30th Dec 2014. Club has 6 Top 30 Ranked Athletes in UK Senior Rankings.
In the UK top 30 rankings, published recently in Athletics Weekly, the club did well to have 6 athletes in the UK top 30 in 2014.
The club had 5 athletes in the UK Senior Women's Top 30 Rankings :-
Charlene Thomas was 6th in the 1500m (4m 11.38s) & 11th in the 3000m (9m 05.93s).
Julie Briscoe was 8th in the Marathon (2h 39m 48s) & 16th in the Half Marathon (75m 28s).
Abby Ward (U17) was 11th= in the High Jump (1.78m).
Jenna Wheatman was 27th in the Hammer (51.03m).
Jennifer Walsh was 28th in the 3000m (9m 24.77s) & 29th in the 5000m (16m 24.06s).
The club had just 1 athlete in the UK Senior Men's Top 30 Rankings :-
Martyn Bernard was ranked 8th= in the High Jump (2.22m).

29th Dec 2014. Pete McNamara Wins 2014 Distance League Championship.
For the senior runners the Traveller's 6 race was also the final round of the 2014 Club Distance Runners League Championship. Top M55 vet Pete McNamara is this year's winner, ahead of Mark Whitehouse & Helen Beck, with Hugh Allen & Alex Potter completing the top 5 places. Congratulations to them all, and many thanks to Tony Smith for organising the league, and compiling the scores. Special mention also to Hugh Allen for competing in all 16 events!

23rd Dec 2014. Ella Rose Wins Junior Christmas Handicap Road Race.
Ella Rose was a clear winner this year of the Junior Christmas Handicap Race, by nearly a minute, ahead of Beth Oates & India Elliott. Max Rose was fastest on the night, with Beth the fastest girl.
Download Race Results in Excel.

23rd Dec 2014. Jeremy Frain Wins Senior Christmas Handicap Road Race.
33 runners turned out for this year's Senior Christmas Handicap Road Race over the traditional 4.5 mile course, which finishes with a lap round the track. Several new members were taking part for the first time, and it was the newest member of all, Jeremy Frain, who was this year's winner by a clear margin. Jeremy is pictured below receiving the Handicap Trophy from the club's former Olympic 400m runner Alan Slack.

23rd Dec 2014. The Club's Allocation of London Marathon Places.
The club's 3 London Marathon places have now been allocated. We had 6 applicants this year for the club places, so unfortunately 3 runners were disappointed not to have their names drawn out of the hat. The lucky recipients were Jasmine Kerry, Rachel Lee & Jonathan Stokoe, so congratulations to them, and we wish them the best in London next April.

21st Dec 2014. Olivia Roe Has First Competition as an U13.
Olivia Roe, who finished the summer as the top ranked U11 sprinter in the UK over both 75m & 80m, had her first competition as an U13 athlete. She competed in the North Yorkshire Open Meeting at the EIS in Sheffield, and won the 60m in 8.9s came 2nd in the 150m in 21.8s, and 3rd in the long jump with 3.74m. Meeting Results.

21st Dec 2014. Wakefield Ladies Win Team Prize at Travellers 6
There was a good turnout of Harriers for the Denby Dale Travellers 6 Mile road race, held in windy conditions on their tough and very hilly course. The Ladies team of Helen Beck, Alex Potter & Nicky Steel all ran well, and were clear winners of the Ladies team prize. First home from the club was the fast improving Stewart Knowles who finished 12th, ahead of Glenn Shelley and Pete MacNamara. Race results.

20th Dec 2014. Thornes Park Stadium Opening Times Over Christmas.
Details of opening times at Thornes Park Stadium during the Christmas period can be downloaded here. As a result there will be no club night on Thursday 25th Dec, Tuesday 30th Dec or Thursday 1st Jan.

13th Dec 2014. Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Athletics Meetings.
As in previous years, Thornes Park Stadium will be putting on two two indoor meetings, on Thursdays 15th January & 12th February, commencing at 6.00 pm. For the under 11 age groups there will be 2 x 50m sprints and the long jump, and there will also be a 50m hurdles for the under 13 age groups upwards. Entry fee is £3.00 per number. Download Details in Word
Tel: 01924 302385 or Email Thornes Park Stadium for more details

7th Dec 2014. Another good Half Marathon from Chris Ward.
Chris Ward had another good half marathon run, as he finished 6th in the 3-1-5 Lancaster Half Marathon. The race turned out to be over distance though, so his time of 79 mins 01 secs was not a true reflection of the performance.

