Well done to our Award Winners!

The Harriers Christmas Party at Bamford Bowling Club was a night to celebrate a great year for our juniors, with a major expansion in members and many achievements across all types of event and age group. The club has gone from strength to strength through the year and is now a developing force to be reckoned with in the Sportshall league, cross country circuit and track & field meetings.

This progress was recognised at the party when club captain David Proctor presented four awards that recognised all that is good about the club. For the first time we gave 'Spirit of Athletics' awards to two athletes who, in the collective opinion of the coaching team, had shown a consistently good level of attendance, conduct, commitment and positive attitude throughout the year. The very popular and deserving winners of these awards were Beth Greenwood and James Kramer.

Our second set of awards recognised the high standards of performance our athletes have been setting through the year with Tom Kramer and Charlotte Bowker receiving AAA Grade certificates for their efforts in the long jump (Grade 2) and 200m (Grade 4) respectively.

We intend to build on the success of these awards by expanding the range for next year, watch out for further information. In the meantime our winners for 2009 are shown above with David and their awards.

Stars all round at Sports Hall Round 2!!

Another big squad of junior Harriers took part in round 2 of the Greater Manchester Sportshall League at Sportcity last Sunday. The results are in and we are in with a chance of team trophies in three of the age groups as we go into the last round next month.

Starting with the boys groups, our under 11 boys all performed well and lie 5th of 12 teams after two rounds. On the day, Dante Dawes again ran well in the 1 lap, finishing 3rd in the final, before also finishing 2nd in the V jump. Good individual points were also earned by Jack and Charlie Nicholson and by Daniel Moore. Collectively, the boys finished a good 4th in the obstacle relay.

Our under 13 boys had a very good day and are now lying in 2nd place. There were good contributions all round, particularly in the field events, where Louis Robinson excelled in the shot putt and standing triple jump, and a very good team effort for 2nd and 10 points in the 4x2 relay. Leiws Thirsk won the V jump while Luke Flanagan picked up good points in the V jump and standing long jump.

The under 15 boys carried on the good work from round 1 and go into the last round in clear 2nd place. Our boys farmed the points on the track with 1-2s for Jack Walsh and Sam Ullah in the 4 lap, Jack and Ben Johnson in the lap and a 2nd & 3rd for Tom Kramer and Ben in the 2 lap. a solid set of placed finishes in the field with good contributions from Liam Moore, Ben, Tom and Sam helped to boost the points total further to give us a realistic chance of winning this category next time.

Over to the girls now and our under 11s again showed lots of promise, with Ellen Chrimes coming 2nd in the V jump and being 1st B athlete in the standing long jump. Beth Farrington picked up place points in the V jump, as did Niamh Nugent and Rhiannon Whitworth in the speed bounce. The girls then worked well together to end up 2nd in the obstacle relay.

In the under 13 girls, Lucy Moore ran well to finish 5th in the 6 lap, while Megan Knox and Fern Robinson scored good points in the speed bounce. The girls then got together and ran a very creditable 5th in the 4x2 lap relay.

Our strong under 15 girls squad built on their first round efforts and scored points consistently across the range of events. 'Spirit of Athletics' award winner Beth Greenwood took confidence from her achievements with a PB in the standing triple jump, while Sophie Thirsk and Naomi Richardson were a formidable double act in the speed bounce with scores of 86 and 79 bringing in a total of 11 points. Charlotte Bowker came 3rd in the V jump and 4th in the standing triple jump before showing that she could vary her tactics effectively with another confident win in the 6 lap, her 6th in a row in that event. Becky Moore also picked up vital points for the team in the shot and V jump. The highlight of the afternoon was saved to last when Naomi Richardson teamed up with Charlotte Bowker to devastating effect in the 8 lap parlauf, the two girls showing great pace and team work to comprehensively beat teams from Trafford, Sale, Wigan and Bolton. The girls go into round 3 a close 2nd in what is a very competitive age group.

Well done again to all our athletes and thanks to their parents and relatives for supporting them so well, it means a lot to the athletes to know you're behind them and really spurs them on!

Great start to Sale Open Indoor Season

Four of our Junior Harriers were in action at the first of the Sale Open Indoor meetings of the winter season at Sportcity today. There were some excellent performances to build on over the next five meetings. Charlotte Bowker kicked the day's action off with a very promising 4th in her competitive 60m hurdles debut in a time of 10.78. She then joined Jenny Sherwin in the flat 60m heats and both ran very well, finishing 2nd and 3rd in PB times of 8.75 and 8.93 respectively. Meanwhile, Tom Kramer was moving up to the U17 men's category for the first time and found it no problem in the long jump, winning the Pool B competition with a lifetime second best jump of 5.47. He went on to run a highly promising 3rd in 42.4 secs in the 300 in his first attempt at the distance and finished off with a very good 2nd in the afternoon 60m heats.

Jenny and Charlotte spent the afternoon session in the shot putt where they were joined by Beth Halliday. All threw well, with Charlotte recording a PB of 6.68, Beth being close to her PB with a best of 5.96 and Jenny finishing with a very good 5.65 in her first open comp since the summer.

Well done to all, the next Sale Open event is on Sunday 20th December

REMINDER - SALE OPEN INDOOR COMPS START SUNDAY!

