Northern Cross Country Championships - Leeds - 26th January 2008

There were some outstanding performances from the twenty-two Richmond and Zetland athletes competing at the Northern Cross Country Championships, held at Roundhay Park, Leeds on Saturday 26th January, where the course was hilly and the weather blustery, making for a challenging outing.

Abi Fletcher

Performance of the day went to Fergus Roberts and the Under 13 Boy’s team. By winning the event outright and claiming his second Gold Medal of the month, Fergus is certainly setting the standard in his age group for Cross Country. James King is another having a fantastic season and this time finished in 17th place overall, while Daniel Overin was next across the line, putting in a strong performance to take 74th position. Glen Lent and Max Robson were also well up the field, finishing convincingly to claim 84th and 89th respectively and Andrew Parkinson moved well up the ranks, taking 136th place from over 190 runners in the field, bringing the team into 5th place. The Under 13 Girls also had a great day, with Amy Coulson first Harrier home and putting in another notable performance by crossing the line in 88th overall, showing she is always competitive, while team mate Abi Fletcher had a good run to take 132nd place and Rosie Stirr took a highly commendable 187th position from over 230 competitors.

In the Under 15 Girl’s race, Maddy Winzer showed excellent form, claiming 7th place in the event and finishing only 40 seconds behind the overall winner, proving that she will be a strong contender in this age group next year as well. Amongst the 200 athletes in the Under 15 Boy’s race were George Robinson and Sam Wood; two members of the Gold medal winning team at the Yorkshires a fortnight ago. George was first home on this occasion, with a fantastic finish in 33rd place, while Sam finished in 42nd with another stirling performance. The Under 17 Men’s race had two Richmond and Zetland representatives in the form of Doug Roberts and Liam Fletcher, forming part of a strong field of 162 athletes. Doug was well up with the pace and looked comfortable over the 6k course, taking 13th place in the end, while Liam preformed well to cross the line in 125th overall.

Jo Adams was the sole representative in the Under 20 Women’s event and showed great determination to tackle the steep hills and cross the line in a well-deserved 38th place against some stiff opposition. The Senior Women had only one representative on this occasion due to other races, commitments and training, but coach and athlete Fiona Hughes flew the club colours admirably. Having improved continuously over the season, Fiona had a great result, crossing the line in 219th position from a field of over 290 participants.

The Senior Men’s field was the largest of the day, boasting over 660 runners, with six of them belonging to Richmond and Zetland Harriers. First home was Rich Hunt, producing another outstanding run to complete the course in 85th, which will certainly have given him a well-deserved boost. Next was Ken Harker, crossing the line strongly in an excellent 140th position and well within the top quarter of all competitors. Jon Orange, still in recovery mode, enjoyed his outing to Leeds and took a well-earned 152nd place after a solid run, placing him well up the MV45 ranks, while Tad Zaranko once again put in a stalwart performance, finishing in 189th position, while Shaun Purkiss was hot on his heels, battling it out over the 12k course to take 191st place. Paul Roberts has gone from strength to strength recently and once again proved this on the day with a hard-earned finish in 248th, placing him well up the field and ensuring that the team finished in 14th place overall.

RZH Results: Under 13 Boys – 1st (& Northern Counties Champion) Fergus Roberts, 17th James King, 74th Daniel Overin, 84th Glen Lent, 89th Max Robson & 136th Andrew Parkinson, Team 5th. Under 13 Girls – 88th Amy Coulson, 132nd Abi Fletcher & 187th Rosie Stirr. Under 15 Girls – 7th Maddy Winzer. Under 15 Boys – 33rd George Robinson & 42nd Sam Wood. Under 17 Men – 13th Doug Roberts & 125th Liam Fletcher. Under 20 Women – 38th Jo Adams. Senior/Vet Women – 219th Fiona Hughes. Senior/Vet Men – 85th Rich Hunt, 140th Ken Harker, 152nd Jon Orange, 189th Tad Zaranko, 191st Shaun Purkiss & 248th Paul Roberts, Team 14th.