7th Dec 2014. Final Positions in West Yorkshire Cross Country League.
In the overall West Yorkshire Cross Country League competitions our teams weren’t quite as successful as in previous years, apart from the U15 Girls who were an excellent 2nd, and the U15 Boys who were 5th.
In the individual league standings we had a league champion in Bethan Oates, who comfortably won the U17 Ladies title. Other top ten finishes were achieved by Faye Beckett (3rd U20W), Rebecca Shepherd (3rd U15G), Helen Beck (4th SW), India Elliott (4th U15G), Lavinia Gavaghan (7th U11G), Matthew Hill (9th U15B) & Stephen Tilford (10th Senior Men). Final League Tables.

7th Dec 2014. Fourth West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Guiseley.
At the fourth and final meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League, at a muddy and windy Nunroyd Park at Guiseley, there were some very good performances from the Harriers. Cara Sloss had her first race in the league, and impressed with an excellent 5th place in the Senior Women's race. Helen Beck had another gutsy run to finish 8th, and with U20 Faye Beckett returning from injury to finish 27th, and Alex Potter in 44th, the team finished a good 3rd. For the Senior Men Stephen Tilford was first home in 40th, with Glen Shelley 82nd, Pete McNamara 109th & Tony Smith 117th. Best individual position of the day was once again by Bethan Oates, who had a fine run to come 2nd in the U17 Ladies race. Harry Mallinson was 18th in the U17 Men's race. Best team result was from the U15 Girl's team of Rebecca Sheppard 3rd, India Elliott 6th & Poppy Thorpe 21st. They finished level on points with Bingley, but just lost team victory on count back. The U15 Boy's team of Matthew Hill 12th, Liam Grosse 23rd & Thomas Allen 36th came 7th. In the U11 Girl's race Lavinia Gavaghan had an excellent run to finish 5th, and Brodie Ashton was 31st. Results of all Races

6th Dec 2014. Northern Athletics Indoor Open Meeting.
A handful of Harriers competed at the Northern Athletics Indoor Open Meeting at the EIS in Sheffield, with some good performances recorded. James Saxton ran an excellent new PB of 8 mins 40.29 secs in the Senior Men's 3000m, a Grade 3 performance. Another to record a Grade 3 was new recruit Amanda Shaw, with 7.94 secs in the Senior Women's 60m, whilst sister Rachael recorded 8.17s. Amanda also recorded 40.78s in the 300m. Meeting Results in XL.

1st Dec 2014. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in December.
Here's the list of people that have been accepted into membership by Wakefield Harriers at the December Committee Meeting. Please welcome them all to the club.
List of New Members.

29th/30th Nov 2014. Distance Runners Weekend Roundup.
Most of Britain's leading cross country runners were competing at the British Athletics Cross Challenge races at Sefton Park, Liverpool, which also incorporated the trials for the forthcoming European Cross Country Championships, to be held in Bulgaria next month. Jennifer Walsh and Cara Sloss competed in the Senior Women's race, and ran very well to finish in 40th and 86th respectively in the very high quality field. Race Results.
Helen Beck had another good cross country result as she finished 1st lady and 29th overall in the 4th of the Silkstone Shuffle Race Series. Race Results.

23rd Nov 2014.  Some Good Performances at Barnsley 10k.
There were some good performances at the Barnsley 10k from Royston, with Jack Hallas leading the way with an excellent 3rd place finish in the fast time of 32:06 on the undulating course. M45 Nick Manion has his best result for some time, finishing 33rd in 37:49, and Sarah Bostwick was first lady from the club in 129th overall, in a time of 43:18. Race Results.

22nd Nov 2014.  Two U11 Multi-Eventers Show Promise.
Two of the club's U11 athletes showed promise in the multi-events competition at Sports City in Manchester. Amy and Erin Hunt came 2nd and 4th respectively in the U11 Quadrathlon, with Amy jumping a competition record of 3.54m in the Long Jump. Meeting Results.