Just to remind all our athletes in the Under 15s upwards that the first of the Sale Open Indoor Meetings is on Sunday 6th December at Sportcity, 10.30am start. For those who've not done one before they are great experience of competing on the full indoor straight and banked-bend tracks, and in a range of field events including long jump, high jump and shot. You can enter on the day at £5 per event but get there for 10.00am at least if you intend to do so. If you want to see the event schedule Ian has all the details, catch him at Tuesday's training session. If you can't make this Sunday's event, Ian will give you all the future dates so you can put them in your diary.

For an athlete's view of what it's like, ask Tom K, Charlotte or Jack, all of whom competed throughout last winter and did very well.

Great start to new Sports Hall season

Our biggest ever squad of junior Harriers got off to a great start in the first of the Greater Manchester Sportshall League matches at Sportcity. A 30-strong group were highly competitive across all the age groups and some excellent individual performances were backed up by some great team efforts in the relays. It was great to see so many of our newer athletes enjoying a first taste of competitive action and to see all our team being backed by such enthusiastic support from their parents and friends.

We will be able to see our position in the league table once we get the finalised results later this week, in the meantime well done on behalf of the coaching team to all our athletes. Let's see if we can build on this success in the next match on the 13th December!

Sale Open Indoor dates released

Those athletes in the Under 15s age group and above may be interested in the dates of this winter's schedule of indoor meetings orgainsed by Sale Harriers at Sportcity. These very popular events are run on Sundays, starting at 11.00am and usually finishing about 4.30pm. Last year, Tom Kramer, Charlotte Bowker, Beth Halliday, Scott Greenwood and Jack Walsh all took part on various days and enjoyed the experience of high quality competition using the full indoor track and field facilities.

An entry form will shortly be available to download and send off from the Sale Harriers website. In the meantime, the dates are: Sundays 6th December, 20th December, 3rd January, 10th January, 21st February and 7th March.

For our younger athletes, the popular Young Athletes indoor meeting, which caters for athletes in the U 9 to U15 ages will be on Saturday 3rd April, detauls to follow nearer the time.

If you need any more information or advice about any of these events see Ian at training

Track season ends with more successes

Junior Harriers brought the curtain down on the 2009 outdoor track and field season with some fine efforts in the last two open meetings at Wigan and Blackpool.

Last Saturday at Wigan, Tom Kramer was back in winning form in the long jump, his best of 5.14 being good enough for gold. That effort followed a very good 100m time of 12.9 for 4th place and an excellent PB of 8.58 in the shot. Tom was joined by a number of our newer juniors, all of whom acquited themselves well. Ellen Chrimes put in good debut efforts of 17.0 in the 100m and 4.62 in the shot, while Sam Ullah had a best of 18.35 for 5th in the discus, 3.89 in the long jump and a highly respectable 2.33 in the 800m.

On a decent day for athletics this Sunday at Stanley Park, we saw more good performances in the final Blackpool Wyre & Fylde open of the year. Charlotte Bowker was in fine form in the sprints, lowering her 100m PB again to 13.8 for overall 8th of 25 and running her best 200m since mid July to finish overall 6th of 20 in 28.1. Younger sister Sophie got in on the act by knocking 8 secs off her PB with a time of 2.36 in the under 9s 600m for 5th place. Ben Johnson then completed a very busy weekend in style with a hard earned 800m bronze in a PB time of 2.20, a remarkable effort after a football match and a cross country the previous day!

Sam Ullah and Ellen Chrimes gained more valuable competitive experience and were joined by Sophie and Pippa Ullah who both performed very well across their events. Among the highlights were Sam's bronze in the discus with a best of 16.33 and Sophie's winning under 11 girls long jump of 3.43.

Well done to these and all our athletes who've competed on the track and in the field during what has been a highly successful outdoor season

Another good day at Wakefield for junior Harriers

Junior Harriers have become regular visitors to Wakefield AC's open meetings over the past few years and were again given a warm welcome by the host club. It was a big day for Laura Niven who made her competitive debut in the U13 girls 100m, finishing 6th in her heat in 17.2secs.

Charlotte Bowker had a successful day, showing her versatility by switching her track focus to the 100m and 800m. Her 14.0 time in the 100m was a PB and enough for 4th in a hot heat, and was followed with a silver medal winning time of 2.37 in the 800m. The highlight of Charlotte's day however was a big PB in the shot, her best of 6m67 adding 36cm to her previous best.

Ben Johnson kept up his impressive record of medal wins in the U15 boys 800m, showing great consistency of performance to earn silver with a time of 2.21. This was backed up by a best of 4.46 in the long jump and 3rd in his 200m heat in 28.1

Jessica Halstead also continued to build on her competitive experience, her long jump best of 3.27 being close to her PB and a top throw of 5.04 in the shot putt.

Beth Halliday rounded off the day's action with a best of 5.48 in the U17 womens shot for 5th place.

Wakefield's official photographers, Armada Photography, were at the event and have a gallery of pictures including many of our athletes who were there. Log on to www.wakefield-harriers.co.uk and look for the article on the Douglas Bedford Open Meeting for further details.

Juniors first visit to Waterloo well worthwhile

The recent bad weather finally relented as five of our Junior Harriers made the club's first visit to an open meeting run by Southport Waterloo AC at their excellent new facility in Litherland.

Although cold, windy conditions didn't make for fast times, our athletes enjoyed a successful day in the medals.

