Holmfirth Harriers News

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Holmfirth Harriers young athletes took 3 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze when they competed for Kirklees at in the West Yorkshire Schools Athletics Championships held at Thornes Park, Wakefield at the weekend. These championships are a stepping stone to the prestigious English Schools Athletics Championships where former British athletics greats such as Kelly Holmes Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Backley and Denise Lewis first came to prominence.

Jordan Toth was first in action winning his heat of the Intermediate boys 100m to go through to the final later in the day. His time of 11.16secs took him across the line in first place. Jacob Henton in the Junior boys 400m heats secured a place in the final where he stormed round to take second place in a new personal best time of 54.64secs. Junior George, the Club’s 400m record holder again clocked under 50secs in the Senior boys 400m with a time of 49.77secs to win the event.

In the Intermediate boys 3000m, Thomas Traviss-Pollard was chasing the senior boys who were running in the same heat. He committed himself to follow Daniel Davis of Leeds who took first Senior with Thomas crossing the line to take first Intermediate, both well ahead of the rest of the field in a new best time of 9mins 24secs..

The Intermediate boys 15oom saw one of the most closely contested and exciting races of the day. Max Kaye was up against the Northern gold and silver medallists Michael Wood and Elliott Todd of Leeds. He went with the initial pace but on the final lap they pulled ahead to open a gap of 50m leaving Max to finish third in 4mins11.63secs.

The Booth twins had excellent runs in their first representative championship events. Georgia ran strongly in the Junior girls 800m final taking 6secs off her previous best time with 2mins 39secs, whereas Alanah ‘s time of 5mins 27secsin the Junior girls 1500m final was 14secs faster than her previous best, both girls reaping the reward for their consistent hard work in training.

The selectors will meet later in the week to consider athletes for the West Yorkshire Schools team.

Holmfirth Harriers’ athletes travelled to the new sporting complex at Leigh for the second Northern Track & Field match of the 2009 season. Despite cold, wet conditions and the absence of some key athletes, Holmfirth’ athletes rallied round, filling gaps where necessary and achieving some excellent performances to overhaul Bingly Harriers in the final stages to gain 3 rd place by a margin of only 1 point.

Jenny Ibbitson and Katie Zientek, the clubs leading throwers, scored a massive 71points between them with Jenny winning the A events and Katie the B events in both the Hammer and Discus along with third A and first B in the Javelin. Charlotte Dillingham gave good support in the B Shot to finish third.

Multi-eventer Thomas Jennings also made a massive contribution of 28 points, his best result was his second place in the shot with 10.70m.

In the Sprints, Russell Bamforth continues to improve recording 11.5secs for the first time in the 100m. Junior George and Ali Magdi finished second A in the 400m and 400m Hurdles events in times just outside the club records with 51.3secs and 58.4secs respectively. Magdi later went on to record a seasons best in the 100mH with 17.7secs. Zoe Storr, performed in a wide range of events but her best performance was also in the sprint hurdles with a time of 20.6 secs.

The Distance events saw the return of Jake Harman on the track for Holmfirth Harriers AC winning the A 800m event in 1min 56.6secs before going on to win the B event in the 400m. Northern League Stalwart Dave Watson was up against tough opposition finishing third in both the A 3000m steeplechase and B 800m, fourth in the A 5000m. Thomas Traviss-Pollard ran well in the B 1500m to gain third in 4mins 30.9secs.

Claire Leaver put in a more confident performance to win the A 3000m in 10mins 52.6secs before going on to take third in the A 1500m. She was ably supported by Dawn Broom, winning the B 3000m and Helena Croft finishing third in the 1500m. It was good to see Cara Penfold returning to the track in the B 800m and finishing third.

The best performances in the jumps were achieved by Lauren Tyrell in the A High jump with 1.50m.

Finally the men’s 400m relay team of Junior George, Ali Magdi, Jake Harman and Richard Smith ran the fastest time for some years with 3mins. 36.9 secs in one of the most exciting races of the day.

HARRIERS TRACK & FIELD TEAM MOVE TO JOINT 2ND IN DIVISION TWO AFTER A
SUPERB TEAM PERFORMACES BY ATHLETES AND OFFICIALS ON A VERY WET DAY AT
LEIGH.

Contributions by every athlete and official resulted in the team pipping Bingley by one point to take 3rd place on the day and to move level with on points in the league. Whilst every track and field athlete made valuable contibutions it was having a full team of officials that made the difference as whilst we received a full
30 points Binlgey were docked 5 points for failing to field a full compliment of officials which proved vital.

As you can see your efforts were extremely vital and 3rd with a few missing was great result.

The Club completed a successful year of Centenary celebrations culminating in the publication of ‘See How They Run – The History of Holmfirth Harriers’. The Committee thank the authors Graham Ellis, Norman Berry and John Buckingham for their hard work and effort.

That the Club enters its second century in a healthy state is evidenced by some notable personal athletic achievements by Harriers at regional and national level during the last twelve months.

Matthew Pierson won the bronze medal in the National Half-Marathon Championship Race and is the first person from the Club to win an individual senior national medal. In the London Marathon Matthew placed 23 rd and 7 th Briton. Matthew also won the Northern AA 10 mile Championship race at Thirsk. In the same race Clare Leaver, Kathy Farquhar and Helen Berry were first ladies team.

Max Kaye, Tom Halton and Thomas Travis-Pollard won U15 boys gold medals in the Yorkshire Cross-Country Championships. Max won silver as an individual and was chosen to represent Yorkshire. At the same event Matthew Pierson came 4 th senior and was also selected to represent Yorkshire. In the Northern Championships Max, Tom and Thomas were team bronze medal winners with Max and Thomas chosen to represent West Yorkshire in the English Schools Cross-Country Championship.

At the Yorkshire Track & Field Championships gold medals were won by Junior George, Aaron Kettlewell and Jordan Toth. Silver medals were won by Jacob Henton, Aaron Kettlewell and Lauren Tyrell with Max Kaye winning bronze.

In the Yorkshire Vets Cross-Country Championships Dave Watson was 1 st M35-39 and, together with John Broome and Gary Graham won the gold team medal in that category. Julia Johnson, Karen Sinkinson and Yvette Arthur won the silver F45 team medal. John Ewart, Gary Armitage and Andy Hauser were second M50-59 team.

Bill Wade became English V65 Fell Champion. Tom Halton was U14 English Fell Champion. Lisa Lacon took bronze in the Yorkshire Fell Championships at Pen-y-ghent.

In the Yorkshire Vets AA road relays Jacqueline France, Lesley Ewart and Karen Sinkinson were first F45 team.

The Committee recognises that, sadly, team events always represent a challenge to the Club Captain and Section Secretaries to obtain commitments from members and ensure the best team turns out on the day. The Committee is grateful to John Ewart, Tom Brunt, Roger Bradley, Helen Berry, Matthew Pierson, Rachael Mellor, John McFadzean and Rob Kersey for their efforts in this respect and hopes that the successes achieved this year will encourage more members to make themselves available to represent the Club in the future.

The Committee congratulates Brian Heywood who becomes English Cross Country Association [ECCA] President for 2009 - 10. This is in addition to his continuing responsibilities as Northern Athletics Chairman.

At the England Athletics Regional Club Awards the Club was honoured to be awarded the Junior Club of the Year and thanks go to all the officials and helpers of the Junior section who made that possible. We are also pleased to record the following individual honours from England Athletics. Emma Szostack (Yorkshire & Humberside Volunteer of the Year), John McFadzean (Y&H club Volunteer of the Year) and Kevin Johns (Runner up - Official of the Year).

Members continue to represent the Club at races both locally and elsewhere in the country. On the road Matthew Pierson won the Full Bronte 5, Askern 10 and the Brass Monkey Half Marathon. Dave Turnbull and Dave Watson won the Penny Lane 10K and the Bridlington Half Marathon respectively. Dawn Broom was 1 st lady at the Mad March 20 and the Spenborough 20. Rob Kersey, BillWade, Julia Johnson, Ros Haigh, Jacquie Dews, Lesley Ewart, Kiersti Dickinson and Karen Sinkinson all won age category road races. The senior ladies’ and senior mens’ road championships were won by Jacquie Dews and Richard Smith respectively.

The Club was particularly well represented at fell races by Lisa Lacon, Tom Brunt and Helen Berry. Lisa won Belmont Winter Hill, Wadsworth Half Trog, Ovenden, Giant’s Tooth, White Holme Circular, Mickleden Straddle, Broomhead Chase, Burnsall Classic and Autwick Amble. Tom won Crowden Horseshoe, James’ Thorn, Old County Tops, Pendle Cloughs, Rab Mountain Marathon, Edale and the Bakewell Mini Mountain Marathons. Helen won Crowden Horseshoe, Holme Moss, Pilsley, Dennis Stitt, Cop Hill and Ian Roberts. There were age category wins for Julian Rank, John Ewart, Barbara Hinchliffe, Karen Sinkinson, Chris Couch, Tim Cock, John Adair and Lesley Ewart. The Mens’ team won the Cross Keys fell and road relay. The senior 2008 Club Fell Championship was won by Tom Brunt.

The Club’s Track & Field athletes continue to hold their own in Division 2 of the North of England League. Holmfirth Harriers men’s and women’s track & field team finished the season in 5th place in the North of England Plate Final. This was particularly notable as the season had been disrupted by injuries and absences. Many athletes have consistently performed above themselves to place the team 3 rd in the league. Along the way Club records were broken by Jordan Toth, Junior George, Yasmin Ellis and Jenny Ibbitson.

The Club’s Vets continue to support the Yorkshire Vets AA Grand Prix Series and post excellent results. In the overall positions for 2008 Holmfirth finished 3 rd mens’ team in the ‘all to count’ table.

In the West Yorkshire Cross-Country League the U11 Boys A team won all four fixtures and the B team were 2 nd overall. There were wins in individual races for Richard Smith (U20 Men) and Lesley Ewart (O/50 Ladies).

Following the success of the Centenary Junior Challenge at the EIS in Sheffield, the event was repeated in March. The Committee thanks the many parents and coaches and particularly John McFadzean and Richard Szostak without whom the event would not have taken place.

In association with West Yorkshire Police and the Pennine Schools Sports Partnership the Club organised the ‘Fun in Athletics’ event for junior school children at Honley High School.

The Committee congratulates John McFadzean who was named Individual Volunteer of the Year by the Huddersfield Examiner for his work in the community including his contribution to the Harriers.

The dedicated members of the Triathlon Committee, particularly Rachael Mellor continue to promote the Summer Duathlon as part of the Yorkshire & Humber Junior Series. There were wins for Tiras Waterman, Rowena France and Seth Waterman. In various other events throughout the year the Club’s triathletes consistently posted high places enabling us to pose a credible and creditable challenge to the county’s bigger clubs.

The Club continued its regular promotion of local open races. The Ian Roberts fell race, the Holme Moss Fell Race, the Harden Moss fell race, the Holmfirth 15, the Neiley Races, the Dennis Stitt and the Yorkshire Vets trail race all continue to thrive. That they do so is wholly due to the largely unseen but very much appreciated hard work of the race organisers and helpers and the Committee thanks them all. The Committee also thanks all the sponsors for their financial help in difficult economic times. The Neiley Races reached the landmark of 21 years this year and the Committee congratulates the organisers from the Harriers and outside the Club who have kept the race going and successful for this length of time.

The Club’s series of Members’ only events continued over the last twelve months. The Tinker Cup again proved popular with 87 runners. Matthew Dewhirst won and Matthew Pierson posted the fastest time. The fastest lady was Katie Walshaw who received the Norman Haigh Memorial trophy. Once again the Committee thanks the landowners and Honley Cricket Club for their generosity, good will and co-operation. The Point to Point was won by Andrew Hambleton whilst Julian Rank achieved the fastest time. The Club 6 was won by Jason Kaushall with Richard Smith once again fastest time. The Winter Championship was won by Steve Rimmer. The 2008 Club 5 was won by Phil Senior with Matthew Pierson running the fastest time. The Club 10 was won by Richard Smith and Matthew Pierson ran the fastest time. The Club 15 was won by Jim Sommerville and Matthew completed the treble with the fastest time. Wayne Byram was the 2008 Summer Champion.

On the social side the Club wishes to thank Ashley Smith and his team who organised the successful Presentation Night. Similarly, thanks go to Dianne Waite for the organisation of the Christmas dinner.

The main issue for the Committee over the last twelve months has been to synchronise the Club’s membership data with that of England Athletics and in particular administer the EA competition levy. The membership data has also had to be widened for health and safety and medical reasons. This has proved more difficult than it sounds with EA changing its financial year, hence the staggered subscription payment period in 2008, then it was rumoured to be changing it back again which, thankfully, did not happen. Sincere thanks go to the Membership Secretary, Jacqueline France who has performed this task with diligence and patience. Jacqueline has also done a sterling job in identifying those Members who are late in their payment of subscriptions and ensuring that they are paid or membership is cancelled. This is obviously important for the Club’s finances and is fairer to the vast majority of members who pay on time.

Under Jacqueline’s stewardship the website has gone from strength to strength increasing its importance as a means of communication to members and others.

The 2008/09 Committee maintained the previous year’s progress on reforming Committee structures and the effectiveness of Committee positions. The roles of officials were reviewed by Rob Kersey and his recommendations adopted. Rob’s work ensures that the roles are more clearly defined whilst the creation of the new posts of Mens’ and Ladies’ Captains and Vice-Captains will ensure that workload is more manageable for those who volunteer for these important posts.

In the light of these self imposed changes and those imposed on us by England Athletics the Constitution and Club Rules were altered, a tedious but necessary job and ratified by an EGM.

A Junior Committee was authorised to promote junior athletics and their interests. Kathy Farquhar and John McFadzean have begun work to set this up with a view to ‘passing the reins’ to others to contribute and organise. We hope that parents and younger members will seize this opportunity to contribute to the running of this important section of the Club.

In the same vein the Triathlon Committee continues to meet regularly and the section maintains its progress.

The Committee welcomed new officials this year and believes that this balance of new ideas and experience must be maintained if the Committee is to remain representative of the membership and keep the Club in a healthy state.

The objective of the Club is to encourage, promote and develop athletics and related physical activities. In this annual review it is therefore quite right and heartening to highlight Members’ athletic achievements. However, we also celebrate every single Club Member who gets out of bed on a morning feeling better about themselves because they have started regular physical exercise.

Finally but no less importantly it is essential to acknowledge that the Club is completely reliant on its band of helpers. To all those who organise races and events; bake and sell cakes and sell sweets to raise funds; those who steadfastly remain at their race marshalling point in all weathers, sometimes in some of the most desolate spots in West Yorkshire until the last runner has gone through; those who give and retain youngsters’ enthusiasm to forsake the telly and the computer on training nights to enjoy athletics and those who haggle with venues, plumbers, disc jockeys… etc to get the best deal – we salute you.

The start of our Marathon journey started in 2008 when we decided to get together with our friends and compete in the Edinburgh Marathon Hairy Haggis Relay (see http://www.therosefamily.me.uk/running/fatboys/)

Whilst that was a great achievement, we finished the race in 03:32:16 and raised over £2,000 for Hope for children, for 2009 we decided to return - to run the whole 26.2 miles for ourselves!

So after a further 12 months of training, on Sunday 31 May 2009 we completed our debut marathon. The weather was very kind, if not too kind; at 22 degrees it certainly took it's toll on us as well as many other runners struggling to beat the heat over the last eight miles. We finished in 03:57:12 (Matthew) and 04:28:44 (Charles) and are both delighted at this, our greatest ever running achievement.

So what next? We've both applied for London and after being unsuccessful last year are hopeful this year we'll be successful. In the meantime, we're hoping to build on this experience and complete the Dublin Marathon on 26 October 2009.

The sun shone brightly on the International Stadium at Gateshead to provide ideal conditions for the final day of the Northern U17/U15 Track & Field Championships. The weekend meeting is a show case for the regions top young athletes and Max Kaye was amongst them as he lined up for the final of the U/17 men’s 1500m.

The race was dominated by athletes from Yorkshire with the Leeds trio of Elliott Todd, Gordan Benson and Michael Wood constantly exchanging the lead throughout the race. Max ran well, maintaining contact until just before the bell and held his form together to come home in 5 th place with a new personal best time of 4mins 10.23secs. This was a good performance at this level, particularly as he is bottom age this year. The race was won by Michael Wood in 4mins 5secs.

Holmfirth Harriers’ Track and Field stars returned home with 7 medals and 2 club records from the Yorkshire Track and Field Championships held at Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield. This year’s event, held over both Saturday and Sunday, incorporated the Humberside Championships which ensured greater numbers participating along with greater depth in performances.

The first in action was Jordan Toth in the U/17 mens 100m. Having cruised to victory in the heats he went on to secure the gold medal shattering the club record in the process with his time of 11.08secs.

In the U/13 boys Aaron Kettlewell, competing in his first championships event rose to the occasion magnificently with a gold medal performance in the long jump with a leap of 4.59m to follow his silver medal in the 100m. Aaron Arthur showed massive improvement this year in the 800m securing a place in the final with a new personal best time of 2mins 35.71secs.

Jacob Henton was Holmfirth’s only competitor in the U/15 boy’s competition. Despite his lack of experience in a championship event he stormed round the 400m to claim the silver medal in 54.8secs and later in the day finished just outside the medals in the 200m.

It was good to see Thomas Jennings back competing at this level as a senior. In the shot putt his 11.38m was a new personal best. Jake Harman, returning to compete for Holmfirth, reached the final of the 800m with his time of 1min 57.47secs in the heats going on to finish 6th.

Distance athletes, Max Kaye and Thomas Traviss-Pollard were in action on both days in the U/17 men’s 800m and 1500m events. Max ran well to reach the finals of the 800m, but went one better in the 1500m to secure a bronze medal with a new best time of 4mins 11.07secs. Thomas, a novice on the track improves with each race setting personal best times in both events with 2mins 21.79secs and 4mins 30.79secs respectively.

The U/20’s were well represented with Junior George, now specialising in the 400m, running a controlled heat to get to the final where he blasted round to the gold medal in a new club record time of 49.49secs. Lauren Tyrell took the silver in the high jump with 1.55m and Katie Zientek achieved her best result of the season in the Javelin with 30.57m.

These results, 3 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze, are the best achieved by Holmfirth Harriers in a track and field championship event in recent years and hopefully will inspire others to have a go.

On behalf of the Committee notice is given that the AGM will be held at the Clubhouse after training on Tuesday 9 June 2009 commencing at 8.30. An agenda to which Members can post items for discussion at the meeting and, most importantly, can put themselves up for Committee positions is attached. All items and nominations will need a proposer and seconder. These should be made in writing on the notice on the wall by the tuck shop. Items and nominations must be posted by the end of training on Thursday 4 June.

The AGM is one of the most important events in the Club’s calendar. It allows you as members to criticise, question, endorse or bend the knee in adoring wonder before your previous Committee and then elect the next one to drive the Club through the next 12 months.

So, if there is something you want to get off your chest about the running of the Club this is the most effective time to do so, not in the changing rooms afterwards. If you are unhappy with the running of the Club and would like to make a contribution to its future this is the time and place to make your point.

Furthermore, please consider putting your name forward for a Committee post. The Committee continually needs new ideas and new people to reflect the membership of the Club and help to take it forward and thrive. Please do not rely on the same old faces or assume we all want to continue into our dotage. The AGM is the place to make your voice, criticism and ideas heard and the Committee is the body you elect to do it – so make sure it’s the right one.

Holmfirth Harriers’ athletes were out in force for the opening Northern Track & Field fixture. Having maintained their Division 2 status in a nail-biting finish last year, Holmfirth started the season in the West Central division, facing teams from Bingley, Bury, Bolton, Leigh and East Cheshire. This first fixture was held at Thornes Park, Wakefield in bright sunshine with very little wind to hinder the athletes.

The sprinters demonstrated that hard work during the winter months pays off, with Jordan Toth (U/17) setting a new club record in the 100m with a time of 11.2secs. Junior George (U/20) stormed round the track to gain maximum points in the 400m with 50.4secs with Russell Bamforth giving vital support in the 100m and relays.

Jake Rowlands, running in a Holmfirth vest for the first time in the ‘A’ 800m clocked 2mins 0.6secs. His 6 th position underlining the strength in depth in this event. Holmfirth’s talented U/17 distance athletes, Max Kaye and Thomas Traviss-Pollard, competing against senior athletes for the first time, gained valuable experience. Dave Watson, returning to the track after injury, scored valuable team points in his 1500m and 5000m events with 4mins 17.6secs and 15mins 30.8secs respectively. He was ably supported by Matthew Dewhirst making his debut on the track as a senior .Alistair Langron’s excellent 2 nd place in the 3000mS/C was his best performance in this event.

