|
09/05/08 Victoria 2nd in the Ballon WMRA race
Bingley Harrier Victoria Wilkinson, representing Great Britain, came second (48:41) in the first race of the 2008 WMRA Grand Prix series. A good start to the season for Victoria, who was runner up in 2007 Grand Prix series. The 6km women’s race was won by Martina Sraehl (Switzerland) in a new course record time of 46:42. Victoria’s team mates Sarah Tunstal and fellow Bingley Harrier Anne Buckley came in 3rd and 5th places respectively, a very impressive performance from the British girls.
Steve Vernon, a British cross-country international, came second in the men’s 13 km race 21 seconds behind Emmanuel Meyssat of France, who won in 61:34.
 Full report and results here
08/05/08 Bingley runs rings in bunny run relay
The Bunny Runs ended on a busy note with 84 teams of three all crowding around Dave Woodhead to be given their baton - an unboiled egg to be carried around the hilly, craggy course in tact! Teams were of three, with the first leg being 2.75 miles, followed by two legs of 2 miles. The naming of teams made it hard to decipher how many Harriers were actually in the field but a few names gave it away:
Spoonful of the Wright Stuff
Which consisted of Martha Wright and her dad Alan won the mixed category in 39.47 and the team staggered away from the pub with armfuls of chocolate
Bingley Weights Family:
47 min 20 secs (Becky 18.23, Vincent 16.02, Gordon 12.05)
The Bingley Bunny Girls:
48 min 52 secs (Sue Fulton 19.59, Mary Webb 14.50, Jenny Vasey 14.03)
The Bingley 'Z' team:
49min 50 secs (Stephen Firth 18.33, Lisa Spencer 15.41, Faye Robinson 15.36)
Anymore Harriers team? Please let us know!
07/05/08 National Young Athletes League Northern 1 Chester le Street
Sunday May 4th
Despite the Bank Holiday weekend and gaps in the team Bingley Harriers did well and finished 2nd in the first match in 2008. Chesterfield ran out clear winners with 418 points, Bingley had 276.5 points, Cleethorpes 228.5 points and Birtley 223.5 points.
Winning performances were registered by Ben Marriott in the U17 1500m, Phil Jones in the U17 Discus, Matthew Chambers U15 100m, Ayrton Aldridge U15 Long Jump’B’ , Andrew Russell U13 High Jump, Catherine Walker U17 200m ‘B’, Holly Craig U17 300m ‘B’, Leanne Jennings U17 800m, Holly Craig U17 1500m, Philipa Medley U17 High Jump, Alex Pringle U15 Javelin and Shot, Katie Ingham U15 Javelin ‘B’, Amelia Jeavons U13 Shot. The Shots are heavier than Amelia so well done and well done to all who took part and gained valuable points.
01/05/08 Blackpool Half Marathon
A day out at the seaside saw Bingley trio Stew Macdonald (2nd in 71:44), Tim Midgley (3rd in 72:11) and John Convery (6th in 72:44) mix it with the best.
01/05/08 Redcar Half Marathon.
On the 25th April in Redcar, Zac Kihara of Kenya led home a field of over 1,000 finishers. Kihara, along with his compatriot Raymond Tonni, took the lead almost from the start. Khira eventually pulled clear of the field and crossed the line in exactly 67 minutes, with Tonni 150m adrift.
Matthew Watson of Bingley claimed third spot in a time just under 68 minutes,
01/05/08 Epilepsy Action Bradford 10k
In the inaugural Epilepsy Bradford 10K Bingley had some fine performances with Stewart Macdonald finishing 3rd (1st M40), Jon Dawson 5th, Richard Scott 10th (3rd M40), Majid Ali 14th, Peter Pyrah 26th, John Firth 62nd (2nd M65), James Brass 75th, Oliver Downing 76th (3rd M65) Michael Long (1st M55) Terence Green 95th , Marisol Brown 2nd (F35) and Sally Harding 9th (F40).
The winning time was 31:48 by Will Smith of Keighley & Craven.
01/05/08 COURSE RECORDS SMASHED AT HAWKSHEAD
BOTH the men’s and women’s course records were smashed in the third PUMA Hawkshead Trail Race on Saturday. Competitors in the trail race – the highlight of the day – were paraded to the start line to the thumping beat of internationally renowned Brazilian drumming band Batala Liverpool. Andy Jones (Salford Harriers) led from the gun, breaking Steve Vernon’s 15km course record by 50 seconds. Jones is regarded as one of the UK’s leading distance runners, and beat James Walsh (Leeds City AC) by three minutes to collect the £200 winner’s prize. Last year’s British fell running champion Rob Hope (Pudsey & Bramley AC) was third. The performance of the day came from Victoria Wilkinson (Bingley Harriers). She broke her own course record by four minutes, finishing 11th overall in a high-quality field. Sarah Tunstall (Kendal AC) was runner-up, with Olivia Walwyn (Altrincham & District AC) third.
