23rd Dec 2021. Daz Hewitt Wins 2021 Distance Runners League Championship.
The Christmas Handicap Race was the 16th and final round of the 2021 Club Distance Runners League Championship. This year's winner was Daz Hewitt, who has made huge advances this year, and has also been attcking the M50 records on the roads. The former champion Ben Butler finished in 2nd place, with Simon Midwood in 3rd. First lady was Angela Dales who finished 5th overall, one place ahead of Helen Beck. Download League Scores in XL.
Congratulations to the winners, and a big thanks to Tony Smith for his hard work organising the league so well once again, during what has been a difficult year.

21st Dec 2021. Francis Mwaba Wins Senior Christmas Handicap Race.
Many of the club's runners had their last race of the year in the Senior Christmas Handicap Road Race, over the traditional 4.5 mile course, twice round the perimeter of the park and with a lap round the running track at the end.
This year's winner of the John Newsome Memorial Handicap Trophy was Francis Mwaba, pictured below receiving the trophy from Wendy Newsome. Francis has made huge advances this year, and ran nearly 2 mins quicker than his estimated time, so is a worthy winner. Other big advances were made by Ian Shipley in 2nd, Daz Hewitt in 3rd and Abbey Brooke not far behind in 4th.

15th Dec 2021. Thornes Park Stadium Christmas Closures.
Thornes Park Stadium will be closed over Christmas and the New Year, and will not re-open until Tuesday 4th Jan. So the last Harriers Club Night is Thurs 23rd Dec, then there will be no Club Nights until Tues 4th Jan.

12th Dec 2021. Road Runners Weekend Outstanding Performances.
There were a couple of outstanding performances on the roads over the weekend.
Mark Bostock ran an excellent new PB of 30:32 in the Telford 10k, finishing 46th in a very high quality race. His time moves him up to 5th= in the club all-time list. Results Link.
Nicky Steel finished 3rd lady in the Milton Keynes Winter Half Marathon in 1 hr 26:23. Results Link.

12th Dec 2021. Senior Men Win West Yorkshire Cross Country League Title.

12th Dec 2021. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 4 at Rothwell.
The fourth and final meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League took place on a new course at Rothwell, and there were some good results from the club, especially from the U13 Girl's team, who won their team race.
The Senior Men's team needed a good result in the race for the overall league team title, and they just did enough, finishing 3rd team on the day. The scoring team members were Ben Butler 14th, Chris Hunter 20th, Simon Midwood 24th, Andrew Cartwright 31st, Iain Yates 38th & Thomas Sellars 56th. U20 Suzanne Brooke continued her fine form to lead home the Senior Ladies team in 14th place, and with Angie Dales 33rd, Sophie Hall 43rd & Georgina Yoh 52nd the team finished 4th.
We had no complete teams in the U17 or U15 age groups, but in the U17 Men's race Elliot Prentice was 8th & Zachary Rayner 11th, and in the U17 Ladies race Holly Walker finished 8th. In the U15 Girl's race Jessica Watson & Millie Powell were 18th & 30th respectively, and for the U15 Boys Cole McAndrew was 15th.
The U13 Girl's team of Libby Cree 3rd, Rosie Thistlewood 4th & Evie Tunnie 7th were clear winners for the 2nd time this season, but we had just one U13 Boy competing, Luke Cartwright who was 21st.
In the U11 Boy's race the team of Sydney Swan 12th, Ethan Ford 27th & Harry Beck 30th finished 3rd, and the U11 Girl's team of Imogen Wright 23rd, Evie Moore 28th and Isobel Powell 33rd were also 3rd.
Results Link.

6th Dec 2021. Wakefield Harriers Athlete of the Month - Suzanne Brooke.

30th Nov 2021. Club Record Holder & Senior International Roger Bell Passes Away.

21st Nov 2021. Wakefield Harriers Cross Country Championships.

21st Nov 2021. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 3 at Thornes Park.

19th Nov 2021. Mark Bostock Breaks 15 Minutes Barrier for 5k.
Mark Bostock broke the 15 minute barrier for the first time, with his win in the Even Splits York 5K in 14:59. This is not too far off the listed club record of 14:38 set by Darren Spawforth in 1992. Results Link.

14th Nov 2021. New F45 10 Mile Club Record for Julie Briscoe.
Julie Briscoe took part in her first road race since entering the F45 category, and finished 7th lady overall in the Derby 10 Mile road race. She ran a new F45 10 Mile Club Record of 61 mins 31 secs, knocking a big chunk off the previous F45 record, held by Dot Hand since 1992. Results Link.

7th Nov 2021. Lifetime Vice President Terry Ridsdale Enjoys 80th Birthday Reunion.