Thomas Jennings, who has progressed through the age groups from U/11 to senior ranks, had an extremely busy day competing in 6 events to gain 23 points. His best performance was his 37.20m effort in the Javelin. He was ably supported in all the throws by veteran Andy Storr, whose 2 nd place in the ‘B’ Shot of 9.47m was his best result.

The highly specialised technical events were tackled by James Dewhirst (U/20). His creditable performances in both 400m and 110m hurdle events and the Pole Vault gained 15 points for the club.

The women matched the men in both team commitment and performances. New member, National O/50 record holder, Jenny Ibbottson, opened her account by setting three new senior club records with 3.0m in the Pole Vault, 35.55m in the Hammer and 30.65m in the Discus. Her individual contribution to the team effort was a massive 34 points over 6 events. Katie Zientek was also in scintillating form, winning the ‘B’ Hammer and Discus events and gaining 2 nd place in both the ‘A’ Javelin and Shot, whilst Charlotte Dillingham finished an excellent 2 nd place in the ‘B’ Javelin and Discus.

Both Lauren and Zoe Storr competed in the sprints, their best performances coming in the Hurdles events with Lauren winning the ‘A’ 100mH in 15.9secs and Zoe finishing 3 rd in the ‘B’ 400mH in 79secs. Between them they accumulated 45points to the team total.

With many of the clubs leading distance athletes either recovering from the London Marathon or injury, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of Claire Leaver. Claire ran well to finish in 3 rd position in the 1500m and 2 nd in the 3000m, but it was club stalwarts, Julia Johnson in the 800m and Zoe Charlesworth in the 1500m, 3000m, and 100mH, whose efforts also gained valuable team points.

Finally the club’s officials John McFadzean, Adrienne Dewhirst, John Buckingham, Andy Storr, Kevin Johns, Andrew Ibbottson and parents Russell Kaye, Richard Szostac, Steve Spencer, ensured the full complement of 40 points could be added to the athlete’s scores to give a final match score of 305points 3 rd team place. A good performance at the start of this season.

This week I have managed to make people recoil in horror at the thought of running 5 laps to make up a Marathon, I don't know how they would react to just over 105. Last week the long suffering wife and I found ourselves under a grey and drizzly sky outside the rather impressive K2 sports centre in Crawley. We were chatting to some chums and watching a bunch of hardy souls running round and round the track - they were taking part in the 12 hour race. Thankfully that level of insanity has not got to me yet - I was there for the Marathon. The long suffering wife was there to count not only my laps but those of my friend Jim's, (Manic to those who know him well). What can I tell you really about track marathons? They're a lot tougher than I imagined. A much more experienced track runner said this was because they're so flat, and they are. The drinks are never far away and you pass your loved ones every 2 mins or so. The only moment of high drama was after 3 hours when we had to change direction from anti clockwise to clockwise. Instead of running on the white line of lane 1, I found myself drifting into lane 3. This could have potentially added miles to the day. They are friendly low key affairs with great support from the lap counters and fellow competitors. Unfortunately there is not going to be one next year, just the 12 hour and a 6 hour race. I am contemplating the 6 and casting an eye over the newly laid out track down by the club. Anyone fancy a track Marathon?

Cheers Gary.

Holmfirth Harriers AC was in action this weekend in the Nike ERRA National Relays held at Sutton Park, Birmingham. The Women’s race was over six stages of 2.9 miles, whilst the men ran twelve stages with athletes alternating between a long stage of 5.3 miles and a short stage of 2.9 miles. This event has been held at Sutton Park since 1970 and over the years there have been some epic individual performances from many of Britain’s great distance runners.

Over 50 teams faced the starter in the women’s race and it was Club captain Helen Berry who shouldered the responsibility for making sure the team got a good start. Helen coped well with the fast early pace and then used her strength and experience to bring the team back in 29 th place in 18mins 17secs. On stage two Julia Johnson ran well against much younger athletes, just losing three places to finish in 32 nd place with an individual time of 19 minutes 37secs.

On stage three and four, super veterans Lesley Ewart (20mins 31secs) and Karen Sinkinson (20mins 36secs) ran well to keep the team in 32 nd place. Another leading veteran, Dawn Broom stormed round the course passing 8 teams to finish in 24th place. Dawn’s time was 19mins 12secs.

The youngest member of the team, Katie Walshaw, again ran another good relay leg to bring the team home in 23 rd place in 1hour 56mins 18secs. Katie’s individual time was 18mins 05secs. The race was won by Charnwood AC in 1hour 38mins 14secs and Olympic athlete Steff Twell of Aldershot Farnham and District ran the fastest leg min 15mins 15secs.

In the Men’s event Holmfirth were relying on the strength and good pace judgement of Dave Turnbull to cope with the pressure of the first long stage. He put in a very good performance to bring the team back in 36 th place with a time of 28mins 13secs. Adam Bowden of Harrow AC led home the 67 teams who started with his 26mins 29secs effort.

Matthew Pierson then flew round the first short stage passing 18teams to finish in 18 th place with a time of 14mins 17secs. This was the eighth fastest time of the day and the fastest ever short stage run by a Holmfirth Harrier. The club’s leading veteran, Dave Watson slipped back to 23 rd on stage 3, but his time of 28mins 03secs was still a good performance.

Another veteran, the `in form’ John Broom, took the next short stage returning home in 23rd place with a good time of 16mins 25secs. The two youngest athletes in the team, Matthew Johnson and James Dewhirst suffered the backlash from the team’s good start. Matthew slipped back to 33 rd on stage 5 with a 30mins 29secs effort, whilst James recording 17mins 46secs, lost a further 3 places as the team reached the halfway mark in 36 th place.

Richard Smith lost a further place on the next long stage recording a time of 31mins 16secs, whilst Matthew Dewhirst slipped back to 39 th with his 18mins 27secs effort. Over 45 veteran Ricky South lost a further 3 places on stage 9 but his 31mins 43secs effort was still a good run. Steve Rimmer, another veteran, then gained 2 places on the next short stage as the team moved back up to 40 th. Steve’s time was 17mins 45secs.

Julian Rose, competing in his first national event, ran a good solid leg to finish 43 rd with an individual time of 32mins 16secs. Brandon Holroyd gained a place on the final stage to bring the team home in 42 nd place in 4hours 44mins 57secs. Brandon did well to hold off Derby AC who finished just 5 secs behind and his individual time was 18mins 17secs. The race was won by Belgrave Harriers in 4hours 04mins 33secs with Phil Wicks of Belgrave running the fastest long stage in 25mins 13secs and Jonathan Taylor of Morpeth running the fastest short stage with 13mins 57mins.

Holmfirth Harriers AC’s leading endurance athletes were in action this weekend at the Northern Athletics Road Relay Championships held at Woodbank stadium, Stockport. Both the women’s 6 stage and the men’s 12 stage race started and finished on the track, with the women running 2.36 miles on their leg, and the men alternating between long legs of 4.25 miles with short legs of 2.36 miles. The top half of the course through Woodbank Park was flat, but once through the park gates there was a steep decent into Stockport and then a tough climb back into the park.

In the Womens event 45 teams faced the starter and Claire Leaver opened up for Holmfirth returning home in 21 st place with a time of 15mins 30secs. Horwich RMI Harriers won the stage with a 13mins 24 secs effort. On stage 2, Helen Berry ran strongly to move Holmfirth up to 18 th recording a time of 14 mins 50secs. Up front Sale Harriers had moved into the lead. Julia Johnson ran well on stage 3 to gain two more places with an individual time of 15 mins 55secs and Karen Sinkinson kept the team in 16 th place on the next stage with her 16mins 35secs effort. Morpeth Harriers AC had now moved into the lead.

On stage 5 leading veteran Dawn Broom used her experience to good effect to gain two more places recording 15mins 12secs. Katie Walshaw continued the good work on the final stage to bring Holmfirth home in 12 th place in a time of 1hour 32mins 44secs. Katie’s individual time was 14mins 42secs. The race was won by Chester-Le Street and District AC in 1 hour 25mins 04 secs. Lucy Griffiths 16mins 31secs and Yvette Arthur 18mins 14secs ran the first two legs of an incomplete B team.

It was an ‘in form’ Matthew Pierson who opened up on the first long stage for the men as 58 teams toed the line. He was involved in a tremendous battle with Adam Grice of Leeds City AC and Carl Hardman of Salford Harriers as all three athletes entered the stadium together, with Adam just gaining a two second advantage over the last 300m. Matthew recorded a splendid time of 20mins 34secs to claim 2 nd place. Matthew Johnson, home from Oxford University, had his best run of the season on the first short stage to keep Holmfirth in second place with an individual time of 12mins 48secs. Dave Watson came under pressure on stage 3 as Liverpool, Salford and Derby turned their leading athletes out. He slipped back to 5 th but still recorded a good time of 22mins 03secs.

Middle distance specialist Jake Harman used his speed to good effect on stage 4, just losing one place as he crossed the line in a good time of 12mins 53secs. On stage 5 Dave Turnbull was passed by Sale Harriers and Altrincham’s leading athletes as the team slipped back to 8 th. Dave still recorded a good individual time of 22mins 21secs. The Youngest member of the team, James Dewhirst was passed by Trafford and Morpeth on the next short stage, but still kept the club in the top ten at the half way mark. James’ individual time was 14mins 25secs.

On stage 7, Richard Smith slipped back to 12 th with a 23mins 51secs effort, whilst veteran Julian Rose, running at this level for the first time just lost one place with his 14mins 23secs return. John Broom ran an aggressive leg on stage 9 to keep Holmfirth in 13 th place with a time of 23mins 19secs, whilst Mark Dewhirst lost one place with his 13mins 56secs effort on stage 10. Alistair Langron ran very strongly on stage 11 to move Holmfirth back up to 13 th with a 23min 26secs effort. Matthew Dewhirst in 14mins 54secs just held off Stockport Harriers on the final stage to bring the team home in 13 th place in 3hours 38mins 52secs. The event was won by Leeds City AC in 3 hours 19mins 22secs. Chris Carris of Bingley Harriers ran the fastest long leg 20 mins 15secs.

The contact details for members who use the facilities at Holmfirth Sports Centre and wish to voice their concerns about the sudden change in parking arrangements.

Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL)
Alison Morris
email: alison.morris@kirklees.gov.uk

Mark Dunstan
Area Manager
email: Mark.Dunstan@kirklees.gov.uk

Dr A Williams
Head Teacher
Holmfirth High School
email: school@holmfirthhigh.co.uk

Hochtief FM
Tony Redman
Facility Manager
30 Victory Avenue
Paddock
Huddersfield
HD3 4HA
Telephone: 01484 485440

Help desk: 01925 40455

Hochtief FM
Managing Director
Unit 2
Ibis Court
Centre Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA1 1RL

Adrienne

At the committee meeting on Wednesday 11th Feb it was decided that club archives should be deposited with the West Yorkshire Archive Service (Huddersfield section).

They are first being gathered together by Neil Midgley. If you have any official club papers or records, please contact Neil on Huddersfield 684261 or Mob 07773 450 860 to arrange collection.

There are many reasons behind (and benefits to) this move. Facilities for storage at Neiley are totally inadequate in terms of space available, conditions and access from members. Even after work on the centenary book it is far from clear exactly what records and materials exist or where they are held but we do know that there is a significant amount.

Once things are gathered together they will be deposited and the archive service will determine which records it can store. This will certainly include things like minute books, account books, record books, correspondence, scrap books, photographs, papers from the Neiley project, etc etc. Anything they feel is not relevant will be handed back to us - not thrown out!

The next stage will be for them to record and catalogue everything. We will be given both hard and electronic copies of the catalogues and it should be possible to have a link to this from the club web site. This will provide a permanent and professionally stored deposit which any member would be able to access at the archives office (same building as the library).

SO - the first stage of this initiative is to get everything to Neil please. Thanks.

4 days into the new year and the first Marathon is in the bag. A few years ago the powers that be at the 100 club decided to start an annual marathon in the hope that folk would stay for the AGM that follows, but this was no ordinary race but a handicap based on an average taken from the last 7 road marathons. The first two were based in Stevenage, mainly because the club chairman could get a good deal on the local scout hut. The race itself was 14 laps of Fairlands Valley park, a park without a single flat bit to be found. The first year we ran clockwise and the second anti clockwise, both were horrific - the masses were not happy. Thankfully, a group of runners from the Blackheath and Bromley club stepped in to save us and organised this years race.
And so to Bromley, and the chance to run in another bit of London. We set out for the race at 8 with the temperature at -5, it did get a bit warmer but not much. This was the first time I have ever had to wear tights to race in, must be getting old. The 5 laps were a mix of the local park where Blackheathhave their track, suburban streets, a bit of Bromley high street, Bromley Common (the common included woods and a farm complete with comedy chickens who seemed intent on running across the path of oncoming runners, amazing what you find in the London suburbs.) All went well until lap 5 when the temperature dropped and I had to check to see if my knees had fallen off, this was the only time I have seen runners adding clothing rather than taking it off. The whole thing was a great success despitethe freezing temperatures.
Gary

100 years ago the good people of Hastings were so overcome with Olympic fever that they staged their own Marathon. A century later they decided to have a re-run of the event. They expected around 300 runners but instead got just over 1600 - the start was so crowded, the tail end disappeared into British Home Stores allowing slower starters to keep warm and do a little browsing before the off. Another concern was with the light or lack of it. As the afternoon progressed, it was suggested that we wear bright clothing and we were issued with the biggest brightest number I have come across, two in fact, one for the front and one for the back. Mine almost met at the sides.
After the downpours on Saturday, Sunday was bright and cold. Unfortunately it didn't last. A couple of laps of the town were followed by a series of long up hills. My plan was to ride these out and then speed up. But things don't always go to plan. I knew lots of other runners, some by name and others by sight, and lots more seemed to know me - the race had the feel of a club run to it, scores were there to be settled and rivalries renewed. Running at a suicidal pace, mostly scared of being passed by anyone who knew me, we reached the town of Battle at 9 miles and disappeared into the fog, cover at last. I also hoped it was the end of the hills but they continued until the descent into Bexhill at 17 miles. At 21 miles, the hills stopped and we turned onto the prom, headwind, great. Then at 22 miles, the horror of running along the beach for half a mile. The beaches down here are pebbly and although someone had tried to flatten them, they made the old London cobbles seem like a tartan track in comparison. At last the finish came into view and I crossed the line in a seasons best time of 3 36. 17 Marathons this year and the fastest is the last. Unless there is a giant leap forward in medical science I won't be at the next Hastings marathon in 2108. But hopefully the 2012 Olympics might inspire some other town to stage a marathon.

Cheers Gary.

Bagden Hall Bash - morning after!!!

Hope everyone enjoyed the evening last night and aren't suffeing too much of a hangover this morning! I felt it was a great improvement on last year and thank everyone who supported me to make it a successful night.

Will probably look for a change of venue next year (just so we can compare venues!) and any ideas would be welcome - just send me an e-mail to: diannewaite@btinternet.com

The flowers you presented me with are absolutely beautiful and much appreciated. Thank you very much.

Wishing everyone a Happy Xmas and New Year

Dianne XX

A great experience on the day, weather cold to start but perfect for running and all the water in the hydration sack not needed.

Full of enthusiasm I arrived early (730am) and froze in the winter sunlight with just an extra tea shirt on for cover. Rang Gary at 745 am but he was still in his hotel – now that confidence. Gary promptly arrived about 8am and introduced me to his 100 Club buddies – I became an honorary member for the day.

The race tactics however was to run your own race. As we stood on the start line together I felt a lump in the old throat for the Irish National Anthem, I was running in the land of my father at a national event after all. I said to myself this was is for you Dad, in the back of my mind.

As we set off it became evident that the 1 st mile was going to be slow and a toilet stop was required – so I pulled up, would you believe it Gary pulled over at exactly the same spot as I was setting off again – great minds think alike.

The 1 st mile was a 10 minute job, and I was zigging and Zagging for the 1 st 4 miles or so. Miles 2 and 3 however were at the 7 minute pace, and by mile 4 I was back on target at 8 minute miles.

Coming out the other side we started to see a couple of hills – but no problem here.

I had told my relatives whom I stayed with in Crumlin village to be out at the 12 mile point by 1045am, unfortunately they missed me – I went pass there early at 1031am – I felt mixed emotions – glad that I was on time, but bad that I had no family support. By 1045am I was aim for mile 14. By 1hr 57 mins I was at 15 mile at that is where the pain started to set in and I started to slow so I hit the gells.

At mile 2) a slight walk for a minute or so up hill, and mile 21-22 a stretch was needed on the ground. A father pointed out to his son thyat mans got cramp, but it was n’t it was that pain in the backside I seam to get.

I carried on and I felt slower and slower, I felt 3hrs 30 mins was possible, but in the end just ran out of steam, but at the finish line the arms where raised in victory 3hrs 33 mins and 21 secs will do me.

I then hooked up with Gary, we went for soup and a Guinness or two. Gary was on the earlier flight so I had time to kill so operated on the blisters.

I had originally only intended to run Snowdonia last weekend but on a rare visit to the club I bumped into Sean who was running Dublin the same weekend. We arranged a few long Sunday runs and his enthusiasm for Dublin was infectious, he has obviously inherited some of the Irish gift of the gab. Before I knew it I had signed up for Dublin too.
Fridays drive to north Wales was supposed to take a couple of hours, due to road works and volume of traffic it took twice as long, the weather forecast for Saturday looked bleak too. Saturday dawned with gale force winds and horizontal rain, perfect! The long suffering wife dropped me in Llanberis and went in search of hot tea. I met up with some chums and rather than stand and wait for the bus to the start walked there instead.We arrived cold and wet to be met by a bunch of cold and wet runners waiting for the off.Just after 10 30 we began the battle against the elements and the long drag to Pen-y-Gwrd. At times the wind stopped you in your tracks, the decent to Beddelert was only made better by being down hill. Just after halfway we were on plan D, finish the race as quickly as possible to get out of the rain. We picked up the pace to Waunfawr (I am not making these names up) Where the big hill kicks in, the wind here was at its fiercest and things got worse as we got to the top of the climb and went off road for a about two miles. The decent was great, I didn't know I could ski, and soon found out I couldn't, my asics no grip gave out an a spectacular fall followed, happily I was saved by landing in sheep poo. The rest of the knee jarring decent went without any further acrobatics and after a circuit of the town the finish was in sight. There was more mayhem at the finish as both marquees used for kit and tea had blown down. The long suffering wife found me and did a stirling job getting me into dry clothes and we quickly made our escape from Wales.
After a bath and food it was an early night for an early start on Sunday. By 1o'clock i was at the Expo in Dublin chatting to Sean, after a quick browse round we went our separate ways, Shaun to Crumlin and me to find Guinness.You can run a fine race on the black stuff. Monday dawned cold and bright, a keen Shaun phoned from the start before I had left the hotel, but we were soon together in amongst the masses waiting for the off. After the gun sounded I didn't see Shaun again till the finish, he had a fine race finishing in 3 33, the months of hard work paid off. I had my best Dublin yet, so we celebrated over Guinness. A grand weekend. Gary

The Club is expected to be allocated 5 entries for the London Marathon on 26 April 2009 which are available to Members at the discretion of the Club Committee.

All applicants must be fully paid up members by the end of November 2008, and priority will be given to members who have contributed towards the club as a runner or volunteer. Additional criteria are members that have been rejected for the 2nd year and did not receive a club entry last year followed by those who received a rejection this year. The final decision will rest with Members of the Club Committee.

Applications will only be accepted in writing to me with name, address and confirmation of rejection if applicable to be received by before the Captain’s Run on 26 December. Verbal or telephone applications will not be accepted. E-mail is no problem, see the contacts page on the web site for details.

It will be the successful applicants’ responsibility to complete and return the entry form with payment to the London Marathon office no later than 9 January 2009.

Just a quick note about Abingdon. Managed 3 37. Snowdonia and Dublin this weekend.

I know some hardy souls from the Harriers have done the Abingdon Marathon before but this is a quick update on the all new Abingdon, new sponsor and new course. The fun still starts and finishes at Tilsley Park track and the new route is more or less two laps of the first part of the old course. There is more use of the town's cycle paths, and marshalling and drinks are of the usual high standards. As ever it's flat and fast. The fact that it was a sell-out is a testament to the race's popularity, so if you fancy a fast autumn race book early for next year.

Cheers, Gary.