01/05/08 First Places for Bingley in Woldsman and the AT WHITWORTH
Whilst a number of Harriers were having a tiring time on the 24 miles of the 3 Peaks, Ian Hill was joint 1st in the 50 mile Woldsman at Driffield. He completed the course in 8 hours 11 minutes. According to those who used GPS, the distance was 52 miles, with 5000 ft of climbing.
Also taking part was Andy Elwood of Skipton, an ex-Harrier, who finished 8th in 9 hours 57 minutes. Ian says “He owes it all to Adrian’s Sunday Runs finally taking effect!” The last runner/walker finished in 19 hours 6 minutes; 114 out of 124 starters finished the race.
Three days earlier another Harrier, Jon Cordingley was 1st in the Colin Robinson, a 4.2 mile race at Whitworth, in 23 minutes 11 seconds.
27/04/08 Three Peaks
The 2008 Three Peaks race was, as usual, well supported by Bingley athletes. Unfortunately Rob Jebb was unable to repeat the success he has seen in this event in recent years finishing in 4th position, some 6 minutes adrift of race winner Jethro Lennox of Shettleston Harriers. Three Peaks record holder Andy Peace was the next Harrier to finish in 10th place ahead of Ian Holmes (23rd) and Robin Lawrence (24th). Bingley’s Sharon Taylor finished 100th overall in 3:34:15.
A full list of Bingley positions can be found here.
21/04/08 Q. How many "firsts" can there be in one race? A. Five!
At the Rothwell 10k on the 20th April 2008, 10 Bingley Harriers competed against 658 other runners, resulting in 5 getting 1st in their age group, 2 getting 2nd and 2 getting 3rd! As you can see, they also recorded 2nd and 3rd overall. They were 2nd John Convery M45(001/049) in 32:50, 3rd Tim Midgley M(001/075) in 32:53, 20th Chris Gibbins M35(003/080) in 34:49, 53rd Sue Becconsall F45(001/040) in 37:10, 66th Gerry Bell M55(003/038) in 37:44, 73rd Les Haynes M65(001/012) in 37:52, 96th Andrea Dennison F40(002/060) in 38:55, 97th Bob Dover M60(001/021) in 38:55, 118th Michael Smith M65(002/012) in 39:58 and 406th Ian Bland M45(033/049) in 50:27.
21/04/08 - Vic(toriOus) Wilkinson 1st again!
Victoria Wilkinson broke her own 2007 record in Saturdays (19th April) 15km Puma Hawkshead Trail Race. She was 1st Lady and 11th overall, in a field of 591 runners, in a time of 62:45 and just 2:45 behind 4th placed Harrier, Matt Whitfield. She broke her record by 4:02
19/04/08 Medals for Harriers in the BMAF Cross Country.
On 29th March in Banbury nine of our stalwarts braved the long journey, strong winds and heavy rain to turn out in this highly competitive event on a genuine course. Club cross country captain, Stewart MacDonald, led by example and recorded the fastest time for our athletes completing the 'youngsters' race (over 35-49) in 12th place (30.33) closely followed by John Convery - 17th in 30.57 then Carey Gray (34.27). Unfortunately, due to the injury of veteran captain Steve Fry, we were unable to field a complete team unlike the 'pensioners' squad who came away with bronze finishing only 20 seconds behind the accumulated time of the winners. Our counters were 0/65 gold medalist Les Haynes(36.00), Neil Robson (36.46) and Bob Dover (37.17) ably supported by Mike Smith who was recovering from injury (37.47). Gerry Bell had a good run and clocked 35.58 in the 0/55's but our stars were undoubtedly Sue Becconsall (W O/45) 6th in the women's race in 27.02, on the shorter course, and Les Haynes who both won their age groups.
A big vote of thanks goes to Fred Gibbs who could not turn out, due to injury, but came along to encourage the others.
Unfortunately, there was great confusion with the results which were not all available on the day and which still needed amendment afterwards; nevertheless, another successful day for our veterans!
15/04/08 London Marathon 2008
Congratulations to all the Club members who took part in the London Marathon - the club results were:
Ladies:
Andrea Dennison 3:01:02
Lisa Mawer 3:04:06
Both stars of television on more than one occasion.
