26th Mar 2023. Yet Another New U11 Boys Club Record from Ethan Ford.
At the Spenborough AC Spring Open Meeting at Cleckheaton Ethan Ford continued to add to his club record collection, when he ran a New U11 Boys Club 75m Record of 10.7 secs, beating the previous record that had stood since 1995. There were several sprinters showing encouraging early season form, the best coming from U17W Ella Bickerdyke, running Grade 3 performances in the 100m with 12.8s & 200m in 26.2s. Results Link.

19th Mar 2023. Another New U11 Boys Club Record from Ethan Ford.
At the fourth and final South Yorkshire Indoor Open Meetings at Sheffield, there was a good turnout of young Harriers competing, with some excellent performances. The highlight was a New U11 Boys Club 150m Record of 21.01 secs from Ethan Ford, beating the previous record set by Ben Chafer in 2014 by over a second. He also had a clear win in the LJ with a leap of 4.38m. Lochlan Ruddock had a clear win in the U11B 600m in a fine time of 1m 55.73s, and Thomas Hastings won the U13B HJ with 1.30m. Romy Fagan also had a good day, winning the U13G 150m in a speedy 20.11s, and the 200m in 27.89s, both times not far off the club records. Results Link.
Ethan Ford was the overall winner of the series in the U11B age group, and Thomas Hastings was the winner in the U13B age group. Series Scores Link.

19th Mar 2023. Mark Bostock & Lucy Robinson Win Wakefield Hospice 10k.

12th Mar 2023. Yorkshire Veterans' Athletic Association Cross Country Championships.

11th Mar 2023. Three Harriers Compete in Inter County Cross Country Championships.
There were three Wakefield Harriers selected to run for Yorkshire in the CAI Inter County Cross Country Championships at Prestwood Hall, Loughborough. Fourteen years after first being selected to run for Yorkshire as an U15 athlete, Daniel Franks finished 152nd and 8th finisher for Yorkshire in the Senior Mens race, helping the county to finish 4th team. In the U20 Mens race Elliot Prentice was 142nd and 8th finisher for the county, helping Yorkshire to finish 3rd team. In the U13 Boys race the Yorkshire team finished 12th, with Samuel Bona being 6th home from Yorkshire in 218th place.
Congratulations to all three on their Yorkshire selections. Results Link to all the races.

7th Mar 2023. Track & Field officials Courses Being Held in Leeds.
The sport of athletics, and Wakefield Harriers in particular, desperately need more officials to be able to put on track and field meetings. England Athletics are putting on some level 1 courses at Leeds Beckett University, on Saturday 1st April. These are likely to be the only ones to be held in Yorkshire this year. The four courses on offer, with links to the courses are :-
Level 1 Track, 10:00-12:30 , Level 1 Race Walking, 13:30-16:00 , Level 1 Field, 10:00-14:30 , Level 1 Timekeeping, 10:00-12:30
If anyone is interested in finding out more about officiating, please contact the club's Officials Coordinator Jean Jackson :- jean.jackson@wakefieldharriers.org.uk

6th Mar 2023. Wakefield Harriers February Athlete of the Month - Leonie Ashmeade.

5th Mar 2023. Road Racing Weekend Roundup.
Mark Bostock was invited to compete for the North of England in the Trafford 10K road race at Partington. In a top class field he finished 41st in the very fast time of 30:20, his 2nd best ever time for the distance. Also recording very good times were Ben Butler with 32:06 and Simon Midwood with 34:46. Results Link.
There were some good runs at the Retford Half Marathon, used by several veteran runners as preparation for their spring marathons. M45 Steve Lowe was 17th and 2nd in the M40 category in 1:16:34, M45 Chris Hunter was 22nd in 1:18:19, and M70 Keith Brindle was 1st in the M70 category with 1:45:35. Results Link.
In the North Lincolnshire Half Marathon Angie Dales finished 5th in the F50 category in 1:37:07. Results Link.

26th Feb 2023. Ben Butler First M40 in Snake Lane 10 Mile Race.
Ben Butler finished 6th overall and 1st in the M40 category in the Snake Lane 10 mile road race from Pocklington, in a new PB time of 53 mins 21 secs. The time moves him up to 29th place in the club all time list for the distance. Results Link.

24th/25th Feb 2023. Club Record and Silver Medal for Leonie Ashmeade in BUCS.
Leonie Ashmeade continued her fine indoor season with a brilliant silver medal in the BUCS Athletics Indoor Championships at Sheffield. In the process she ran a New Club Womens 60m Record of 7.37 secs, breaking the previous record of 7.42 secs held by Olympian Emily Freeman since 2006. Competing for Sheffield Hallam University, Leonie broke the club record twice, as she had earlier recorded 7.41 secs in winning her semi-final. Results from Power of 10.

