Inter Counties Cross Country Championships Nottingham 11th March 2006

Four Richmond and Zetland athletes, past and present, took part in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Nottingham on 11th March, representing Yorkshire, after qualifying from the County Cross Country Championships at Rotherham in January. Top result of the day went to Fergus Roberts in the Under 13 Boys race, rounding off a fantastic first season for him, with a wonderful achievement of 17th place overall. Maddy Winzer was another athlete concluding an excellent Cross Country season, with 84th position in the Under 13 Girls race. Former Harrier Andrea Woodvine placed 54th in the Senior Women’s race from 260 entrants, showing that she is still in great shape, while Doug Roberts also performed exceptionally well, crossing the line in 127th place in the Under 15 Boys race in a field of 300 runners.

Redcar-Tees Valley Half Marathon 12th March 2006

The same weekend saw the running of the Tees Valley Half Marathon in Redcar, where two Harriers chose the race to sharpen their training for the forthcoming London Marathon on 23rd April. The conditions on the coast were blustery and cold, making the 13.1 miles hard going, but both athletes placed well in the field and were pleased with their relevant times going into the final weeks of marathon preparation. Tony Hewson crossed the line in a time of 1.29.10 taking 134th place, while Ian Hepworth put in a solid performance, finishing in 1.46.25 and 513th position.

World Masters Indoor Championships 16th-17th March 2006

Ken Harker had an extremely successful trip to the World Masters Indoor Championships in Linz, Austria, qualifying easily through the heats on 16th March for the M35 800m final, which took place on Friday 17th March. Ken was aptly rewarded after all his hard work in training, bringing home the bronze medal for 3rd position in a superb time of 2.02.36. Congratulations to him on what is a fantastic achievement and bodes very well indeed for the forthcoming track and field season.

Trollers Trot and Dentdale Run

Neil Piper and wife Liz have been in action again, this time tackling Troller’s Trot in Wharfedale, a 25 mile off-road race, where they combined walking and running to finish in a time of 5 hours 55 minutes. Neil also took part in the wonderfully scenic 14.3 mile Dentdale Run at Sedbergh in Cumbria, making his way round the testing and undulating course in a very respectable time of 1.54.54 and finishing in 153rd place.