22nd Nov 2014.  Two Individual Victories at West Yorkshire League Race 3.
We didn't have a great turnout at the 3rd race of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League, but those who went performed very well on the tough and very muddy course. We had two individual winners, with Bethan Oates having another excellent run to win the U17 Ladies race. India Elliott had her best result to date to win the U15 Girl's race, and with Poppy Thorpe 25th & Maya Robertson 34th they finished 6th team. The U15 Boy's team of Matthew Hill 10th, Max Rose 33rd & Liam Grosse 34th were also 6th, and they were supported by Tom Allen in 44th. In the U11 age group Lavinia Gavaghan had a good run to finish 10th, with Brodie Ashton not far behind in 17th in the girl's race, whilst for the boys we had Alexander Bostwick in 61st. For the U13 Boys Callum Gaunt was 40th.
In the senior races Helen Beck revelled in the conditions to have her best result to date, as she finished an excellent 7th in the Ladies race, and Joanne Biltcliffe finished 66th. For the men John Mason was narrowly beaten in the M50 category, as he finished 37th with Hugh Allen our only other finisher in 108th. Results from League Website

16th Nov 2014.  Some Good Performances at Leeds Abbey Dash 10k.
The club had it's usual good turnout of runners for the Leeds Abbey Dash 10K, which incorporated the English 10k Road Championships once again. There was a very good quality field as a result, and even though Jennifer Walsh ran a superb new PB of 34 mins 45 secs, she still only found herself 15th lady! Her time moves her up to 4th place in the Ladies club all-time list. Helen Singleton is still not back to her best, but had a decent run to record 36:55, and Helen Beck was our 3rd lady home in 39:44. Stephen Tilford was first male home from the club in the same time of 34:45 as Jenny, and he was followed by U17 William Ingram in 35:20, Tom Potter in 37:38, and new recruit Ben Butler in 37:39. Also inside 40 minutes was Hugh Allen with 39:02, however due to the huge numbers taking part, the 'chip times' of most runners were significantly better. Race Results.

15th Nov 2014. Distance Runners League Championship Race 15.
The Wakefield Parkrun was the 15th round in this year’s Club Distance Runners League Championship. Nick Mannion was first Harrier home, and Alex Potter was first lady. With just 1 race left Pete McNamara has an unassailable lead in the championship, but for the next 3 places it's all down to the last race, between Mark Whitehouse, Helen Beck & Hugh Allen. Alex Potter has now moved into 5th place, just a few points ahead of Paul Robinson. Race Results.

12th Nov 2014. Wakefield Schools to Host West Yorkshire Schools XC Championships.
It has been announced that Wakefield Schools will be hosting the West Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships at Silcoates School on Saturday, 7th February 2015.

10th Nov 2014. The Club's Allocation of London Marathon Places.
The club has once again been allocated 3 places for next year's London Marathon, and the ballot for the places will be a random draw, in two parts. The first draw will be for those runners who had applied for a place themselves, and who had received a rejection slip. If there are still places left, then there will be a second draw for all other runners who hadn't applied themselves. All runners wishing to be considered for a club place must be members of Wakefield District Harriers & AC, and must have paid their England Athletics Registration this year. They must also ensure they have registered by 31st March 2015 for the following 12 months as well, and as the places are club places, we request that the runners who are allocated the club places race in club colours.
Runners with rejection slips please pass on your rejection letter to Chris Ward. All other runners please let Chris know that you want to be included in the ballot for the remaining places. The deadline for entering the draw will be Tuesday 23rd December, and the draw will be made that evening, after we have run the Christmas Handicap.

3rd Nov 2014. Congratulatory Letter from England Athletics.
At the monthly Committee Meeting Club Secretary Sally Holmes was pleased to read out a congratulatory letter that the club had received from England Athletics, praising us for winning the Northern Track & Field League in 2014. Download letter in pdf.

3rd Nov 2014. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in November.
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.