My days are usually simple and straightforward, work, run, eat, sleep. In between there's chatting to family and those jobs we have to do to keep it all together, simple. However last week was sent to test me.
Monday and Tuesday I spent in Berlin, no problem, had a great time. But to get the cheapest of flights back, the plane left last thing Tuesday. Arrived home early Wednesday and got to bed half an hour after I got up if you get my drift. Spent Wednesday in the rain all day. Home for quick shower and food before going out on a family function in York, home late again. Thursday home from work, did a few jobs, then comatose on sofa. Seemed past sleep, still no run for the week. Friday got home and before anything could distract me dashed out for a quick seven miles. Got home to be told the boiler had packed up. Spent some time in loft coaxing it back to life, drank red wine and slept. Saturday up to catch up with jobs round house and in the early afternoon set off on long drive to Winchester for race. The further south we got the worse the weather got, arrived in downpour. Went to room for shower only to be disturbed by fire alarm going off. Stood in rain whilst fault was found. Sunday morning and it's still raining. Drove over to Salisbury for race start. Got soaked going from car 200 yards to registration. Race started at 10 30. Now the Clarendon Way Marathon has been going for 10 years and is one I had never done before. I imagine on a fine Autumn day it's great, well it was pretty good on Sunday, great marshalls and the folk on the drinks were brilliant to give up their Sunday and stand in that weather for a good many hours. Just a shame about the conditions. My Asics no-grip shoes were no match for the mud and a good deal of windmilling was going on - several steps forward, some back and a few to the side. I would soon master the Fox Trot. At half way several things happened, the sun came out, I got confused because the mile markers started counting back down to 1 and I caught up with my old friend Jim from Sutton runners and The 100 Club. We happily spent the last 10 miles chatting about recent races and those to come in the near future, whilst rescuing each other from bogs and puddles that had become lakes. With a mile to go we calculated that we could get in under 5 hours. We upped the tempo, almost immediately we came across the biggest lake of the day. I am sure there was a hippo wallowing in it. Witha quarter of a mile to go we hit tarmac and the last hill and surged or squelched to the finish. 4 59 08, pathetic. The long suffering wife bought us tea and told us that when she arrived at the finish over an hour ago when we were expected, the fire alarm was going off at the school that hosted the finish. She was quite pleased as burly firemen had arrived. She also did a stirling job of getting my shoes and socks off. As I couldn't feel my finger ends more tea seemed a good idea but as we got back to the school the fire alarm was going off again so we gave up and came home. Feeling returned to all digits by Oxford.

I do hope Haile appreciated me pushing him on to yet another world record and expect a cheque in the post any day now. If you like big city Marathons head for Berlin at the end of September, its on a scale the same as London, well organised and with very good crowd support, this year it seemed as though half of Denmark had descended on the place. I entered last March on the interweb and had no problems getting in, however make sure you are sitting down with a stiff drink when entering, its not cheap. Basic entry was £50 this year, if you want race souvenirs its extra. The expo was held at the old Seimens cabel works factory a short underground trip away, same sort of thing as London but with more food and beer. Its the first time the expo has been held here and there were a few bottlenecks getting to number registration but I am sure they will get sorted for next year.The race itself starts in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate and takes you on a historical tour of the city. They also start the race in waves, those under 4 hours first then the next group 10 mins later, I am not sure if that or the many wide streets made things easier but there was much less pushing than in races of a similar size, drinks stations still tended to be a bun fight though. Sunday was perfect for running, blue skies and a nip in the air, but I am afraid I was slightly disappointed with my 3. 41, first half 1.50 second half 1 51. A good excuse to have another crack at it one year. As you can imagine Berlin is full of history, lots to see and do, travel is cheap, quick and easy. Food is also cheap compared to the UK and theres lots of beer, what more can you ask for.

Holmfirth Harriers A.C men’s and women’s track & field team finished the season with a very creditable 5 th placing in the North of England Plate Final at Sports City Manchester on Saturday 13 th of September. In a season that had been disrupted by injuries and absences for many athletes the team had consistently performed above itself to finish 3 rd in the league maintaining there division two status whilst local rivals Spenborough had suffered heartbreak at the last meeting and were relegated.

The team had performed well to reach the final and were up against some very good athletes many of whom compete for national league teams.

The Harriers had probably the youngest team on the day and the strength of the opposition was highlighted when Tom Greenhalgh, the youngest athlete competing, turned up at his first event to find Martyn Bernard who competed in the final of the High Jump at the Olympics lined up against him. This did not deter Tom who later in the afternoon again found Bernard in opposition but recorded a career best Triple Jump.

Two other youngsters Jordan Toth and Jordan Lockwood also did themselves proud with their performances in the sprint events. At the other end of the scale the evergreen Dave Watson not only won the 10,000m and was runner up in the 5,000m but his efforts in the longer event saw him claim the Northern 10,000m title.

Alistair Langron who had been abroad for a large part of August returned to run in the 800 and 1500m, distances short of his best but put in good efforts especially in the 1500m as he came through strongly in the last 200m. Richard Smith who normally partners Alistair in the steeplechase ran a very controlled race to move steadily through the field to finish third. Whilst James Dewhirst gained valuable points in both hurdles and the Pole Vault an event he is very new too.

The throwing events and high jump were covered by Tom Jennings who has performed consistently well all season, except for the Javelin where Dave Watson took over as Tom had to leave and threw straight after the 5000m, which must be one of the longest run ups in the world. Russell Balmforth who has been involved in coaching the sprint group this season joined both the 100 and 400m relay teams.

In the women’s throwing events Katie Zientek continued her progress, at every meeting she had thrown at least one personal best and it was pleasing to see her sign off with a PB in her favourite event the Javelin. In the jumping events Lauren Tyrell who has performed well all season took equal first place in the high jump whilst Emma Szostak showed she was returning to form in the triple jump and Zoe Storr filled in for her sister in the long jump. Back on the track Zoe had excellent runs in the 400m flat and hurdles whilst her sister Lauren did the same in the 100m flat and hurdles, winning the latter event.

In the middle distance events Katie Walshaw and Claire Leaver had a swap round with Katie running the 800 and 1500m and Claire doing the longer 3000m. This did them no harm as Katie ran well in both, in particular the 1500m whilst Claire showed her strength in winning the 3000m

The athletes were as usual very well supported by the team of officials who ensured the club received maximum points foe their duties, on this occasion it was Maxine Szostak, Gavin Gledhill, Adrienne Dewhirst and team manager john McFadzean who would like to thank all the athletes, officials and supporters for their efforts this summer which ahs again brought out the true team spirit of the club through the track and field team.

The final was a very exciting affair with City of York beating Wakefield Harriers by half a point, followed by Chesterfield, Lincoln Wellington with Holmfirth a close fifth only half a point ahead of Liverpool Harriers. Bury were seventh with Durham in last place.

The photographs show Tom Greenhalgh on his way to a PB in the Triple Jump and Lauren Storr at the start of her winning run in the 100m Hurdles

Holmfirth Harriers A.C has been nominated for a number of awards in the English Athletics Regional Club Awards, in particular the work they do with young athletes in the area being recognised in a number of the categories.

The club received eight nominations, five of which have reached the final three. The winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the Headingley Experience on Saturday the 4 th of October.

Young Athletes Club of The Year and Inclusivity Club of The Year which recognises the work done not only within the club but in local schools, and clubs and providing opportunities for youngsters to try athletics with such schemes as the Norwich Union Star Tracks, Fun in Athletics and Extended Activities Clubs in Schools.

John McFadzean has received recognition for the work he carries out in this field as he is in the final three of the Services to Club Development Volunteer of the Year, with Emma Szostak who has done a lot of work with John and her father being nominated for Young Volunteer of the Year.

In addition Kevin Johns is in consideration for Services to Track & Field Officiating for the many years of tireless and unselfish work he has carried out as a chief timekeeper not only for the club but at county, regional and national events.

In addition the club has been put forward with the Pennine Schools Sports Partnership for a national award to recognise the excellent links the club has with schools in the area.

For the last four weeks I must have run up every hill in the neighbourhood, but as I stood on the startline on this bright sunny Saturday morning I knew three things. 1 those four weeks would never be enough. 2 I was not going to be fast enough, and 3 It would hurt. I say not fast enough because this was a race within a race, the first half is a flatish dash to the bottom of the climb about halfway and then its uphill for the rest of the way. How can something go up hill for 13 miles. I soon found out. The first few kilometers are through the busy town of Interlaken which is at 566m above sea level, this is important, and the first 10k is along the valley bottom. then its a mix of road but mainly hiking trails that take you through forests and along river banks, its all very scenic as you would expect. There are a few little climbs along the way but nothing much. The real fun starts about 20k, just after Lauterbrunnen you do a loop of the valley with the mountains towering above you on either side, you know the climb is about to start but can see no way out, its just sheer rock. This does not stop the canny Swiss, what you get is 5k of path that is like climbing stairs the annoying thing is you pass people's houses, what kind of person lives here! I think most of them were in front of me, and all were having a jolly day out. On you climb with lots of the same until at last you get to 40k and mountain track as the race programme calls it, I call it scrabbling up mountain side on hands and knees.The only dissapointing thing was we were now in cloud and except for one scary moment when they cleared and we came face to face with the Eiger there was not much to see. At 41k you reach 2320 meters and the highest point of the race. The last k is a down hill sprint for the line. The race is well supported in the towns the locals are out en mass with the cry of hup-hup and everyone takes the oppertunity to ring cow bells at you. Even on the mountain you are treated to alpine horns and bagpipes. If you like running up things and I should imagine many do, you should have a crack at one of these races they are great fun. For the record my finish time was 5 31. Cheers! Gary 100

or see Dianne Waite on Club Nights or contact Dianne on diannewaite@btinternet.com

Sunday 24 th of August sees the handover of the Olympics to Britain from China and to celebrate an Athletics Olympic Challenge is being staged for all budding athletes outside Dewsbury Town Hall where an Olympic Flag will be raised at 3:30pm. Members of the public are being invited to join in the celebrations which are the start of the build up to 2012. The event will run from 1pm to 4pm and all abilities are being invited to have a go at running, throwing, and jumping

John McFadzean from our club is organising the event for Kirklees Council and Holmfirth Harriers A.C are providing qualified coaches to give the athletes a helping hand.

First a quick history recap. As most of you will know because you are all athletic aficionados, this year we celebrate 100 years of 26 miles 385 yards. It was first run in the 1908 London Olympics. I am sure many of you have seen the black and white footage of the Italian runner Dorando wobbling into the stadium and collapsing several times before being helped across the line by medical folk. He was promptly disqualified after the Americans complained and their man took gold. Now, the King and Queen were present and it was their fault for the adding of the 385 yards because they wanted the finish to be in front of the royal box. After witnessing Dorando's plight, Queen Alexandria presented him with a gold cup and he went down a Marathon legend.
Now I have a chum called Tad who likes organising weird and wonderful races, the last one was a few years ago and it saw 90 or so runners complete what we think is the only subterranean Marathon in the UK. His idea this time was to re-run the 1908 Olympic Marathon on the original course. As you can imagine London has changed quite a bit in 100 years. Weeks passed and he was in touch again. Yes it can be done! he claimed and set about the finer points of race organisation. Then about a month ago I received an alarming e-mail. Tad had got the famous Hugh Jones of London Marathon fame to measure the course, so far so good. There were a few problems though. These ranged from no support on the course (that is no drinks, mile markers or marshalls), to running along a dual carriage way, up a few one way streets the wrong way and through several busy shopping areas. Did anyone still fancy it?
The answer was a resounding yes. Thursday 24th July shortly before 2.30 (he's a stickler for authenticity) I found myself, resplendent in my Harriers Centenary shirt, it seemed fitting, along with 80 other loons causing bewilderment amongst tourists, concern for the local police and traffic chaos in general outside gate 2 of Windsor Castle. The temperature reached 80 degrees, I had a water bottle, 2 pages of instructions and 5 pages of maps. It was set to be a long afternoon.
Without going into great detail, what followed was akin to running on the surface of the sun. The down hill through Windsor and past the posh school in Eaton was fine, the rest was a blur of avoiding cars, buses and people whilst trying to follow a map and not get dehydrated. We faithfully followed the original route passing through Slough, Uxbridge, Ickenham, Ruislip, Harrow, Wembley and Brent, finally passing Wormwood Scrubs and into the BBC on Wood Lane. The long suffering wife and daughter met what was left of me at the finish and summed things up well by observing that she had never seen so many of us looking so exhausted. Efforts were rewarded by the presentation to all finishers of a replica of the Olympic medal from the 1908 race. I however did not follow Dorando's post-race drink of strychnine.

And so our story starts all over again. Training is underway and here is a report of the 1 st 8 weeks of a 21 week programme that will end 28 7th Oct 2008.

Yes this time I am following the programme on the marathon website which is longer and does more miles.

My target this time is to thrash the London 2007 time of 4hrs 19 mins and 43 secs.

Those of you who know me will no the reasons for this where my sciatica type injury and the very hot weather on the day (23 degC, although 1 year later they upgraded the conditions to 28 degC on the TV). Either way anything above 15 degC is bad news for me as you know. In 2007 I spent a good 30 minutes walking with a bottle of water, I must make amends!!!

Why chose Dublin? Well with a name like Sean Doyle, you know the old family are due a visit from me, plus I probably know the city better than London anyway. Oh and then the great weather, should work in my favour.

Total mileage to date 270, with weekly average at 33 miles. Longest run 16 miles with Gary 131 (the veteran of many a marathon conflict) in time of about 2hrs 15 mins.

Other long run of 13 miles just completed this weekend in temps off 24 degC (here we go again).

Also been running to work and back when in Huddersfield, other days when working away – like in Cardiff had a good route around Cardiff castle and the river bank and Millennium Stadium.

The races of the Hepworth Dryad and Club 10 have also featured in the training schedule so far, injured my ankle in last mile at Hepworth and lost 2 minutes, the Club 10 was a training run hence the Rambo type look of head band and water sack on back. This was a good purchase from tesco direct at £9.99.

Had to have week 7 off due to illness and off work, but made up for it in week 8. The Thursday running was a up at 5.40 am job and run in morning and then ran with club in the evening – although my speed went away in the last 2 miles – cumulative effects on the legs and all that.

Medical wise this time – slight anaemic on blood counts, and also have lost some weight (hot weather and all that).

Took new delivery of trainers this week and a little spring in my step (faster on runs to work).

A few pre 6am runs this week – weds &thurs. Also out at night with club. So clocked up 15 mile on Thursday.

Friday was a run to work & back job. Sat big run of 17 miles in 2hrs 19 mins, about 8.2 mins/mile pace. Also felt ok. Still running on just water at moment, need to buy some gels.

Working in Cardiff so had to pack my kit bag. Managed a 9m on Monday night (3 laps of circular course), Tuesday in 10 mile but on a treadmill in hotel gym (so boring). Out with club on Thursday and found it a struggle pace wise near end – definite fatigue. Friday rested, Saturday big run but did Holmfirth 15 circuit as weather was expected to be poor – stay local and all that. Did have option for a short club 5 onto route via a New Mill circuit of 4 m to increase to a 19 miler, but my legs felt naff, so smithy turn off it was.

Today ran to work & running home. Target this week to get the week end long run up to 19-20 mile. Need gels for this!!

Managed over the last 3 weeks a 44, 25 and 48 mile week. The lack of mileage on week 12 was due to work commitments. Did however over these weeks run 18,18 & 13 mile as the long runs.

As the dark evenings are setting in I have not for the last couple of weeks been down to the club as running on the road as opposed to country tracks offers a better support to my ankle and I can get a 10 miler in over same period as a 6-7 country run. I look forward to the winter runs starting again.

Last Thursday evening whilst on a 10 mile circuit I pulled my ankle on the dodgy section of Thongsbridge to Honley, whilst completing the run it did hurt on the long saterday run and cut it short to a 13 as a precaution, however it hurt to walk on let alone run.

Good run on Monday week 14, Tuesday did a 10 miler but at slower pace – ankle still swollen & hurting. Today set off this morning with intention of a 14 mile day, no chance turned back before end smithy place and got changed. Ankle swollen, compression & ibuprofens now not working. Just invested in a cooling bandage from boots – will try this tonight to try and get fit ASAP.

A poor week 14 as resting the dodgy ankle, and experimenting with various treatments. Long run postponed this week but managed a 9 and two 10’s.

On Sunday I did the Leeds corporate challenge doing the uphill 2 mile stretch 2 nd leg in 14 mins 57 secs. It was a long way to go for this small amount of effort.

A significantly better week 15, with 58 miles completed against a planned 62. This consisted of 3 x 10 mile runs, an 8 and a long run of Brockholes & canal path route of 20 miles. The long run took 2hrs 40 mins of run time and about 7 mins of gell & stretch time. The Tuesday run with jackals 2 group I enjoyed as we went up thurtsland bank, I felt strong as we did the 10 mile. The age old dilemma still exists of which group should run with – slow wolves or fast jackals??

I have read up on the subject and found the reason why I flag a little at a certain distance on the long runs could be down to weak glute muscles at the back of the old backside. I am now targeting these specific muscles in training.

Monday 15 th sacrificed a long run for a 2 hour gym work out at the warehouse to strengthen some muscles and also work upper body, did a little stepping and a fast mile on tread mill. Also broke the punch bag as when I hit it the bracket on the wall broke.

Went with wolves 1 on Tuesday and did the full 10. Managed to keep up with the pace fairly well. Did a further 10 on the circuit on Thursday but not with the club. The long run on the Saturday was again on the canal path with to and from Brockholes included in the distance, it was hard work on the but cheaks.

Week 17, this was a difficult week work wise as a lot of travel including a trip to Belgium and overnight stay. A good time to start the taper given recent pain in the lower back, in addition Netherthong 10K week. Did however manage a 10 Monday, a 10 with Jackals “ on Thursday – well only me wanted and did the 10 (billy no mates).

The day before Netherthong, I did a 14 as a long run. Mad you may say but it actually paid dividends. I also ran 1.5 miles to the start line at Netherthong (and also back after the race). I managed to get my best ever time on this course of 45.45 mins, and finish 25 th, I was also 2 nd MV40 which was technically my best ever race (even though I walked up some of the hills for 10 seconds or so).

Now only 4 weeks to go to the big event. One more big long run at end of this week and then the tails back defiantly starts.

Week 16 completed final long run of 17 miles on the circuit of brockholes to new mill to soverign, down to town and back to brockholes. This took 2hrs 22 minutes but the back side was hurting.

Weeks 18-20 ran with Jackals 2 once but was on my own for the 10 miler so upgraded to wolves 1 group for a couple of runs – found the pace to my liking with increased levels of fitness noticed by most people in my speed. On a few occasions Wolves 2 group have caught us up and passed our group, but managed to just about hang onto there tail on last couple of club runs.

I believe certain people are taking a book on expected time for my marathon (John P??), my money is still on sub 4 hours and not sub 3hrs 30mins that you are expecting – I still have a lower back pain problem which knocks out my speed but when to Dr’s this week and have some non steroidal anti inflammatory pills to try out.

Now starting the tail off in preparation for the big event. Have done my luggage list etc and trying to find the famous bag that can get on Ryan air as hand luggage (555 x 40 x 20cm) – come on do they make such a bag?

This tail off is hurting as I feel very bored and heavy and now just wish to get on with the job.

Whilst most of you will be on the club 15 circuit, I will be at the Expo hall collecting my number if all goes to plan.

It’s the 1 st June and summer should be here bright and warm. Instead it is another day looking and feeling like November. Have just returned from a Yorkshire Veterans race at Walton near Wakefield, there were 149 in the race, a fantastic number bearing in mind it was pouring with rain and as a consequence the off road course was very wet. Holmfirth turned out 15 which was encouraging although a lot more could do it. It is a great introduction to racing because the abilities of the runners taking part are right across the board. As I say so often where else can you do a race where the entry fee is only £2 on the day and for that you get free food and we give 40 age category prizes plus about 5 spot prizes and the atmosphere is something to experience. Keep you eye on the vet’s noticeboard, Rob Kersey does a great job promoting the events. That leads me on to the success of the M35 team in the National Veterans Relay competition at Sutton Coldfield in May. They took silver which I believe is the first time the club has ever taken a men’s National team medal. I am sure somebody will very quickly tell me if I am wrong. Rob I am sure will make further comment on this event within Footnotes. I was a bit disappointed that we could not put out an O/60’s team. Bill Wade and myself were eagerly waiting to stagger round, well me to stagger and Bill to run, he is running like a dream at the moment. So don’t forget next year, you over sixties save yourself for the event.

I had an unusual caretaking role since the last issue of Footnotes. I found a very large badger in the car park, it was unfortunately dead, probably hit by a car along the main road. I duly carried out a burial, afraid the musical accompaniment was me singing! I hope I won’t find one of you lying in the car park in such a pose, hence our constant reminders about safety while out running on the roads. You surely do not want to be buried with me singing beside you!

As some of you know I together with a couple of other Harriers run with a group called the “Wrinklies” on a Wednesday morning. There are about 8 in the running group and another group do a walk. I mention it because it is an enjoyable run off road and takes me along paths/tracks that I would probably never run over. We run in an area approximately from Halifax in the West to Wakefield in the East and for about 7 or 8 miles each time. Anyone who is “slightly older” and does not work on a Wednesday would be welcome to join us, see me if you want to. The majority of the group are orienteers and as you have probably heard I am no orienteer having been accused at getting lost at the end of my own road!! Anyway I was convinced to do an orienteering event earlier this year over Ogden moor. I did not get lost as I was accompanied by an experienced orienteer although we did get disqualified as we missed a check point. The thing that struck me was how much more severe the terrain was to run over between check points as opposed to doing the fell race over Ogden which I have done over a number of times. In fell races there is a tendency to run on tracks where in orienteering you try to go on the quickest routes between the set points.

