Perfect spring weather and a wonderfully dry course made for perfect conditions for the 132nd championships in the extensive grounds of Harewood House near Leeds. In the Ladies’ race there were 1,034 finishers of which 17 were ours! It was fantastic to see how close some of the individual battles were, as places changed throughout the race. Our first four finishers for the team competition were Jo Buckley, Ruth Thackray, Shona Stone and Lesley Watson, who achieved a creditable 21st place out of the 114 clubs who could make a team (160 clubs didn’t!).
| Pos. | Name | Time | Pos. | Name | Time | |
| 172 | Jo Buckley | 0:34:48 | 451 | Becky Holmes | 0:39:31 | |
| 174 | Ruth Thackray | 0:34:51 | 525 | Marisol Carrera Vivar | 0:40:49 | |
| 180 | Shona Stone | 0:34:57 | 564 | Becky Weight | 0:41:22 | |
| 229 | Lesley Watson | 0:35:46 | 614 | Caroline Francis | 0:42:09 | |
| 272 | Stephanie Robson | 0:36:26 | 677 | Jo Henry | 0:43:26 | |
| 338 | Sarah Flaherty | 0:37:38 | 779 | Alana Gill | 0:45:33 | |
| 340 | Emma Green | 0:37:40 | 828 | Lisa Pearson | 0:46:41 | |
| 347 | Denise Wright | 0:37:46 | 996 | Catherine Holmes | 0:55:52 | |
| 348 | Sarah Dewhirst | 0:37:46 |
In the Men’s race there were 30 Harriers among the 2,006 finishers, which was a tremendous achievement, but it was bad luck for Robin Lawrence who didn’t finish. Nine finishers were required in the team competition and they were led home by the evergreen Ian Holmes; it was fantastic to be part of a team featuring this club legend. The other counters were Darren Kay, Tim Midgley, Andy Brown, Graham Askew, Tom Gomersall, John Parkin, Robbie Williams and James Senior. They finished 40th out of 144 teams (213 teams were incomplete), another very creditable performance.
| Pos. | Name | Time | Pos. | Name | Time | |
| 253 | Ian Holmes | 0:42:09 | 1448 | Paul Lemmon | 0:54:20 | |
| 341 | Darren Kay | 0:43:06 | 1461 | David Stephenson | 0:54:29 | |
| 399 | Tim Midgley | 0:43:46 | 1481 | John Gallucci | 0:54:44 | |
| 491 | Andy Brown | 0:44:46 | 1503 | Wayne King Farlow | 0:55:03 | |
| 560 | Graham Askew | 0:45:36 | 1564 | John Merrick | 0:56:02 | |
| 845 | Tom Gomersall | 0:48:07 | 1785 | Paul Spencer | 1:00:04 | |
| 892 | John Parkin | 0:48:35 | 1837 | Don Johnson | 1:02:03 | |
| 904 | Robbie Williams | 0:48:44 | 1876 | David Jefferson | 1:03:41 | |
| 1071 | James Senior | 0:50:20 | 1878 | Emyr Rees | 1:03:47 | |
| 1091 | Will Duggan | 0:50:29 | 1879 | Tony Kingham | 1:03:48 | |
| 1111 | Mark Leigh | 0:50:41 | 1901 | Adrian Netherwood | 1:05:08 | |
| 1155 | Clive Smith | 0:51:08 | 1935 | Bruce Duncan | 1:07:37 | |
| 1251 | Greg Trusselle | 0:52:02 | 1952 | Neil Barrett | 1:09:04 | |
| 1310 | Simon Wright | 0:52:47 | 1969 | Richard Dawson | 1:11:21 | |
| 1430 | Stephen Fry | 0:54:05 | 1976 | Richard Falkingham | 1:12:17 |
A massive thank you to all for taking part. I know that some of you don’t really like cross country and were questioning your sanity as you battled to the finish, but in years to come you’ll look back on the day with pride. Thanks, as always, to Tony and Graham for putting up and taking down the tent and to all who made the trip to give vocal encouragement.
The handicap winners are Shona Stone and Tony Kingham who each win a £20 voucher for a sports outlet.
I’ll publish the full handicap results and updated championship table as soon as possible.
Stephen Fry
Cross Country Team manager