The annual Kirkbymoorside 10k was attended by 5 Harrogate Harriers last weekend, with the club snaffling 3rd and 4th place, thanks to Barry Mcguire and John Young. They both finished extremely strongly, Barry in 36:28 and John just 5 seconds behind in 36:33. Barry commends the event, saying it’s already in his diary for next year: “the atmosphere was awesome, a brass band and big crowds cheering us on.  It was a great day for running”.  Also running for the club was Lauren Woodall, who although still part of the Harriers Juniors was second lady over the line, and a fantastic 48th overall. An excellent time of 41:35 is testament to her current and promised talent.  Nick Andralojc had a great run in 47:23, coming in 146th, and new club recruit Emma Andralojc got her racing career with the Harriers of to a flying start with 103:36 on the clock and 386th position. Welcome to the club, Emma!  Full results here

In other news, the club’s much-loved Tuesday coach took to the fells for the Coiners Mytholmroyd fell race, a fast tour of Coiners country on paths, tracks and moorland, taking in Erringden Moor, Stoodley Pike and Bell House Moor.  The route offers spectacular views of Cragg Vale and passes by the old coiners cottages of Bell House and Keelam.  Results are pending, but Ian, an accomplished fell runner, is bound to be up there in the tables after an enjoyable day in the beautiful Bank Holiday sunshine.  Full results here

And finally, the Harriers are pleased to see the injury-free return of the double act Paul Halliday and Alfie the dog at Harrogate’s parkrun.  Always a pleasure to see, they completed it in 34:33.

Harriers’Nigel was triumphant last Sunday as he crossed the finish line at the Manchester Marathon in 4:57, his fastest time over his 3 marathons in 3 weeks. He has raised over £2,000 for Macmillan Cancer, and the Harriers are very proud of him and his achievement. Well done Nigel!  Full results here

Elsewhere there were more tremendous achievements. Helen & Martyn Price and Mark Robinson completed the Fellsman, a gruelling 61 mile traverse of rugged moorland with over 11000ft of climbs. Running as a group, the trio of Harriers reached Threshfield at 3.30am, some 18.5 hours after leaving Ingleton. Excellent endurance and strength displayed by all.  Full results here

Another iconic race took place at the weekend, the Three Peaks Challenge. Harriers’ Stephen Fry and Peter Edwards ran excellent times, climbing and descending Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in the process. Stephen finished in 4:32:26, and Peter in 5:04:00, fantastic results.  Full results here

Fountains 10k had a brilliant turn-out from the Harriers, 20 club members in all, and the club enjoyed great success on the results board: 5 of the top 20 were Harriers, and the club scooped 1st place in both the Mens and Ladies team prizes. The conditions were extremely blustery – Barry Mcguire questioned how it was even possible to have a headwind for the whole race when you’re running in a circle! The first 3 Harriers men over the line were Barry, 5^th place in 37:04, John Young, 6^th, in 37:15 and Jamie DIlasser, 13^th, in 39:11. The ladies team prize was won by Paula Eastaugh, 53^rd in 46:20, Wendy Marks, 57^th in 46:35, and Sue Sharples, 65^th in a PB of 47:25. Other results were Brian Miller, 17^th, 41:45; Richard Pennock, 18^th, 41:56; Michael Gill, 23^rd, 42:41; David Askew, 28^th, 43:52; Nick Andralojc, 43^rd, 45:17; Richard Willis, 45^th, 45:31; Ros Moore, 83^rd in 49:16; Dan Simmons, 87^th in 49:34; Toby Eastaugh, 103^rd in 50:36; Shaun Morrison, 106^th in 50:58; Nicky Smith, 114^th in 51:45; Alex Richens, 129^th in 53:24; Debbie Dilasser, 145^th,  56:05, Coralin Harrison, 215^th in 67:57 and Matthew Lucock, 216^th in 68:20. Full results here

Stephen Nesbitt  was the sole representative for the club in the second race of the Yorkshire Vets Prix at Honley near Huddersfield, starting and finishing around Neiley Playing Fields. It was a tough six mile course of mainly rutted trail paths, with several stiles to climb keeping it interesting. With a mean cross wind, and a substantial climb, Steve crossed the line in 19^th place with a time of 37:35.  Full results here