Mary Webb 3:45:38
Helen Peace 4:27:83
Catherine Baran 6:08:45
Sue Clarke 6:08:45
Sue Whiteley 6:08:46
Men:
Richard Scott 3:07:26
David Norfolk 3:37:44
Gerard Biggs 6:17:38
David Norfolk thanked the Club for giving him the opportunity to run :
“I had a great time & ran in 3:37:44 which was better than I expected. It was fun despite the downpours. It was a great experience & it enabled me to raise over £1,000 for the Candlelighters Children’s Cancer charity based at St James' hospital Leeds. My son Michael died of cancer aged 10 just 4 years ago & they gave us great support”.
There are some photos of Andrea and Lisa in the photo gallery
14/04/08 Two Recent Firsts!
Tim Midgley 1st in 34:42 at Arkendale 10K, North Yorkshire 30th March. (320Runners). Shaun Jordan 1st V55 and 28th overall in 38:22 at Bolton 10K on 13th April 2008. (547 Runners)
11/04/08 The Bunny Runs Just Keep on Coming!!
31 Bingley girls and boys turned up for the second of 4 individual races. Weather conditions were better than last week, for the 272 strong field, with the winning time some 30 seconds faster. A great run by Jonathan Brownlee (15:37) to finish second by only 4 seconds from Willy Smith of Keighley. Sharon Taylor won for the second week on the trot with a time of 18:45 and also secured the ladies egg stage prize to boot! Bunny Run veteran Ian Holmes finished first V40 and third overall in 15:45 closely followed by Tim Midgley in 5th in a time of 16:13.
Full results at the Woodentops site.
10/04/08 Peacy, Peaking, Peaks?
At Pendle Fell Race on 5th April 2008, Andy Peace was 1st in 32:41, closely followed by Victoria Wilkinson 5th overall and 1st lady in 34:38. They were supported by Andy Wood 117th in 47:41, Dave Merritt V60 148th in 51:50 and Roger Hall V60 178th in 56:00. There were 197 runners. James Hall 2nd from 16 in the U12s also supported by Emily and Lucinda Peacock who both came 13th in their respective races.
09/04/08 5th Place in Northern 12-Stage Relays
Catterick Garrison was the venue for this year’s Northern 12 stage road relays, comprising 4 long legs of 5.5 miles and 8 short legs of 3 miles.
The weather forecast wasn't a good one and it looked like the later runners were going to suffer, and that they did.
Before the event a top 6 finish was forecast and the possibility of a medal, and that's just how it panned out. Never lower than 7th, and only 1 minute 4 seconds shy of the bronze medal, behind Leeds city, Liverpool, Trafford and Sale.
Matthew Watson started the ball rolling with a fine first leg coming home 4th (28.03) within half a minute of the lead. John Convery was next on the first of the short legs, keeping us in touch in 7th (16.04). A super run on leg 3 by Tim Midgeley was our fastest short leg bringing us back into 4th spot (15.41). Matthew Whitfield kept it tight on long leg 4 coming home in 5th position (28.55). Road relay debutantes Lee Athersmith and Patrick Carey were the next to cover the 2 short legs 5 & 6. They showed no signs of nerves with Lee gaining a place and Patrick losing a couple to leave us in 6th place at the halfway stage (15.58)&(16.38). It was at this point the weather really did take a turn for the worse, with snowflakes the size of saucers battering the runners. It didn't affect Ian Holmes though, as he maintained 5th position on long leg 7 (29.09). With nothing to choose between Andy Brown and Stewart Macdonald on legs 8 & 9 (16.23)&(16.20) we were in 5th, but still 3 minutes off the medals. Then came Chris Cariss on long leg 10, with conditions for running still atrocious, he gained some time on the medal teams, despite taking a tumble in the slippery conditions (28.24). It was left to Jon Cordingly (15.50) and Aidan Johnson (16.14) to bring us home a very cold but satisfied 5th.
09/04/08 Yorkshire Sportshall Athletics Festival
Following the successful eliminator match held at Richard Dunn Sports centre on 19th January the City of Bradford Under 11 Girls Team and the Under 11 Boys team travelled to the English Institute of sport in Sheffield for the Yorkshire & Humberside Finals.
The match at Sheffield featured 12 teams from North, West, South and Humberside and the East Riding all keen and raring to go. Both the Boys and Girls soon found out that even teams they beat in the eliminator match were keen to make amends and all were keen to finish as champions. Passing through the events it looked very close with all teams picking up wins on the track and on the field events.
