermediate Boy's race and Matthew Hill was 204th in the Junior Boy's race. Our congratulations to them all.
Race Results from ESAA and from Power of 10

15th Mar 2014. Ladies Team Finish 3rd at Northern 6-Stage Road Relays.

8th/9th Mar 2014. Medals for the Throwers at British Masters Indoor Champs.
At the British Masters Athletics Federation Indoor Track and Field & Winter Throws Championships, held at Lee Valley, we had several athletes competing, and as usual they came home with medals. Jennifer Ibbitson won the W55 Hammer, and came 2nd in the Shot, Weight & Pole Vault, and Linda Risdale came 2nd in the W65 Hammer.
Indoor Results and Outdoor Throws Results.

8th/9th Mar 2014. England Athletics U15/U17 Combined Events Championships.
There were two Harriers competing at the England Athletics U15/U17 Combined Events Championships at Sheffield. George Heppinstall came 16th in the U17 Heptathlon, and won a bronze medal for being 3rd athlete from the North of England. Annabel Skidmore finished 44th in the U15 Girl's Pentathlon. Meeting Results from Power of 10

9th Mar 2014. Round Up of Leading Distance Runners Performances.
The road runners were out in force this weekend, with several of them running in longer races as part of their marathon preparations. However top performance was once again achieved by Paul Lockwood, who confirmed his breakthrough the previous week by running exactly the same time of 30 mins 32 secs, as he came 11th in the top class Trafford 10k. Helen Singleton ran 36:17, her best for the year so far. Race Results
Another excellent performance was from triathlete Jenny Latham, who is getting better and better as a runner. She finished 59th overall and 5th lady in the Cambridge Half Marathon in 83 mins 05 secs, which moves her up to 4th in the club all-time list. Race Results
At the East Hull 20 Mile race Chris Ward and Stephen Tilford showed good form ahead of the London Marathon, finishing 12th and 17th respectively in excellent times of 2 hrs 04:13 and 2 hrs 06:57. Race Results
Several Harriers ran in the Retford Half Marathon, with Hugh Allen first home in 88:48, and Alex Potter first lady in 92:07. Race Results. The race was also the 3rd round of the 2014 Club Distance Runners League Championship, with Helen Beck now leading the series.

8th Mar 2014. Harriers Run for Yorkshire at Inter-Counties Cross Country.
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, helping Yorkshire win the overall team trophy. Charlene Thomas probably had the best cross country run of her career to finish 4th in the Senior Ladies race, well clear of the rest of the Yorkshire team. U17 Annabel Mason once again chose to move up an age group and run in the U20 race and finished 25th, Lucy Robinson was 66th in the U17 Ladies race, with Faye Beckett in 95th. For the U13 Boys Matthew Hill finished 50th, and in the U15 Girls race Bethan Oates was 51st. Race Results from Power of 10

4th Mar 2014. Club Distance Runners 2013 League Championship Presentation.

3rd Mar 2014. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in March.
Here's the list of people that have been accepted into membership by Wakefield Harriers at the monthly Committee Meeting. Please welcome them all to the club. List of New Members.

1st/2nd Mar 2014. Weekend Round Up of Leading Performances.
There were some good performances recorded on the roads this weekend.
Paul Lockwood had his first race for over a year, and had a runaway win in the Stanley Park 10k at Blackpool, winning in a big new PB of 30 mins 32 secs, a time which moves him up to 4th on the club all-time list for the distance. Race Results.
Julie Briscoe took part in the Reading Half Marathon as part of her build up for the London Marathon, and although disappointed with her time, still ran a solid 76 mins 02 secs to finish 10th lady in a top quality field. Race Results.
In the PECO Cross Country League race at Shipley Annabel Mason was a runaway winner of the ladies race.
After just missing out on his club M60 record for 10 Miles last week, Peter Gooding ran a New Club M60 Half Marathon Record of 91 mins 27 secs, when finishing 10th in category at the Bath Half Marathon.
U17 George Heppinstall had a busy weekend in the pole vault, finishing 9th with 3.70m at the England Athletics U15/U17/U20 Championships at Sheffield. Then on Sunday he improved his PB to 3.76m at the Sale Open meeting, and Marcus Hastings ran a good 23.08s 200m.

21st-23rd Feb 2014. BUCS Indoor Championships at Sheffield.
At the BUCS Indoor Championships at the EIS in Sheffield there was a good number of Harriers competing for their universities or colleges, with two of them reaching the finals of their events. Lucy Holmes came 8th in the final of the Shot with a throw of 11.38m, after throwing 11.06m in the qualifying round, and James Saxton was 9th in the final of the 3000m, after finishing 5th in his heat in a PB of 8m 46.5s. Scott Atkinson came 4th in his semi-final of the 400m in 50.04s, after winning his heat in 49.8s, and Chris Woodger was 6th in his semi-final of the 800m in 1m 59.96s, after coming 4th in his heat in 1m 59.4s. Others club members competing were Grace Eyles 3rd in her heat of the 200m in 27.27s, Hannah Yates 9th in her Shot qualifying round with 9.30m, Will Mulroy 10th in the High Jump qualifying with 1.75m & Rebecca Watts 12th in the Long Jump qualifying with 4.78m. Meeting Results.

