Fantastic in the Fog – Harriers in Action in Cross Country Action in Shipley

A foggy damp day in November – perfect weather for a cross country race. Shipley the venue for this the third fixture of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League. Holmfirth Harriers athletes once again in breathtaking action.

This race was once again all about  great team performances from the Holmfirth athletes as well as individual success. Each and every runner giving their all on this tough hilly course, The results telling their own story Holmfirth teams taking 1st place in 4 of the 10 races and podium places in a further 2.

For individual stars of the show it really is difficult to know where to start, From the first races of the day the Holmfirth Juniors set the scene for the action to follow, with Libby Shepherd and Sunnivah Waterman battling it out in a scintillating sprint for the line in the U11 girls race with Libby given the victory but both girls awarded the same time. Equally impressive Olivia Sykes in the U13 girl’s race, leading from the start and building a 13 second victory over local rival Sarah Pickering of Ilkley. U15 boys Lewis Byram played the waiting game on this tough hilly course and pulled out a 20 second lead on Tom Blanchard of Halifax Harriers on the hill second time round. In the senior races also, great performances, Katie Walshaw back to winning ways in the women’s race extending her lead over Katie Parry of Leeds to 25 seconds on the second lap. These race winners aside an incredible 13 other athletes finished in the top ten an amazing achievement for the club.

The U11 boys bolstered by Jimmy Burke’s return from injury achieved second team place, Jimmy and Callum Durrans both running well to finish in 4th and 5th places with Oliver Rees and Fionn Kerry taking the other team spots in 17th and 23rd spot. Also well up the field Ned Johnson 26th ,Tom Haley-Porteous 28th Daniel Howatson 29th and Dominic Drake 36th.  The U11 girls scooped 1st team spot with ease Libby and Sunny ably supported by Sophie Allan in 5th. Lia Carter showed her potential also in the top 10 in 9th. Eve Middleton and Lucy Whitworth both running well in 21st and 26th.

No where  was the great team ethic demonstrated more than in the U13 boys race. Winner of the first 2 league fixtures Seth Waterman who had been ill for most of the previous week really suffered during the race but hung in with team mates Andrew Farquhar and Lewis Bartholomew the 3 finishing in 9th, 10th and 11th  place Andrew just pipping the other 2 for 9th. Younger brother Nicky had a great run in 16th place securing 2nd team spot for the boys. Isaac Shepherd was just behind Nick in 18th and William Johnson 20th. Tiras Waterman moved through the field for his best league finish in 34th Shea Kerry and Daniel Whitworth also moving through the field in 40th and 42nd places and Adam Christopher with another sterling event in 49th.
The U13 girls clinched the first team spot with ease like their younger counterparts Erica Byram running a fantastic race finishing strongly in third place and sister Lucy not far behind in 7th backing up Olivia in 1st. Such is the strength of the Holmfirth girls at this age group that had a second team been allowed to count Daisy Hinchcliffe 21st, Genevieve Durrans 23rd and Anna Charlesworth 25th would have finished in third. Also running well Esme Wilde 37, Olivia Battye 38, Caitlin Smith 39, Charlotte Eastwood 45, Isobel Drake 46, Lily Barr 48, Issy Haley-Porteous 49, Talia Johnson 51 and Olivia Blackburn 54.

Having finished third team in both the previous fixtures the U15 boys were amazed to gain first spot, again a great team effort from all the boys with 3 of the 4 counters in the top 10  Lewis Byram 1st, Aaron Arthur 7th and Aaron Kettlewell 10th and Eddie Hinchcliffe in his best ever league placing in 12th. George Green in his first year of cross country ran well in 29th. In the girls race Sophie Spencer and Lucy Farquhar both ran strongly to finish in 15 and 19th places.

Robert Hinchcliffe was a lone finisher for the club in the U17 men’s race finding the going tough but keeping going to finish in 20th place.

The fog had lifted a little by the time the Senior Ladies were off.  Each lap of the three laps of the 6km course took in a steady climb from the start, so the tactics were to start of steady and it certainly paid off for Holmfirth’s ladies.  Katie Walshaw lead from the gun and the competition didn’t pose too much threat to her victory as she finished 24 seconds clear of Leeds City athlete Katie Parry.  Back in the chasing pack Claire Leaver made a very good start, whilst Helen Berry and Kath Farquhar paced the first lap well.  Keen to ensure maximum team points, having finished second to Leeds City in the previous race in the series, Helen and Kath moved through the field picking off the tiring athletes to finish in impressive 5th and 11th places respectively.  Claire Leaver provided excellent back up for the team in 13th place, ensuring a victory and vital points for the league title. With the league taking place over four races, athletes often compare previous performances and whilst the positions remained fairly static for the leading athletes, the remaining amber vests were noticeably higher up the field this time. Lucy Needham put in a solid performance in 22nd and Debbie Hall improved her previous position by one place in 38th. Cara Penfold  finished in a credible 41st, a huge improvement on the previous race, which was also achieved by Fran Whitworth in 52nd.  It was only the second ever cross country race for Aideen Farrell who gave it her all to finish in a fantastic 56th place, a massive 26 places higher than last time. There were 89 finishers.

With several of the Senior Men Abbey Dashing and others recovering from injury Holmfirth Harrier’s senior men travelled to Shipley to run in the third race of the Complete Runner Cross Country League series in a somewhat depleted state . This was a tough course with plenty of hills and consisted of one medium and three large laps. At the start of the race the front runners raced effortlessly up the steep incline and out of sight into the mist. After the first lap there were a group of six runners leading out the field, of which included Holmfirth’s top junior man Max Kaye. After three of the four laps, Jorge Thomas (Keighley) and Alan Buckley (Leeds City) had broken off the front with the Keighley athlete pulling away to win the race. Max Kaye had a tremendous run finishing in 4th place, 1st junior male and first Holmfirth Harrier. James Little continued his good form to finish in 15th (3rd senior male) with Alistair Rees in 26th (2nd M40).  Jan Durr in only his second cross country race improved on his last race by 45 places to finish in 38th with James Durrans and Max Lawton finishing in 49th and 59th respectively. These results secured third team. Other Holmfirth results were, Gary Graham 61st, David Williams 71st, Wayne Byram 76th, Kevin Yewlett 101st (3rd M55), Chris Beadle 121st and Tim Cock,  who had already raced in the morning in the Abbey Dash, 151st (2nd M70).

Once again the Holmfirth Supporters club were out in force and as usual provided inspiration to all the runners- thanks to all of them. Holmfirth athletes will next be in action in the McCain Cross Challenge on 26th November in Liverpool and in the Cross country league finale on December 4th at Thornes Park in Wakefield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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