In the end the City of Bradford Girls team finished in 7th place still only a few points outside the top 3 teams with Sheffield winning the competition. Looking at the Girls scores a few more points in the 4 relays would have meant them challenging for a top spot, It just shows one slip in the relay can cost points. In the individual events Alex Walsh was ranked joint first in the Balance Test, Haiqa Faroog was 3rd in the Chest Push Phoebe Foster was 4th in the Chest Push and Lucy Hemsley 4th in the Standing Triple Jump. The rest of the team did very well in their individual events which are scored together with their team mates for the team positions. Nerves go to some team members but they are all young and can do it all again next year.
The City of Bradford Boys team were pipped by Leeds in the Eliminator match and found in Sheffield could not find that extra to overall them in the final. Leeds were first with City of Bradford finishing in 2nd place by just 12 points. The Bradford Boys had a star with Samuel Afari winning the Chest push with 9.25m and Standing Long with a leap of 2.28m. Samuel also featured in the well in the relay but the Boys did drop points in these events. Other top ranked Boys included William Giles winning the Balance Test, Sam Holdsworth was joint 2nd in the Target Throw and Kyle Leighton-Bingham was 2nd in the Vertical Jump.
The day was an excellent experience for the youngsters with all teams and competitors being cheered on in an excellent facility that caters for excellence in all sports. It should not be too log before some of these athletes are using the facilities in the top talent coaching squads and indoor athletics competitions.
It is now the turn of selected Under 13 & Under 15 Boys and Girls who will represent West Yorkshire in the UK Finals at the NEC in Birmingham on 12th April.
01/04/08 Bingley Bunny successes
22 Bingley Harriers turned out amongst the 251 runners for the first Penistone Hill Bunny run of 2008. Sharon Taylor was first lady in 19.05 (24th overall). Ian Holmes was first V40 in 16.28, and second overall. With a waterlogged course and strong wind Ian’s 15m record from 2007 was safe from this year’s winner Andi Jones of Salford who, fresh from running for Great Britain in the World XC Championships at Edinburgh, won in 16.05.
After Ian another 4 Bingley runners were in the top 20 – Tim Midgely (4th, 16.59), Robin Lawrence (7th, 17.16), Martin Peace (12th, 17.57) and James Senior (17th, 18.32), with Ian, Tim and Robin taking the men’s team prize.
Amongst the rest Stephen Firth (112th, 23.21) won a Bingley Harrier challenge by beating Becky Weight (132nd, 23.58); Becky’s excuse was a bad back so watch out Stephen the challenge is still on. Despite `trotting round’ Becky picked up the first FV50 in her first event in the category.
Bingley Harriers juniors (age 12 minimum for this event) were represented by Gordon Weight (116th overall and 5th BU14, 23.31) and Nicole Narey (187th, 26.55, GU14) with mums Becky and Sue Narey (225th, 31.11) running in support. Well done to Gordon and Nicole who both beat their mums!
The next four Tuesdays see another 3 Bunny runs followed by the relay event (age 10 minimum for the relay) so let’s see what Bingley can do for the rest.
26/03/08 Causey Pike win for Natalie
Natalie White Does it again. At the 4.5 mile Causey Pike fell race in the company of 114 runners, Natalie was 1st Female and 23rd overall, supported by Sharon Taylor, 3rd Lady and 34th overall. Rob Jebb was 6th and Pete Jagan was 84th.
24/03/08 Guiseley Gallop
Bingley Harriers had 2 firsts and a third in their respective age categories. Seven Harriers turned out for the popular Guiseley Gallop 10K on Sunday 23rd March, which saw 406 runners tackle the snow covered course. Richard Scott was 3rd runner overall, 1st male O45 in a time of 36:53 which was an excellent result after completing the Haworth Hobble 8 days earlier in 5:17:28. Tim Midgley 21st in 39:06 (raced 2 days earlier at Salford 10K in 33:52), Paul Mitchell 33rd in 40:04, Alice Fulton 114th and 1st FJ in 45:20, chased by mum Sue 165th and 3rd F045 in 48:14, Sally Harding 285th in 54:56 and Louise Akeroyd 305th in 56:47.
20/03/08 Cross Country News
Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.
On 15th March several Bingley athletes represented Yorkshire at the Inter Counties Cross Country at Nottingham which was also the Trials for the World Cross Country Championships.
