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.