Sophie Bowker performed very well in the under 9s age group, picking up silvers in the 600m with a time of 2.41 and her first attempt at the vortex throw with a best of 7.45. Jessica Halstead had a busy day across the disciplines with a PB of 12.8 in the 75m and gold in the shot with a best of 5.48 being her highlights.

Moving up the age groups, Charlotte Bowker put in a solid under 15s 200m performance for gold in a time of 29.4 and followed up with bronze in the shot with a best of 5.91. Ben Johnson continued his impressive progress with a comfortable win in the 800m in a time of 2.21, and a bronze in the 200m behind two quality athletes in a time of 27.7.

Beth Halliday wrapped up the day's activities with her best of 5.20 in the shot earning her the gold. Our squad for the day are shown above with their silverware.

New wave of Junior Harriers shine at Trafford

On a showery Bank Holday Monday, two of our new recruits enjoyed a succesful day in the last of Trafford's Under 15 Medal meetings of the year.

Ben Johnson built on his promising recent debut in the U15 boys 800m, knocking a second off his previous best to finish 2nd and collect silver in a time of 2.20. He followed this with an excellent first competitive effort in the long jump for bronze with 4m53 and rounded off his day with a PB of 27.1 in a hot 200m heat.

Jessica Halstead's confidence grew through her set of U13 girls discus throws, with her final effort of 15m23 bringing her a very good 4th place. She then added almost 50cm to her PB in the long jump with best of 3m35 and finished off a highly promising day's work with a PB of 6m08 in the shot putt.

Ben and Jess were ably supported by two of our more experienced competitors, with Charlotte Bowker posting a highly respectable 29.1 into a strong headwind for joint 5th in the 200m and Natasha Banjac enjoynig a useful speedwork exercise with times of 14.6 in the 100m and 30.4 in the 200m, both good efforts in blustery conditions.

Well done to all our athletes and thanks to their parents and friends for their support.

Autumn fixtures flyer now out!

If you didn't get a flyer from Ian about all the various track & field, cross country and sportshall action that's coming up this autumn, see him at training ASAP. There's lots happening and you need to move fast if you want to get involved.

Next on the track is the Trafford Junior Medal Meeting at Stretford on 31st August, enter on the day, be there at 12.30 for a 1.00 start.

There are also meetings at Southport Waterlo on 5th September, Wakefield or Blackpool on the 133th, Wigan on the 19th and Blackpool again on the 27th.

Brian has all the details about the autumn / winter Cross Country sechedule and entry fees, the first race is at the end of September.

We'll be gearing up for the sportshall season from October onwards, with the first of our league meetings being in early November. Keep an eye on this site for further info as it arrives or listen in to any announcements at training.

Junior Harriers back in action at Warrington

After a short summer break, junior Harriers were back in competitive action last Sunday at the Terry Edwards Open Meeting at Warrington AC. One of the highlights of the day was Ben Johnson's successful debut for the club, in which he picked up a bronze medal for an excellent third in the 800m in a time of 2.21. Tom Kramer was also in the medals again, saving his best till last in the long jump with a gold winning leap of 5.22.

Lucy Moore, Daniel Moore, Jacob Slough, Natasha Banjac, Jessica Halstead and Naomi Richardson were also all in action and put in some very good performances across their events.

Pictured above are our medallists Tom and Ben, well done to all our athletes who took part.

Big show by junior Harriers at Barnsley

Five of our junior Harriers made the trip across the Pennines last Sunday to the Barnsley AC Young Athletes Open meeting and produced some high class performances.

Charlotte Bowker continued her improvement in the shot put with a big PB of 6.31 and added a PB in the long jump, going over 4 metres for the first time with a best of 4.03. She also reached the final of the 200m, finishing 4th in a time of 28.0.

Naomi Richardson produced a solid set of long jumps in a high class competition, despite suffering a back strain in her first attempt. She showed great determination to then reach the final of the 100m in a time of 14.7, battling on to finish a brave 6th in the final.

Jenny Sherwin also continued her rapid improvement in the shot put, saving the best till her last attempt with a PB of 6.21. She produced a PB equalling 14.2 to qualify for the 100m final and ran very well again to finish 4th in the final in 14.3

Tom Kramer put a tight hamstring to the back of his mind and did enough to collect the winner's trophy in the long jump with a best of 4.93. While clearly not 100%, he also ran well in both the 100m and 200m finals, finishing 6th and 5th.

Beth Greenwood rounded off the day with a PB of 2.53 in the 800m for 5th, after earlier increasing her PB again in the long jump to 3.51.

Well done to all of our athletes, who'll be having a short but well earned break from competitive action till mid August when the next event is the Warrington Open meeting on the 16th.

Busy weekend brings big rewards!

Junior Harriers were in action at venues across the North in one of their busiest weekends of the season and came home with more trophies, medals and PBs to celebrate.

On Saturday, Tom Kramer, Charlotte Bowker and Beth Halliday made the trip to Macclesfield to take part in their 10th anniversary Open Meeting. All were in tremendous form and produced a host of PBs. Tom lowered his 200m PB again to 25.7 for 2nd place, reached 8m10 with his shot put to take 1st and won the long jump with a best of 5m33. Charlotte breached the 6m barrier for the first time with a shot put PB of 6m05 and followed with a stunning effort in her 200m to knock almost a second off her previous PB with a 3rd place finishing time of 27.5. Beth continued her progress in the U17women’s shot, also breaking 6m for the first time with a best of 6.05 for 2nd place.