Senior Women: Victoria Wilkinson 7th,
Lucy Mayho 75th
Under 15 Girls:
Holly Shreeve 35th, Carly Robertson 49th
Senior Men:
Matthew Watson 15th
Under 20:
Jonathan Brownlee 10th (Second Team award)
Under 17:
Thomas Crowley 30th (First Team Award)
Victoria was hopeful that 7th place would give her a reserve spot on the GB & NI Team for the World Championships. However a couple of pre-selections put her just out of the 8 places.
Northern Schools XC Championships 1st March Manchester
Intermediate Girl Winner Carly Robertson.
UK Cross Challenge
Over the Cross Country season the usual Northern and National Championships are these days over shadowed by the UK Cross Challenge Series in which the elite athletes of the UK are pitched in against top world athletes with a view to development and gaining momentum against the best in the world. The series includes trials for the European Cross Country Championships and recently in conjunction with the Inter Counties Championships the World Trials. Bingley had three contenders in the Challenge with the final overall rankings showing Matthew Watson in a brilliant 3rd place, Victoria Wilkinson in a fantastic 6th place and young Holly Shreeve in a wonderful 3rd place in the Under 15 Girls series.
Bingley Harriers Club Cross Country Champions
The Cross Country Champions are selected by the Cross Country Team managers on performances in Championship events over the season.
Men 1st Alistair Brownlee, 2nd Matthew Watson, 3rd Chris Cariss
Women 1st Sharon Taylor, 2nd Victoria Wilkinson, 3rd Mary Wilkinson
18/03/08 6th for Aiden in Spen 20
The lack of published results so far made it difficult to see exactly how many Bingley Harriers had entered the Spen 20 - a hilly 20 mile road race ideal for pre-marathon training. Only two blue and white vests could be spotted amid the 220 or so runners; Aidan Johnson was 6th male overall in 2hrs 01mins and Mary Webb 9th female in 2hrs 43 min. 2nd claim Bingley Harrier Margaret Firth completed in 3hrs 1 minutes.
09/03/08 Women Victorious at Black Combe
Bingley ladies have made a great start to defending their 2007 English Fell Running Team Championship title with a win at the first championship race, Black Combe. Natalie White continued her great form to comfortably win the race in 1.22.00, backed up by Sharon, who after a slow start pulled through to 3rd (1.25.30) and Aly Raw whose sprint finish for 9th place (1.29.47) sealed the win by 1 point from Calder Valley. It looks as though individual medals could be on the cards in the veteran categories, Aly was 2nd V40 and Sue Becconsall 2nd V45 in 14th position overall (1.33.36). As always, the team was backed up by Mandy Clarke in 1.57.51.
07/03/08 Yorkshire Sportshall Finals
Four teams representing West Yorkshire travelled the short distance to Halifax on Sunday to compete in the annual Yorkshire Regional Final for places in the United Kingdom Finals to be held at the NEC in Birmingham on 12th April. This was the second round of a highly competitive series of events, which is designed to keep young athletes interested in the sport through the long winter months of training. It was held at the North Bridge Leisure Centre, on Sunday, between all the four Yorkshire Areas – North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside and West Yorkshire. The performances on the day were outstanding with 3 of the 4 teams winning and qualifying on the day for the UK Finals.
In this years competition the Under 13 Girls team beat the nearest rivals North Yorkshire by 96 points. All the 15 Under 13 Girls in the team came home with at least one medal and had a total tally of 24 medals and winning 3 of the 4 relay races. They now look forward to the trip to the National Exhibition Centre.
In the Girls under 15 Individual All-Rounder competition West Yorkshire members Athene Idiabor Moses was overall Champion with 140 points and Phillipa Medley and Jessica Mayho joint second place just 2 points behind.
The West Yorkshire Under 15 Girls team came first beating North Yorkshire into second by a margin of 32 points and beating Humberside into third and South Yorkshire into 4th and came home with came home with a haul of 16 medals.
The under 13 Boys team just about every team member out of the 15 Boys came home with at least one medal and beat the Humberside team into 2nd place by a margin of 172 points with North Yorkshire in 3rd place and South Yorkshire in 4th. The Under 13 Boys did come home with 27 medals.
The Under 15 Boys team were just beaten in the final relay and had to settle for 2nd place overall with North Yorkshire scoring 680 to 675 points with Humberside in 3rd place. In the Under 15 Individual All-Rounder competition Matthew Chambers had to settle for 2nd place. The Under 15 Boys had a total of 10 medals to take home. There is a chance of them still qualifying for the UK finals but they will have to wait to see if they are the highest scoring 2nd place in all of the regional finals.
