24th Dec 2023. Thornes Park Stadium and Club Christmas Closures.
Thornes Park Stadium will be closed over Christmas and the New Year, and will not re-open until Tuesday 2nd January. However, due to holidays and a shortage of helpers, there will be no official Club Nights until Tues 9th January, and so the Club Cabin will not reopen until then.
Some coaching groups will be training during the first week in January, so please check with your coach, and anyone wanting to train on the track during that week must pay the stadium.

19th Dec 2023. Harry Beck Wins Junior Christmas Handicap Race.

19th Dec 2023. Laura Sellers Wins Senior Christmas Handicap Race.

10th Dec 2023. Very Fast Times at England 10k Championships at Telford.
The Telford 10k, which once again incorporated the England 10k Championships, produced a lot of very fast times, as usual. Two of those were recorded by two Harriers who were competing. Daniel Franks improved his PB to 31:10, which moved him up to 8th place in the club all-time list, and Abbey Brooke ran a 10k for the first time, and made an impressive debut with her time of 35:31, which places her 11th in the club all-time list. Results Link.

10th Dec 2023. Senior Men Win West Yorkshire Cross Country League.
At the end of the 2023 West Yorkshire Cross Country League season Wakefield Harriers did well to come away with several awards and some team medals.
The Senior Mens team regained the league title they won 2 years ago, but by the narrowest of margins, on countback. Coming away with silver medals were the U13 Boys, and also the U11 Boys, who turned out in good numbers this year, whilst the U15 Girls won team bronze medals.
In the individual standings we had just one outright winner, Rosie Thistlewood in the U15 Girls category. Daniel Franks was 3rd overall in the Jun/Sen Men Individual Points Table. In the U20 age group Euan Gaskin was 2nd in the Men's standings and Paige Watson 2nd in the Ladies standings. Amongst the veterans, there were top 3 finishes for Ben Butler 3rd M40, Steve Lowe 2nd M45 & Angela Dales 3rd F50.
Link to league totals.

10th Dec 2024. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 4 at Oulton.
It was extremely wet and muddy for the 4th meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Oulton, organised by Rothwell Harriers. The Senior Men's team finished 3rd in their team race, with U20 runner Euan Gaskin leading the team home in 16th, a few seconds ahead of Jake Worton, making his first league appearance in 18th. They were followed by two other newcomers to the cross country team, Dimosthenis Evangelidis in 26th and James Coulman in 35th, and Steve Lowe 37th & Chris Ward in 41st were the other team scorers. Also doing well in the tough conditions were Thomas Sellers 59th, Paul Gilbert 64th, Philip Ambler 68th & Liam O'Flaherty 80th.
The Senior Ladies team finished 5th, with Libby Greatorex having her best run so far to finish an excellent 5th. She was backed up by Chloe Fitton in 25th, U20 Paige Watson 31st, Angela Dales 32nd, Natalie-Jade Harris in 37th, Rachel Rowe 39th, Georgina Yoh 40th & Laura Sellers 48th.
In the U15 Girls race Sylvie Ellis was first Harrier home in 10th, and with Evie Tunney 13th & Ava Walsh 15th, the team finished 3rd. The U13 Boys had the best team result, once again winning their team race by a single point. The scoring trio were Sydney Swan in 4th, Thomas Hastings 11th & Daniel Jones 14th, and we also completed a 2nd team with Harry Tolson 21st, Oliver Smith 26th & Harris Adam 27th.
In the U11 age group the scoring trio of Tommy Rudd 11th, Jack Sanderson 15th & Oliver Hastings 16th were 3rd team in the Boys race. Also doing well were Ned Jackson 24th, Ewan Low 29th, Freddie Falkingham 31st & Harley Stringer 39th. The U11 Girls team were also 3rd, with Matilda Shaw finishing 9th, Eirian Clark 13th & Hannah Adam 25th. Also running well individually was Jessica Watson, finishing 9th in the U17 Ladies race.
Results Link.

