NYSD Cross Country - Hartlepool 7th October 2007

The first event in the NYSD Cross Country seasonal calendar got underway on Sunday 7th October at Summerhill Park, Hartlepool; a venue which has been favoured as the starting point for the league for several years. Richmond and Zetland had an encouraging turn-out of 30 athletes, despite several other events being held over the same weekend. Even more pleasing were the results, for both individuals and teams across all the age groups, making it an excellent start to the season for the club.

Tad Zaranko

The Under 13 Boys picked up exactly where they left off last season, with a straight win for the team, with Fergus Roberts taking victory overall by a significant margin and Paul Harmsworth finishing in a well-deserved 4th place. Daniel Overin was only 7 seconds behind, taking 5th position and Thomas Bingley produced a strong run to finish 13th overall. Ben Purkiss and Alex Wright then claimed 15th and 16th positions respectively to round off the winning team. The Under 13 Girls also had an excellent start, with Amy Coulson first Harrier home in 8th position, followed by Rosie Stirr, who finished in 12th place and Kerry Robson showing good form this season, completing the course in 18th position and bringing the team home into 3rd place.

Maddy Winzer was the sole Richmond and Zetland athlete in the Under 15 Girls race, competing as well as ever, despite moving up an age group this year and winning by 7 seconds. This provided another boost for the team and things were going to get even better as the Under 15 Boys event got underway. Sam Wood was the first Harrier across the line in an excellent 3rd place, followed by the familiar trio of Thomas Allen, Marc Scott and George Robinson, all finishing within 19 seconds of each other in 7th, 8th and 9th positions respectively, while team mate Karl Murray made a great Cross Country debut for the club in 27th place, making it another team win. The ladies lineup was missing a few members, however, the five competing athletes put in a sterling effort and finished 7th overall in the team rankings on the day. Tamsin Clark was a welcome addition, finishing 7th overall and leading the team in. Fiona Hughes then put in a strong performance to take 30th place, while stalwart Jenny Fenwick was next across the line, taking 42nd position overall. Jane Thornton was another team counter and 4th runner home in 44th place, followed by Laura Wrightley, making her debut in club colours and running well to finish in 48th. Doug Roberts was the sole contender for Richmond and Zetland in the Under 17 Men’s event, running his way into 3rd place overall, only 12 seconds behind the winner, setting the scene nicely for a season of competition between the top athletes in this age group.

The men were also in flying form, racing well as a team to claim a fantastic 2nd place, requiring 6 athletes to count towards the final score. Jon Orange produced a fine performance and was first team member across the line in 6th place and 1st MV40, while Ken Harker put in a convincing run to claim 11th position. Shaun Purkiss was another athlete in shape, taking 15th overall, while Tad Zaranko was pleased to cross the line in 22nd place. Tony Ryder and Taff Rogers ran the course in close proximity, with Tony eventually nudging slightly ahead to take 42nd position and Taff 43rd. Darren Cox also started as he meant to go on, accomplishing what he set out to do and have a strong outing on this occasion to take 58th, while Jim Robinson had a consistent race taking 82nd place and 3rd in the MV60 category. Paul Goad also started the season off well with a top 100 finish in 99th place and looked quite at home on the undulating Summerhill course.

RZH Results: Under 13 Boys – 1st Fergus Roberts, 4th Paul Harmsworth, 5th Daniel Overin, 14th Thomas Bingley, 15th Ben Purkiss & 16th Alex Wright, Team 1st. Under 13 Girls – 8th Amy Coulson, 12th Rosie Stirr, & 18th Kerry Robson, Team 3rd. Under 15 Boys – 3rd Sam Wood, 7th Thomas Allen, 8th Marc Scott, 9th George Robinson & 27th Karl Murray, Team 1st. Under 15 Girls – 1st Maddy Winzer. Under 17 Men – 3rd Doug Roberts. Senior/Vet/U20/U17 Ladies – 7th Tamsin Clark, 30th Fiona Hughes, 42nd Jenny Fenwick, 44th Jane Thornton & 48th Laura Wrightley, Team 7th. Senior/Vet/U20 Men – 6th (& 1st MV40) Jon Orange, 11th Ken Harker, 15th Shaun Purkiss, 22nd Tad Zaranko, 42nd Tony Ryder, 43rd Taff Rogers, 58th Darren Cox, 82nd Jim Robinson & 99th Paul Goad, Team 2nd.

Selby Half Marathon 7th October 2007

Sarah Gregory was another Richmond and Zetland Harrier competing over the same weekend, this time on the road and a little further over 13.1 miles at the Selby Half Marathon, also taking place on Sunday 7th October. The weather was unseasonably warm by 11am, making the water stations a must for all competitors on the fairly even course, which was changed this year to accommodate 2 loops of 5.5 and 7.6 miles. Planning to increase the pace in the second half, all did not quite go according to plan and the going got a bit harder for Sarah on the second lap, finally bringing her across the line in 1.38.37 in 143rd place from 415 competitors and 4th in her age group.