CD Trackstar Competition 2008
The competition was held on Tuesday 26th February with 72 young athletes taking part. Bradford City were at home and many of our regular athletes were not able to compete. On the same evening there were 12 juniors out pack running so it can be said that all is quite rosy in the junior section. Thanks to all that helped on the night as we could not hold this competition without officials. The results of the CD Trackstar are as follows:-
Under 9 Girls 1st Amy Clayton
Under 9 Boys 1st Ben Padley
Under 11 Girls 1st Natalie Angus
Under 11 Boys 1st George Bairstow
Under 13 Girls 1st Hollie Postlethwaite
Under 13 Boys 1st Ayrton Aldridge
Under 15 Girls 1st Alex Pringle
Under 15 Boys 1st Matthew Chambers
Under 17 Boy 1st Danny Elliott
The overall winner of the Junior CD Trackstar award is Amy Clayton. The joint winners of the CD Trackstar award are Hollie Postlethwaite and Matthew Chambers. The engraving could be a problem!
25/02/08 Nation Cross Country - Alton Towers
Alton Towers provided the runners with a roller coaster of a course, with testing hills and clinging mud in places. In the junior race Alistair Brownlee had a storming run to claim second spot in his final year as a junior, in a time of 27.49. Younger brother Jonathan in his first year in the age group also had a fine run to claim 14th spot. Good luck to you both in the coming triathlon season. In the senior mens race Matthew Watson once again showed terrific consistency with 11th place in 33.05. Comeback king Chris Cariss ran a blinder in 18th 33.37. It is so good to see him racing again and we wish him all the best in his marathon exploits. A massive improvement on his Northern performance gave Lee Athersmith 121st position (36.22). Next came Stewart Macdonald 141st (36.42). Another Athlete on the way back is Steve Brooks, who managed 167th in his first race for many years, (37.09). Pushing Steve hard was John Convery who completed the team in 169th (37.11). Our points total was 627 placing us 11th team, a couple of places up on last year, behind Leeds City, Notts and Bristol. Other Bingley finishers were: T. midgeley 193rd (37.32), A.Johnson 277th (38.38), O.Brewer 363 (39.55), S.Fry 398 (40.26), C.Gray 664 (44.07).
In the Women’s event the team finished in 17th place and considering the 4th counter was Sue Cariss donning her running shoes to help out, probably against doctors orders, was a good place. Victoria Wilkinson had an excellent 11th place, Ann Buckley 46th and Sharonn Taylor 50th. Had there been another of our top forty runners available then Bingley could have been pushing for medals.
In the Juniors Lucy Mayho had a good run at 19th in the Under 20’s backed up by Holly Ramsden who always turns out and finished in 123rd spot. Thomas Crowley was a very creditable 33rd, Ben Marriott 114th and young Thomas Potter a sterling 211th.
12/02/08 Mandy's long weekend
Not content with a sterling effort at Wadsworth Trog where she divided Bingley's 12 male runners by coming 7th, Mandy Clarke decide to race again the following day at Winter Hill. Not unusual, you think? Well that means she raced another 11 miles with 2750ft of climb less than 20hrs after finishing the Trog. She was disappointed with her position of 176 out of 196 runners in a time of 2:39:31. Bingley's other Winter Hill runner, Sue Becconsall was 69th and 2nd F45 in a time of 02:05:55.
11/02/08 Harriers tackle Hills from Hell
Seven Bingley Harriers took to the aptly termed 'hills from hell' Liversedge Half Marathon on this glorious sunny Sunday - some getting in some sneaky mileage in for pre-London Marathon training. After a fast start, this 13.1 mile road race turned out to be a treacherously hilly yet well organised, friendly and scenic event. The event was won by James Kovacs from Salford Harriers in 1hr 13.14 and the first lady was Amy Green from Keighley & Craven AC in 1hr 23.44.
Long sleeved T-shirts and water greeted all finishers with the world’s biggest pasties and cakes on sale in the well-stocked community centre!
11/02/08 Lee sets new record at Half Trog
The first race in Bingley’s Fell Champs, the Wadsworth Trog, got off to a cracking start with wall to wall sunshine. Conditions could be described as near perfect as it gets on Wadsworth moor with 122 runners completing the course and 7 DNFs.
Ian Holmes was 2nd overall and 1st vet 40 in a time of 02:47:44 (1st placed Karl Gray finished in a new record time of 2:38:15). Robin Lawrence was 6th in 3:02:42 and Andy Nichol in 11th in 3:18:27 which gave Bingley the team prize. Other notable performance was our only lady from 13 Bingley runners, Mandy Clarke who finished in 75th place, and 5th lady in a time of 4:07:51.