On Sunday, Niamh Nugent flew the flag for Harriers at the Sale Junior Open Meeting, bringing home a bronze medal after a spirited run in the 600m. Our older juniors made the trip to Wakefield for the Wilkinson Ackworth Open Meeting and delivered an excellent set of performances in very hot conditions. Highlights from the day included;

Naomi Richardson increasing her long jump PB again to 4m33 for 2nd place and producing a strong finish in the 800m for another 2nd place finish in a PB time of 2.53
Tom Kramer taking 1st place in the long jump and 2nd in the shot, then running a fine 26.1 in his second 200m of the weekend
Beth Halliday adding to her medal collection with 1st in the U17 women’s shot with a best of 5m69
Beth Greenwood adding 60cm to her shot put PB and running a brave race for 4th in the 800m in a PB time of 2.54
Jenny Sherwin showing further promise in the 200 with a PB of 29.1 and the shot with an excellent first effort of 6m10
Tom Holroyd producing a battling performance against a tough field of 400m runners for a PB of 61.0 secs
Charlie Maslen performing well in all three of his running events on a busy afternoon’s activity
Charlotte Bowker increasing her shot put PB again to 6.06 and running under 28 seconds again in her 200, finishing 2nd in her heat in a time of 27.9

Well done to all our athletes for some excellent efforts and for supporting each other as a team, and thanks to all the parents who turned out to support them (especially Graham for his hard work fielding and raking!).

Beth and Tom's fine efforts in Birmingham

Beth Halliday and Tom Kramer travelled down to the Alexander Stadium on Starurday to represent Greater Manchester in the Mason Trophy Inter-regional schools championships event.

Whilst both found the competition tough, they had an enjoyable day and benefitted from the experience of competing at one of the UK's premier venues.

Beth did everything asked of her and more by increasing her PB in the shot by over 30cm, recording a best of 5.96. Tom was a little below his recent best in the long jump but still recorded two jumps of over 5m with a best of 5.27.

Beth and Tom are pictured above proudly wearing their Greater Manchester vests

Harriers top of class in Rochdale Schools

Our junior Harriers were in fine form over the two days of the Rochdale Inter-schools Championships at Springhill last week.

On day one, Jack Walsh and Tom Kramer enjoyed the best of the conditions on a glorious day, both winning gold with ease in the 800m and long jump respectively. Beth Halliday threw a PB using the 3.25kg shot of 6m66 to finish 5th overall.

On day two the athletes had to contend with appalling conditions, with wind and driving rain throughout. Our athletes showed their toughness however, and came home with a fine haul of medals.

Sophie Thirsk started things off with a fine 2nd in the 1500m, then Charlotte Bowker justified her selection for the 800m in style with an emphatic win, Beth Greenwood chasing her home for an excellent bronze medal.

Naomi Richardson defied the conditions to clinch a comfortable win in the long jump, then Jenny Sherwin rounded off the individual honours with a 2nd medal of the week in the 200m, this time taking the gold in a time of 30.7.

Charlotte and Jenny were in action for Hollingworth in the 4x100 relay, Jenny running a fine lead off leg and Charlotte producing a power-packed anchor leg to secure a medal placing. Naomi was given a lot to do on the anchor leg for Wardle but ran a cracker to chase the Hollingworth girls home. For the boys, Lewis Thirsk did very well in the triple jump to finish 8th in his first attempt.

Well done to all our athletes for representing their schools and Harriers with distinction. Our pictures above show all our medallists celebratig their successes.

Harriers shine in Greater Manchester Schools Champs

Eight of our Junior Harriers were part of a twelve-strong Rochdale Schools team that took part in the Greater Manchester Schools Championships at Trafford AC last Saturday. On a glorious day, our athletes performed well against some high quality competition.

Tom Kramer (pictured above receiving his gold medal) and Beth Halliday had days to remember in their long jump and shot put events, both achieving selection for the Regional Schools Championships in Birmingham next Saturday (20th June). Tom had an outstanding day in the long jump, producing his most consistent display yet of 5 metre+ jumping and taking the gold in a close fought contest with a best of 5.43. Beth continued her medal spree in ther shot, claiming bronze with a PB of 5.64.

Naomi Richardson made it a hat-trick of PBs in a week in the long jump, her 4.27 being good enough for 4th, while Sophie Thirsk was close behind in 5th also with a PB of 4.24. Jenny Sherwin built on her debut 200m showing with a good 4th in 29.9 while Tom Holroyd made a sound competitive debut in a hot Inter Boys 800m, running a highly respectable 2.18. Jack Walsh ran well in the Junior Boys 800m, while Charlotte Bowker battled on bravely despite a nasty stitch to finish 7th in the 800m.

Best of luck to Tom and Beth next Saturday from all, lets hope the 'Harriers Minibus' is rocking on the return journey!

Harriers big midweek medal haul

The second of Oldham & Royton AC's junior medal meetings took place last Tuesday night and Harriers juniors were out in force again. Yellow and black were the dominant colours of the night as a massive squad of 17 athletes produced some fine performances across the event range.