4th Dec 2023. November Athlete of the Month - Euan Gaskin.

3rd Dec 2023. Good Marathon Performances in Valencia.
Valencia in Spain has built a reputation as a fast marathon course, and this year's event attracted a top international field. Three Wakefield Harriers took part, with Ben Butler in 2 hrs 43:45, Chris Hunter in 2 hrs 47:23 and Simon Midwood with 2 hrs 48:44 recording very good times. Results Link.

26th Nov 2023. Some Great 10k Road Race Times.
Some great 10k road race times were recorded today, with Daniel Franks continuing his fine form with a fast time of 31:29 in the Wilmslow Festive 10K. Results Link.
At the The Hoober Homes Doncaster City 10k race several Harriers recorded PBs, with Robert Brailsford and Jake Worton joining the sub-34 minutes club, with their excellent times of 33:27 & 33:46 respectively. Nicola Steel was close to her best with 38:43, as she finished 3rd in the F45 category. Results Link.

18th Nov 2023. New Road 5 Km Club Record for Amy-Eloise Neale.
Amy-Eloise Neale was the 2nd lady home in the Podium 5K at Barrowford in Lancashire, and she ran a New Road 5 Km Club Record 15 mins 55 sec, improving her previous record she set four years ago. Results Link.

18th Nov 2023. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 3 at Leeds.
The club had some good results at the third meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Middleton Park in Leeds. Wakefield Harriers had two individual winners, with Abbey Brooke first league runner home in the Senior Ladies race, and Rosie Thistlewood having a good win in the U15 Girls race.
The Senior Men's team finished 2nd in their team race, with Daniel Franks leading the team home in 4th place. Also running well were U20 runner Euan Gaskin in 14th, Ben Butler 16th, Chris Hunter 26th, Steve Lowe 36th & Chris Ward 44th. Our veterans did well, with Ben finishing 1st in the M40 category, and Chris Hunter 1st in the M45 category. Also doing well were Thomas Sellers 58th, Philip Ambler 67th, Ian Shipley 92nd & Ian Ogden 103rd.
Helped by Abbey's win, the Senior Ladies team finished 3rd, with Libby Greatorex 7th, Chloe Fitton 21st & Helen Beck 29th the 4 scorers. They were backed up by Natalie-Jade Harris in 31st, Angela Dales 32nd, Georgina Yoh 45th, Rachel Rowe 51st, Joanne Biltcliffe 53rd & Laura Sellers 55th.
With Rosie Thistlewood winning the U15 Girls race, and Evie Tunney 10th & Sylvie Ellis in 17th, the team were an excellent 2nd, and Ava Walsh also did well to finish 35th. The U13 Boys had the best team result, winning their team race by a single point, with the scoring trio being Thomas Hastings in 6th, Sydney Swan 12th & Daniel Jones 18th. Harry Beck in 31st, Oliver Smith 32nd & Harris Adam 33rd also ran well on the tough course.
In the U11 age group the scoring trio of Tommy Rudd 7th, Oliver Hastings 20th & Lochlan Ruddock 21st were an excellent 2nd team in the Boys race. Also doing well were Jack Sanderson in 22nd, Ned Jackson 25th, & Freddie Falkingham 29th. We just had 2 runners in the Girls race, with Matilda Shaw finishing 10th & Hannah Adam 25th, and also running well individually was Jessica Watson, 14th in the U17 Ladies race.
Results Link.

6th Nov 2023. October Athlete of the Month - Diane Simmons.
For becoming the first lady over 60 from the club to complete a marathon, Diane Simmons has been chosen by the Club Committee as the Wakefield Harriers Athlete of the Month for October.
Well done Diane!

4th Nov 2023. English National Cross Country Relays at Mansfield.
The English National Cross Country Relay Championships at Mansfield were held in very wet conditions this year, and the course was extremely muddy in places. However, that didn't deter many of England's leading middle distance and long distance runners from all over England from turning up to take part in the prestigious event. Wakefield Harriers had several teams competing, and they all did well.