The Half Trog saw winning Bingley runner Lee Athersmith finish in a new record of 1:09:57 supported by Paul Mitchell in 4th place and 1st V40 in a time of 1:16:46.
05/02/08 Yorkshire Vets Grand prix
The first Yorkshire Vets Grand Prix race of 2008 took place on Sunday with 14 Bingley athletes taking part. Strong winds and an undulating course around Rawdon woods made for a challenging race, and the free buffet afterwards was very welcome. A good race and great value for the £2.00 entry fee. Well done to all who took part. Full resutls are available on the Yorkshire Vets website but the leading placed Bingley runners were as follows MEN: John Convery 2nd, Jon Cordingley 5th, Stewart MacDondald 6th, Paul Mitchell 12th LADIES: Aly Raw 1st, Andrea Dennison 2nd, and Newcomer Marisol Carrera Vivar 22nd (6th F35)
27/01/08 Silver medals in Northern XC Champs
 Yesterday the women's team won the silver medal (pipped only by 1 point to the gold) at the Northern Cross Country Championships at Roundhay Park,Leeds. The team was Victoria Wilkinson 5th place ((27.47), Mary Wilkinson 13th (28.48), Sharon Taylor 26th (29.37) and Pauline Munro 29th (29.50)
In the senior men’s race Matthew Watson was Bingley’s' first scorer in 5th (38.12), this despite taking a tumble. Next came Andy Peace with a solid run in 39th (40.33). Tim Midgeley produced his best Northern performance with 75th (42.15), just out kicking John Convery in 78th (42.17. Lee Athersmith made a welcome return following injury to finish 81st (42.30). Bringing the team home in 90th (42.54) was Aidan Johnson who had a great final lap to appear in the scoring six at the finish. A sixth place for the Bingley team was a very creditable performance on an afternoon which once again saw Leeds city take the title, from sale Harriers in second and Liverpool Harriers in third. Next year we'll have Alistair to come into the team who easily won the junior race, and brother Jonathan came third running for Bradford Grammar. Two great performances. Other Bingley finishers: 100 M.Peace (43.03), 103 S.MacDonald (43.07), 141 O.Brewer (44.47), 157 C.Gibbins (45.15), 231 S.Fry (47.13), 256 D.Potter.
Alistair Brownlee led the way in the U20 men’s race, winning the title convincingly. Younger brother Jonathon running for Bradford Grammar School was not too far away and claimed 3rd place.
In the U20 women’s race Lucy Mayho ran well and was rewarded with a 7th place, she was followed home by Alice Fulton in 34th place and Holly Ramsden in 49th place.
Holly Shreeve having a fantastic season earned a silver medal in the U15 girl’s race only missing out on the title by 1 second; she was supported by Carly Robertson who was 10th and Emily Peacock in 178th.
Ben Marriott ran well to finish in 22nd place out of 200 runners in the U15 boys event. He was followed home by James Oxford who was 127th.
Tom Crowley coming back from illness battled hard and achieved 36th place in the U17 men’s race, followed by Matthew Parker in 115th place.
In a field of 223 Alicia Jeavons was the first Bingley Harrier home, she ran well to achieve a 62nd place, followed by Jenna Killock in 130th.
It was nice to see a full team in the U13 boys race, who managed 19th place overall. Leading the team home was James Hall in 66th place, Thomas Potter 92nd, George Bairstow 99th, Tom Dickens 157th and David Peacock 189th.
15/01/08 Matthew in the running again
The English Cross Country Association’s policy of sending ‘development teams’ to carefully selected major international meetings paid-off inspirationally
Leaders and ECCA representatives in Elgoibar, Spain:
Men (10.68km): 1 Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) 31:54; 2 Bernard Kiprop Kypyego (Kenya) 32:07; 3 Cuthbert Nyasango (Zimbabwe) 32:14; 9 Tom Humphries (England / Cannock and Stafford AC) 33:16; 12 Matthew Watson (England / Bingley Harriers) 34:10; 15 Mark Hood (England / Sunderland Harriers) 34:44; 21 Andy Livingstone (England / Thurrock Harriers) 36:08.
Women (6.47km): 1 Priscah Jepleting (Kenya) 21:19; 2 Wude Ayalew Yimer (Ethiopia) 21:19; 3 Mariya Konovalova (Russia) 21:39; 5 Rachel Townend (England / Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) 22:35; 14 Charlene Thomas (England / Wakefield Harriers) 24:39
15/01/08 YORKS VETS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the Yorkshire Vets Cross Coountry Championships on 13th January at Cliffe Castle Sue Becconsall and Ian Holmes showed the competition a clean pair of heels.