This article always gives me the opportunity to thank people officially for their help in an event. The Neiley Schools Cross Country series of 3 races this year was the 20 th year it has taken place. In numbers taking part it was the biggest ever, these races become more and more popular and therefore the team putting them on are under increasing pressure. What a team we have, we are not over subscribed with helpers, in fact on the second series we were short, nevertheless we got through without to much blood being spilt. Thanks to all who put in the effort and we look forward to the 2009 series. It was good to see Bob Asquith at the final race. He was the founder of the races in the days when it was held at the Sands course. Bob presented some of the trophies to the winners of this year’s races. I can’t let this paragraph close without thanking those involved in the organization of the Centenary event at the Galpharm. It was a great evening and needs repeating as one of the high spots of our yearly calendar.

By the time you read this edition of Footnotes the new club committee will be in place hopefully with some new faces on it. We need new blood with fresh ideas and even more important more members helping in the running of the club on a weekly basis. This includes taking part and representing the club in races. What a sight the club 5 was this year, the biggest field we have ever had and I think everybody enjoyed doing it, although a few faces had pained expressions as they ran round including mine. There has also been a number of very good runs by club members in recognized races over the passed few months, well done to all of you.

Have a good summer and I look forward to hearing and reading about more and more club successes and that means all of us playing our part in the club’s activities.

Update as promised.

Shakespeare Marathon, Stratford upon Avon.
After a good run at London I probably got a bit over confident and believed I could repeat the run of a few weeks earlier. As you can probably guess, I was put firmly back in my place. Setting off at a blistering pace (for me) things went OK for the first half of the race and I would have achieved a decent half time. But in the heat and on the hills I suffered. Don't let anyone tell you this race is flat. Never mind, I did live to run again.

Windermere Marathon
Gave this one the respect it deserves and thanks to the encouragement of the long suffering wife, "get a move on" I believe her words were, managed to shatter last years time by a whopping 11 seconds.

Edinburgh Marathon
A week later and very different weather, a stiff headwind for much of the race and I think I took it a bit too easy for the first 16 miles. Did see a Holmfirth vest at the sharp end of things and managed a decent last 6 miles but disappointingly 4 mins down on last year.

South Downs Marathon
I was hoping to beat last years time and also save something for another race in 6 days time. Failed by about 6 mins this time but the old legs felt fine after.

Night of Flanders Marathon, Torhout, Belgium.
Great little race this, a bit different as it is on a Friday evening with an 8 o'clock start. The whole town is involved either with the organisation, participation or support of the race. There is a 100k walk (surprising how many take part and walk through the night), a 100k run, Marathon and 10k. The first 10k is a loop into the countryside and back and complete bedlam. Young, old, large and small take part, and it's a joy when they have departed. Then there's a 32k loop through small towns and villages each lined with locals having a good time. The Belgians are not incredibly vocal in their support though. The last part of the race is completed in darkness, streetlights seem to be few and far between, if you are lucky you can get behind one of the flotilla of bicycles that follow the race or you can stumble and curse your way along. I favour the second option. The finish in the market square is quite something though, you enter it along the main street now lined with stalls selling all manner of food and locals who have been celebrating for a good few hours. The market square is now packed and a stage has been erected and as I finished a band was competing with the MC. Much to the delight of the crowd. Back at the sports hall you can get a cold shower (nice), cheap beer (very nice) and chips. You are then invited to crash out in an adjoining hall whenever you have had enough beer and chips, for me this was around 3ish. I have no idea why the long suffering wife does not appreciate me calling to say goodnight.

Cheers till next time, Gary

At the time of writing, the Club is well into its Centenary Year. The Club held a highly successful Centenary Dinner at the Cedar Court Hotel on 5 th October attended by Members past and present and special guests. The Committee thanks the Centenary Committee and all the helpers for their sterling efforts in organising and hosting this event. Special thanks also go to Peter Brook for the donation of a painting which raised a significant amount for Club funds at an auction on the night.

A Centenary Run was organised for the following Sunday recreating the Club’s very first training run and over 200 past and present runners took part. The run generated interest in the local media and was a tremendous advert for the Club and its contribution to the Holme Valley community. Thanks go to the Centenary Committee and particularly to Graham Ellis.

In May this year the Club had a well attended Centenary Presentation Evening at the Galpharm Stadium. The Committee are most grateful to the Centenary Committee and all their helpers for their hard work in, among other essential jobs secured the venue and the speakers, produced the programme, ensured all prizewinners were in the right place at the right time…etc all of which paid off splendidly.

A number of members have worked solidly throughout the year to produce the Centenary book which is now with the publishers and should be available later in the Autumn. Special thanks go to Graham Ellis, John Buckingham and Norman Berry.

We are grateful to Kirklees Council which donated £1,000 for commemorative centenary gifts for the Neiley Races.

The Club was saddened to hear of the deaths of the following Club Members and friends Val James, Daryl Shaw, Frank Gledhill, Kim Sumner, Al Watson and Roger Martin. Val, Daryl and Daryl’s father kindly bequested donations to the Club. Val’s bequest helped to fund a Junior Centenary Challenge track and field event at the EIS Indoor Arena at Sheffield where more than 120 athletes took part. A new trophy, the Shaw Centenary Salver, was purchased with the donations from the Shaw family.

John Buckingham informed the Club that he is to stop coaching at the Club. After working with a talented group of athletes for almost 20 years, John explained that he wanted more freedom to pursue other activities, but continues to work with some club athletes including his son, Mark – currently in America preparing for the Olympic trial. The Committee thanks John for his contribution and is pleased to note that he still plans to be involved in coaching and will still be available to give help and advice.

The triathlon section has become well established thanks in particular to the efforts of the section secretary Rachael Mellor and the Committee agreed to the setting up of a triathlon sub-committee. Rachael organised a successful series of Duathlon events on behalf of the Club throughout the year as well as the Yorkshire & Humberside presentation evening at Neily.

The Club continued its regular promotion of local open races. The Ian Roberts fell race, the Holme Moss Fell Race, the Harden Moss fell race, the Holmfirth 15, the Neiley Races, the Dennis Stitt and the Yorkshire Vets trail race all continue to thrive. That they do so is wholly due to the largely unseen but very much appreciated hard work of the race organisers and helpers and the Committee thanks them all. Tony Crowther stepped down from his role as organiser of the Holmfirth 15 after the 2007 race after three years at the helm but the Club is grateful that Jeff Pierson has agreed to head the new organising committee with help from Tony.

In addition the Club was honoured to be asked to organise the Yorkshire Cross-Country Championship races at Fartown on 5 January. An event of this importance required the help of many people to make it the successful event it turned out to be and the Committee is grateful to the many Club members who volunteered to flag the course, marshal, direct traffic, sell cakes and just be there to offer any assistance as required. The Club has received many letters, phone calls and e-mails of thanks and congratulation from individual runners. We also received an official letter of congratulation from the President of the Yorkshire County Athletics Association. Our thanks go to the Cross-Country Sub-Committee for their time and effort.

Similarly the Club’s series of Members’ only events continued over the last twelve months. The Tinker cup was run from Honley cricket club with yet again the event proving very popular, with 93 runners. Kathy Denny won the Tinker Cup and Mark Buckingham was once again the fastest time. The fastest lady was Lisa Lacon who retained the Norman Haigh Memorial trophy. The juniors again based their races at Brookland nurseries and ran over local farmers’ fields. The co-operation and help of Brooklands Nurseries is much appreciated.

The Club 5 was won by Philip Senior with Matthew Pierson posting the fastest time.

The Club 6 was won by Sean Doyle who picked up the Walter Greenwood Trophy whilst Richard Smith was fastest time.

At the Point to Point Tom Brunt achieved the fastest time and Phil Hobbs was the handicap winner.

At the Yorkshire Road Relays in September the senior men took gold. At the same event the senior women took the bronze medal and the Club’s U13 girls took bronze. The senior ladies won the National 5K team at the Horwich 5K BMAF Champs.

Elsewhere on the road the Club’s senior men took 1 st team prize at the Joe Percy, Holmfirth 15, Huddersfield RR10K. The senior ladies won 1 st team at the Holmfirth 15, Denby Dale 6, Brass Monkey and Meltham 10K. Individually Matthew Pierson, Kathy Farquhar, Nick Goodliffe, David Turnbull, Dawn Critchell, Katie Walshaw and Jacquie Dews won races throughout the year. The Club’s athletes continued to win their age categories in road races with Jacqueline France, Kathy Farquhar, Bill Wade, Lesley Ewart and Julia Johnson featuring regularly.

On the fells the Club were first team at Harden Moss (Men), Holme Moss (Men), Shining Tor (M), Dennis Stitt (M & ladies), Cross Keys Relay (M), Cop Hill (M & L) and Gravy Pud 5 (L). Individually Tom Brunt, Lisa Lacon, Mark Buckingham, Dave Watson, Jaquie Dews, Helen Berry & Catherine Litherland have all won races. Additionally Andy Shaw, Barbara Hinchliffe, Tim Cock, John Ewart, John Adair, Julia Johnson, Rod Futrell, Paula Gould and Karen Sinkinson took first place in their respective age categories throughout the year.

In cross country races the senior ladies took first team in the West Yorkshire Cross-Country League races at Bramley, York & Wakefield thus winning the overall WYCC title. Sarah Simmons took the U17 ladies title.

The Club’s Vets continue to produce a good turnout in vets races thanks to the enthusiasm of Rob Kersey. The highlight was the Silver medal for Sean McCaffrey, DaveWatson, Chris Beadle and Gary Graham in the BMAF Road Relays M35 section. This result was even more notable as Sean and Gary are M40s. This emulates the Holmfirth ladies’ team achievement in 2005 and is the first medal for a Holmfirth senior men’s team at National level in any event, as far as can be determined. The women’s teams also ran exceptionally well to gain 4 th and 5 th places in the 35-44 and 45-54 categories respectively. Dave Watson also gained the individual silver medal for the second fastest M35 time of the day .

At the Yorkshire Vets CC individual categories were won by Dave Watson, Kathy Farquhar and Julia Johnson. Team prizes were won in the ‘all to count’ ladies and mens.

The triathlon section continues to achieve good results in the Yorkshire & Humberside Triathlon series. First places have been posted by Rowena France and Victoria Dewar-Fowler. Individual triathletes also recorded successes in the Duathlon series. Rowena France, Rebecca Addy and Harmonie Waterman have been selected for the Regional Academy, which means they have been recognized as potential elite athletes.

In Track and Field the Club’s North of England League Team maintained its position in Div 2 and
reached the final of the premier knock out competition ‘The Cup’ for the 1st time in its history, finishing a creditable 5th of 8 against the top clubs from the North of England. The Juniors had some very long journeys which affected the team’s strength on occasions but over 90 different youngsters ran in one or more track and field meetings. Some good individual performaces were posted by Junior George, Max Kaye, Sara Simmons and Lauren Starr who all qualified for the English Schools Championships.

The Club appreciates the efforts of Paula Gould whose race reports and releases to the local press help maintain the Club’s profile in the area.

The Club was honoured to receive the prestigious Yorkshire and Humberside Young Athletes Club of the Year in October and the runner up in the 'Off Track Club of the Year' category
and many thanks go to all those who gave up their time to coach the youngsters for their work in achieving this award. At the same ceremony Roger Bradley was runner up in the 'Club Volunteer of the Year' category and Jeremy Helm was runner up in the 'Young Volunteer of the Year' category.

The Club has recently been named as national and local School to Club Link Club of the Year and thanks go to John McFazdzean in particular.

The Club are pleased to record the following honours to Members over the year. Brian Heywood was re-elected Chairman and named as President of Northern Athletics. Brian was also chosen to help officiate at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh in March. .Rachael Mellor was elected Chair of the Yorkshire & Humberside Triathlon Committee.

The past year has seen a number of issues which the Committee has been required to address and act upon. The affiliation to England Athletics has led to an affiliation fee for all competitive athletes which will increase again this year. As noted last year the Committee have agreed that all new members will be classed as competitive and as such subscriptions will need to rise again this year to accommodate the registration fee.

The setting up of the membership registration scheme by England Athletics and access to its database has been beset by problems throughout the year. This has caused significant problems to the Club and particularly Anne Heywood as Membership Secretary. The inability to record information on new membership has led to a backlog of information on new members which will take some time to put right. The Club has sent its concerns in writing to England Athletics.

The Committee continues to focus its time on the management of the Club and has recently restructured meetings to allow more time to debate and address this. The number of members continues to grow and this presents issues of health and safety on club nights, road safety and the dissemination of information to Members on training nights and generally. In this respect members will have noted a more structured approach to announcements by the Club Captain and the timing of the departure of training groups on training nights. The Website has been developed over the last twelve months to become a major source of information for members and thanks are due to Jacqueline France for her effort and enthusiasm in making this happen. The Committee hope that the website can continue to develop in this way. A forum has been set up and it is felt that this has the potential as a further useful source of up to date information for members.

The Committee notes that the number of members representing the Club at races is relatively small compared to the overall membership. The efforts of Section Secretaries to encourage participation are welcomed however, in a bid to increase the number and quality of participating Members the Committee are reviewing the coaching structure within the Club.

Finally, the Committee recognises that without question it must be representative of the membership and that the same people should not be relied upon to fill the offices of the Committee year upon year. The infusion of ‘new blood’ on the Committee is essential and we hope that enthusiastic members will come forward for election this year.

On 17 May 2008 Richard and Jules Whale ran the Great Wall of China Marathon and Half Marathon respectively.

The race takes place at the Huangya Pass of the Great Wall in Jixian County near Tianjin (about 55km from Beijing). This section of the wall with its watchtowers, battlements and barracks is built on sharp mountain ridges and looks majestic, formidable, precarious and elegant all at once. The race now in its fifth year, is reputed to be one of the toughest marathons in the world and from our experiences we can verify that it is no ordinary run!

Our personal experiences of the race were that firstly, it was going to be a very long day, the hotel alarm call was at 0345, breakfast was arranged for 0400 and we set off from our ‘local’ hotel at 0500 on a bus to the start. The whole event was a 5* affair and once the convoy of coaches had assembled; we set off at full speed with 2 police escorts’ lights flashing on our way to the start, about an hour away. On arrival at the Yin and Yang square we were greeted on the stage by 12 government and sporting officials who welcomed us all; this was followed by a minutes silence for the earthquake victims; then the first (elite) marathon runners lined up and set off, next group 2 (me) lined up.

(Prior to race day on the Thursday before we all had the opportunity to have an inspection of the wall and tips about the route. We were advised that trying to regulate pace was out of the question due to the terrain and the best way to “attack” the race was to divide the run into 5 sections: road, wall, villages, wall, and road).

Then with great anticipation I set off, out of the square I was now on a tarmac road, a flat 0.8km stretch and keen to practice my “Nee Haw” (hello) to the locals, pretty soon we went over a bridge and a steep climb for 4.5km to get to the entrance to the wall. The view on the way up was awesome and I couldn’t wait to get on the wall. I had decided that I was not going for a PB but wanted very much to see, feel and remember this experience so camera at the ready time for a photo opportunity. I noticed that already the first half marathoners and even a 10k runner was coming past but I was not tempted to up the pace, I knew what was coming!

The sign that says “Entrance to the Great Wall”, seemed to say “come on Richard give me your best shot”, so after another photo opportunity I told the wall to stand by I’m coming! Up, up, down and up we go thousands of steps (5,164 steps), frequent rain furrows cut across the path and 14 watch towers on this stretch, some of the towers have names “The Blind Tower” and “The Widow’s Tower”. At some of the more “strenuous” parts and running on unhewn stones we were told “no overtaking” and to help fellow contestants if necessary, especially when there was no wall on one side and potential free fall! At more than one point the slope was so severe that heavy ropes had been fastened to the wall to help us. It really didn’t seem that long before we were at the highest point in the marathon, a bit of a bottleneck (which was a nice relief), a tight spot meant another photo opportunity, then off again. Then we saw the Yin Yang square (the start/finish and middle part of the marathon), we were going down a very steep hill over rough ground and down the last steps into the square. No chance to stand and stare, after 2 hours running I had only covered about 10k distance!

Now running on the same tarmac road we ran on at the start; it was time to review my situation. I was feeling good, really good. I had taken it steady from the start and along the wall and it didn’t seem half as hard as it did on inspection day. My worry was that I had to be back at Yin Yang Square before 6 hours, otherwise I would be timed out and my race would be over! Plan “A” was don’t get drawn into running with someone until I was here. Now it was time to find someone to have a conversation / laugh with, to get me through this middle section of the race. I was surrounded by runners all getting settled in to the mid section of decent running. I first got with 2 lads and a lass from USA, we were having a nice chat about where we all came from then without warning, the girl and her mate stopped, they said their plan was to run 5 mins, walk 1 min, (my plan was when off the wall always run); the second lad said well I’m off then. A couple of other brief encounters then I met Bret - similar pace, similar age and build as me and what a guy. Bret liked to talk and joke (as do I), he told me all about himself and his family, an “Executive Head Hunter” from Colorado who lived in what he described as a ranch (as big as Yorkshire?). For my part I told him all about you lot and how I rub shoulders with the finest international athletes and runners in the world! Before the start I was very concerned about this middle section and keen that I should team up with someone to get me through, Bret was convinced Jesus had sent me to get him through this bit, I was pleased I found him! Through 7 villages and now off the tarmac road, it was rough terrain, some say undulating I say it was darned hilly! (But undulating is as good as description, if compared with the wall). Photo opportunity stops with the locals who were all smiling broadly and out to cheer and wave, they would say “Hello” and we reply “Nee Haw”. Running through the villages and seeing the locals it was evident that compared with their city comrades the city dwellers were “more equal” than their country cousins! I found that this section was really quite pleasant, the scenery was beautiful (not a stunning or extreme as the wall) just very very nice and “run-able”. Then after another 2 hours running it was back to Yin Yang square for “The Wall Part II”.

The sight of the mountain to climb to get back on “the wall” was quite daunting but this was section 4 of 5 and 5 was a big downhill on tarmac to the finish. Up the 2 dozen steps onto the rough path did for my mate Bret; he just collapsed on all fours; we discussed this scenario for either of us on the stroll through the villages, and as we were past the cut off point at 4 hours, (2 hours inside cut off time). I said goodbye to Bret wished him well and said I would see him at the finish. Well it was time for pain! Up, up, and away, there wasn’t much sightseeing this time it was hard going as we ran the first legs in reverse, this time no cheerful banter with the other runners it really was a one man fight, me verses the wall, this time there were quite a few runners in distress, collapsed and strewn over the steps, a bit like a war zone. I could imagine the Mongolian barbarians strewn across these same steps thousands of years ago after their efforts to get this far! To reach the highest point (again) it was up 560 x 2feet tall steps, I had a couple of breathers now, walking / crawling up the side of the wall grabbing any hand hold for help; I had eaten about 6 gel tubes so far as I was sweating so much. My face, shirt and shorts were all covered in white crystals (must be loosing lots of salt?). About 6 steps from the top Cramp! Oh no I thought, just 6 steps to go then its downhill, I just about did it, felt chuffed, turned the corner to see more steps! I am by now sick to death of steps I just can’t take anymore! But the only thing that kept me moving was that finally it was downhill. I got down off the wall and back onto tarmac road. Just as I felt a great wave of relief coming off the wall disaster struck…

My left leg completely seized up quads, calf, the lot, the pain was excruciating, massage quickly, as I was rubbing my quad my right calf joined in; the massage wasn’t working, time to get mean!!! With clenched fist I started battering my left quad and calf saying “come on now you nice little muscles I would appreciate it if you could get me to the finish”, (or words to that effect!) To my great surprise they eased up enough to walk, then after 20 yards a little slow shoe shuffle, then a little jog. I was now going down a steep hill and it seemed to take ages, but eventually I got to the coach park and know that the finish was 200 yards away. On entering the Yin Yang square for the final time my old friend cramp put in an appearance. People say that sometimes you have to put mind over matter, this was one of those times. I can see the finish line, I can see the photographer, I can see Jules and the British supporters and finishers there is no way I am stopping for cramp, of every adventure I have ever done this was one of the hardest 20 seconds of my life. And then it was over, what a feeling when the medal was placed over my head, just pure magic. Time for a smile through gritted teeth and wonder what the next 5 minutes will bring… And after only 6 hours and 24 minutes running!!!!!!!!!

From our experience of running on The Great Wall of China it is an achievable goal for social as well as dedicated runners as the event also has consecutive 5k, 10k, half and full marathons all taking place at the same time.