29th Oct 2023. Wakefield Harriers Cross Country Championships.
The club successfully hosted the second meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Thornes Park, with the meeting incorporating the 2023 Club Cross Country Championships.
There will be awards for the first 3 finishers from the club in each race, and these will be presented at the Club Presentation Evening, which is being held on Saturday 2nd December.
Many thanks to all the marshals and helpers who made the event possible.
List of medal winners in all races.

29th Oct 2023. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 2 at Thornes Park.

22nd Oct 2023. Some Good Performances at the Abbey Dash 10K.
There were some good performances recorded at the Abbey Dash 10K road race, which as usual was one of the highest standard 10k races in the country.
The leading runner from the club was Jake Worton, with his PB of 34:41, and he was followed home by Ashley Crow with 35:53, and Craig Davidson 35:56, Darren Hewitt 37:12, Jacob Shillam 37:19 and Thomas Sellers 37:52 were all well inside 40 minutes. Distance Coach Chris Mitchell had a fine run to finish just a minute away from the club M60 record with his time of 41:57.
Our leading lady was Libby Greatorex with a fine new PB of 37:10, which places her 3rd in this year's club rankings, and 14th in the club all-time list. Nicky Steel ran a season's best of 39:16, and U20 Paige Watson also did well to record a new PB of 42:34. Results Link.

21st Oct 2023. Northern Athletics Cross Country Relays at Sheffield.
Unfortunately, after the recent storms and very heavy rainfall, the event had to be cancelled.

15th Oct 2023. New Masters Club Records for Julie Briscoe and Diane Simmons.
Julie Briscoe finished an excellent 34th overall and 2nd in the ladies section in the Run For All Yorkshire 10 Mile race at York. She set a new F45 10 Mile Club Record of 59 mins 19 secs, beating the previous record she set two years ago by over 2 minutes. Results Link.
Diane Simmons became the first F60 lady at the club to complete a marathon, in the Run For All Yorkshire Marathon. She ran a new F60 Marathon Club Record of 4 hrs 18 mins 44 secs, and she now holds all the F60 club records on the road. Liam Gascoigne made a good debut over the distance with his time of 3 hrs 11:26, recent recruit M50 Ian Ogden ran his best marathon for several years in 3 hrs 26:27, and M55 Francis Mwaba did well to record 3 hrs 40:00. Results Link.
In the Hedgehog Half Marathon at Normanby in Lincolnshire there was almost another veterans club record, as Angie Dales finished just 6 seconds short of her own F50 record with a time of 1 hr 36:09. She was 2nd lady overall and 1st in her age group. There was a very strong showing from the men in this race, with James Coulman 5th in 1 hr 16:11, Chris Hunter 8th in 1 hr 20:01 and Simon Midwood 10th in 1 hr 20:39. Chris finished 1st in the M45 category. Results Link.

8th Oct 2023. West Yorkshire Cross Country League Meeting 1 at Nunroyd Park.

2nd Oct 2023. September Athletes of the Month - Lynsie Whyke and Stephen Thorpe.

2nd Oct 2023. The Wakefield Harriers 2023 AGM
At the Annual General Meeting held at Thornes Park Stadium there were a few changes to the Club Committee. Our former Olympian Alan Slack has now retired as Club Treasurer, after 15 years of excellent service, so a big thank you Alan from everyone at the club. Rob Ford has kindly agreed to take over the role. Most committee members agreed to continue in their positions for another year, but we welcome several new additions to the team.
It was also agreed that due to the increase in England Athletics affiliation fees, and other cost increases, the annual club membership fees would rise by £5 next April, to £55 for senior athletes, and £45 for young athletes. Training fees on club night will remain unchanged.
Here's the latest list of Club Committee members on the Club Contacts page.