22nd Feb 2014. Annabel Mason 7th at National Cross Country Championships.
Our reigning U17 Ladies National Cross Country Champion Annabel Mason has had some injury problems this winter, so was not on her best form to try and defend her title at this year's English National Cross Country Championships, which were held in excellent running conditions at the superb Wollaton Park, in Nottingham. However she still did very well to finish 7th in a top class field, and she was well supported by Lucy Robinson 57th, Rebecca Firth 67th & Gina Vickers 110th, who all ran well too to finish an excellent 5th team.

Our only other complete team was that of the U13 Boys, pictured above, who finished 29th team. Matthew Hill was an excellent 25th, and the other scorers were Max Rose 164th, Bailey Mann 224th & Oliver Mallinson 342nd. Also competing and doing well were Daniel Franks (137th U20M), Ben Read (81st U17M), Cameron Dye (166th U17M), Harry Mallinson (205th U17M), India Elliott (67th U15G) & Bethan Oates (73rd U15G).

16th Feb 2014. Fast Indoor 800m Times at Birmingham Games.
Two of the club's leading middle distance runners recorded useful times for 800m at the Birmingham Games, at the National Indoor Arena. Alistair Robinson recorded a new PB of 1 min 55.87 secs, and James Saxton ran 1 min 59.86 secs. Meeting Results.

13th Feb 2014. Second Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Athletics Meeting.
Another good turnout of young athletes for the second of the Indoor Athletics Meetings at Thornes Park Stadium. Many thanks from the club and from Thornes Park Stadium to all the officials and helpers who gave up their time for the two meetings. Meeting Results.

9th Feb 2014. Charlene Thomas Wins British Indoor Championships 3000m Title.
Charlene Thomas had her first race of 2014, and it was a successful one as she won the British Indoor Championships 3000m title at the EIS in Sheffield, in a time of 9 mins 05.93 secs. This was only 4 seconds away from her own club record, and places her top of the early season UK rankings.
As a result Charlene has been invited to compete on Saturday in the 2 Miles race at the televised Sainsbury’s Indoor Grand Prix, at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena. She’ll be racing against World Indoor 1500m gold medallist Genzebe Dibaba (Tirunesh’s younger sister), who took an astonishing six seconds off the world record in the 3000m with 8m 16.6s last week in Stockholm, and will be aiming for her third world record in 14 days in the 2 miles, after also breaking the indoor 1500m record with an amazing 3m 55.17s. So it won’t be easy for Charlene!

9th Feb 2014. Weekend Round Up of Leading Performances.
Three Harriers competed in the Liversedge Half Marathon from Roberttown as part of their preparations for the London Marathon. In the windy conditions Chris Ward ran very well to finish 8th and record a new PB of 79:42, and Stephen Tilford also did well to finish 11th in 81:38. For the ladies Sarah Bostwick finished 7th lady in 99:41. Race Results.
On the track Alyce McCurdie competed once again at the Leeds Young Athletes Open Meeting, and threw a Grade 2 9.76m in the Shot.

5th Feb 2014. Good Opening 400m Race for Scott Atkinson.
Junior International Scott Atkinson was competing for Loughborough Students at the Inter Varsity Indoor Match at the Lee Valley stadium, and won his first race of the year, the 400m, in a fast 49.20s.

3rd Feb 2014. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in February.
Here's the list of people that have been accepted into membership by Wakefield Harriers at the monthly Committee Meeting. Please welcome them all to the club. List of New Members.

1st Feb 2014. West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships.
As usual there was a good contingent of Harriers competing for Wakefield District and for other schools districts in the West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships, which took place at Leeds Grammar School. We had a strong showing in the Senior Girls race, with Annabel Mason 2nd, Faye Beckett 6th & Rebecca Firth 7th. In the Intermediate Girls race Beth Oates was 4th & Lucy Robinson 7th, whilst Ben Read finished 7th in the Intermediate Boys race. In the Junior Girls event India Elliot was an excellent 2nd, with Becky Sheppard in 8th place, and Matthew Hill was 6th in the Junior Boys race. All these runners should have gained selection to run for West Yorkshire Schools in the English Schools Championships at Castle Donington on Saturday 15 March, so our congratulations to them all. Race Results. Here are the teams selected to compete for West Yorkshire.
Meanwhile in the South Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships at Rotherham, Rowan Briscoe had a great run to win his age group race, although he's too young for the English Schools Championships.