It was great to see our younger athletes made a big impact, with Daniel Moore, Jacob Slough and Niamh Nugent all performing very well in each of their three events.

Also in the Under 9s/11s age group, Dante Dawes bagged three medals, including gold in the 75m and long jump (a fine PB of 3.59), Jake Walker won gold in his 600m and silver in the long jump (another PB of 3.44).

In the under 13s, Lucy Moore enjoyed track success with silver and bronze in the 800m (a very good time of 2.52) and 75m, while Lewis Thirsk secured silver in his 75m. James Kramer posted an improved long jump and shot put, while Charlie Maslen made an encouraging debut across three events.

Moving up to the Under 15s boys, we saw that Tom Kramer had a liking for this track, lowering his 200m PB to 25.9 with a polished display of sprinting for the gold. Silvers followed in the 100m and long jump. Jack Walsh continued his rapid development as a long jumper with a fine PB of 4.73 for bronze to go with his silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 200m. Liam Moore delivered some sound performances across his events in a tough age group.

Our Under 15 girls had a busy and productive night, highlights including Charlotte Bowker's PB of 28.4 for silver in the 200m and Naomi Richardson's second PB of the week (4.26) for silver in the long jump. Jenny Sherwin showed great promise in her first effort at 200m with bronze in 29.8, while Beth Greenwood produced a pB of 3.37 in the long jump. Sophie Thirsk defied a niggling knee to post solid 4th place efforts in the 200 and long jump.

Our squad are shown above, showing off their medals. Well done to all who took part and thanks to their parents and friends for their support on the night. The next Oldham and Royton event is on Tuesday 7th July.

Full Results

Great show at GM Championships

A big squad of junior Harriers enjoyed a successful day at the Greater Manchester Championships on a blustery Sunday at Trafford. There were some excellent performances across all age groups and events.

Medallists on the day were Tom Kramer (100m bronze and long jump silver), Charlotte Bowker (shot put silver), Jack Walsh (1500m bronze) and Beth Halliday (shot put silver).

Other highlights included another solid show from Naomi Richardson in the long jump (5th) and a rapid 75m heat win for Dante Dawes. There were also a number of encouragign performances from some of our Harriers who were new to competitive action, including a fine 5th in 14.4 in the 100m from Jenny Sherwin. A full list of the results can be seen on the Trafford AC website, go to http://www.traffordac.co.uk/ and look for fixtures / results.

Tom Kramer is pictured above, receiving his 100m medal from the Mayor of Tameside, while his fellow Harriers keep themselves wrapped up against the elements!

Victory for Walsh at Saddleworth Fell Race

Congratulations to Jack Walsh for winning the U14's Saddleworth Fell Race, with a lead of over 2 minutes.

(picture: Jack Walsh at a recent fell race)

Fun in the sun at Warrington Open

Suncream and ice-cream were the order of the day at Warrington's Open Medal Meeting on Bank Holday Monday. Four of our Junior Harriers were in action in very warm conditions and all performed well.

Charlotte Bowker produced a fine effort for 2nd in the U15 girls 800m, her first attempt at an 800m since last September. Her silver medal-winning time of 2.36 knocked some 8 seconds off her previous PB. This was followed up by a creditable 5.78 in the shot for 5th place.

Beth Halliday coped well with moving into the U17 category for the first time in the shot, firing the heavier 4kg shot 5.62m to take first place and her first-ever medal

Jake Walker and John Chaplin both had busy afternoons and produced some promising efforts across a range of events in the U11 boys category. Jake's long jump best of 3.08 caught the eye, while John's 5th in the 75m in 12.5 was also a very good performance.

Well done to all and thanks to the parents and friends who came along to support them. Charlotte and Beth are pictured above with their medals

31st May - Junior Fell Races at Saddleworth

On Sunday 31st May, a number of the Seniors are taking part in the Saddleworth Fell Race, starting at 12 noon. This is part of a Grand Prix involving 5 local Clubs.

That day Saddleworth is also hosting Junior fell races. Very kindly they have invited Rochdale's Juniors to attend.

The Juniors' race details are as folllows:

The Junior Races will commence at 10.30am with the U8 race. Parking will be at Tanners Waterside Mill, Greenfield, Saddleworth (GR SE002038) and it is a 10 minute walk to the start. (please be careful crossing the road). Registration will be at the start and is open from 9.45am.

The presentations will be in the field (weather and time allowing) after the Junior races. Entry fees for all junior races will be £1

The age categories are as follows:

U8 0.3M/100’
U10 0.6M/200’
U12 0.75/275’
U14 1.3M/550’
U16 1.7M/645
U18 3M/950’ (Will run in the senior race)

Comps coming shortly at Warrington and Trafford

Just to let you know that on Tuesday Ian will be giving out details of two competitions that are coming up very shortly.

The first is the Warrington AC open meeting on Spring Bank Holiday Monday 25th May. This is an enter on the day meeting, starting at 12.00. All age groups can enter, including Under 9s. If you want to have a go and need advice on what to enter or need help with transport, see Ian or any of the other coaches.

The next meeting is the Greater Manchester Championships, which are on Sunday 7th June at Trafford AC track in Stretford. Ian also has the entry forms for this event, for which it's advisable to enter in advance as it's double the cost on the day. ENTRIES MUST BE IN BY THIS SATURDAY, 23RD MAY.

