Yorkshire Cross Country Championships Huddersfield - 5th January 2008

A fantastic haul of four medals was the reward for Richmond and Zetland Harriers, following the club’s efforts at the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships, with two team and two individual podium finishes. Six athletes also finished high enough in their respective races to represent Yorkshire at the Inter-County Cross Country Championships later in the season. The event was held at Fartown High School, Huddersfield on Saturday 5th January and the course was a challenging, hilly and muddy affair, in cool and windy conditions.

First away were the Under 13 Girls, with just Abbie Fletcher representing the Club, following illness and injury to other athletes in this age group. She was up with the early pace and in a good position, finishing well up the field in 34th position from 69 competitors.

Fergus Roberts

With no less than seven Richmond and Zetland entrants in the Under 13 Boys race, hopes were high for another team medal, after taking Gold last year. Fergus Roberts and James King, got off to a flying start and were front runners from the gun, while Paul Harmsworth, Daniel Overin, Glen Lent, Max Robson and Andrew Parkinson all got into their stride amongst the main pack. Fergus enjoyed a comfortable lead, which he never relinquished, crossing the finish line 30 seconds ahead of the next competitor to take the first Gold medal of the day and his second title of Yorkshire Champion in this age group. James King also gained a wonderful 4th place overall and will join Fergus, competing for the Yorkshire team. The team medals were still up for grabs and with Paul Harmsworth’s position of 19th and Daniel Overin crossing the line in 22nd place, they took the second Gold medal of the day, which was richly deserved! Glen Lent put in an excellent performance, finishing in 25th, as did Max Robson, who took 27th overall, while Andrew Parkinson achieved a well-deserved 55th position.

In the Under 15 Girls’ race Maddy Winzer got off to a great start and was up with the leaders until half way around the course, when she had a sharp pain in her knee and had to withdraw, but has thankfully recovered since. The Under 15 Boys had the familiar quartet of Thomas Allen, Sam Wood, Marc Scott and George Robinson taking part and once again, there were high hopes of a team medal. They all achieved brilliant results, with Sam crossing the line first in 5th place, followed by Marc in 8th position, both of whom will now go forward to represent Yorkshire and claim their County Colours. George was only 17 seconds behind and promptly claimed 10th place, while Thomas, despite feeling out of sorts, kept up a great pace to take 20th overall and bring the team into first place, claiming the third Gold medal of the day, which was a fantastic boost to the whole team!

Doug Roberts and Liam Fletcher flew the club colours in the Under 17 Men’s race and had a fantastic outing against stiff opposition from the large city clubs. Doug kept within striking distance of the leaders from the off and after one lap of the course, moved up into 3rd position, which he intended to hang on to. He was able to comfortably retain his place in the end, 9 seconds ahead of his closest rival and took a fantastic Bronze mead in the process, as well as going forward to the Inter-County Championships. Liam also put in a fine performance and finished strongly in 27th position, showing that he is more than capable of competing at this pace.

The Junior and Senior Ladies were up next and had a healthy eight representatives this year, not including second-claim member, Andrea Woodvine, a regular member the Yorkshire team. The 3.8 mile course was a testing one and quite slippery in places by now, however, Andrea lead the charge from start to finish, winning the entire race, which earned her yet another Yorkshire vest. Next across the line was Tamsin Clark, running strongly, to claim a fantastic 22nd overall, while team mate Kelley Haniver improved greatly on last year’s standing to finish in 27th place. Jenny Hands was next home in 40th position and pleased with her performance on the day, having run well off-road this season. Jessie Roberts had a strong race to finish 57th overall and 6th Junior Lady, which earned her another place in the Yorkshire team, along with her two brothers, making it a victorious day for the Roberts family. Sarah Gregory showed some good form on the course to claim 63rd place and was pleased with the result, while Jo Adams competed in her first Cross Country race of the season to finish in 79th with a good run. Team Manager Fiona Hughes was happy to finish the course, crossing the line in 93rd, while Jenny Fenwick battled on to claim 100th place overall, despite loosing both her spikes, bringing both ladies’ teams home into 10th and 19th places respectively.

The Senior Men were certainly thin on the ground this year, with only three athletes making it to the start line. Rich Hunt started well around the 3.5 laps of the course and had a fabulous result, taking 38th place from over 180 runners, showing that he is in great shape. Ken Harker also enjoyed the challenge and did extremely well, despite a fall on the muddy course, finishing well up the field in 75th position overall, while Paul Roberts completed the family quartet and had a strong and convincing run, finishing in 88th and placing well in the MV45 category.

RZH Results: Under 13 Girls – 34th Abbie Fletcher. Under 13 Boys – 1st (& Yorkshire Champion) Fergus Roberts, 4th James King, 19th Paul Harmsworth, 22nd Daniel Overin, 25th Glen Lent, 27th Max Robson & 55th Andrew Parkinson, Team 1st (Yorkshire Champions). Under 15 Boys – 5th Sam Wood, 8th Marc Scott, 10th George Robinson & 20th Thomas Allen, Team 1st (Yorkshire Champions). Under 17 Men – 3rd Doug Roberts & 27th Liam Fletcher. Junior/Senior/Vet Women – 1st Andrea Woodvine (2nd Claim), 22nd Tamsin Clark, 27th Kelley Haniver, 40th Jenny Hands, 57th (& 6th Junior Lady) Jessie Roberts, 63rd Sarah Gregory, 79th Jo Adams, 93rd Fiona Hughes & 100th Jenny Fenwick, A Team 10th & B Team 19th. Senior/Vet Men – 38th Rich Hunt, 75th Ken Harker & 88th Paul Roberts.