For all our travel, accommodation and race entrance we used “2:09 Events”, and were totally satisfied with all the tour arrangements.

Holmfirth Harriers Track & Field Team travelled the short distance to Spenborough on Saturday 7 th of June and produced one of their best ever team performances to finish second, only a few points behind a very strong Blackpool & Fylde A.C to move up to 2 nd overall in Division 2 WC of the North of England Track and Field Team.

The team were boosted by a number of athletes producing life time and season’s bests in all areas.

The day got off to a good start with Andy Storr in the Hammer and Athena Mellor in the Long Jump both setting personal best distances in the first two events to take place. John McFadzean also recorded his seasons best in the Hammer. The theme was carried on By Katie Zientek, in the women’s Hammer who also eclipsed her previous best, a feat she also managed in the Javelin, adding seasonal bests in the Discus and Shot for a very impressive afternoons work. She was partnered by Charlotte Dillingham in all four throws, she also had a PB in the Hammer and the pair of them continues to accumulate large number of points in the throwing events.

The hardest working athlete of the day was Tom Jennings who due to a couple of last minute withdrawals competed in 7 events. He also produced a PB in the Triple Jump and seasons best in the High Jump where he was runner up, a place he also filled in the Shot Putt and 110m Hurdles.

The high jumpers were performing well with Lauren Tyrell also setting a personal best and club record in her event, only losing out to a very experienced Blackpool Athlete on count back. Athena had joined her in the High Jump and she then went on to record another PB in the triple jump.

The women hurdlers produced four wins out of four as the club welcomed back for their first event of the season the Storr sisters and Emma Szostak. Zoe got the ball rolling in the 400m event with a storming finish to pip the Blackpool Athlete on the line and then Emma won her race leading from gun to tape. In the sprint hurdles Lauren was too good for her opponents in the A race and likewise Emma won the B race comfortably. Sarah Simmons had won the 800m before finishing runner up in the 400m, an event in which Lauren Tyrell finished in third. Claire Leaver had finished 3 rd in her 800m before taking fourth in aq very competitive 1500m. In the second 1500m Beth Petit ran out a comfortable winner and brother Tom made it a family double by winning his 800m race.

Tom had been joined in the 800m by Dave Watson who doubled up by running the 1500m both events well below his best distance but he came a creditable second and third respectively. His partner in the 1500m Richard Smith took second in his race as he also did in the 300m steeplechase. These Longer distance races were proving to be a productive hunting ground as Alistair Langron finished just behind Richard to win his race, whilst in the 5000m Mathew Pierson and Dave Turnball dominated the race to cross the line first and second to gain maximum points. In the 3000m for women Kath Farquhar and Katie Walshaw teamed up and ran well to finish third and second with Kathy recording her best time of the season.

The male sprinters were not to be outdone with Jordan Toft equalling his best ever time in beating a number of good athletes to take second in the 100m and then Junior George who had been a close up third in the 400m ran an inspired 200m to win his race and knock almost a second off his personal best. Russell Balmforth provided support in the 100m after he had taken part in his very first Long Jump event, something he needs to work on!

James Dewhirst was disappointed that the Pole Vault had to be cancelled but performed well in both hurdles, coming third in both after being pipped on the line in the longer event. He also volunteered to fill in for an injured team mate in the Triple Jump and showed that with a bit of work he could this to his port folio of events with a very good first attempt.

Both sprint relay teams performed well with the female team taking second and then a storming last leg by Jordan Toft brought the men’s team up to 3 rd. The day was rounded off by the 4 x 400m relays where the ladies were fourth and the men fifth.

All the athletes had put the effort in and should be proud of the result pushing Blackpool & Fylde all the way with the result not being decided until the last event. During the afternoon the team recorded 11 victories and 17 second places which show that there were some quality performances by the team. They were again backed up by an excellent team of track, filed and time-keeping officials and it was pleasing to see a large number of club members coming along to watch and cheer them on. The next match is on the 6 th of July at Halifax which the club are hosting and it is hoped everyone comes along again to help out and support the team.

Holmfirth Harriers Track & Field team started the season on a high note despite travelling to Wigan with a much depleted team due to other commitments and injuries.

The team spirit shone through however as it has so often in recent seasons and the team finished a highly creditable 3 rd, just behind East Cheshire Harriers in 2 nd and only ½ point in front of St Helens Sutton. It was the sometimes unsung heroes who provided the backbone to the team meaning that almost every event was covered with some taking part in highly unusual events for them, and a couple of the junior athletes taking part for the first time.

The tone was set in the very first event with James Dewhirst taking part in the pole vault, for the first time. He is one of a few who have been travelling to Sheffield to receive some pole vault coaching and it paid dividends as he broke the club record twice on his way to a fourth place. It is hoped by the next match the club will have athletes in all the pole vault events. James went on to complete a hard day by winning the 110 metres hurdles and finishing 4 th in the 400m hurdles. He was joined in both hurdle events by William McFadzean who had to call in at the JJB Sports Shop next to the stadium at Wigan to buy some running spikes before recording the same results as James in his races. William who was on a flying visit from University to celebrate his 21 st birthday was then persuaded by his dad to have a go at the triple jump and came an excellent 2 nd on his first go at this event.

Tom Greenhalgh one of the junior athletes making his debut also took part in the triple jump finishing a fine 4 th as he also did in the high jump and 400m showing great promise for the future.

Tom Jennings as he has done in recent years took part in three of the throws and the long jump, he recorded a PB in finishing 2 nd in the Shot Putt and was close to his best when also being runner up in the Javelin. Andy Storr donned his throwing kit as opposed to his official’s jacket and took part in all four throws to provide back up for Tom and took 4 th twice and 5 th twice in a very good competition. He as joined as usual by team manager John in the Hammer and he also managed a fourth place.

Junior George had a fruitful day finishing 3 rd in the 100m and 2 nd in the High Jump before winning the 400m, his new main event, knocking almost 2 seconds off his previous best time. Russell Balmforth who is assisting in coaching the sprinters this year joined Junior in the 100m and then ran in a very hot 200m to gain crucial points for the team. Tom Petit and Mathew Johnson teamed up in the 800 and 1500m and were up against the top under 20 runner in the country but stuck at it with Tom coming 2 nd and 3 rd and Mathew 4 th and 5 th respectively, Mathew then however pulled up in the 200m but hobbled the last 100m to the line to finish and thus gain the points that made all the difference at the end of the day.

In the 5000m Dave Turnball was making a track debut which he found very different to road running but said he enjoyed it finishing 4 th in a good field whilst in the B string Alistair Langron paced his race well to move through towards the end to finishing 2 nd.

In the 3000m Steeplechase Richard Smith ran a very sensible race to finish 3 rd whilst James Kendrick filled in for the B string and kept going to take 4 th place, a brave effort.

The 3 rd place overall was clinched on the last event, the women’s Javelin with Katie Zientek finishing 2 nd and Charlotte Dillingham 3 rd to overhaul St. Helens. These two had taken part in all the women’s throws and with Katie adding two 3 rd and one 5 th place to her Javelin result, whilst Charlotte took 2 nd in two further events plus another 3 rd to gain valuable points which proved vital at the end.

Two of the stalwarts of the women’s team were Linda Pearson and Zoe Chalesworth who showed great spirit and determination in competing in numerous events. Linda gained a large number of points by running the 100m, 100m Hurdles, and taking part in the High, Long and Triple jump events plus a relay. Zoe went through the pain barrier after hitting a hurdle in the 400m but continued to finish, and then ran in the 100m hurdles, 100m before rounding her day off with a leg of the 4 x 400m. Sara Simmons who took part in both relays had earlier recorded 3 rd, 2 nd and 1 st places in the 200m, 400m and 800m respectively, Beth Petit also filled in for the 200m before doubling up in the 800m where she was 2 nd and the 1500m where she finished 4 th in the A race. Kathy Farquhar was runner up in the B race which was after she had taken 3 rd place in the 3000m. Jackie France show a turn of speed in her 3000m race to out sprint one of her opponents in the finishing straight to move up to 2 nd place. This came back to haunt her as she was then asked to run the first leg for the 4 x 100m relay team!!

The youngest athlete on the day was Athena Mellor who took time off from the triathlon to show she has great promise in track and field with fine debut performances in the Long and High Jumps plus the 400m before running in a relay.

With a number of minor aches and strains during the day it was all hands to the pumps in the relays and with remarkable consistency they managed to finish 4 th in each race.

The final members of the team who gained a maximum 30 points were the officials who again did a sterling job with Kevin Johns ending up as chief time-keeper, John Buckingham as track judge, and Adrienne Dewhirst, Richard Szostak, Emma Szostak, who were joined by John and Andy when events permitted carried out the field judge duties.

The team are looking forward to the next event at Spenborough on the 7 th of June when it is hoped a number of athletes will be back but they will have to go some to better the team spirit and performance at Wigan.

World Cross Country Championships, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland
Saturday / Sunday 29th & 30 th March 2008

Here is a different view for the benefit of the ordinary club athlete, spectators and TV viewers as to what really goes on to ensure that everything appears to run smoothly.

Friday, 28 th March; Travel north with John Temperton and check in mid afternoon at the Pollock Halls of Residence where the athletes, team managers, officials will be housed. The ‘top people’ will be put up in a hotel down in the city. Processed through accreditation easily but find that I am now known as Brian Hayword! Receive ‘competition official’ pass, to be worn at all times, which allows me into all areas except media/press, the VIP area and the VVIP, that’s correct a “ very very important persons” area ie people from the IAAF. [International Association of Athletic Federations] Only 5 other English officials were invited including one who was representing the IAAF and of those three were from Yorkshire, myself, John Temperton & Roger Everton. Check in for my allocated room again went well although having located the correct building found that the pass key did not open the door! Saved by an athlete coming out and eventually found the room. Coming out by the nearest door solved the key problem as this door was at the opposite end of the ‘U’ shaped block!! After a drink in the campus bar and dinner we received the entry list for the Saturday events ie Learning Disabilities, male and female, Inter regional (Girls), Inter regional (Boys), Home Countries (Women) and Home Countries (Men). We were not required for the Young Athletes Relays which were to be held prior to the these and not on the World Cross course.

Saw many of the athletes later in the bar, socialising I believe it is called, including ones from Spain, USA, Australia, Wales, Northern Ireland and of course the English / GB teams. I’m not too sure either about coaching in the bar at approx. 10.00pm, English athlete and team manager. Names are being withheld but will ask Alwyn about this side of things as possibly Holmfirth runners may be missing out on something new!!

Saturday, 29 th March; Didn’t sleep particularly well and woke at 5.30am with dawn just having broke and the sun coming into view at 6.15 over Arthur’s Seat which could be seen from my room window. Couldn’t get back to sleep and got up just before 7 o’clock and because it looked so inviting got washed and dressed then went out for a walk at 7.25am!! Whatever next? Returned just after 8, showered and changed, went for breakfast, linking up with the other English guys except one who had been and gone as he was due on the course at 8.00am to finalise the Risk Assessment for the finish area and the road closures through Holyrood Park. The rest of the morning was free but were made aware that we all had to report to the officials marquee on the course before 1.00pm when a briefing would be held. Arrived at 12.30pm along with John T after having had a walk into the city, along part of Princes Street (no shopping) around the base of the Castle before meandering our way back to the campus using John’s instinct in direction. Achieved without too much problem.

The 15 minute advised walk to the course actually took us nearly 25 minutes and it was mainly down hill and we also cut the corners instead of following the road. Needless to say we used the shuttle bus back after the races had finished as it had rained whilst the men’s race was being run.

The first four races all went off OK apart from one young boy who struggled to pin his number on to the front of his vest. Low and behold after helping him to take it off it was discovered he had managed to put two pins through the number, then through the front of the vest and finally one of them in to the back of the vest. Needless to say he couldn’t get it on and wondered why. The things that have to be sorted out in the call room.

The final race of the day – Home countries Men – was to be a full rehearsal for Sunday; kit check (logos, advertising, slogans on T shirts beneath the vest, etc) and the issuing of the front number name bib complete with transponder chip attached. Race start time was 3.15pm with the athletes required to be in the call room

20 minutes prior. The athletes started to arrive but the chip numbers didn’t. The clock ticked on to 3.05pm, still no chip numbers although two agitated IAAF officials, one Italian the other Portuguese, could be seen in one corner arguing with the call room referee. This turned out to be about the layout of the tables in the call room for Sunday rather than getting the athletes processed for their race. Eventually, one of them went for the numbers, don’t know why he didn’t bring them in the first place, but then still wouldn’t let go of them. By this time the Race referee and the IAAF Representative had arrived and finally the numbers were released. The athletes had not been forgotten about and had been sent back inside the large heated changing marquee as the weather had turned quite cold. A new start time of 3.25pm was agreed (good job it wasn’t on the TV) and due to the efficient set up all the athletes were processed and chipped in approximately 5 minutes giving them a further 10 minutes before the new start time. The race went OK with England having the individual winner, Tom Lancashire with David Webb from Leeds City AC 3 rd and also the winning team. The England Women’s athletes went just slightly better with 1 st and 2 nd individuals and the winning team.

Discussions with colleagues during the evening revealed that at the original start time for the men’s race the chip timing system wouldn’t have been ready as it was operated from a ‘master clock’ that had to be reset and locked for each race. At the 3 minute warning siren there were still 3 or 4 female athletes who hadn’t finished their race!! During the men’s race it was also noticed that the lap scorer had changed the lap marker too soon, it showed zero as the leader came into view when it should have been changed to zero as the leader approached the start of the last lap and could see the marker. It was hastily corrected as the leader was nearing the lap marker and the bell rung to indicate the last lap.

Sunday, 30 th March; It was still not known which countries had not received their running kit – Heathrow terminal 5 was believed to be holding some baggage – although it was understood that Puma had delivered some overnight. Many teams had been contacted and advised not to travel via London Heathrow but divert through Hamburg or Amsterdam. It had rained heavily overnight and I was pleased to be working in the call room again – one of the better places considering the very muddy conditions. With rain still falling quite heavily, I decided to travel down on the shuttle bus to avoid getting too wet before the races. We were briefed at 12 noon, first race at 1.00pm, and pleased to hear that all the name bibs (numbers) complete with chip transponder were already for each race. All the athletes except one reported for the Junior Women’s race, 65 in total from 23 different countries, all were processed without problem.

The Junior men’s race also progressed through smoothly with 107 athletes from 30countries although one Japanese runner managed to push his way back out of the call room whilst a large number where queuing to get in. His number was noted and upon his return he then had difficulty being re-admitted, having being ticked off as entered once. His reason - he did not have his accreditation pass with him which we didn’t actually need to see. Once in the call room the only way out is to race or require medical assistance. Similarly the Senior Women’s competitors were efficiently processed with 98 athletes entered from 32 countries. Unfortunately, the athletes from Zimbadwe, Rwanda and Nigeria didn’t make it reducing the field to 95 runners and 29 countries including one from China. Athletes from Kirghizistan and Turkmenistan were also there. I will assume that you know where these countries are in the world?

If by now you are wondering how an Englishman with help from a Scotsman managed to understand these foreign athletes and where to direct them to in the call room, that remains a secret, I wonder if anyone will ask?

The Senior Men’s race was to be the biggest of the day with 188 competitors from 48 countries. Only those from Nigeria and Nepal didn’t arrive. The list included athletes from Palestine, Seychelles, Armenia, Burundi, Brazil and Jordan where the next Worlds are to held plus those mentioned in the above race. Myself and the call room referee were also requested to assist in helping to get the runners back into their start pens, particularly important with the race being televised and had to start at the appointed time. If not, the TV lot get most agitated.

As this was the last race, I was able to watch this unfold, what a great race and in a beautiful setting. Shame the GB athletes didn’t really perform. I knew all the other race results from a start list monitor in the call room that also gave the finishing positions and the team results as soon as the media had them. All in all an excellent day at the races, now what would the banquet arranged for the evening be like!

This was held at The Edinburgh Corn Exchange, miles from the campus with a post code of EH14 and therefore definitely a coach ride. The venue was huge and set out with tables of 10, we estimated 700 – 800 sat down. This excluded the IAAF delegates who although there were in a separate room for speeches!! Unfortunately, in my opinion it was a ‘bit of a let down’. The food was Scottish fare, tatties & neeps and haggis followed by cheese cake and rhubarb in a side dish. Highland dancing, pipes and drums and a disco followed. Didn’t stay long

Monday, 31st March; Returned home after an enjoyable weekend and looked forward to my own bed.

Draycote Water is a reservoir just south of Rugby. About 5 years ago the good folk of Kenilworth Runners began a 35 mile ultra race around said water and last year to much delight added a Marathon.Its a small friendly affair that attracts 100 for the marathon and about the same for the Ultra. The course follows the perimeter road and for the most part is pancake flat however there are undulations where the road leaves the banks of the reservoir that can catch you out, you see you have to run 5 and a bit times round and if you have not saved a bit in reserve that last lap can be a stinker. There is one feed station in the start/finish area that has hot and cold drinks and a fine selection of biscuits and cake for those so inclined.I set out at a steady pace intent on a training run but got a bit carried away on laps 3 and 4, just managing to hold things together on that fatal last lap. Finishing time, a slightly disappointing 3 45 for 33rd place. I might give the Ultra a go next year.

Cheers Gary.

Happy New Year to one and all. Hope your year started better than mine. On the weekend of the 5th, the Long Suffering Wife drove me down to Stevenage for the 100 Club Marathon, a horrific multi lap event around a park. Alas around 16 miles things went horribly wrong and I found myself having to take a long pit stop. I did manage another lap but it was clear things were not going to get any better so I did not finish, the shame.

So to last weekend and again I found myself in Stevenage (a recurring nightmare), this time to meet some chums for a trip to The Louis Persoon Memorial Marathon in Genk. A mouthful I know but a wonderful event. I am afraid Genk is a bit of a dump but on the outskirts set in acres of woodland you will find the Bloso sports and science park. For 40 euros you get, race entry, overnight accomodation in the athletes village a few yards from the start line, breakfast, post race soup and sarnies. The beer is very cheap too at 2 euros a glass. The race itself is flat and fast and as I say through woodland on tarmac paths. After the previous week I was a little apprehensive, started slowly but came through to finish in 3 44. A good time had by all. Highly recomended.

Cheers Gary

Steve Moslin provides sports performance massage. He is mostly based at the stadium but would be willing to come to the club if a few people were interested. Contact Jacqueline if you are interested in a massage at Neiley.

Regular sports massage can help reduce risk of injury and reduce stiffness and soreness after training.

It can also speed up recovery after exercise and prevent muscle and tendon strain.

Let Sports Performance Massage help you to get the most from your potential by being properly prepared for the event.

The course was muddy and sticky in places. The senior mens event was over 11km and involved 3 full laps of the course. The race winner was Andi Jones of Salford in 33.35. Holmfirth were lead home by club captain Matthew Pierson in 39 th position in a time of 36.26. Other Holmfirth positions and times were

Mark Dewhirst did not finish as he twisted his ankle in the wood section on the last lap

The ladies race was over 2 laps of the same course as the men and was totally dominated by Hattie Dean of Hallamshire who won by over a minute in a time of 24.44. Lisa Lacon ran well and was the 1 st Holmfirth scorer in 33 rd place in a time of 28.17and the other Holmfirth positions were

Six Harriers travelled to Pocklington in North Yorkshire to run in the Snake Lane 10M race. 1st Harrier home out of the 667 starters was Dave Turnbull 14th in 55.33 next was John Broom 18th in 56.54. Dawn Critchell and Jacqueline France had a tremendous race for the line with Dawn finishing 2 seconds ahead in 64.20. Jacqueline's time of 64.22 was a personal best for the distance and they took the 3rd & 4th women O/40 prizes The 2 other finishers were P. Senior 257th in 72.20 and T.Cock 408th in 81.11

Last Sunday saw the running of the Ian Roberts Memorial Fell race from the Marsden Cricket Club. Ian Roberts was a member of Holmfirth Harriers and was killed by lightning while climbing in the Dolomites in 1979.
153 runners set out across the fells above Marsden and this included the tough climb over Pule Hill. Last year the race was run in snow conditions, this year it was mild but very windy.
1st home for the Harriers was Dave Watson in 2nd place in 54.57. Andy Shaw was 7th and 1st O/45 in 57.34. Andy Hauser was 18th and 1st O/50 in 60.31. 1st woman home was Helen Berry 40th in 64.26 with Kath Farquhar 3rd woman and 1st O/35 in 65.04 with Jean Shotter finishing in the same time to take 1st O/40. They along with the men took the team prizes.

