Chelmsford played host to the 2022 British University Championships (BUCS) weekend beginning 30th April and four Bolton Harriers represented their universities. They were competing against many of the elite athletes in the country.
Edge Hill student Rebecca Weekes had a busy weekend competing in the 400m hurdles, 200m and the 4x400m relay. In her preferred event the 400m hurdles Rebecca ran a measured heat to finish 4th in a seasons best 67.91 seconds to qualify for the semi final. In the SF she ran even better to record a personal best of 66.18 seconds. In the 200m she ran another seasons best of 26.99 seconds and then was part of the university relay team that finished 6th in their heat.
Ben To was the only representative from UCLAN to make the start line. In his heat he ran 11.04 seconds which is just outside his PB and duly qualified for the semi final. In his next race he ran much better and he smashed his PB, breaking through the elusive 11 seconds barrier (the mark of a top male sprinter) to record 10.92 seconds. Afterwards Ben was delighted with the run “I felt so strong and now I’ve broken 11 seconds I think I can run even faster”. He also competed in the 200m where he made the SF, his best time of the weekend 22.72.
Birmingham University duo Olivia Kimbowa and Hannah Kelly both pulled on the red vest of Birmingham to compete in the 400m and the 400m relay. In the flat 400 Olivia qualified for the semi final and ran a fantastic race in a time of 57.71 seconds to finish 3rd. Unfortunately she missed out on the final by just one place but the UOB student wasn’t disappointed. Hannah went one better and qualified for the final by winning both her heat and the semi final.
The final proved to be a shoot out between Hannah and Loughborough student Natasha Harrison. Hannah did exactly what coach Les Hall wanted – she ran good, better, best. A good heat, a better semi and the best in the final. She ran a PB in the final of 54.03 but just missed out on gold by a tiny margin. Not to be outdone through Hannah and Olivia ran the first two legs in the relay to put their team in a winning position which they held onto on the last leg to take away a well deserved gold medal each.
All athletes now return to training with their thoughts on improving their performances throughout the season.
Bank Holiday Monday May 2nd was a day for record breaking for two of Bolton United Harriers U13 stars of the future. Allyssia May and Josh Grundy both competed in the 75m, Josh running a big PB in 10.85 secs and Allyssia equalled her own top of the UK rankingS 9.99 secs PB.
However they both found a different gear in the 150m. Josh, who is still at primary school, lined up in the first heat of the 150m and despite being the youngest in the race ran superbly to finish 4th in a big PB of 21.22 secs to break the Bolton U13 boys 150m club record.
Allyssia wasn’t to be outdone, despite being disappointed to only equal the fastest time in the country this year over 75m she also took part in the 150m race 1. She blasted the start and came into the straight a few metres down on first but powered through the last 60m to record a time of 19.66 seconds. It was a huge PB for Allyssia but also broke the club U13 150m record previously held by current Great Britain athlete Hannah Kelly.
This is a huge moment for Allyssia who is now ranked number 1 in the UK over both sprint distances. Both athletes are part of Les Hall’s incredibly talented junior sprint group and will look to improve their times again throughout the season.
Martin Reid ran a solid race into 11th spot in a time of 33:03 and said ” Well done everyone! Great to see so many of us running. Huge thanks for all the support round the course and pics. Excited to see everyone later”. Martin was referring to the well deserved Easter social day out that Dave Shaw had arranged for his group after the race.
Other Harrier entrants: Rhys Francis 34:33 Phil Hardman 35:50 Rob Short 36:07 Jordan Brophy 36:58 Heather Brown 38:16 Chris Pickford 38:21 Katie Percival 42:06.
Dave Shaw had travelled down to Salford on his bike and was taking photos and shouting encouragement from the sidelines. He was pleased with his team’s performance, notably Rhys Francis who came away with a pb.
Apparently the after race celebrations went on into the night and Jordan Brophy managed to get a taxi not only to the wrong house but the wrong town also !
Rivington Pike Fell Race
Easter Saturday saw one of the oldest and most historic fell races in the country. A 3.25 mile 800ft ascent trip to the Pike and back from Lever Park Avenue in Horwich. Leader of the ‘Pot Noodle Club’ Lee Petch took his place at the starting line along with Rachel Bailey, Ruby Erzan-Essien and her dad and club volunteer Ato Erzan-Essien.
Time irrelevant on this thigh burning ‘fun’ event Lee Petch said “the photo sums it up ! Lovely to see Ato, Ruby and Rachel representing the club along with myself in such an iconic event. I look forward to a Summer of Fell Racing and seeing more Blue Vests running over all those hills”.
