Harriers set to go Dutch again
MANY roads seem to be leading to the Netherlands for Stockport Harriers this year, not least for sub fourminute miler and international Ross Millington who accomplished his Olympic qualifying time at Leiden in the summer and soon heads to the hills for further altitude training in preparation for the 2017 season.
He will be followed on also in South Holland by a large group of veterans who will be making the Dutch capital of Den Haag their destination of choice for the 32nd annual October tour and will be participating in nearby Nootdorp as guests of the local “IJsclub” ice skating club with a choice of distances between three and 15 kilometres.
Half marathons have become meat and drink for Stockport’s Jenny Knass as she reels off yet another at Lake Vyrnwy in deepest Powys and was accompanied by two other Stockport Harriers for the one lap 13+ mile picturesque course around the lake being Matthew Given and Wendy Nickerson who also made the journey to mid Wales and finished in 1:32:55 (145th overall) and 1:54:16 (621st) respectively.
Knass came up to expectations in winning her over 35s veteran category and to finish third lady overall and 69th in the race in a time of 1:26:34 and although she has made faster postings in the half marathon, it will prove to be useful race training for her big targeted event of the year also in South Holland being the TCS international marathon which departs from the Amsterdam Olympic stadium on the 16th October.
The halfway point and beyond has now been reached as regards the buildings development at Woodbank Park with final testing towards the end of October and then it will be all systems go with both primary schools cross country meetings and senior leagues which will test the new facilities to it’s limitations and with new pole vault equipment to be installed, further and higher profile athletic meetings should emanate starting in the 2017 season.
A grand tour of South Cheshire takes place on Sunday, being the Congleton half marathon which forms part of the Stockport Harriers’ 24 event series.
Departure is 9.30am from the high school on Box Lane for an undulating 13+ miles and there is indeed a “sting in the tail” with 300 feet of ascent in the last mile out of the total of 531 feet for the whole course.