The other Harrier finishers were - B.Stewart 17th 60.24, A.France 20th 60.39, N.Moran 24th 61.42, G.Baxter 26th 61.55, R.Futrell 38th and 2nd O/55 63.18, R.Griffiths 41st 64.27, R.Kersey 42nd and 3rd O/55 64.28, R.Halstead 51st 65.15, J.Damlo-Lairback 54th 65.31, Lesley Ewart 67th and 1st O/50 66.21, K.Valovin 68th 66.25, P.Fearns 69th 66.28, P.Hobbs 70th 66.30, B.Wade 79th and 1st O/65 67.01, D.Shaw 85th 67.41, J.Patterson 86th 67.42, A.Smith 96th 68.46, T.Cock 100th and 2nd O/65 69.17, S.Webster 107th 70.23, R.Facey 112th 70.56, Karen Sinkinson 116th and 1st O/45 71.27, A.Dyson 123rd 73.14, Andrea Higgins 124th and 3rd O/40 73.28, Rebecca Halstead 129th 75.01, Sophie Barraclough 142nd 83.00

The Wakefield 10km was held on Sunday the 25th March 2007. The day was good a strong wind in parts of the course and it was undulating.

There were 1088 finishers and 24 Holmfirth Harriers completed the new course that started in Thornes Road and finishes on the running track.

The race was won in 31.35 by Daniel Agustus from Scarborough.

First home for Holmfirth was Ricky South with his best run for a year in 21st place in 35.16 giving him 2nd over 45....but that beat the first vet 40!!

Next was Brandon Holdroyd who is still getting better finishing in 37.22.

Third was Jerry Patterson in 39.12.

Next was John Philpott in 80th palce in 39.17 giving him 3rd vet 50....

More Holmfirth runners under the magic 40 minute barrier were Mike Pennington in 39.33 and James Kendrick in 39.52

Other good runs with PBs were Andrew Kerry 40.20 and Dave Simmonns in 40.30...

Andy Smith ran 40.39 and Jacqui Dews 8th lady in 41.44.

Regards
John

Last weekend 34 Holmfirth Harriers turned out in one of the quality 10K races in West Yorkshire at Rothwell. The race incorporated the Yorkshire Veterans Championship. Run in perfect race conditions with 726 finishers, Nick Goodliffe was on very good form to win the race by nearly a minute in 30.08 with Matthew Pierson backing up well to finish 3rd in 31.00 a personal best for the distance. In 22nd position veteran O/40 runner Mick Mavromihales finished in 34.02 to bring the Harriers the men's team prize. Richard Smith finished 33rd in 34.35 again a PB. Rob Kersey had a good run just missing out on a vets O/50 trophy by 2 seconds finishing 80th in 37.04
The first Holmfirth lady home was Julia Johnson running a tremendous race to take the 2nd position trophy in the Yorkshire Vets O/40 category in 139th position in 39.25 which was the fastest she had ever run a 10K in. Dawn Critchell took the 3rd position O/40 trophy in 160th in 39.59
The other finishers were- R.South 37th 34.56: S.McCaffrey 43rd 35.19: J.Rose 84th 37.14PB: B.Holroyd 37.23PB: J.Patterson 96th 37.46: J.Philpott 110th 38.20: A.Kerry 125th 38.59: D.Simmons 148th 39.37PB: K.Valovin 174th 40.33: Jacqui Dews 175th 40.35: A.Smith 176th 40.39: A Smithson 203rd 41.57: C.Whitelegg 248th 43.35: Karen Sinkinson 258th 43.54PB: Andrea Higgins 315th 45.42: S.White 339th 46.25: T.Cock 355th 47.00: M.Dolan 359th 47.09: Kiersti Dickinson 384th 47.46: D.Wilkins 385th 47.47: A.Hambleton 415th 48.34: Sophie Barrowclough 558th 53.10: Jeanette White 593rd 54.38: Sarah Smith 682nd 1-02.09: Jackie Hill 684th 1-02.23: Kathryn Wilkins 698th 1-03.39: Diane Kolat 709th 1-05.54:

John Philpott

1	1		Nick Goodliffe	M	(001/088)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:30:08
3	3		Matthew Pierson	M	(003/088)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:31:00
22	22		Mike Mavromihales	M40	(005/079)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:34:02	YV
33	33		Richard Smith	M	(014/088)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:34:35
37	37		Ricky South	M45	(004/071)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:34:56	YV
43	43		Sean M McCaffrey	M35	(010/058)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:35:19	YV
80	76		Robert Kersey	M55	(004/053)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:37:04	YV
84	80		Julian Rose	M40	(016/079)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:37:14	YV
89	85		Brandon Holroyd	M	(028/088)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:37:23
96	90		Jeremy Patterson	M45	(014/071)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:37:46	YV
110	100		John Philpott	M50	(011/064)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:38:20	YV
125	113		Andrew Kerry	M40	(022/079)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:38:59	YV
139		14	Julia Johnson	F40	(002/062)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:39:25	YV
148	133		David Simmons	M50	(016/064)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:39:37	YV
160		17	Dawn Critchell	F40	(003/062)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:39:59	YV
174	152		Kenneth Valovin	M	(043/088)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:40:33
175		23	Jacqui Dews	F	(012/061)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:40:35
176	153		Andy P. Smith	M45	(021/071)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:40:35	YV
203	177		Andrew Smithson	M35	(030/058)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:41:57	YV
248	213		Chris Whitelegg	M45	(031/071)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:43:35	YV
258		38	Karen Senkinson	F45	(010/050)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:43:54	YV
315		48	Andrea Higgins	F40	(012/062)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:45:42	YV
339	288		Steven White	M50	(036/064)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:46:25	YV
355	299		Tim Cock	M65	(007/013)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:47:00	YV
359	302		Mark Dolan	M45	(046/071)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:47:09	YV
384		66	Kiersti Dickinson	F40	(015/062)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:47:46	YV
385	319		Dayn Wilkins	M45	(050/071)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:47:47	YV
415	342		Andrew Hambleton	M50	(047/064)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:48:34	YV
558		150	Sophie Barrowclough	F40	(034/062)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:53:10	YV
593		173	Jeannette White	F55	(009/016)	Holmfirth Harriers	00:54:38	YV
682		234	Sarah Smith	F	(056/061)	Holmfirth Harriers	01:02:09
684		235	Jackie Hill	F45	(045/050)	Holmfirth Harriers	01:02:23	YV
698		245	Kathryn Wilkins	F45	(046/050)	Holmfirth Harriers	01:03:39	YV
709		252	Diane Kolat	F45	(048/050)	Holmfirth Harriers	01:05:54	YV

Huddersfield Actionaires who meet on Saturday mornings at the Sports Centre are a group of young people with visual impairement. They take part in a variety of sports and leisure activities.

Following a six-week coaching programme by Holmfirth Harriers coaches Richard Szostak, John and Katherine MacFadzean, Huddersfield Actionaires took part in a Track and Field competition against other Actionaire teams from across the North of England.

Over 100 young people attended the competition staged at the new track on Leeds Road. The Huddersfield Actionaires won the day, bringing home the shield, whilst the other athletes all received medals and certificates. All the athletes, some as young as 6yrs, competed on the track at the 60m, 100m, 600m, 800m and 1500m, as well as on the field in the shot, javelin, discus and the vertical and standing long jumps. The event finished with a series of Team relays. All the teams enjoyed a competitive but fun day.

The event was organised by Richard Szostak and John Mcfadzean and with the benefit of a funding grant from the Local Network Fund purchased all the equipment used for the event. The grant totalled £7000, and paid for both indoor and outdoor equipment, which is now being used by both the athletes at Holmfirth as well as local children and schools in the area through the Fun in Athletics and StarTrack schemes.

John and Richard would like to thank all the Actionaire volunteers who helped to make the day a huge success, as well as all the staff at Leeds Road for their help and support on the day. This is the third year John, Katherine and Richard have been involved and all are looking forward to next year’s event as a result.

The photograph shows the youngsters from the Actionnaires club celebrating their success with Holmfirths young coach Katherine McFadzean (Far left).

Sunday the 20th of May saw the return after 21 years of the Windermere Marathon. I ran the last two events in 85 and 86 and had fond memories of the race, however driving round the course on Saturday I noticed they had added a few more hills. Sunday morning saw 900+ runners line up for the start, a more scenic Marathon you could not wish for, not a P.B. race though. The hilly bits are at 7 miles, 14 to 17 miles and 21 miles. The rest is gently undulating, honest. The only changes to the old race is the start and finish is now just outside Ambleside at the race organisers HQ, Brathay Hall - here you can pick up your race number, and on race day there was food, drink and various activities to keep supporters happy. Most importantly was the Hawkshead Brewery tent for post-race re-hydration. There were prizes in all age categories up to 65, and guest of honour was fell running legend Joss Naylor. For the record I staggered in thanks to help from eldest daughter Joni who ran the last few miles with me in 3 52.
The organisers have not yet decided if the race will go ahead next year. It would be a great loss to the marathon calendar if it didn't.

This was the first time I have done this race (and my third half marathon) and I was a bit nervous, as I made my self rather ill the last time I ran one (just missed out on doing it in under two hours as a result). However I had done more training this time and I am from Sheffield so it was nice to be on home ground.

The weather was just right – sunshine and clouds but not too warm and not too windy.

The race starts and finishes in the Don Valley Stadium and goes through the centre of town and out to Hunters Bar. The mid few miles of the race go up and down Ecclesall Road, where there were large crowds, music, bands playing and lots of cheering – it was a great atmosphere and really spurred you along.

The organisation was very good both before and on the day and the facilities at the stadium were good.

The atmosphere of starting and finishing in a stadium was excellent – although at the end you ran up to the stadium (very close to the finish), around the outside of the stadium, then into the stadium (but around the edge – not on the track) and then just when you can see the finish on the track you run back out of the stadium(!) and then finally back in to the stadium to finish on the track – it was like ‘so near and yet so far’!

The race used timing chips and in the results (which were on the website by Sunday afternoon) you just get your actual time – which was great.

I was aiming for under two hours and managed 1:56:04, six minutes less than my last time and more importantly I didn’t feel like I wanted to die at the end – all that training with the Harriers has been worth it!

Sophie Barraclough

35 Richard Smith Holmfrth 1:19.33 (PB)
49 Jared Croft Holmfrth 1:21.21
74 Eric Paxman Holmfrth 1:23.38
1271 Steven White M50/46 Holmfrth 1:46.37
1333 Dayn Wilkins M45/94 Holmfrth 1:47.16
2470 Craig Mansell M45/161 Holmfrth 2:02.19

Jeanette White 2.06.39
Suzanne Mansell 2.08.47
Kim Webb 2.13.13
Kathryn Wilkins 2.22.45
Claire Awty 2.23.34
Well done to everyone who took part.

a. good endurance training for me and
b. even better endurance training for Dawn and possibly (going on previous years' times) win it

The first 18 miles are generally on the slight upwards incline of an old railway track and then there are some very steep downhills in the last 5
miles. All of it is off road, mostly on good quality compacted limestone.

Mile 1 - 7:25 (157)
Mile 2 - 7:27 (160) - at this point we are aware of another female behind us but are not phased
Mile 3 - 7:24 (157) My HR is settling. The other woman is still just behind
Mile 4 - 7:33 (156) slight incline - other woman dropping back
Mile 5 - 7:25 (160) - really it's just us two now and any odd waifs and strays who are going to come through strongly or be dropping off after overambitious starts
Mile 6 - 7:24 (158)
Mile 7 - 7:14 (160) Chatting away quite nicely by now. I'm enjoying the instant pace and HR feedback on my wrist about every 15 secs:-)
Mile 8 - 7:06 (158) - quite windy in places but on this mile it's behind us a bit
Mile 9 - 7:15 (161)
Mile 10 - 7:25 (160) - starting a long drag here
Mile 11 - 7:15 (161) - up to the turnaround point and see Dave Darby going well in front of us and that the lady in 2nd is about 2 mins behind. I made sure Dawn logged this fact by taking the split at the turnaround and checking the time when we passed her going the other way
Mile 12 - 7:10 (160) I have to warn Dawn against starting to race already! She does have a habit of going too fast in the middle miles.
Mile 13 - 7:14 (160) - passing odd runners now - windy and exposed in places
Mile 14 - 7:14 (162)
Mile 15 - 7:14 (162)
Mile 16 - 7:15 (162) Pacing error! :-)
Mile 17 - 7:19 (162)
Mile 18 - 7:26 (164) Dawn gets a stitch which she breathes out
Mile 19 - 7:19 (163) we know once we get to 20 it's mainly downhills
Mile 20 - 7:22 (165) just starting to drift.

20 mile split - 2:26.25. Dawn's stitch comes back and she starts to breathe more heavily

Mile 21 - 7:29 (165)
Mile 22 - 7:12 (165) - 1st big descent, and I mean big - glad I have my supercushioned Vaporflys for comfort:-) Dawn normally flies down these and I was surprised not be hanging on to her, but her stitch was bad. The steep hill is jostling her innards around!
Mile 23 - 7:22 (166) - Using the latest GPS technology I start counting down tenths of a mile for her
Mile 24 - 7:17 (165) - she tells me to go on. I want to finish with her and a 3:11 marathon on my own is not the goal.
Mile 25 - 7:17 (163) - the final big downhill is long and very steep. Dawn can feel it hitting her quads and there's no way you can run flat out on it at this stage
Mile 26 - 7:26 (164) - me admiring a fine piece of inland waterway construction from the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. I think Dawn was more interested in seeing the end in sight:-) I tell her to go and cross the line in 1st ahead of me but she insisted we held hands together across the line. I said I hoped no one would assume we'd run it all the way together holding hands:-)
0.33 (171) - yikes a spike in the HR! Maybe it was the hand holding:-)

I make it 3:12.46, about 8 mins in front of 2nd place woman (who was last year's winner). 7:19 ave pace, 160 ave HR for me. A well organised event - fast course, if not quite a pb one.

I was also amused to hear the word `singlet' mentioned as we were on the coach to the start and to have the race director mention `feed stations' on route (ie water, orange squash and a sponge). How very retrospective.

Met Dave Darby at the end and it turned out that he'd gone through the field to finish 3rd in 2:54, not having a run longer than 16 miles since January. Some people!:-)

Just got back from the Manchester 10K. Those who know me will know I had a bit of a challenge in the Race, unfortunately my challenger couldn't race, so it was me against the clock.

Manchester is a very fast and flat course if you get in the right wave and is a definite PB course. Unfortunately not for me this time.

I guess having no one to race against meant I had lost a bit of motivation and whilst I recorded a 3.13 km between 1-2km (I am sure the markers were wrong cos the next 1k I did in 4.35), I couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm.

I also fell at a junction just after 7km, not bad but enough to break the little rhythm I had.

I don’t know if any other Harriers were running and whilst the atmosphere was good and you saw a few “stars”, I prefer my favourite at Rothwell.

If you thought the annual club point to point is a bit of a challenge, I have recently found a hill that is ever so slightly bigger than Castle Hill! Kilimanjaro is a big hill! Situated just south of the equator in Tanzania, it is the tallest free standing mountain in the world; at 5895 metres above sea level it is considered an extreme mountain and quite a challenge.

On 4 March 2007 Richard Whale ran the Kilimanjaro Mountain Marathon, it is only the 5 th time the race has ever been run. To tell the truth the “official title” (and maybe these pictures) could be a little misleading as the race is run in 2 sections. The race starts and finishes at the stadium in Moshi; the first half is on the main road from Moshi to Dar-es-Salaam then turn around and run back to the stadium. This is an undulating part of the course but starting at 6:30am with sun rise at 7:00am is not too bad.; the dangers here are that you are on a major road that has not been closed and is not really wide enough for buses lorries, jugernaughts and runners. The course route is well supported and the children are really keen to run alongside the runners just to be part of the experience. I teamed up with a local GP who said he had run the course before and gave me a ‘running’ commentary and guided tour and also some local history of this part of the country. Nearing the stadium, me and the good doctor parted company, he told me at the beginning he had done this marathon before, when I asked him what time he had completed it in, his reply was, “Oh I have never finished, the course it is far too hard!” My time at half way was 2 hours 10 minutes and I felt so good, I had taken it nice and easy, I was on for a 4.30 marathon. The second part of the course is the same as the half marathon course and is not undulating, it is a serious 13k uphill with no respite; by now the sun was out and not a cloud in the sky, the temperature rapidly climbing to 30C, this was quite a challenge and it wasn’t long before I had to break my rhythm and go like everyone else, into a walk, sucking in the hot air and cursing that damned sun! After a short while I composed myself to get to the top of this hill and reverted back to basics – run one telegraph pole and walk one. The children were again fantastic company, running alongside just for the fun of it, their attire and style of running shoes of either none or at best flip flops was quite humbling. At the turn around point having run through the coffee plantations and up towards the Machame gate entrance of the National park I knew that I had blown my dream of a 4.30 marathon and also my target of under 5 hours, but I was convinced that I could definitely finish, so all was not lost! The last leg going downhill really didn’t feel that easy, the sun by now was scorching hot and it was hard work, I passed some runners still going up, one was being sick and they looked in a sorry state. I had given up looking at my watch until I got to the 40k marker, I had a look and my time was 4:45; a quick calculation of 6min per km meant that my target was now back on. I must have pulled back some time on the downhill stretch. Oh NO! as I tried to pick up the pace the first twinges of cramp, don’t panic I thought just stay calm and don’t push too hard. At the stadium gate a car was blocking the entrance, I squeezed past the car and had to circumnavigate the stadium before I got to the entrance. On entering the stadium I was greeted with a huge cheer, the stadium was packed with spectators, I felt as if I was in the Olympics, blow the cramp push through everything and sprint the rest of the way as fast as I could. The moment I crossed the finish line I stopped my watch to see a time of 4 hours 59 minutes and 30 seconds, I could not have been happier if I had won the race; I was ecstatic over the moon and burst out into a fit of laughter. What a finish (in under my 5 hours target)!

There was no time to celebrate or relax just time for a shower, food, sleep then start the long climb to the summit, 4 days of hard walking for about 6 hours a day and I managed to get to the summit, it was not too bad really, just hard going all the way, always climbing meant that the temperature range was +30c to – 18C at the top. When I arrived at the top I put our Harrier vest on and set off down, once off the glacier our small party started the decent at a snails pace. I asked one guide if we could get down a little quicker, so he arranged it that him and me set off on our own, first at a quick pace, then as the oxygen levels increased we quite soon broke into a gentle jog, he would say “is this too fast” to which my reply was always “do you call this fast – I thought we were going to speed up!” Pretty soon we were going flat out, I have never felt so exhilarated running at full pelt down screed each time my foot went down I slid about 2 feet, eventually going down like a skier; when we reached firm rock there was no easing up just the same question and the same answer, flying past porters and bewildered climbers this was just a fantastic experience I can hardly describe. After 2 hours running the guide stopped for a break at a ranger hut, we waited an hour then set off again to our forest camp site, this time at a slightly gentler pace, arriving at camp before the porters had put up the tents or organised themselves, it was another 4 hours before the others in our group started arriving. The final day was another chance to jog and run but no full speed this time due to the sheer numbers of people trying to get off the mountain. Again another long wait for the others in the group to catch up before we could get “signed off” the mountain.

When I returned from my stroll up the hill, the marathon results were posted at the hotel, my position was 197 out of 249 finishers (over 500 started) my official time is 4:58 and when I had discounted the first 3 pages of African runners it transpired that I was the 4 th British person to finish and the first Holmfirth Harrier home! How cool is that?

The mountain marathon and summit ascent took 7 consecutive days to complete and involved: 13 hours running, 30 hours walking and a climb of 20,000 feet ASL.

I recommend this marathon as a fantastic challenge that is achievable for all social runners; if you need any further information please see Richard Whale.

For the past 5 years I have made the journey to Edinburgh for the Marathon and every year the organisers have without fail changed the course, they do this to make the race more runner friendly and faster. I expect in the next 3 years that we will all be running downhill for 26 miles and getting under 3 hours. Sunday morning was wet and windy and I waited for the 9 o'clock start huddled against the elements in a bin bag in the entrance to Marks and Spencer. The start was on Princes Street beneath the Castle, and I was eventually persuaded to join the stampede out of the city by my chum Jim. We were soon passing the new Parliament building, Holyrood Palace and Arthur's Seat and heading into a strong wind and suburbia. My plan was to hide in a pack of runners and try and get some protection against the wind. The course wound its way down the coast. We got a glimpse of the finish area at Musselburgh at mile 8. On we trudged through various seaside towns and villages. By mile 15 we got sight of the first runners heading back to the finish on the opposite side of the road. At last we reached the turn round at Gosforth House, a quick tour of the grounds and we were heading for home. By mile 19 the wind had dropped and the weather improved, so I made a break for the finish, with a running style like a cross between Groucho Marx and The Hunchback of Notre Dame I made it to the finish in 3 41.
Edinburgh is a fine city to visit, the marathon is well organised, and the runners are well looked after with plenty of drinks and good support. This year around 4000 entered. Give it a go next year.

