Harriers’ seven podium places
IT was another great day for Stockport Harriers juniors at race three of the Manchester Area Cross Country League series with seven individual podium positions and team wins in four of the eight age groups.
The SHAC gazebo was looking and sounding particularly festive with Christmas lights and music helping to brighten up a grey and at times drizzly day.
The age group races were run mixed gender as is usual in this series and in the under 11 race a sea of golden yellow vests worked their way to the front of the field trying to catch Luke Carrington of East Cheshire and Tameside who held on for first place, just ahead of Stockport’s Will Bailey who ran a good solid race throughout to complete the 2000m course in 7m:03s.
Josh Garrone, who had left himself a lot of work to do by not getting a good start, ran brilliantly to get back in touch with the leaders, finishing third in 7m:06s just ahead of Harry Ahearn who arrived in fourth (7m:08s) to complete the ‘A’ team who scored nine points to secure the top spot in the team competition for the second time ahead of Sale Harriers on 28 points.
The Stockport girls handled the mix of park and woodland equally well with the ‘A’ team of Freya Murdoch, Sophie Ellwood and Ella Buckley securing the team win with 13 points.
In a repeat of their 1, 2 at the Liverpool Cross Challenge last week, Freya was first girl to cross the line (3rd overall) in 7m:06s followed by Sophie in 7m:24s, Ella arrived in tenth (7m:44s) to complete Stockport’s ‘A’ team and secure their second team win.
The ‘B’ team of Niamh Mackintosh, Ava Walsh and Rosie Philbin finished in fifth position overall with a total of 43 points.
The under 13 boys team also returned victorious and with a second individual win for Finley Mayoh who led the runners home from the 3100 metre course in 10m:22s, followed by Thomas Manton in fourth (10m:41s) and Jack Caterall in fifth (10m:42s) to record their third team win of the series whilst in the girls race Jasmine Reed secured fourth by running 11m:26s.
There was a longer wooded section for the under 15s who covered a total of 4,200 metres, it was muddy in places and there were three short steep hills in quick succession to contend with during that wooded section of the race.
The Stockport girls ‘A’ team continued to dominate the team event with close clustering at the front of the field, Ellie Parkman finished third (15m:41s), Alice Davies was fourth (15m:47s) and Amy West stopped the clock in fifth in a creditable 15m:52s to secure the team win, though individually it was Macclesfield’s Sian Heslop who dictated the race and was the runaway winner finishing over a minute clear in 13m:59s.
With only two runners in each of the under 17 age category races there were no Stockport teams but Ben Batho ran brilliantly to complete the two lap 5800 metre course in 19m:59s and claim individual second place.
The Seniors Ladies started with a lap of the playing fields before completing two laps through the woods for a total of 6900 metres.
The ‘A’ team of Heather Corden (21st), Hannah Richardson (29th) Louise Geldart (75th) and Emilia Gadja (88th) finished the day in tenth but in the age 17-19 category where four counters make up a team Heather who was fourth (28m:25s), Hannah fifth (29m:00s) and Emilia ninth (31m:59s) were joined by Abbie WoodDoyle in tenth (32m:51s) to seal a win for the Harriers; at the other end of the age spectrum team captain Alexis Dinsmor came third in the ladies’ 65-69 age category.
Mention must also be made of veteran Harrier Chris Bryans who showed true determination in completing the mens’ three lap 9700 metre course alongside over 400 others with the light fading and the day at its worst as the only participant in the over 80 age category.
In the team event Sale Harriers dominated with four of their six counters managing single digit positions where the Stockport ‘A’ team managed 12th, though they fared significantly better in the veteran age category where the four man ‘A’ team of James Corden, Matthew Townley David Hulley and Iain Murdoch placed in fifth.
At the second fixture of the South Yorkshire Indoor Series under 15 Roach was able to celebrate three personal bests including a ten centimetre improvement on her High Jump best when she cleared 1.40m, a 200m PB and a brilliant 600 metre performance when she led her heat from gun to tape.
There was also a 200 metre personal best for Amy Battle when she won her heat in 27m:41s, as well as a High Jump personal best of 1.45m equalling the jump of teammate Cox who again equalled her 1.45 metre high jump personal best as well as running 200 metre and 600 metre lifetime bests.
Under 13 Saffron Meade also had an excellent day taking home personal bests in the 600 metres, 150 metres and high jump; Emma Wood Doyle and Darcy Breen both jumped 1.35 metre personal bests to come joint second in the high jump and Seren Redfern’s 1.30 metre jump secured her fourth while Darcy’s brother Ronan won the under 11 boys 600 metre middle distance race in the time of 1m:59.2s.
In the under 13 boys age category Arthur Kennedy won his heat and came second overall with his 21.87s 150 metre sprint which was almost two seconds faster than the last time he’d competed at the distance and colleague Ollie Cox also got a personal best when he came in fifth.
It was a perfect cool but dry day for the annual Hoka One One Stockport 10 road race on 3rd December when almost one thousand runners of both the ‘serious’ and ‘fun’ varieties set out from the Woodbank Stadium to take on the ’undulating’ 10 mile course, the slogan for which was ‘it’s not fast and it’s not flat’.
The route wended its way through Offerton after leaving Woodbank Park before heading through Otterspool, up Otterspool Road and back through Bredbury before the sting in the tail climb up New Zealand Road with about a mile to go to the finish back at Woodbank Stadium.
Twenty four of the 995 finishers did so in under one hour, including ladies’ winner V40 category runner Kirsty Longley of Liverpool Pembroke Sefton (59m:13s).
The race was won outright in 51m:11s by Jack Morris of Stockport Harriers ahead of 2015 winner and fellow Harrier Jack Nixon who came second in 51m:45s, more than two minutes faster than his winning time two years ago, and when George Cooke arrived in tenth (57m:14s) he completed the three man team from the home Club who won the team event.
Harriers Alec Francis, Gary Milligan and James Barnett also all made it back in under an hour but athletes continued to pour into the Woodbank Stadium to finish and claim their goodie bags with ’it’s not fast and it’s not flat’ t-shirts and medals well past the two hour mark.
This weekend sees the first fixture of the Sale Indoor Open which will be held at SportCity on Sunday for athletes in age groups under 15 through to seniors as well as the two day South of England Indoor Combined Events Championships in Lee Valley London.