31st Jan 2014. Six Harriers Selected to Run for Yorkshire CAU Championships.
As a result of their fine runs at the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships, six Wakefield Harriers have been selected to compete for Yorkshire at the UK CAU Championships in Birmingham, on Saturday 8th March. Although she missed the Yorkshire Championships because of illness, Charlene Thomas has been given one of the discretionary places in the Senior Ladies team, and also selected are Annabel Mason (U20L), Faye Beckett & Lucy Robinson (U17L), Beth Oates (U15G) and Matthew Hill (U13B). Matthew O’Connor & William Ingram are reserves for the U20M & U17M teams respectively.

25th Jan 2014. 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 wet and muddy conditions to take part, but there were some excellent performances. Julie Briscoe had her best cross country run of the winter to finish strongly in an excellent 5th position in the Senior Women's race. In a top quality U17 Women's race Annabel Mason was a superb 4th, with Faye Beckett 25th & Lucy Robinson 34th, and for the U17 men Cameron Dye was 44th & Ben Read 49th. Beth Oates & India Elliot were a fine 19th & 21st respectively in the U15 Girl's race, and Matthew Hill was a very good 12th in the U13 Boys race. Results from Northern Athletics.

18th/19th Jan 2014. Ben Read Wins Northern Indoor U17 1500m Title.

There were just three medals for the club this year at the Northern Athletics Indoor T&F Championships, at the EIS in Sheffield. Our only champion was Ben Read (pictured left), who is currently in great form, and won the U17 Men's 1500m title in 4m 16.05s. In her first championship in Wakefield's colours Hannah Ukandu finished 3rd in the U20 Shot with a throw of 9.67m, and our other medal winner was Alyce McCurdie, who finished 3rd in the U17 Shot with a throw of 9.94m. In addition, there were top 6 finishes from Chris Woodger (4th SM 1500m 4m 17.10s), James Saxton (4th U20M 3000m 8m 57.05s), George Heppinstall (4th U17M PV 3.70m), Jack Mitchell (5th U20M 1500m 4m 10.69s), Hannah Ukandu (5th U20 HJ 1.45m) and Declan Sheehan (6th U17M 200m 24.14s). Results from Northern Athletics.

19th Jan 2014. Weekend Roundup of Leading Performances.
On the roads Helen Beck had her first race of the year, and ran an encouraging 90:31 in the Four Villages Half Marathon at Helsby, with M50 Mark Whitehouse also having a good run with 91:41. Race Results.
In the Brass Monkey Half Marathon at York M45 vets Hugh Allen and Chris Rippon had a close race, and both recorded PBs with 87:19 & 87:27 respectively Race Results.

16th Jan 2014. First Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Athletics Meeting.
There was an excellent turnout of 120 young athletes for the first of the Indoor Athletics Meetings at Thornes Park Stadium. Meeting Results.

6th Jan 2014. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in January.
Here's the list of people that have been accepted into membership by Wakefield Harriers at the monthly Committee Meeting. Please welcome them all to the club. List of New Members.

4th/5th Jan 2014. Weekend Roundup of Leading Performances.
At the England Athletics Combined Events Indoor Championships at Sheffield there was a good all round performance in the Women's Pentathlon from Bethany Porter, as she finished 12th and recorded a new indoor PB of 2866 points. There was also a very good result from Patrick Thackray, as he finished 16th in the U20 Men's Heptathlon in a new PB of 3322 points. Meeting Results.
On the roads Jasmine Kerry made an encouraging start to the year running 41:34 in the Regent's Park 10km in London. Race Results.

4th Jan 2014. Yorkshire Cross Country Championships at Lightwater Valley.
The Yorkshire Cross Country Championships were once again held at Lightwater Valley, near Ripon, and the tough grassland course made it a hard endurance challenge. The club had just one individual medallist, Annabel Mason, who even though still only an U17 chose to run as an U20, and take on the seniors for the first time. She finished 7th overall and 3rd U20 in the Senior & Junior Women's race, and led the team of Helen Beck in 53rd, Joanne Biltcliffe 97th and U20 Libby Greatorex 111th to finish 12th team. The U20 Men also set off with the seniors, but ran one lap less, and the team of Matthew O'Connor 11th, Jack Mitchell 14th & Danial Franks 15th did well to finish 2nd. The Senior Men's team of John Mason 66th, Steven Tilford 98th, Pete McNamara 128th, Neil Dutton 129th, Paul Robinson 139th & Mark Whitehouse 181st finished 16th team.
In the younger age groups our best results were in the U17 Ladies race, where Faye Beckett 6th, Lucy Robinson 7th & Kate Offord 33rd won bronze medals for finishing 3rd team. In the U15 Girl's race Bethan Oates and India Elliott both ran well to finish 7th & 12th. For the boys the U17 Men's team of William Ingram 12th, Ben Read 17th & Cameron Dye 22rd were just out of the medals in 4th, and the U13 Boy's team just missed out too, with Matthew Hill having an excellent run to finish 6th, supported by Matthew Crorken 13th & Max Rose 32nd, as the team finished 5th.
Download results in XL from Northern Athletics, Women, and Men.