Back Slapping All Round

It was hard to tell which athlete from Richmond and Zetland Harriers wore the biggest smile: Douglas or Jessie Roberts, both 4th in their respective races and selected to compete at the English Schools X-C Championships; Edd Richards, 4th in the 1500m at the Northern Indoor T&F Championships; or Mike Brooks, 5th MVO55 for Yorkshire at the Northern Vets X-C Championships and with news of a BMAF ranking.

The BMAF T&F rankings for 2003 were published in Athletics Weekly and there were three Harriers included: John Wild was ranked 5th MVO50 at the discus with a throw of 41m41; Jon Orange was ranked 3rd MVO40 at 1500m with a time of 4:06.8 (and running barefooted!); and Mike Brooks was top-of-this-particular-tree, ranked 2nd MVO55 in the whole of the UK at 3000m steeplechase with a time of 12:10.4, set in a NML at Jarrow - and yes, there were more than two times listed!

North Yorkshire Schools X-C Championships-Scarborough 17th January 2004

Saturday 17th; it rained all day and the course for the North Yorkshire Schools X-C Championships at Scarborough was very muddy. There were eight races for boys and girls in year 7, years 8 & 9 (Juniors), years 10 & 11 (Inters) and years 12 & 13 (Seniors) with the top six automatically selected to compete at the English Schools X-C Championships, the top fifteen earning their County colours and an invitation to compete in the Schools Inter-Counties X-C match, where the remaining places will be decided. There were 46 runners in the year 7 Boy’s race and two Harriers made the top fifteen, Tom Osborn and Rory Wadsworth finishing 7th and 10th respectively, and Francesca Fowden ran in the year 7 Girl’s race. Douglas Roberts was the only Harrier out of 40 runners in the Junior Boy’s race and, despite a sore heel that has troubled him for some weeks, he finished 4th and happy. Scarlett Gray was similarly happy with her 6th place finish in the Junior Girl’s race, again earning her County colours and selection for the team to compete in the English Schools X-C Championships at Maidstone, Kent, in March. Sophie Broadway and Katie Roberts ran and finished mid 20s but sisters Rosie and Jo Adams were both unwell and did not finish. There were five runners with RZH connections in the 42 who contested the Inter Boy’s race: ex-Harrier Andy Lagan was 6th, closely followed by Clubmates Philip Fitzpatrick and Jason Flannery who were 7th and 10th respectively, now-footballer Simon Pinkney was 11th but Shane Derby had an asthma attack and did not finish. Jessie Roberts, another athlete with injury worries having failed to finish at the Yorkshires, opted to compete in the Junior Girl’s race and finished 4th, giving the selectors one less place to deliberate-over in due course. Leah Jackson and Ashleigh Robinson finished 9th and 25th and Leah now has to show her quality in the Schools Inter-Counties X-C match at Beverley on Saturday 7th February to earn the trip to Maidstone.

Northern Junior Indoor T&F Championships 17th January 2004

Eighteen-year-old Edd Richards has been a Harrier for less than six months but his progression has been outstanding. Watching his track sessions last autumn gave some indication of his ability but, brave as a lion, he decided to make his competitive debut on Saturday 17th in the Northern Junior Indoor T&F Championships at the EIS Arena at Sheffield and he didn’t disappoint anybody. Afterwards he commented ”had an excellent day and came 4th in the 1500m…even though only five had entered it was still a quality race with Mark Buckingham winning in 4 minutes dead…I ran 4:29.26 and was pleased with that considering I’d only done one speed work session on the track this year…and these sloping indoor tracks are a little tricky…the facilities in Sheffield are worth a mention because it is a fantastic arena and a brilliant building all-round.”

Yorkshire Veterans XC Championships - Sheffield 18th January 2004

The Harriers had a gang-of-three compete in the Yorkshire Veteran’s X-C Championships at Graves Park, Sheffield - a fixture that was well attended as it doubled as the Northern Veteran’s X-C Championships. The undulating course was very wet from the previous week’s rain but stood-up well over the four lap race. Ben Grant of Harrogate and John Kerr of local Club, Steel City Striders were a class apart, finishing 1st and 2nd, almost a minute ahead of the pack. Mike Brooks was first home for the Club in 15th place overall and 5th MVO55 for Yorkshire but, showing the quality of Veteran running in Yorkshire, almost a minute out of bronze medal contention. Jim Robinson showed he is regaining the sort-of-form that earned him a vest in the Home Counties International Match a few years ago with 29th place and Colin Sewell finished 68th to bring the team home in 9th place.

The BMAF T&F rankings for 2003 were published in Athletics Weekly and there were three Harriers included: John Wild was ranked 5th MVO50 at the discus with a throw of 41m41; Jon Orange was ranked 3rd MVO40 at 1500m with a time of 4:06.8 (and running barefooted!); and Mike Brooks was top-of-this-particular-tree, ranked 2nd MVO55 in the whole of the UK at 3000m steeplechase with a time of 12:10.4, set in a NML at Jarrow - and yes, there were more than two times listed!