Great efforts in Great Manchester Run!!

Six of our junior Harriers enjoyed an excellent day at the Junior and Mini Great Manchester Runs yesterday at Sportcity. Jack Walsh came in 13th in the boys race in 8mins 36, with Tom close behind in 9.21. James Kramer followed by running a very good race to complete the course in 12.45.

In the girls races, our three Hariers all ran very well, with Charlotte Bowker finishing 15th in 9.27, Beth Greenwood coming in 30th in 10.10 and Lucy Moore finishing 27th in her age group in 10.26.

All our athletes received medals and goodie bags and have been able to see some great action pics of themselves on the Great Run website!

First Parks race for junior Harriers

Last Saturday, 9th May, five of our Rochdale Harrier juniors travelled to Heaton Park to take part in the opening race of the Manchester Parks Grand Prix series. The first Rochdale junior to complete the 3K course was Jack Walsh in a time of 11.46, securing him 14th place, with the next Harrier being Lewis Thirsk (35th place) in a time 13.50. The remaining 3 Harriers finished not too distant from Lewis and in quick succession, these were Sophie Thirsk (14.08, 39th), Liam Moore (14.13, 41st) and Lucy Moore (14.14, 42nd).

Lucy in spite of suffering breathing difficulties throughout the race produced a determined late burst that almost saw her overtake Liam, evidence of this is seen in the picture taken by Nick Walsh (very near to the finish of the race) where the sheer determination is written all over Lucy's face (to see this and all the other pics from the race click on the link in 'Latest News' on the main website home page.

All in all an encouraging set of performances from all concerned and definitely something for all to build on in upcoming races. The next race in the series is a 3K race held alongside the "Reebok Manchester Sale Five Mile" at Wythenshawe Park on Monday the 25th of May, the junior race starts at 10.30 a.m.

DON'T FORGET BANK HOLIDAY COMP AT TRAFFORD!

If you're at a loose end this Monday why not come along to the Junior Medal Meeting at Trafford's Longford Park track? You can enter on the day at £4 for three events, be there for 12.30 to register and warm-up for a 1.00pm start. The afternoon's action usually ends about 5.00pm. Parents - there are very good viewing facilities in the covered stand or, if it's nice you can bring your picnic chairs and watch from the trackside. There are hot and cold refreshments on sale throughout the day in the clubhouse.

Hope to see you there, if you need any more information ring Ian on 07857 631813 anytime.

Junior Harriers' big night on Broadway

A ten-strong squad of Harriers made the short journey down the A627M to Oldham & Royton's first junior medal meeting of the season and returned with an impressive haul of medals and a host of PBs.

Tom Kramer was in blistering form in the long jump and sprints, recording PB of 5.55m in the long jump to retain his place in the national top 20, then powering to more PBs in taking gold in the 100 and 200m. Jack Walsh took silver in the long jump with an impressive first effort of 4.50m, then gold in the 800m in 2mins 28.

Four of our under 15 girls were in a competitive long jump and spurred each other onto some excellent performances which included PBs for Naomi Richardson (4.25m), Charlotte Bowker (4.00m) and Beth Greenwood (3.31m). Natasha Banjac led the way for the under 15 girls on the track with an excellent PB of 2mins 44 in the 800m and 14.2 secs for 3rd in the 100m. Charlotte Bowker claimed silver in the 200m in 28.8secs, with Sophie Thirsk producing a very good run of 31.5secs for 5th .

In the under 13 girls, Lucy Moore bagged two silvers in the 600m (2mins 03) and long jump (2.92m), while in the undr 13 boys Lewis Thirsk put in a solid set of efforts for 4th in the 75m, 5th in the 150m and 6th in the long jump.

Rounding things off was Dante Dawes, who belied his inexperience to take gold in the under 11 boys 75m in 12.1secs and silver in the 150m in 26.3secs.

Well done to all who took part, lets look forward to more success at the next event on the 9th June.

Harriers excel in busy Easter weekend

A small group of our juniors were in action at two medal meetings over the Easter weekend and delivered some excellent performances.

On Saturday four of the squad travelled over to the Wakefield Spring Open where they were amongst 420 athletes in a high class day of competition. Tom Kramer achieved a huge PB of 8.47 in his shot for fifth place and followed up with a silver medal winning jump of 4.95 in the long jump. A good afternoon's work was complete with an outdoor PB of 27.09 in the 200m. Our picture gallery above shows all of our athletes in action (thanks to Wakefield A.C's official photographer for these images)

Naomi Richardson produced three consistently good performances, achieving 3.89 in the long jump, a very good 14.6 in her 100m and 2.59 in the 800m.

Charlotte Bowker improved on her promising 200m debut at Wigan with a new PB of 29.2 for 3rd in her heat. This came after another PB of 5.77 in her shot and a distance of 3.62 in the long jump.

Georgina McGrath made a welcome return to competitive action and enjoyed a very good afternoon, throwing 5.95 in the shot, producing a PB of 3.66 in the long jump and running a creditable 16.0 in the 100 despite feeling some discomfort in her ankle.

On Easter Monday the action moved onto Trafford, where in sunny and warm conditions there were more very good performances. Tom improved his PB again in the 200m, winning his heat in a time of 26.4. He was then in the medals again in the long jump with another leap of 4.95 and finished off with another 8m + throw in the shot.