Trafford Open Meeting
Coach Les Hall had this to say “As you know I’m very proud of every one of our group – for the hard work and dedication they show each and every session and their commitment to competition. I feel I should share this from Easter Monday’s Trafford open meeting – the U13 75m. It’s a mixed gender event so boys and girls racing together and our own Allyssia, Tilly and Princess were in the race. They were all sensational and despite running into a headwind Allyssia ran 9.99, Tilly 10.35 and Princess 10.49. As of today Allyssia is ranked 1st in the UK, Tilly 4th and Princess 9th. This is an amazing feat for girls from one training group. Everyone performed so well yesterday and I know you are all going to have an amazing season”.
Saturday April 9th saw the emergence of Bolton Harrier’s Endurance Group member Beka Millington as an Ultra Runner. After the group had five debutants the weekend before in the Manchester Marathon, Beka decided to take it up a notch or two and took aim at the 36 mile event. Not only was it 36 miles it was up and down dale with 2,027 metres of ascent and she was out on the moors for over 10 hours and burned 5,213 calories !
The Calderdale Hike has been run by 24th St Paul’s Scout Group since 1979 and the first 3 events were based upon a circuit of the Calderdale Way (50 miles). After the third hike it was decided to scale down the length of the route as the manning of such a large event was proving to be increasingly difficult. It was changed to one of 25 miles and one of 36 miles, for runners and walkers alike.
The routes are changed usually every 3 years, thereby bringing in different parts of Calderdale and the Pennine countryside into the day event which is appreciated by all the competitors. A few years ago the event became part of the Ultra Running Series and it now attracts entries from some of the top fell runners in the country who try to achieve a personal goal throughout the season on some of the toughest running challenges throughout the country. This has increased the entry levels in the runners category thus boosting the income from the hike.
After a long rest and replacing some of those calories an excited Beka said ” despite having run the course in its entirety over the last few weeks, I still managed a couple of wrong turns on the moors so I finished at just under 39 miles. It was very demanding on tough terrain but the weather was on my side (apart from one small snow flurry) and I really enjoyed myself. After my 109k got cancelled a couple of weeks ago, this race kept me motivated. I’ve now switched to another 100k in July so I get a few more weeks to build up strength and endurance”.
Bolton United Harriers send Beka congratulations and best wishes for her next challenge.
2022 New Year Resolutions for Bolton Harriers Endurance members seem to involve living up to the group name and to push themselves harder and further. Ryan Kirkman will be doing his second Ironman, Aidie Costello is training for his debut Ironman and Beka Millington is throwing herself into the Ultra Marathon scene. Lots and lots of the groups weekend Strava runs are showing training runs of anything between 15 and 25 miles.
The Manchester Marathon on Sunday 3rd April had nine Blue Vests entered, with eight of those from the Endurance Group. Five members were running their first ever marathon.
Gary Porteous is the latest member to get the Marathon itch and has been a regular attendee at club sessions and also been busy with his own training. He can often be seen setting off from his Heaton base on a weekend for the hills round Rivington or long road runs to the Chorley area and back. It has all been worthwhile and Gary ran a super race to come back with a time of 3 hrs 31 mins. After a short recovery and some sustenance he said “my training plan didn’t get off to the best of starts as I caught COVID just before Christmas, so I had just over 12 weeks to train, but I stuck to my plan and gradually upped the mileage each week until I was averaging about 40 miles per week. My longest run and the hardest was about 22 miles which was incredibly brutal on the hills of Bolton. But it put me in good stead, and on race day I felt relaxed and and focused. During the race I felt comfortable and maintained my planned pace until about 20 miles , after that I had a bit of a dip, but I dug in and gritted my teeth and counted the miles down. I was so close to a sub 3hr30m. I never thought I would achieve running a marathon when I joined the Harriers, and I have to thank all the coaches and the rest of the group for giving me the encouragement and belief”.
Another Heaton resident and marathon debutant was Dominic Sohor who has made a remarkable recovery from a stroke in 2017. He was unable to speak for some time and left needing urgent hospital treatment. He wanted to show his appreciation for the Royal Bolton Hospital Speech and Language Therapy Department by running and raising money for them in the process. He succeeded and got round in a time of 4 hours 22 minutes. On a better day he would be capable of a much better time and said “I enjoyed the first half but second half was pretty horrific with mega sore glutes, hips and my hands went all tingly. Taking part in the marathon and raising funds is my way of being able to say thank you for my care and hopefully helping others who suffer from Aphasia”.