25th Feb 2023. English National Cross Country Championships.
There were a few young Harriers competing at the English National Cross Country Championships at Bolesworth Castle, near Chester, and they all did very well. Samuel Bona was 127th in the U13 Boys race, and in the U15 Girls race Evie Tunnie finished 133rd and Ava Walsh 216th. Results Link.

22nd Feb 2023. Second Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Meeting.

18th/19th Feb 2023. British Masters AF Track & Field Indoor Championships.
At the British Masters AF Track & Field Indoor Championships at the EIS in Sheffield there were several Wakefield Harriers competing, with six medals won.
Amanda Potter won three medals (2nd F35 60m 8.32s, 2nd 200m 26.46s & 3rd 400m 62.65s), Matthew Fawson won gold in the M40 3000m Walk in 20m 35.23s, and Stephen Thorpe won two bronze medals (3rd M45 LJ 4.73m & 3rd TJ 9.63m). Also doing well was Richard Higson-Blythe (5th M45 60m 7.99s, after running 7.89s in the heats, and 4th LJ 4.69m). Results Link.

18th/19th Feb 2023. UK Athletics Indoor Championships at Birmingham.
As the reigning UK and European Indoor 3000m Champion, Amy-Eloise Markovc was one of the favourites to win the 3000m at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships at Birmingham. However, she needed to get the qualifying time for the forthcoming European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, and so was compelled to set the pace from the gun, ahead of a high quality field. She led until the last 800m, but couldn't raise her pace in the closing stages, and finally finished 4th in 9m 00.87s.
Leonie Ashmeade was also competing in the championships, and did very well to reach the final of the 60m. She finished in 7th place in 7.46s, after running 7.45s in the semi-final. Results Link.

9th Feb 2023. Another New Road 5 Km Club Record for Mark Bostock.
Mark Bostock competed in the Armagh International 5 Km Road Race in Northern Ireland, and finished 58th in a top class field, which included several international athletes. His time was a New Road 5Km Club Record of 14 mins 19 secs, beating his previous record set last year by 7 seconds. Results Link.

6th Feb 2023. Wakefield Harriers January Athlete of the Month - Samuel Bona.

5th Feb 2023. 6 Medals Won at Northern Indoor U15 & U13 T&F Championships.
At the Northern Indoor U15 & U13 Track & Field Championships at the EIS in Sheffield there were some tremendous performances from the young Harriers taking part, with 6 medals won in the field events. In the U13 Girls age group Lily Keeler came away with three medals, and 3 new PBs. She finished 2nd in the Shot with a throw of 7.99m, 2nd in the High Jump with 1.30m, and 3rd in the Long Jump with 3.99m. In the U15 Boys age group Joshua Akintolu won two silver medals, with 2 new PBs. He came 2nd in the High Jump clearing 1.76m, and he also finished 2nd in the Long Jump with 5.14m. Another silver medal was won by Amy Gleghorn in the U15 Girls Long Jump, with a jump of 4.12m. Results Link.

5th Feb 2023. Leonie Ashmeade Competes for England in Iceland.

5th Feb 2023. Good Times Recorded at Dewsbury 10Km Road Race.
Conditions were good for the Dewsbury 10Km road race, and there were some good times recorded by the Harriers. Ben Butler finished 14th overall, and he was first home in the M40 category in 32:03, very close to his PB. There were also fine runs from Ashley Crow in 34:06, Mark Mills 34:22, Andrew Teasdale 35:05, Sam Rogers 36:29, Craig Davidson 36:52, M50 Darren Hewitt 37:03, M50 Philip Ambler 37:39 & Thomas Sellers 37:56.
Helen Beck was our first lady home in a new PB of 38:37, a time that moves her up to 19th in the club all-time list. She finished 3rd in the F40 category, and Angela Dales was 9th in the F50 category in 43:09. Results Link.

4th Feb 2023. West Yorkshire Schools' Cross Country Championships.
Several Harriers competed for their local schools athletics organisations at the West Yorkshire Schools' Cross Country Championships at Leeds. Results Link.

30th Jan 2023. Entries Now Being Taken for The West Yorkshire Track & Field League.
Entries are now being taken for the The West Yorkshire Track & Field League. For 2023 these are to be done online, using SportSoft, and a link to the entry page can be found from the 2023 page for the league.
There are events at each meeting in the U11 category, but not for the U9 age group. U11 athletes must be in school years 4 or 5, with a DOB no later than 31/08/2014. WYL website link.

28th Jan 2023. Northern Cross Country Championships at Blackburn.