Once I was a normal runner and did the odd Marathon, my first one was Bolton in 85 and up to 2001 I had only done 20. The highlights were a 3 11 PB in London, Pennine in 87 and 2 New Yorks (my favourite). 2002 I did 7, the highlights were New York again, and The Greenwich Tunnel Marathon, I think it was around 40 odd laps under the Thames at 2 in the morning.
2003 I did 9, the highlight being Mont Blanc in the Alps.
2004, 16, things got serious. Highlights were, San Francisco, Night of Flanders, a race that starts at 6 in the evening, and running 3 15 in Cranfield much to every ones amazement.
2005, 17. First and only ultra to date at Boddington, and a marathon in Krakow.
2006, 24. Highlight was the triple, 3 Marathons in 3 country's in 3 days, and having a photo of me and some chums published in a book.
2007. So far. 28 Jan Marrakech
                    18 Feb Dreycote Water
                    01 Apr Bungay
                    09 Apr Utrecht
                   15 Apr Rotterdam (just)
                   22 Apr London
                   29 Apr Shakespeare
                  07 May Belfast
                  20 May Windermere
                  27 May Edinburgh.

I was supposed to be in Halstead on May 13 but there was a cock up with the trains!
Confirmed for Blackpool and the South Downs this month and Boddington 50k in July, do you know anyone who Fancy's an ultra?
Nothing in August, just rest and training. Things are starting to come together for the Autumn. Plans are already afoot for 2008, but I would like to hear if anyone from the club has anything planned for Autumn or next year.

The Blackpool marathon is an OK event flat and fast, it starts near the tower and you gallop up and down the prom, first south to Squires Gate then back north to a bollard and back again, if you miss the bollard and see a sign for Fleetwood you have gone too far.
My day did not start well, the rain promised by the BBC weather didn't appear, throwing back the curtains I was greeted with hot sticky humid conditions. An hour and a half later I was standing on the start line wishing I was somewhere else, bed perhaps. I don't run well in the heat and knew what was to come, at least I was prepared. We set off south and it wasn't too bad, a slight breeze, the accompanying half marathon runners swelling the field to around 2000. Then the turn north, the heat came into play, never mind on I ran, the half marathon folk left the race at halfway (where else!) and we were down to single file, mile 16 passed and I gave it a bit of a go. This lasted to the drinks station at 20 miles, the good folk here had made an effort and were dressed as French Maids but I suspect those with beards were not women. Things were getting tough I had lost at least two stone in sweat and was now sloshing with lucozade. I ran on with the encouraging words and threats from Sandra, (long Suffering Wife) ringing in my ears. It was like running through glue. A stunning display of walking and shuffling brought the finish line and a time of 4 11. Never mind we all have bad days its just in the Marathon they seem worse. The one good thing about a slow run is you recover quickly, now where are my running shoes......

The South Downs Marathon starts in a car park adjoining the White Ways Country Park and it was here long suffering wife left me along with 300 or so other hardy souls. LSW was keen to get to the nearby town of Arundel and sample the delights of the castle, cathedral and many tea shops and who could blame her - it is a very pretty place. The Marathon is a off road event, not something I do a lot of, because they are hard, usually take an hour or more longer than a road race and I have a habit of getting lost. My record is 3 times in one event, I claim to have run near 30 miles that day instead of the 26 on offer. Anyway the race was basically a point to point along the South Downs Way. Yes there were lung busting climbs, knee shattering descents, nettles, mud, brambles and mud, but the thing that made the race hard were conditions under foot. The storms of the previous few days had churned up the paths along the route. On the day we had bright sunshine, hail, torrential rain and mud. But it was all great fun. When I eventually hauled myself over the finish line my legs felt as though they had been through a mangle, I take my hat off to you fell runners. Oh and I managed to go the wrong way once and slightly awry 400 metres from the finish, that must be a record.

Cheers Gary.

The adult track and field league team competed in the first match of the season at Blackpool and finished a very creditable fourth. The team was competing in Division 2 West Central for the first time after gaining promotion last year and it was all hands to the pump as a number of clashes and holidays meant that the team was slightly depleted in certain areas.

In the men’s team Junior George had an excellent afternoon producing three performances that bettered the English Schools Qualifying Standard in the 100m, High and Triple Jumps. Two other young athletes competing for the first time, James Dewhirst and James Dewhirst filled in a number of the gaps gaining valuable points as they did so. Tom Jennings did likewise in the throws and jumps taking part in six events whilst Andy Storr not only took part in the Pole Vault and three throwing events but managed to put in some timekeeping duties in between. Russell Balmforth also made a welcome return in the sprints after a 3 year absence and it was pleasing to see Josh Hazeldine taking part in his first ever competition for the club.

The middle distance events produced some notable performances, Dave Watson running a personal best in the 1500m and Nicky Goodliffe winning a very competitive 5000m where the club had three of the first four home with Mathew Pierson winning the B Event and Dave Watson running as a quest. Mathew Pierson also took part in the 800m where he was joined by Mathew Johnson who doubled up in the 1500m.

The steeple chase representatives Mark Dewhirst and Richard Smith ran very well in a high quality field, with Mark also having run in the 400m hurdles and having triple jumped.

A special mention in the women goes to Julia Johnson who made her track debut in the 3000m and after initially saying she would never do it again promised herself to have another go after she had recovered. Katie Walshaw had run well in that event before turning out again in the 1500m.

The shorter distances races brought a good clutch of points via Lauren Storr and Sarah Simmons, whilst four other younger team members Katie Zientek and Charlotte Dillingham in the throws and Emma Szostak and Jessica Sunderland in the jumps ensured the team stayed comfortable in 4 th place. Jessica’s efforts greatly appreciated as she also took part in the 200m, 400m, and Hammer which are not her usual events.

Again the club gained maximum points from the officials and the efforts of these people are greatly valued by John McFadzean the team manager.

The next meeting is on Saturday 2 nd of June at Spenborough when it is hoped to have a stronger team and to mount a challenge to those who finished ahead in the first meeting.

If you have an old pair of spikes you'd like to sell, size 10 or above, any condition will do, please contact Louise on 01484 301231.

I am helping by covering the years 1986 to 1998 for the HHAC Centenary book which Graham Ellis is mostly writing. I am very keen to have some good photographs, and I really have press photographs in mind. Of course, most such are not action shots, but of teams after they have won some paricular event or championship. They were particularly prolific in the newspapers, especially the Home Valley Express and Huddersfield Examiner, in the mid 1990's when there were all sorts of team successes by junior members of various age groups. Among the girls, Natalie Holdsworth, Claire Langron, Kim Holden, Hannah Gillis are just some who come to mind, Similarly various ages of junior boy members were victorious on many occasions over several years. Such family names as Holdsworth and Langron again come to mind, with many others like Buckingham, Goodliffe, King, Styan, Dewhirst, Greensides, Waite, Goulding etc. etc..

Hopefully some of these families, and other people too will have aquired and kept such photographs. If they have and would be prepared to loan them for copying, I should be dlighted and very pleased to hear from them, and very grateful.

N F Berry
Whinny Ghyll
165 Penistone Road
Kirkburton
Huddersfield
HD8 0PH
Home: 01484 602922
Office: 01484 663388
norman.berry@burtonsafes.co.uk

A quote by Jim Somerville made at 10:30am Sunday 15 July 2007 at Yateholme car park!

Having read “Feet in the Clouds” by Richard Askwith and recently being privileged to run with some of the fell running fraternity down at the Harriers on club nights, I completed my first fell race of 600 feet / 3 miles at Harden Moss in June 2007. It was a glorious experience on a warm, dry, sunny afternoon, the course was on lush grass and track, the course was well marked and easy to follow on a clear day with not a cloud in the sky. It was a wonderful experience and at the end I thought if this is fell running it is quite good fun and I think I will have a go at another one.

On 15 July 2007, I joined with 2 other “Harrier” “Fell” novices (Chris Whitelegg and Ian Shuttleworth) and ran the Holme Moss Fell Race, I realised that it was 16 miles and a 4000 foot climb, but I have done a couple of marathons and attempt the club road races, always trying my best, but age and experience dictate that I always finish with the “also ran” (handicappers are very kind to poor old ex sailors). So a 16 miles race should be easy enough. I am not so stupid that I know marathons are fairly flat and fell running is a bit more hilly, but it is not as long as a marathon so I should be ok. On a good day I can get all the way to Castle Hill without stopping, and that is the biggest hill around here isn’t it?

To prepare for the run I read the instructions on the web site, and noted that you have to carry some mandatory fell running kit, waterproofs, map, compass, spare food etc, so I bought a bum bag (I wanted to look the part after all) and the waterproofs, I borrowed a compass and whistle and printed the map and instructions from the web page. To add to my preparation on Saturday, the day before, I went along to help mark the course, I joined a group with Geoff Hall, Malcolm Sizer and Ian Shuttleworth another fell novice, we marked part of the course from Holme Moss back to Ramsden Clough; we went down a really steep hill for about 100 yards and I thought well at least I have seen the biggest hill on the course so I am prepared!

On the day of the race there had been quite a lot of rainfall, (July 2007 has been the wettest month on record) , but it was just light drizzle at 10:30, it was a clear day, I knew the course was well marked because I had helped, and I also had my map and instructions, on arrival I met Barbara Hinchliffe who said you don’t need to take water, presumably because it wasn’t a scorching hot mid July day and this was a joyful jog over gentle rolling hills. Despite Barbara’s comments I was still quite nervous and I mentioned this to Jim Somerville, his reply was “There is no need to be nervous at all, YOU WILL LAUGH TOMORROW WHEN YOU SEE HOW EASY IT WAS!”

At 11:00 I didn’t hear the start, it was just, like a normal run of the mill training jog, where we just started running. I started at the back, I could see Jim and Malcolm and my “plan A” was a simple one… keep Jim and Malcolm in sight and it will be a “walk in the park”. I have in the past beaten Jim on the road and Malcolm has been injured for months so I have a foolproof plan! On the road for about 100 yards then on the track past the registration tent, nice firm ground, impossible to get lost and the hill was not too steep that you couldn’t run; after about 10 minutes on the track I saw Malcolm walk for a few yards, right I thought, walk as well as him, don’t burn out too soon – good plan Malcolm. Off running again on this quite decent track, it was even tarmaced in some places, I tried to avoid the big puddles as I didn’t want to get my clean trainers wet or dirty. I can’t remember passing checkpoint 1 at Crossleys Plantation but I knew that going down the very step hill down to the bottom of Ramsden Clough I must have passed it; the run down was really quite hard and I fell over a few times, I did loose some ground as Jim and Malcolm seemed to edge a little further away but I got down, crossed the stream and up the big hill that I helped mark out. I had to go on all fours on some parts as I found it difficult to get a grip; keep going I kept telling myself this is the worst bit, I am glad they get the worst bit over early, then I can have an easy run across the tops all the way home. Once up that giant hill! I knew I could make it to Holme Moss and a drinks station, this is quite easy I was thinking….once I get to the highest point it has got to be plain sailing! During the preparation, I also spoke to Richard Wade who told me that there were four hills that I will have to walk, well I have done two, the one past registration and then the killer hill up to Holme Moss, hey I am half way home already!

Leaving the drinks station and over the stile, within 50 yards the ground disappeared to a near vertical drop! What! Where did this come from, I could see runners ahead so I followed, mostly on my bum, how on earth do people stand up , let alone run down a sheer wall of heather and moss, I could see the footprints and trodden grass and if I ran on the newly created path I had no grip and fell over, if I ran to the side I had to pick my feet up so much I couldn’t stay upright and I fell over, if I took my eyes off the floor I fell over, if I went with gravity I fell over, if I went gentle, I fell over, when I looked up…..as I was falling over, I saw a sheer wall of grass that folks were scrambling up on all fours, this was not a short little climb, this was a mountain to climb! And it went up and up and up. Reaching the bottom and crossing the stream before the assent I remembered Richard Wade’s words, when you have to walk….eat, it gives you the energy for later….so I ate one of my (3) energy bars; three quarters up it levelled off a bit, which was good, but then the rain started and it came with a vengeance. I must have got to checkpoint 2 but can’t really remember it, the terrain must have levelled off to undulating from vertical and I found myself running mostly alone, there were about 5 or 6 behind as I could see and about 4 in front; by this stage my master plan of keeping Jim and Malcolm in sight had a few holes in it, like I had lost them completely! I was now relying on the churned up footprints to guide my path, even this was fraught with disaster as one occasion my left foot / leg went in a peat bog and stayed there, I had to use all my might to pull it out, breaking the cord that held my heel on my shoe, some kind chaps asked if I was ok, I said yes and they were gone, not 200 yards and damn me if the same thing didn’t happen to my other leg, up to my knee in a peat bog!

Time now for plan B, having lost plan A (my Jim and Malcolm plan). Follow these 2 gents who look they know where they are going… good plan I am thinking, stay behind and let them find the peat bogs. As we start going down to Crowden from White Low, West End Moss and Hey Moss, the paths by now are ankle deep in either peat or a raging torrent, but to be fair there are some good running parts, as we get confident by having run for 5 minutes without falling over we nearly miss the stile to get down to Crowden. When we get to the stile and we divert down to the checkpoint I have a little smile to myself as I think what a brilliant plan, plan B is, if I was on my own I would have carried straight on the path, Jules and Dorothy were at Crowden to give much needed support and encouragement and as we passed the check point, my new friend said “look as far as you can see…can you see right up there …that’s where we are going!” Bother I thought, my so called “friend and fell guru” Richard said there were only four hills in this race, but so far I must have been up 20 hills and 3 mountains! I am now getting quite wet and thinking this is a bit different to marathon road running, but at least this must be the last “hill” (mountain) to climb there just cant be any more! Up and up we go, my friend who seems to have a remarkable sense of balance seems to stay upright as I manage to stumble on for 20 yards then for one reason or another manage to fall over, at one point I stumble into a peat bog and sink up to my waist, “sugar” I say to myself, there is no one around and I seem to be in a bit of a pickle to say the least. To get out I try to throw myself forward as far as I can and reach out to grab a tuft of heather and pull and wiggle myself free, crawling then on all fours or rather slithering myself out of this bog I manage to get on firm ground, stand up and carry on. It just seems forever up and up, then I see a tent with a Union Flag flying it’s another check point, I don’t know which one but I just hope it’s the last one, once on the top it’s a sheer drop down. On my bum I go again and its down and down, it is impossible to stand, I can see runners in front, then I can’t!

Then I saw Laddow Rocks!!!!!!! I knew there was one chap behind me and when I got down to the stream crossing I looked back and he must have given up or gone wrong, there were 2 in front and I just wanted to get to the top and go home. Laddow rocks are a serious climb and took a lot of energy to get up, I did manage to pass one chap and nearly at the top I met Ashley our club President. Now I know Ashley, and we have spoken in the changing rooms and the showers but our meeting at the top of Laddow rocks was quite magical……he saw me and came running up he grasped my head in his two strong hands, he looked deeply into my eyes and I thought……..Sugar….!!! I’m just too tired and exhausted to resist!!!! Then he said “ Are you ok because you look like s????, where did you get all this moss from?” I replied “I’m ok, I just fell over”, then like ships in the night we went our separate ways.

Next I manage to get onto the flagged path of the Pennine Way, hurray! I think, from my recollections of the route this is now a straight run back to Holme Moss then the last down hill home, we are now on easy street…hee hee I’ve cracked it! Now on the firm ground of paved slabs I can stay upright, I am for the first time feeling quite happy, all the hills are behind me, I am on the Pennine Way and its flag stones all the way back. Some people say you shouldn’t look behind you but I sneaked a few glances and what a boost it gives you to see that you are pulling away from 3 or 4 runners, yep this was a good run and I’m now ready for a nice downhill and perhaps a sprint finish? At the check point at Black Hill I feel good, I even have time to just check on the final leg, is it just down here I say “Yes just follow the flags until you get to the fence, follow the fence to Holme Moss then its down hill all the way home”. So as advised, I run following the flags down this now torrent of water that has made its own river unit I meet the fence. I meet the fence at a right angle, so now I have to make a decision, should I turn left or right, he never said!? Well the first thing to do is not panic as I have a map, delving into my bag I retrieve the map. Due to the torrential rain the map on plain paper is just a ball of paper-mache, a solid ball of mush; then I recall my fail safe “get out of jail free” theory that never fails and I always use, when in doubt…. “Go right, and you can’t go wrong”, its what I always do when there is no other options. So off I go to the right,, because of all the rain, it has been possible to see where the other runners have gone, but after a few minutes I spy no footprints, “Sugar” I say, retrace my steps back to the last known flag then take a left, after a few minutes I see footprints by the fence and in the distance one of the runners that I had blown away coming up the flagged Pennine Way. Up and up we go, then I find I am running in heather, there is no path, no footprints and I remember Malcolm’s warning words, “don’t follow others because they could be either lost or have given up and going home”; well the mist has now come down, visibility is about 10 yards and I thought “bother” the advice; I think I will stay with company, because I haven’t got a clue where I am. Eventually there were four of us, we had a discussion and someone got his compass out and we all went hmmmmmmmm! What way do you think? The chap with the compass said well its not down, so lets go East, up or level and we should get to the road. I agreed wholeheartedly; so off we set on plan C – find a road in all this mist.

It was only about 100 yards then someone spotted a car’s headlights, hurray we had found the road, the “tracker” pointed out that we were also on a track, the one on the way out, as the footprints were pointing the wrong way, after another discussion we decided to follow the footprints as they should take us to the final check point and the way back.

At the final check point we set off along the road then over the stile and the last leg, it wasn’t very long before we were out of the mist, the visibility cleared, I am sure the rain stopped and we picked up the pace for the run in, the three of them rapidly picked up the pace going down hill leaving me all on my lonesome, then we hit the track and firm ground, I took one of them and nearly got another, but most of all I finished in one piece.

What a fantastic experience, I don’t think I have had a more difficult run in all my life but the thing is I am sure it has been the most fun. I have experienced, nerves, fear, fatigue, elation, comradeship and best of all a sense of achieving something quite special. Fell runners really are a special breed of person and after my very brief foray into the fells remain in awe of their very special talents. Why don’t you have a go at one and see just how much fun you can take?

So in the end it was for me more of a “Bum in the Bog” run, rather than having my “Feet in the Clouds” type of run. As for having a master fool proof plan…Jim came in with 3:42, Malcolm in 3:59 and I rolled in 97 th in 4:24……..so much for the plan!

North Of England Track and Field team qualified for the Cup Final at Blackpool on the 8th of September by winning the semi-final at Wigan on Sunday.

In a close fought match Holmfirth Harriers came out on top where the top four teams were covered by just 19 points. Every point was proved vital and non more so than in the female 4 x 100m where Lauren Stroor who had not competed during the day due to a hamstring problem put on her spikes to do a leg and was joined by Jessica Crate and Claire Leaver who had competed in the long and middle distance events and the final member of the team was Adrienne Dewhirst who doned a vest after completing a day of field judging. The points they gained and others gathered by people filling in gaps due to illness, injury and late arrivals due to road works made all the difference in the end. Ricahrd Walsh in the Long Jump, Jessica Crate in the womens Long Jump and 100m, (which were going on at the same time.) Mark Buckingham in the High Jump, Richard Szostak in the Discus and Richard Smith running a leg of the 4 x 100m showed what team spirit can do. This was epitimised by Mathew Pierson in the 5000m who had severe cramp 2 laps from the end but kept going to finish third, hobbling acroos the line. These results backed up some fine performaces, Mark Buckingham and Jessica Crate completed doubles in the 800 and 1500m, with Marks 1500m triumph being a particulary fine victory over the talented Anthony Ford of Blackpool. Dave Watson set the day off with an emphatic 10,000m victory where he lapped all the other 11 runners at least once and one runner five!!! times.

Jordan who was up against much more experienced runners performed well to be up with them in both sprints, whilst Richard Walsh took second in both hurdle events before winning the triple jump. The Dewhirst brothers, Mark and James teamed up in the 4 x400m with Mark and dave after they had competed well in the steeplechase and 400m respectively. Despite injuring his arm Tom Jennings managed third in both the shot and javelin, the injury just about made his day after he arrived late due to being sruck in road works for 90minutes.

The female thrower Katie Zientek did the club proud by finishing second twice, plus a third and fourth in the ladies throws. Whilst the two youngest women Laurten Tyrell and Emma Szostak did well againt more experienced opponents. Emma was first in the 400m Hurdles, second in the 100m Hurdles and third in the Triple Jump, whilst Lauren did well to come fourth in the 400m and High Jump.

Claire Leaver was another who had traffic problems on her way to Wigan but she responded by using her frusration to set a seasons best in the 3000m and also take first place.

The other important team mebers were the officials who always ensure the club get maximum points. Any Storr combined time keeping with throwing the Hammer, whilst Richard and Adrienne also competed and officated as field judges. Team manger John McFadzean also contributed to field judging although he did seem to be a magnet for the discus and on one occasion had to do a full length dive to get out of the way. John Buckingham again performed the duties of the track judge and the efforts of him and the rest of the officials and helpers are greatly appreciated by John Mc.