Chris Toole is another newcomer to the group and the 3rd marathon debutant . This guy works so hard in training and the proof in the pudding was a wonderful time of 3 hours 29 mins.
Andy Gallagher, more of a fell race specialist was the fourth group member attempting 26 miles for the first time. He said “I was slow and steady from the start to finish. I have only had ten weeks to train having stopped running for three months because of knee problems. I decided to run just for the experience and atmosphere which was fantastic.Think I sneaked under 4 hours 45 mins. Well done to everyone else who ran today”.
Scott Sunderland is a much welcome and relative newcomer to Bolton Harriers. Again since joining has been a dedicated attendee to training and has trimmed down his figure to the point if he enters any more road races he had better be careful he doesn’t fall down a grid ! The Land Rover Design Engineer proved he can clock up the miles also and came back with a time of 3 hours 51 mins for his first ever marathon.
One man who won’t be falling down grids is Mark Garner. Mark is out of the Barney Rubble mould, strong as an Ox and represents the Blue Vests in all sorts of events and distances including Fell races. Mark kept up a really steady pace and completed in a respectable 4 hours 4 mins. He has already entered for next years marathon.
Chris Byrne is also a member of Bolton Triathlon Club and has proven stamina in these events. He went round in his usual strong and steady style and finished with a time of 4 hours and 4 mins matching Mark Garner.
Thomas Gore always runs with a smile on his face and arrived at the finishing line with a big cheesy grin acknowledging yet another super run in 3 hours 21 mins. Another who is a really versatile runner and just loves to run and represent the club in lots of events.
Phil Hardman was the solo representative from Dave Shaw’s group and is a battle hardened warrior in these events. He never seems to get out of bed for anything less than a half marathon. He stormed round in a time of 2 hours 48 minutes and was in the top 500 of over 14000 runners.
Sunday 3rd April saw a glorious Spring Morning for the annual Trotters 5 hosted by Burnden Runners.
Bolton United Harriers sent a strong contingent down to Smithills and dominated the race with 6 Blue Vests in the first 11. Tommy Harrison was outright winner for an impressive third time and Harriers also won the Men’s Team Event. In addition they also had first Female Home in Heather Brown.
Ever modest Turbo Tommy Harrison said after his 28 mins 44 secs victory “I was happy just to get a run out again and it was a nice confidence booster. I thought I ran a well-controlled race and paced it as I had planned. I got pushed along by young Callum Brooks for the first 2 miles before edging away up the hills. The highlight for me was receiving the team prize with young Callum and Rhys. As we had other runners not far behind those two It shows the club has plenty of depth, and hopefully sets us up to command the Central Lancashire Grand Prix series this year. I now have plans for a solid Bolton 5k and will then see if I can pinch a 5k PB at the Mid Cheshire at the end of April”.
Newcomer to the club Callum Brooks was second Harrier home and 4th overall in a time of 29 mins 39 secs. Callum has only just migrated up to Dave Shaw’s impressive stable of runners. His improvement this year has been astonishing and it looks set to continue. Dave has high hopes of this young man. Callum was delighted with his first race in his new group “I am really enjoying the new more intense sessions at the club and have had a lot of support from Dave. As regards the race I just tried to enjoy it and stay with Tommy as long as I could. Tommy is a class act though and obviously he did pull away from me. I aimed to get under 30 minutes and was comfortably under so am well pleased. I have got the Bolton 5k coming up soon and will be aiming for a PB in that”.
Rhys Francis was 5th overall in a time of 30 mins 58 secs and can only improve. He is looking to get back to his form of 2020 when he had the Bolton 5k pinched from him by 1 second by his team mate and winner of this event Tommy Harrison.
Joe Grisdale ran his usual strong and steady race to gain a top 10 finish. Newly qualified coach Jordan Brophy just behind him in 11th after a blistering start.
‘Always the bridesmaid, never the bride’ most certainly does not apply to Heather Brown. She continues to take up where Laura Lombard has left off with yet another first lady finish. This young lady who is soon to be married to team mate Will Tomlinson put her wedding plans on hold for a day and ran a super race of 32 mins 54 secs. She was more than a minute quicker than the second lady home and said “really chuffed with first lady in first CGLP race and first time I have ran that course. Safe to say my quads will be feeling it for some time! Great to have the sideline support from coach Dave Shaw and my soon to be husband Will”.