Charlotte enjoyed a highly promising debut in the high jump, only bowing out of the competition at 1.35. It was PBs all round as she improved on Saturday's efforts in both the 200m and shot putt with 28.6 and 5.88 respectively.

Tom and Charlotte were joined in the shot by Beth Halliday who, after a long absence from competition, picked up the thread very well and delivered a PB of 6.02

Well done to all our athletes and let's see them joined by a few more Harriers at the next Trafford meeting on May Day Bank Holiday Monday

Harriers trio in warm-up action at Wigan

Tom Kramer, Naomi Richardson and Charlotte Bowker were all in actio at the Wigan Harriers Spring Warm-up Meeting at Robin Park last Sunday. All performed well considerign they had been in action at Sportcity the day before and put a lot into those events.

Tom recorded a distance of 4.74 for 4th in the long jump and ran creditable races in his 100 and 200 heats, with times of 13.6 and 27.1 respectively.

Naomi continued her good form in the long jump with a distance of 3.91 and knocked 2 seconds off her PB in the 800m with a time of 2.56. She also ran a solid race in her 100m heat in 15.0

Charlotte Bowker recorded distances of 3.64 in the long jump and 5.48 in the shot before trying a new event on the track in the 200m. This proved a good choice as she won her heat impressively in a time of 30.4 secs.

Tom and Charlotte will be in Yorkshire this weekend for ther Rotherham Harriers Spring Open, more news of which will be published on the blog next week

Sophie and Lewis excel in Tom Pink Relays

Sophie and Lewis Thirsk represented Greater Manchester in the regional Tom Pink Relays event at Sportcity last Sunday and did themselves proud.

Lewis competed in 1000m relay for U11 Boys in which they had to beat Paula Radcliffe's record of 2 minutes and 49.0 seconds. Each team member had to run 4 times at distances of 50m. They completed it in a time of 2 minutes and 45.2 seconds, finished 3rd overall and came home with a medal. Lewis's last event was the over/under relay which they had to go over hurdles and through a tunnel made out of mats, they also came 3rd and he won his second medal.

Sophie competed in the 3 x 2.5 Lap (500m) relay for under 13s, where she ran a briliant leg to build up a good 60m lead on fellow competitors. The team eventually came in 3rd overall with a time of 4 minutes and 47.7 seconds enabling Sophie to come home with her first medal. Sophie also competed in a new event for her of the 'highland steps' and came 8th overall, then recorded finished a distance of 1.91 for the standing long jump.

Well done to Sophie and Lewis for representing themselves, Harriers and Greater Manchester with distinction.

Big squad, big performances at Sportcity

A big squad of junior Harriers wwere in action on a busy day of indoor athletics at the Sale Open Junior Indoor meeting at Sportcity last Saturday. There were many highlights throughout the day, but here are just a few:
Niamh Nugent made her debut at just 8 years old and had a great day, winning her 600m heat, the standing triple jump and coming second in the soft javelin.
Jake Walker won his U11 boys 200m heat in the fastest time of the day, whilst Dante Dawes did the same in the U11 Boys 60m
Lucy Moore ran a great race in the U13 Girls 600m, finishing 2nd in a time of 2.01 and produced a PB of 3m16 in her long jump
Sophie Thirsk was top of our trio of U15 girls long jumpers with an excellent PB of 4m21 taking her into 3rd place. Naomi Richardson also produced a PB in this event of 3m97.
Tom Kramer rounded off the day's action by winning the U15 Boys long jump with a leap of 5m09 and blasted round the 200m track to record a PB of 26.2.
Another debutant, Lance Leighton performed very well in all his three events, including a good first effort of 10.4 in the 60m heats
A big shout out also to Lewis Thirsk, James Kramer, Daniel Moore, Ellis Thompson, Jenny Sherwin, Charlotte Bowker and Beth Greenwood, all of whom performed very well in their events and showed great promise for the outdoor season ahead.

Hot performances at Blackpool Warm-up

Five of our juniors were in action today at the Blackpool Wyre & Fylde A.C Winter Warm-up meeting. Our athletes performed well in cold, windy conditions that were particulary testing for those in the middle and long distance races.

Tom Kramer continued his impressive run of form with a PB of 13.1 for 3rd in the 100m and followed up with another 3rd in the 200m in 27.3, an equal to PB time. He also produced a putt of 7.58 for 3rd in the shot.

Lucy Moore also built on her recent success in the Midleton Harriers Primary Schools cross country series with a well judged and gutsy 2nd in the U13 Girls 1200m. This followed a solid long jump effort of 2.94.

Lucy's younger brother Daniel made his competitive debut and performed very well in both the long jump and the 600m

Naomi Richardson had a busy afternoon, producing a good shot putt of 5.55, an 800m time of 2.58 and a PB of 14.4 to win her heat in the 100m

Amelia Gavin also competed in three events, finisghing 9th in the under 13 girls 600m in 2.28 and 5th in her heat in the 80m. These efforts followed a sound long jump performance of 2.41.

Well done to all our athletes and thanks to the parents and friends who braved the chilly weather to support them.

If you want to get competing outdoors, you can enter the Wigan Warm-up meeting next Sunday on the day. Details were in the packs Ian gave out recently, if you need them again see Ian at training.