Our fell running internationals, Sue and Ian stamped their authority over the rest in their respective races on Sunday to record comfortable victories.
Sue, running in the F45 age group was giving over 10 years to many of the field and despite this won the race outright by 18 seconds.
Ian, now in his third year as a vet 40 was also running against younger blood but was in a class of his own, winning by 30 seconds. Well done to both of you.
It was great to see old faces making a return to racing after long absences. In some cases after surgery: notably Neil Robson, and Steve Frazer; nice to see they got among the prizes; Simon Johnson too had had he paint brush removed, and was another one making a comeback who went home with a team medal (Simon: Glad the investment in the new spikes was not wasted.)
Bingley Prize winners are as follows:
Age Category Winners: Les Haynes M65 - John Convery M45
Runners Up: Jenny Vesey F55 - John Smithurst M70 - Gerry Bell M 55 - Mike Smith M65
Category 3rd Place: Fred Gibbs M65 - Neil Robson M60 - Andy Brown M35
Team Awards:
Men
1st team M40 Ian Holmes, John Convery, Steve Frazer, Simon Johnson.
1st team M60 Neil Robson, Les Haynes, Mike Smith
Ladies:
F35–44 3rd Team: Ruth Whitehead; Denise Wright; Lisa Spencer.
F45+ 2nd Team: Sue Becconsall, Mary Green, Becky Weight
08/01/08 Matthew runs for England
Matthew Watson was in action for England at Stormont castle, Northern Ireland on the country at the weekend. This meant he had to miss the Yorkshires. His England selection however was more than justified as he finished in 8th position behind three Africans, and second of the England scorers.
Also running was Victoria Wilkinson, representing Northern Athletics, who finished in a very creditable 14th place just behind a host of well know names
07/01/08 Women win silver in Yorkshire Champs
 Holmfirth harriers hosted the Yorkshire cross country championships at Fartown High school, Huddersfield on 5th January. The weather was blustery but dry, and a mainly football pitch type of a lap with a little mud, had to be negotiated five times for the seniors. The ladies team of Mary Wilkinson, Lucy Mayho and Sharon Taylor won silver finishing in 5th, 10th and 14th places respectively in a very high class field indeed.
In the men's race it was clear early on that Alistair Brownlee running as a first year senior was going to figure in the medals, as he led a group of four athletes around the first lap. At halfway four became three and Kim Critchley moved to the front, but not for long, as Alistair wasn't for giving an inch. With a lap to Critchley had dropped off the back leaving John Henegan and Alistair to battle it out. Up the hill for the last time Henegan made a move, but never got more than a couple of yards away and Alistair was able to push on at the top of the course and get a twenty metre lead which he maintained to the finish. A brilliant performance, and not to be out done Jonathan also triumphed in the juniors race. With Alistair winning it gave Bingley a great start in the team race, but Leeds city were too strong and we had to settle for second with Holmfirth third. All the Bingley team ran well especially Ian Holmes finishing in eighth place. The Bingley scorers: 1st A Brownlee 35.20, 8th I Holmes 36.52, 20th A Peace 37.51, 28th J Convery 38.42, 30th T Midgeley 38.54, 43rd A Brown 40.12. Bingley 'B' team: 49th O Brewer 40.44, 58th M Peace 41.24, 72nd P Carey, 93rd S Fry 44.19, 128th M Smith 47.28, 149 F Gibbs 50.01.
The junior athletes of Bingley produced some excellent results, even though the team was under strength due to illness and injuries.
Natalie Brown was the only Bingley finisher in the U13 girl’s race coming 32nd out of a field of 69.
Best turnout of the day was in the under 13 boy’s race where James Hall lead the team home in 13th lace, followed by George Bairstow 26th, Thomas Potter 36th, James Wilson 57th, Thomas Dickens 58th and David Peacock 63rd which placed the team in 7th which was a great effort as most of the boys are at the lower end of the age group.
Holly Shreeve had a great run in the U15 girl’s race. Her silver medal position was supported well by Carly Robertson 5th, Kate Ogelsby 55th, Ellie English 56th and Emily peacock 57th. The team finished in a creditable 5th place out of 13.
The u15 boys had just two Harriers entered but Ben Mariott 30th and James oxford 47th both gave good runs in the churned up and muddy conditions.
In the u17 women’s race, Holly Craig ran and achieved 17th place for Bingley. |