6th Nov 2021. English National Cross Country Relays at Mansfield.
At the English National Cross Country Relay Championships at Mansfield the club had several teams competing, and they all did well.
The best result by far was from the U13 Girl's team of Libby Cree, Evie Tunnie & Rosie Thistlewood, who were an excellent 7th, and first team home from Yorkshire. The U17 Men's team of Elliot Prentice, Euan Gaskin & Tristan Wright were 48th, but even though the U17 Ladies were a runner short, Millie Wroe & Holly Walker were well placed after 2 legs. In the U15 Girl's age group Jessica Watson, Millie Powell & Courtney Newsome finished 68th.
The team of Steve Lowe, Ashley Crow, Jonathan Prideaux & Ross Penny finished 106th team in the Senior Men's event.
Results of all races from the English Cross Country Association,

2nd Nov 2021. Wakefield Harriers Athlete of the Month - Daz Hewitt.

2nd Nov 2021. Wakefield Harriers Team of the Month - U13 Girls XC team.
For winning medals at the Northern Athletics Cross Country Relays, and for winning the 2nd round of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League, the U13 Girls Cross Country team has been voted the October Team of the Month. Well done girls!

30th Oct 2021. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 2 at Nunroyd Park.

24th Oct 2021. New F45 10K Club Record for Nicky Steel.
Nicky Steel continued her record breaking form at the Abbey Dash 10K with a new F45 10K Club Record of 38 mins 57 secs, to knock over 2 minutes from the previous F45 record, held by Dot Hand since 1989.
There was also a great run from Mark Bostock, whose 31:05 moves him up to 7th on the club all-time men's list. Results Link.

23rd Oct 2021. Northern Athletics Cross Country Relays.
The club had three teams competing at the Northern Athletics Cross Country Relays at Graves Park, Sheffield. The U13 Girls team of Libby Cree, Rosie Thistlewood & Evielynne Tunney did exceptionally well to finished in 4th place, but 3rd club home. The Senior Ladies team of India Elliott, Angela Dales & Helen Beck were 16th, and the Senior Mens team of Chris Snowball, Ashley Crow, Steve Lowe & Liam O'flaherty were 35th. Results Link.

17th Oct 2021. New F60 Half Marathon Club Record for Diane Simmons.
Diane Simmons is the latest veteran runner to record a club age group best on the roads. She ran a new F60 Half Marathon Club Record of 2 hrs 6 mins 16 secs at the Lichfield Half Marathon, finishing 2nd in her category. Results Link.

10th Oct 2021. New Masters Club Marathon Records for Darren Hewitt & Ben Butler.
The improving Darren Hewitt ran a big new PB and a new M50 Marathon Club Record of 2 hrs 52:54 at the Manchester Marathon. This beat the previous record, held by Richard West since 2008, by 38 seconds. There was also a new M40 Marathon Club Record of 2 hrs 33:05 from Ben Butler, beating the previous record, held by Jim Harwood since 1986, by nearly 4 minutes.
There were also fine runs from M45 Chris Hunter with 2 hrs 42:24, M40 Ian Richardson with 2 hrs 49:04 & Ryan Williams with 2 hrs 49:47.
They all move up the club all-time lists, which can be downloaded from here Age Group Records & All Time Rankings

10th Oct 2021. Another New F45 Half Marathon Club Record for Nicky Steel.
Nicky Steel continued her rich vein of form with a new PB and a new F45 Half Marathon Club Record of 85 mins 34 secs, when finishing 6th lady at the Manchester Half Marathon. This beat her previous record, set just three weeks ago, by over a minute, and moves her up to 7th on the club all-time list.

9th Oct 2021. ERRA Autumn Road Relay Championships.

4th Oct 2021. Club Cross Country Championships.
The Club Cross Country Championships are, as in previous years, being incorporated in our home fixture of the West Yorkshire League at Thornes Park, which this year is on Sunday 21st November.
All club members wishing to compete MUST have entered the League, so please contact your team captain or coach to make sure you're entered in good time.

4th Oct 2021. Club Committee Changes at the AGM
At the Annual General Meeting there were a few changes to the Club Committee. After the tragic passing of John Matthews, Peter Young agreed to becoming our new Club President. Chris Ward becomes the new Membership Secretary, but otherwise most committee members agreed to continue in their positions for another year, with a few new and most welcome additions to the team.
Here's the latest list on the Club Contacts page.

3rd Oct 2021. Three Harriers Run for Yorkshire in London Mini Marathon.
Three Harriers were selected to run for Yorkshire in the London Mini Marathon. Libby Cree 17th and Rosie Thislewood 31st helped the U13 Girls team to finish 3rd overall, and Millie Wroe finished 67th in the U17 Ladies race.

3rd Oct 2021. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 1 at Cleckheaton.