Lucy celebrates cross-country success

Lucy Moore's consistent perfomances throughout this winter's South East Lancs cross country series earned her an excellent 5th place overall in her age group. Lucy is pictured with her trophy, awarded at the SEL presentation night last week at Horwich RMI club.

Well done to Lucy for a great set of performances and we look forward to her being joined by more of our junior Harriers when the next series of races start in the Autumn.

Tom jumps into the national rankings

Tom Kramer launched himself into to the top dozen nationally for under 15 boys long jump with a tremendous day's efforts at last Sunday's Sale Open Indoor meeting at Sportcity. His previous PB of 4.71 was left well behind when in his first attempt of three he recorded 5.18. After a no jump on attempt 2, he produced a sensational jump of 5.46, the best in his age group in the North West to date this year and 12th best nationally.

Tom will be hoping to build on this excellent effort as the outdoor season starts with open competitions at Wigan and Wakefield, and the first of the regular junior medal meetings at Trafford at Easter.

Harriers duo deliver in Regional Sportshall finals

Charlotte Bowker and Jenny Sherwin performed with great credit today when they were part of Greater Manchester's 3rd placed Under 13 Girls team in the Regional Sportshall Finals at Robin Park Arena, Wigan.

Jenny kicked off proceedings with an excellent first leg run in the 4x1 lap obstacle relay, helping her team to a 3rd place finish.

Charlotte then earned a bronze medal in the 6 lap, battling on despite suffering from a groin strain on the 4th lap when challenging for the lead. Fortunately the damage was only short term and, after a short break, she was able to claim a bronze in the vertical jump with a score of 51.

Jenny continued her good form in a highly competitive speed bounce, finishing just outside the medal placings with a score of 73.

Charlotte rounded off our athletes' participation, teaming up with Wigan's Natalie Thompson to finish 3rd in the 8 lap parlauf race.

Well done to both girls for their efforts and to their families for giving them great support all day.

Regional date for Charlotte and Jenny

Junior Harriers excellent showing in the GM Sportshall Chapionships was recognised further today with the news that Charlotte Bowker and Jenny Sherwin have been selected to represent Greater Manchester in the Regional Sportshall Championships on 22nd February at Robin Park Arena, Wigan. They will compete in the Under 13 Girls category alongside fellow GM athletes against teams from across the North West.

Well done to both and all the best for further success on the day.

Harriers round off Sportshall season in style

Our biggest-ever Junior Harriers squad delivered a host of excellent performances in the GM Championships last Sunday. Three individual gold medals, a silver and a bronze were backed up by a team silver and bronze for our Under 11 Boys and Under 13 Girls A relay teams. A stunning 16 personal bests were spread across the age ranges and events, along with some exciting debut performances.

Individual glory was tasted by Charlotte Bowker who took gold in the vertical jump and in a fourth successive victory in the 6 lap time trial, debutant Jenny Sherwin who took silver in the speed bounce, Amelia Gavin who bagged a bronze in the vertical jump and Jack Walsh in the 6 lap time trial.

Our Under 11 Boys relay team (pictured above) won through to the 4x2 lap final, where, after solid teamwork from James Scott and Harry Wain in legs 1 and 2, a blistering 3rd leg by Adam Boardman set up Lewis Thirsk to carry the baton home for a thrilling silver. The Under 13 Girls showed tremendous team spirit again, with Sophie Thirsk, Beth Greenwood, Naomi Richardson and Charlotte Bowker coming home in a close third for a well earned bronze medal.

Amongst many other good performances throughout the day were debutant Dante Dawes and Lewis Thirsk's progress to the final of the 1 lap, PBs for Beth Greenwood and Naomi Richardson in the standing triple jump along with an excellent debut 4th place for Jenny Sherwin.

Well done to all of our athletes who took part in a memorable day's athletics, which highlighted the rapid progress Junior Harriers have made during the winter season. Thanks also to all the parents and friends who supported our athletes so enthusiastically on Sunday, your backing was a big factor in the athletes success and is appreciated by the athletes and the coaching team.

Next up in March is 'the real thing' when we return to Sportcity but this time for an indoor junior athletics meeting using the full indoor track and field facilities. Lets see another big squad having a go at what is an exciting event and a great experience. The coaching team will be giving you entry details at training this month, information will also be on this website.

Team success at final Sportshall League match

Our Junior Harriers completed the three-round GM Sportshall League series at Sportcity last Sunday and ended the series with two medal winning group performances as well as a host of PBs across the age ranges.

The Under 11 Boys and Under 13 Girls groups (pictured above) both secured Bronze medal finishing places with another excellent set of performances. Highlights from the boys included two 2nds in the speed bounce ans standing long jump for James Scott, 3rd and 4th for Adam Boardman in the speed bounce and vertical jump for Adam Boardman and a very good 3rd for the boys in the relay. Stand-out moments from a solid team performance by the girls were a tremendous PB of 80 from Naomi Richardson in the speed bounce, a thrid win in the 6 lap for Charlotte Bowker and 2nd in the standing triple jump for Beth Greenwood.

Across the other age ranges Tom Kramer produced a PB of 7.95 in the shot, there was a 2nd in the speed bounce for Lucy Moore and solid points scoring across events from Callum and Liam Moore.

Lets look forward to some more great showings at the GM Championships on Sunday, please be at Sportcity by 12.15 with your vest if you have one.