The team also managed to beat Bingley the previous week at Blackburn to ensure they have stayed up in Division two next season despite a number of athletes being unable to run or throw. All in all the se4ason has gone weel so far with the Cup Final to look forward too against the top clubs in the North .

Florida State's Mark Buckingham and Susan Kuijken Named ACC Cross Country Performers of the Week.

Kuijken collected her first individual title of the season in the five-team Covered Bridge Open in Boone, N.C. In leading the Seminoles to the team title, the Nijmegan, Netherlands, sophomore finished first by more than 18 seconds and her time of 18:00.03 was the second-fastest 5K mark of her career.

After a summer of idleness I am about to embark on the autumn/winter marathon tour, 8 races between now and new year, they are,

JW Ultra 30, Stratford to Bourneville, then Marathons in,
Loch Ness
Leicester
Amsterdam
Dublin
Standstead Abbotts
Florence
Luton.

Holmfirth Harriers AC kick-started their centenary year with a series of first class performances on Saturday at the Yorkshire Road Relays, held at Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield. This event is the start of the winter season and a chance for all Yorkshire clubs to show off their endurance running capabilities. However, it was Holmfirth who showed that they had what it took, as the senior men’s A-team ran a stunning race to win the Sidney Quinn Memorial Cup for only the second time in the Harriers history. Dave Turnbull started with a strong performance, finishing the first leg of the four mile course in 8 th place with a time of 21:09. Dave Watson stormed up the field to finish 2 nd on leg two in 20:11. Mark Dewhirst, moved on yet again to close the gap on first place Hallamshire with a run of 20.38, however, it was Nick Goodliffe who took the race past the opposition, finishing the fourth leg in first place with a time of 19:20, a new course record. Star veteran John Broom held on to 1 st place with a brilliant fifth leg time of 21:33 whilst Matthew Pierson’s 20:35, finished off the race by drawing on his experience to hold onto the lead despite repeated attacks from Hallamshire’s last leg runner.

Senior Men’s C-team, Matthew Johnson, 23:12, Matthew Dewhirst, 26:00, Jeff Pierson, 26:37, Paul Senior, 27:51, Mike Pennington, 26:08 and Brandon Holroyd, 24:49 finished in 16 th place.

However, it wasn’t just the men who ran well. The Senior Women A-team ran a sparkling series of legs, drawing on all their experience to finish in 3 rd place, winning a bronze medal. Claire Leaver headed the ladies with a first leg time of 11:35 finishing in 5 th place. Katie Walshaw ran a fast second leg with a time of 12:00 whilst third leg runner Helen Berry did well to move through to 4 th in 11:49. Club Captain Kathy Farquhar, used all her experience to pass Wakefield AC in the final 600m with a time of 11:56. The Harriers senior women’s B-team also ran a great relay as Jackie France, 12:04, Julia Johnson, 12:32, Natalie Holdsworth, 12:28 and Jean Shotter, 13:28 all ran superb races to finish in 8 th place.

Yet it wasn’t just the seniors who had impressive runs, for earlier in the day the Harriers young athletes had also shone. The U13 girls, running over a 2 kilometre lap came away with Bronze medals. Anna Beaument ran spectacularly to finish 10 th in 8:22, with team mates Rebecca Addy, 16 th in 8:43 and Gemma Radley, 20 th in 9:02, providing support. Moreover, Alannah Booth, 24 th in 9:10 and her sister Georgia Booth, 29 th in 9:25, backed up their team mates with well run races.

the first leg in 10:42. James Kendrick recorded 11:44 on leg two. In the U17 ladies relay Sarah Simmons finished in 4 th place with 12:13, Jordan Mullinger, 13:40 and Emily Bolton, 16:35 also ran well but like the U17 men they had an incomplete team.

It was good to see so many club members supporting this important County event which was a very successful and enjoyable day for athletes and spectators alike. It was particularly pleasing to see the Harriers beating the Counties big city clubs.

Holmfirth Harriers claimed gold for the first time in 24 years to kick off the centenary celebrations in great style. David Turnbull rose from his sickbed to post a creditable 21:09 to leave us in 8 th position after leg 1. Dave Watson rammed his way through most of the front end of the field, clocking 9:30 for the 1 st lap of his leg to put us in the medals in 2 nd place. Mark Dewhirst gained more ground on Hallamshire Harriers to close the gap to 25 seconds with a fine 20:38. Enter Nicky Goodliffe who destroyed Sheffield dreams to `steel’ into 1 st place with the fastest leg overall in 19:20, opening up a 42 second lead. John Broom ran a solid 10:46.25 / 10:46.33 split for the two laps to hold onto a lead of 27 seconds, leaving club captain Matthew Pierson to hold off a late surge from Martin Broadhead of Hallamshire and lead the team to victory by 26 seconds.

Support from the club around the course was phenomenal, encouraging each runner to give their all for the team. Having taken part in this event a few times from a much more lowly position, I was proud to be part of such good team spirit and a winning team at this auspicious time in HHAC’s history.

It had been 14 weeks since I last ran a distance race, the longest break I have had in 4 years. I had entered two races to fill the gap but one was washed away in the floods and then I caught a cold that prevented me having my yearly battle with Robin Hood, worse was the three weeks training I missed. These are not excuses just the facts. So I arrived at a car park on the outskirts of Stratford slightly apprehensive, I had decided to treat the day as a long training run. The race itself was organised by Bourneville harriers to celebrate the life of John Ward. He was training for the Comrades ultra in South Africa but sadly died in May, and the run along the canal was his training run.
Around 100 runners started on the outskirts of Stratford, ran through the town centre to the canal, then it was north to Birmingham, simple. Two miles into the race I took a wrong turn but soon realised my mistake, no harm done. The first 10 miles passed, the sun shon the paths underfoot were a mix of grass, what I am told is compressed chippings, mud and dirt, the countryside was jolly and the company chatty, a good time was being had by all. At the first check point I stopped and took on a goodly amount of water and set off on the second leg. After 15 miles things started getting tough, the lack of training was beginning to take its toll, and canals are not flat. There were a couple of longish drags and several nasty little bridges to cross, no problem if you were fit, but i was beginning to have that head v legs battle - you know the one, legs want to stop head says you can't, there's still 15 miles to go, brain says crikey, legs must be right. It's great fun. Anyway the second check point arrived and there was good news - several of people who had passed me in the last few miles were hanging around and we had done 21 and a bit miles rather than 20. Hurrah. With spirits lifted I set off on the last stretch, as we left the countryside and got into suburbia the path deteriorated, there were longer stretches of mud and it was getting uncomfortable underfoot, the unevenness of the path taking its toll on tired legs. I managed to stick with a group of four runners who encouraged and bullied each other over the last few miles, thank you whoever you were. For the record my finish time was 5.23, a bit disappointing but a good base for the next few weeks.

Hope it's not overlong, more from Loch Ness next week.
Gary.

I have wanted to do the Loch Ness Marathon since it began five or six years ago, when talking to people who had done it they come over all dewy eyed and say things like beautiful and breathtaking, the only problem is getting there. Last year a chum told me that Easy Jet would be flying there in 2007, so we signed up, booked accommodation and waited for the flights to be released. Months passed. Eventually I got an e-mail to say they were out but had sold within minutes. Undeterred and not wanting to loose my entry I decided to go by train. So I found myself being pushed from a still moving car by the long suffering wife outside York rail station at 7 on Saturday morning . I shall not bore you with the details, I am sure you are all well aware of the difficulties of train travel in the UK suffice to say it took 10 hours and crossed the country twice - you can get to the USA quicker.
Once in Inverness it was off to the race registration, this was at the sports centre some 20 minutes out of town, after the train the walk was welcome. Not a lot at the registration, lots of soup, courtesy of race sponsor Baxter's, and charity stalls. Back to the hotel for food and an early night.
Sunday and it's back to the sports stadium to get one of the fleet of buses to take the 2000 runners to the start. After sitting on a bus for 75 minutes you start to realise the enormity of the task ahead. We were dropped in the middle of nowhere 26.2 miles away. Thank goodness the weather was good, there was a chap doling out tea and coffee, a dozen portaloos and the baggage bus. That was it. Forty minutes later a drum and pipe band appeared out of nowhere and marched us to the start, and at 10 we were off.
The first nine miles undulate, with lots of up, there's a corker at mile seven. Around mile six you get your first look at the Loch, it is what people have said, splendid stuff especially at this time of the year with multi coloured leaves on trees, blue skys and sunshine (Dewy eye moment). Miles nine to sixteen undulate less wildly and you can get into a good rhythm before more hills at miles seventeen to twenty two.There is not a lot of crowd support until this point, then you hit the outskirts of town and things pick up. There is water and lucosade every three miles and the finish is back at the sports stadium. For your troubles you get a medal and t-shirt, there's soup and baked spuds for all runners, live music, showers and a goody bag that some couldn't carry - it contained lots of soup. This being a festival of running there is a 10k and 5k in support. All in all a fine day out. I managed 3 44 .
I left Inverness at 4 15 on Sunday afternoon and arrived home at 10 15 Monday morning. You do the maths. In that time I had travelled by train, bus and mule, but I made it.
If the rail link does improve and you get the chance or inclination to do the race, take it. It's not a pb course but well worth the effort.

Regards Gary.

Next week Leicester.

On Saturday 6 th of October 2007 Richard and Maxine Szostak attend gala reception and awards ceremony at the Headingley Experience Leeds where they were presented with the prestigious Yorkshire and Humberside Young Athletes Club of the Year.

The couple were representing all the coaches, officials and helpers who have put so much effort in over the last year with the junior athletes to earn this award which upholds the first two principal aims of the club's development plan which were re-iterated at a recent meeting these being

During the past year a number of club members have gone through coaching courses to ensure that the club has sufficient coaches to develop the younger members and to give them a wide range of athletic experience covering all the track and field disciplines plus road, cross country and tri-athlon. With another six waiting to go on courses and others looking to increase their qualifications it is envisaged that the numbers who are now attending the club will be catered for.

Although the award was not based on achievements there have been some notable performances by juniors during the year that was assessed. Max Kaye, Declan McGivern and Oliver Futrell became the first team ever from the club to win a national title when they won the National Cross Country Relays, and in Max they had the top ranked under 13 athlete in the country at both 800 and 1500 metres. The club was represented at the English Schools Finals by three athletes, Max, Sara Simmons and Junior George with a fourth Lauren Storr unable to attend due to injury.

It is however the efforts put in by all the coaches, and helpers throughout the year that went a long way to securing this award. In all in excess of 130 junior athletes have competed in a wide range of disciplines over the past year from track and field to cross country and tri-athlon.

The Junior Cross Country Races are one of the largest and most successful series of races not only in Yorkshire but the Country with over a thousand children entering this year.

Fun in athletics is approaching its twentieth anniversary and goes from strength to strength with a large number of youngsters being unable to attend this year as the event was full. This event emphasises what the ethos of the junior section is which is to enjoy the athletics and have FUN. The club work closely with other agencies, Kirklees Council, West Yorkshire Police NPT and others, and this summer staged five Norwich Union Star Track Schemes throughout the Huddersfield Area, with almost 300 children aged 8 to 13 attending. The final one of the series was staged at the clubs headquarters with 95 children enjoying the two day course, and a total of 22 coaches and helpers ensuring it went smoothly. Richard, John McFadzean and their daughters Emma and Katherine also have done a lot of coaching with Huddersfield Actionnaires, a club for blind and partially sighted athletes which culminated with them organising and staging of the national games for these down at Leeds Road Track.

The main strength of the Junior section which falls in with the aims of the club is the numbers who turn up on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus Wednesdays during the winter and who keep coming back for more, deriving great personal benefit and enjoyment from taking part and being part of a great club which is Holmfirth Harriers A.C.

I last did the Leicester Marathon in 2002, the race was based at Mallory Park, and we didn't see any of Leicester, just lots of rolling countryside. I was tempted by the promise of a Marathon in the city and a tour of the sights of Leicester. I could hardly contain myself. The old Marathon had a reputation for good organisation and had a loyal following. The new city race was well organised, as expected, lots of marshalls and drinks and the promised tour of Leicester was much better than I expected. The start was in Victoria Park next to the Uni, and a Uni building was used for changing, baggage and post race merriment. En route we saw suburbia, a spot of rolling countryside (not too much), football stadiums, parks, the space centre, parks, rivers, parks (there's 7) and the city centre. I have probably missed lots of stuff out and some parks but there was a bit of running involved. Discussion after couldn't decide if it was undulating or hilly. I didn't think it was too bad, got a bit tough near the end and the final 200 yards were cruel. The only real complaint amongst our band of vagabonds was the poor finishers medal (shame). For my part I spent the first 4 miles trying to contain my breakfast (don't know what happened there), the next 9 being very hot, (well the sun was shining), the next seven trying to catch up lost time. By mile 22 I had given up on a good time and jogged home in a very disappointing 4 06. Shame.

Regards Gary

Next week Amsterdam, or will I make the flight home in time!

I arrived in Amsterdam early Saturday morning, blue sky and sunshine, great. I however was under the weather, feeling a little fuzzy round the edges and having developed an alarming cough, I blame public transport. Nothing however was going to stop me running, after all this was Amsterdam - it's pancake flat. First stop was number pick up and expo at the sports hall behind the Olympic stadium. This year I resisted the temptation you have when in a big city to waste valuable energy trailing round and had booked a room close by. Later that evening I attempted to eat my own weight in pasta and drink several gallons of gatorade at the pasta bash.
Sunday was a grey day with a moderate wind and that was not just the weather. I was hoping that adrenalin would get me through the day. After dropping my kit off I took my place in the orange start pen a good 20 mins before the off. Runners were being whipped into a frenzy by a local radio station playing some weird euro-pop. Runners left the stadium at 10.30 like a rampaging hoard. I thought we might invade Belgium at one point. The first 8k takes you on a small loop towards the outer canal ring past the Rijksmuseum and into Vondelpark. Here after the narrow streets and wild excitement things calmed down a bit, unfortunately you exit the park near the stadium, spectators from which had de-camped along with the PA system and things got whipped up to a frenzy again. When we got to the first drinks station it was like a scene from a battle film, the poor volunteers were cowering behind their tables refusing to hand out drinks. Chaos resulted, pushing shoving people going sideways and stopping dead. At 10k you head towards the Amstel River, things quietened. Apart from a quick detour at 15k you follow the river until 20k then cross over and run back up the other side. It's a bit dull but you can see the race leaders on the far bank, or look at the flat dutch countryside. Through 25 to 30k you're running in a commercial part of the city, there are car showrooms, warehouses and an interesting cement factory. After 30km you hit suburbia again and the crowds pick up, you are now running as close as you will get to the city centre and heading back to the Museum and park again. I had been feeling OK up until 30k and knew there wasn't a lot of bounce left in the old legs, I just wanted to get to the park. Running became jogging and that was replaced by a slow shuffle. At last the park hoved into view, through the gates and I ground to a halt at a drinks station with about 3k to go, a Paula moment. Then a pacemaker for the sub 4 hour group came past, I have never run after a man with a balloon tied to his back with such determination, it felt like sprinting but obviously wasn't. Into the last corners with the balloon bobbing just in front of me then, the stadium, onto the track and the finish straight, my watch clicked over onto 4 hours. I crossed the line in 4 hours 13 seconds, bugger.
The fun didn't stop there though. Due to a oversight on my part, I now had 45 minutes to get back to the airport. I am glad to say that thanks to the dutch rail service I made it. I also got home from Amsterdam quicker than I did the week before from Leicester, although when I looked in the bathroom mirror I was surprised they let me on the plane or through customs. Despite the problems, especially the drinks, it's a very fast race. There's also a Half, a 5k and fun run. The start and finish in the stadium are probably worth the effort of the boring bits in the middle too. There's also a good turn out from the UK.

Good luck to all at the 15, I with luck will be in Dublin.
Regards Gary

Holmfirth Harries AC’s top endurance athletes were in action on Saturday at the ‘English Road Running Association Nike Men’s 6 stage and Women’s 4 stage Road Relay Championships’ held at Sutton Coalfield, Birmingham. On the traditional traffic-free course in ideal weather conditions the women raced over 4 stages of a 4.3km lap, whilst the men’s race was 6 stages of a 5.8km lap.

94 teams started the women’s race and Claire Leaver was given the responsibility of using her track speed to cope with the usual fast downhill start. Having survived the pushing and shoving of the initial rush, she worked her way through the field to bring the team home in a time of 16minutes 22 seconds. Helen Berry looked strong throughout stage 2 and moved the team up to 41 st with a 16 minutes 13 seconds return.

Jackie France continued to move the team forward finishing 39 th with a 17 minutes 14 seconds effort on Leg 3. Katie Walshaw showing her usual determination brought the team home in 35 th place just passing Notts AC in the final 100m. Katie’s time was 16 minutes 34 seconds with the team finishing in 1 hour 06 minutes 23 seconds. The race was won by Aldershot Farnham and District AC in 57 minutes 15 seconds with their last runner, European Junior Cross Country Champion Stephanie Twell running the fastest leg with a time of 13 minutes 41 seconds

Holmfirth’s Men’s team were without Club Captain Matthew Pierson through injury and International Nick Goodliffe with a chest infection, but still put up a good performance. Dave Watson ran well on a very competitive first leg to finish 32 nd in a time of 18 minutes dead with 83 teams completing the stage. Mark Dewhirst slipped back to 42 nd on leg 2 with a 19 minute 06seconds return, handing over to Dave Turnball who held this place with his 19 minutes 15 seconds effort on leg 3.

It was a glorious day on Sunday 7 th October as the early morning chill gave way to bright sunshine. At 9 O’clock the local car parks were unusually busy as athletes of all ages were emerging from their cars heading for the assembly point on Hollowgate where Holmfirth Harriers Centenary re-creation of their first ever club run was due to start at 9.30am.

Scores of athletes were already assembled, clad in their replica kit consisting of a black T shirt with a large H in white emblazoned on the front. Club President, Ashley Smith was doing a brisk trade selling the T shirts to spectators and athletes, who had made a last minute decision to take part. Meanwhile, Ashley’s Dalmation, resplendent in a specially adapted T-shirt, disgraced himself when he took exception to the 2 canine spectators standing close by.

At 9.25am over 200 current and former athletes assembled outside the Elephant and Castle ready for the off. Despite Ashley’s assertion that it was not a race, a number of the clubs older, more competitive members were already assembled on or close to the front line to ensure they featured prominently on the official photograph. Prominent amongst the initial leaders was Tim ‘every training run is a race’ Cock, Norman ‘my calf’s gone within 200m’ Berry, and John ‘will my artificial hip last the pace’ Buckingham.

The horde of runners climbed snakelike up Greenfield Road, with the majority of those setting off at the front being passed by the fitter if not necessarily younger individuals. By the time we had reached the top of the climb at Wickens Lane, Matthew Spriggs and I had broken away and we had extended our lead over the fields and roads back to the finish. Sarah Simmons who always seems to be chasing us, was first women back.

Further back Russell Bangham, only 2 months down the line from a double knee operation, was throwing himself down any rough terrain with the recklessness of a teenager. However he disgraced himself by allowing Tim Cock to out sprint him ad had to be carried into circuit training the following night on a stretcher. My dad claims to have won the prize for passing most people but rumour has it he caused a major obstruction walking down the rough path off Back Lane, Upperthong.

The Holme Valley Mountain Rescue team was despatched at 11 pm to try and find Nigel ‘Hop-a-long’ Goodliffe, whilst Christine Ellis failed to go through the finishing line, having stopped for a coffee in a café on the outskirts of Holmfirth much to the disgust of husband Graham.

A bit of a long winded title but it covers everything. A Trail run down the Lee Valley, starting in St Margaret's near Wear on the Hertfordshire/ Essex border, going through East London and ending on Hackney Marshes. The 5 to go refers to the years left to the London Olympics. The race finish overlooks the building site that will be the stadium. The very enthusiastic organisers are hoping to have a 4-3-2 and one to go.
After a few minor problems that delayed the start by 15 mins we got going and for the first 14 miles it was very nice - good paths underfoot, pretty towns, ducks, swans and folk out rowing. All very jolly. I passed some of the time explaining where Holmfirth was to southerners, three separate occasions this week (it's becoming a regular thing, I am considering getting a grant from Yorkshire Tourism for all the advertising I am doing.)
Anyhow, after 14 miles or so it became a lot more industrialised, lots of warehouses and the like and the toughest part of the race, mainly because the scenery didn't change. It was rather like I imagine running on a treadmill would be. Around mile 21 things pick up, civilisation is reached and before you know it you're on Hackney Marshes and heading for the finish.
It's not the toughest trail race and really only just qualifies for trail status. It's quite fast and there's plenty of drinks along the way. You certainly get a different view of London.

Regards Gary.

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Sophie Barraclough