AgeUK organised the Harewood 10k at the weekend, and several Harriers made the short trip to take in the beautiful grounds. Again, it was a blustery race, but the sunshine also made an appearance. The course is a rolling one, with some sharp climbs, and there were some excellent results with Steve Trudgeon M50 (in 42:06) and Juliette Gregory F50 (in 48:11) coming in 1^st in their categories, and Anne Scaife F45 (in 50:51) and Alistair Duff M45 (in 48:02) 4^th in theirs. Darren West completed it in 45:28, Graham Yare in 50:00 and Tim Bennett in 51:43.  Full results here

Newby Hall hosted a sprint duathlon on 21^st April and a few Harriers representing their tri clubs made an appearance. The event was a 5k run, 20k bike ride, 5k run, and started at 8am so the athletes were all done and dusted before the day had begun for many. Results were Richard Pennock 1:23, 17th; Tim Broomfield, 1:26, 26th ; Mick Shakespeare 1:28, 33rd; Paul Berwin 1:36, 43^rd.  Full results here

Nine Harrogate Harriers braved their initial feelings of trepidation after the horrific events at Boston the Monday before, and journeyed to London for the marathon, their racing goals once again firmly in mind. London did not let them down. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible, with more spectators than ever before lining every inch of the route. A wall of noise spurred everyone on as the runners and spectators alike reclaimed the marathon for themselves. First Harrier over the line was Andrew Grant in 2:44:06, smashing that magic sub-3 hour goal and made all the more impressive as it knocked 18 minutes off Andrew’s previous PB. He was followed closely by Andrew Dobby, again under 3 hours, in 2:52:58. With another PB, by 10 minutes, Simon Watson swooped in at 3:05:26, and just 6 seconds later, at 3:05:32, Graham Molyneux crossed the long-anticipated finish line, followed by Ashley Brook in 3:09:14. Jo Williams, as the sole representative for Harriers ladies, came in at 3:28:11, and Mark Seymour followed her in 3:52:19. Tim Pocock had been gunning for a sub-4 hour time, but was more than delighted with his time of 4:06:09, an excellent 11 minutes faster than ever before. “I thought I’d feel gutted not to have beaten four hours, but I don’t,” he says. “I’m still buzzing from the race. The support and noise of the crowd were fantastic and I only wish the running of the economy was left to the marathon organisers, so slick and smooth was the whole experience. The feel good factor was 10 out of 10. The whole day was life-affirming, which had added poignancy after Boston. I’d recommend running (and walking when knackered) the London Marathon to anyone.” Harriers’ Nigel Dobson completed the middle one of his 3-in-3-weeks marathon challenge – Brighton last week, Manchester next week – in an impressive 4:59:06. The Harriers wish him the best of luck for his final push next week in Manchester.  Full results here

As an alternative to London, Wendy Marks travelled to Thessaloniki for the Alexander the Great marathon. The weather was a little warm, pushing 30c in the last 10k, but the race was expertly organised and Wendy was warmly welcomed by the locals, even being invited to warm up with the local running club. Translations were sometimes amusing as runners were at one point asked to take off all their clothes and put them in the baggage bus! Resisting the urge, Wendy ran fully-clothed and clocked an excellent 3:29:12. Full results here

Closer to home, some challenge-hungry Harriers put their game faces on and completed the Yorkshire Warrior. Fantastic weather, great camaraderie from other competitors, and 30 obstacles of freezing water, mud and climbs, led to 10 miles of great fun and extreme exertion! Nicki Walton, Richard Harris, Jenny Hutcheson and Issy Rowe were among the Harriers’ contingent taking part in the event which doesn’t class itself as a race.  Full results here

The Meanwood Valley 7 mile trail race on Saturday completed the Airedale Triple Trail Championship, and the Harriers performed fantastically, with the Miller family in particular stamping their presence on the event. The three events are not for the faint-hearted, comprising a 10k, a half marathon and Saturday’s 7 miler – a challenging and undulating rocky and field course, tackled in lovely, bright sunshine. Chris Miller earned a brilliant second place in the Meanwood Valley race making it a triple of second places and taking the series championship. Dad Brian Miller won the 50 to 60 age group making it a family double. Darren West came 2^nd behind Brian in the M50, and Alan Couldwell 5th equaling his Triple Trail M50 best position. Sue Sharples also took second place in her age group F45. Positions in the Meanwood Trail Race itself were Chris Miller 2nd, Ian Rowbothom 32nd, Brian Miller 38th, Dave Askew 50th, Darren West 69th, Sue Sharples 109th, Alan Couldwell 139th Coralin Harrison 254th.  Full results here