2nd Nov 2014.  West Yorkshire Cross Country League Race 2.
The club didn't do quite as well as at the first meeting, but the Senior Ladies team of Faye Beckett 12th, Helen Beck 20th, Annabel Mason 38th & Eileen Mannion 64th still did well to finish 4th team. The Senior Men finished 11th team, led home this time by Chris Ward in 33rd. Stephen Tilford was not far behind in 37th place, and he was followed by John Mason 50th, Glen Shelley 100th, Hugh Allen 119th & Mark Whitehouse 135th out of nearly 200 runners.
In the younger age groups the best result was from the U15 Girls team of Rebecca Sheppard 3rd, India Elliott 4th & Maya Robertson 25th, who finished 2nd team. The U15 Boy's trio of Max Rose 25th, Mark Bostock 27th & Tom Allen 38th were 9th. We had complete teams again in the U11 age group, with the girls finishing 7th team. Lavinia Gavaghan was a fine 6th, with Amy Deane 24th & Ella Rose 35th, whilst the boy's team of William Holladay 62nd, Adam Luke 73rd & Alexander Bostwick 74th finished 11th team. Best individual position of the day was once again by Bethan Oates, who had an excellent run to come 2nd in the U17 Ladies race.
Results from League Website

1st Nov 2014. Senior Ladies 10th at English National Cross Country Relays.
The club had another good turnout of runners at the English National Cross Country Relay Championships at Mansfield, competing against the most of the best cross country runners in the country. The Senior Ladies have done very well in this event in the past, with brilliant 2nd place finishes in 2000 and also in 2004. Julie Briscoe was in both of those great teams (as Julie O'Mara), and was in another good team this year with Helen Singleton & Jennifer Walsh, as they finished an excellent 10th in their 3 x 3k race, even though they weren't all at full fitness. Jennifer in particular had a good run on leg 1, and she recorded the 8th fastest time of the day. The 'B' team of Cara Sloss, Eileen Mannion & Joanne Biltcliffe also did well to come a creditable 61st out of the 110 teams, with Cara making an outstanding debut for the club on leg 1.
The Senior Men had a solid performance in their 4 x 5k event, with the 'A' team of Jack Hallas, Stephen Tilford, Chris Ward & John Mason finishing 56th, and the 'B' team of Ton Coney, Chris Price, Alistair Robinson & Glenn Shelley coming 93rd out of the 172 teams competing. Jack gave the team a flying start on leg 1 coming home in 22nd place.
In the U20 Ladies race Faye Beckett & Rebecca Firth ran well to be in 15th place at the end of leg 2, but unfortunately had no 3rd leg runner. We did had a full team in the U17 Men's race, and Harry Mallinson, James Angus & Ben Read did well to come 52nd. The U15 Girls trio of India Elliot, Poppy Hailey & Holly Kitching were a very good 40th, and for the U15 Boys Matthew Hill, Thomas Allen & Max Rose were 61st. In the U13 Boys event Bailey Mann, Zachary Frankish & Callum Gaunt were 64th.
Results of all races from the English Cross Country Association.

19th Oct 2014. 2014 Club Cross Country Championships.

19th Oct 2014.  First West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Wakefield.

18th Oct 2014.  Northern Athletics Cross Country Relay Championships.
With it being the day before the Club Cross Country Championships we just had one team competing at the Northern Athletics Cross Country Relay Championships at Graves Park, Sheffield. The Senior Men's team of Nathan Elliott, Stephen Tilford, Chris Ward & Chris Price ran solidly to finish 26th team. Race Results.

12th Oct 2014. Jenny Latham Breaks 3 Hours in the Yorkshire Marathon.
In her first attempt at the Marathon distance Jenny Latham became only the 2nd lady from the club to break the 3 hour barrier. She finished 6th lady and 71st overall in the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon, in the excellent time of 2 hours 57 minutes and 26 seconds. Only Julie Briscoe from the club has run faster. James Morris also had a decent run, recording 3:24:03. Race Results.

6th Oct 2014. Rise in Training Fees Agreed at AGM
At the Annual General Meeting there were few changes to the Club Committee, with most committee members agreeing to continue in their positions for another year.
One significent change that was agreed however, due to continuing rising costs, is a rise in training fees of 50p. This will take effect from 1st January 2015, and the new training fees next year will thus be £2.50 for over 11 athletes, and £2.00 for the U11 athletes.

6th Oct 2014. New Members Joining Wakefield Harriers in October.
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 Oct 2014. Wakefield Women's Team 25th in National 4-Stage Road Relays.