25th Jan 2023. Several Club Records at Thornes Park Stadium Indoor Meeting.
There was a good turnout of young athletes for the first indoor athletics meeting to be held at Thornes Park Stadium since the fire. This time it was Ethan Ford who was on fire, setting what must be a new club record for the number of club records set in one day. He broke the U11B long jump record twice, leaving the new record standing at a superb 4.31m, beating the previous record of 4.20m set by Joel Moverley in 2014. He also broke the U11B 50m record twice, finishing with the excellent new record of 7.3 secs, and Louie Burnell also beat the old record twice with his 7.9 secs. Ethan's time also beat the previous U13 Boys record of 7.5s, set by Ben Chafer in 2015. In the U13G age group Romy Fagan equalled the club 50m record of 7.5 secs. Results link.

25th Jan 2023. England Selection for Leonie Ashmeade.
The club sends its congratulations to Leonie Ashmeade, who has been selected to represent England in the 60m at Reykjavik Games. This is one of Iceland’s largest sporting events, with nearly 2000 competitors from more than 40 countries around the world participating in 15 sports, and England are sending an Athletics team. Report from England Athletics.

22nd Jan 2023. Another New U11 Boys 60m Record from Ethan Ford.
At the latest South Yorkshire Indoor Open Meetings at Sheffield, there were quite a few young Harriers competing, with some good performances. The highlight was another New U11 Boys Club 60m Record of 8.86 secs from Ethan Ford, beating the previous record he set last month by 7/100ths of a second. He also had a clear win in the 600m in a fine new PB of 1m 52.79s. U13 Girl Romy Fagan also had a good day, winning the 60m in 8.79s, and finishing 2nd in the 200m in 29.27s. Download Results.
We also had several sprinters competing the day before at the "Run Jump Throws Meeting at Sheffield. Results Link.

18th Jan 2023. Lifetime Vice President Terry Ridsdale Passes Away.

15th Jan 2023. Some Fast Times at Brass Monkey Half Marathon.
At the Brass Monkey Half Marathon near York there was a great run from the in-form Daniel Franks, finishing 8th. His time of 69:17 was the fastest by a Harrier for 11 years, and it moves him up to 7th in the club all-time half marathon list. Ben Butler also had a good run with a time of 73:06, finishing 44th out of the large field of nearly 1700 runners, and Andrew Teasdale recorded a fine new PB of 79:25. Results Link.

14th/15th Jan 2023. Senior & U17 Northern Indoor T&F Championships.
There were some fine performances at the Senior & U17 Northern Indoor T&F Championships at the EIS in Sheffield, with two medals won by Leonie Ashmeade. She won silver in the SW 60m in an excellent new PB of 7.44s, after running 7.48s in the heats. Her time is just 2/100ths of a second slower than the club record held by Olympian Emily Freeman since 2006. She also won a bronze in the 200m in 24.54s.
Several other athletes were just out of the medals, and had top 6 finishes. Ella Bickerdyke finished 6th in the U17W 60m in a new PB of 7.96s, and 5th in the 200m in 26.46s, after running 26.17s in her semi-final. Thomas Wood was 6th in the SM 200m in 22.68s, after running a fine new PB of 22.02s in his semi-final. Alexander Bostwick finished 4th in the U20M 400m in 52.55s, after running a PB of 52.24s in his semi-final. Last year's winner Mark Bostock was not at his best, after a recent injury, but still did well to finish 4th in the 3000m in 8m 40.97s. Erin Hunt was 5th in the U20W Pole Vault with a leap of 2.50m. Results Link.

9th Jan 2023. Wakefield Harriers December Athlete of the Month - Ben Butler.

7th Jan 2023. Yorkshire Cross Country Championships at Lightwater Valley
The Yorkshire Cross Country Championships returned to Lightwater Valley near Ripon, but the torrential rain overnight and early morning made the already tough course a real ordeal, as it became a mud bath in places. But despite the difficult conditions all of the Harriers competing did very well.
Club Cross Country Champion Daniel Franks had probably his best senior cross country race to date, finishing an excellent 13th in the Senior Men's race. He was followed home by Ashley Crowe in 74th place, Paul Gilbert 112nd and Ian Shipley 155th.
The best individual position by a Harrier was achieved by the fast-improving Samuel Bona, who was a superb 6th in the U13 Boys race, and should have clinched selection for the Yorkshire team with this run. The U15 Girls team also did well, with Rosie Thistlewood 9th, Evie Tunney 18th, Jessica Watson 25th and Ava Walsh 27th, as the team finished 4th. Other Harriers competing well were Elliot Prentice (15th in the U20 Men's race), Euan Gaskin (18th U17 Men's race), and Paige Watson (19th U17 Ladies race).
Results link