The ever dependable James Rideout was first back from Harrier’s Endurance group in 36 mins 30 secs, with 4th overall lady Rachel Bailey just behind. The final three ‘elder statesmen’ Blue Vests were Nigel Brodrick in 37 mins 48 secs, Gary Jones 38 mins 42 secs and Ken Fowler who ran his usual consistently good race as second Veteran 65 in a time of 39 mins 21 secs.
We had an Easter egg cross country event Sunday 27th March on the field at the back of the track organised by Ian Wallis for the Under 9s to Under 15s.
The Under 9 girls was won by Anastasia Velicka 2nd Darcie Collins 3rd Aime Brogan
Under 9 boys 1st Edward Jones 2nd Daniel Toole 3rd James Lombard
Under 11 girls 1st Lucy Valentine 2nd Freya Lombard 3rd Charley Marsden and Cara Collins
Under 11 boys 1st Matthew Wood 2nd Elliott Molineux 3rd Leo Cooke
Under 13 girls 1st Emily Wood 2nd Cerys Jones 3rd Caitlen Collins
No under 13 boys
Under 15 girls 1st Scarlett Thompson 2nd Jessica Swales
No under 15 boys
All the athletes had a great fun morning and all received two easter egg each. There was a Mothers Day prize draw also.
A big Harriers Thank You to Ian Wallis for organising the event and for Ian Jakeway setting up the course.
The club would also like to thank all our junior members who participated and their parents/families for supporting the event.
Saturday 26th March saw the Sports Hall Regional Finals at the Etihad Indoor Arena was and Bolton Harriers had a baker’s dozen representing the Great Manchester team.
In the Under 11 girls we had Emily Wood and Mabel lwelu who took first place.
In the Under 11 boys we had Benjamin Davies, Josh Grundy and Matthew Wood and they took runners up spot.
The Under 13 girls had Matilda Hall, Allyssia May, Ellie Deavall and Molly Wood involved and also taking runners up spot.
Under 13 boys Alfie Dodds, Jamie Greenhalgh, Chris Franks and Jacob Kelly took first place and qualify for the National Finals.
Proud coach Gwylim Jones was delighted with them all.
Hop Farm Paddock was the venue on Saturday 19th March for the English Schools’ Cross Country Championships. Big crowds flocked to the venue on a beautiful sunny day for the 61st running of the event and 6 age and gender related races. In her first National competition and a field of 400 plus athletes Bolton Harrier Scarlett Thompson ran a distance of 3000 metres across Kent farmland, She finished in a very commendable 211th place. The top athletes from this race will go on to represent England at the next international event.
She had competed at the Greater Manchester Championships at Heaton Park in February in horrendous wet and muddy conditions and had finished 10th to gain selection for her county and the English Schools’ event.
The Canon Slade pupil said “I love it at Bolton Harriers and have been there since I was 6. I like my coaches Ian and Rick and just love the training sessions at the track on a Tuesday. I also like the social side of training and the new friends I have made. Apart from school and Bolton Harriers I train with Bolton Triathlon Cub as well as swimming for Bolton Metro at county/regional level. I have also represented my county at Trampolining”.
Saturday 19th March saw the first open track meeting at Trafford with four members taking their place.
Both Alfie Dodds and Jamie Greenhalgh have just moved into their first year of the U15s and both came away with medals and pbs doing superbly well.
Alfie ran his first ever 100m and got a respectable time of 13.4s. He started off very nervously with a false start, but regained composure and was thrilled with his performance having not trained for running or worn a pair of spike for 2 years due to injury. He’s keen to compete in more running this season.
Both Alfie and Jamie are members of the throwing group at Bolton Harriers and competed in the 4kg shot put. Jamie came out top with a new pb of 8.02m finishing 3rd place overall. Alfie also got a new pb of 7.43m finished 2nd in his pool and finished 6th overall.
Alfie and Jamie also competed in the 1.25kg discus. Again it was Jamie who came out top. He got a new pb of 20.63 which secured him 2nd place. Alfie also got a new pb of 18.09m giving him 3rd place.
In the u13 boys Joshua Grundy competed in the 75 metres and came home in a big pb of 11.2 secs. He then moved up to 150 metres and got a silver medal with another pb of 21.05 secs.
Benjamin Davies ran the 75 metres in a pb of 11.08 and the 150 metres in 22.39 secs.
Both Ben and Josh have made excellent progress since moving up to Les Hall’s sprinting group.
Bolton Harriers Endurance Group member Mark Garner pulled out the club vest again on Sunday 30th March for the Wilmslow Half Marathon. A course of country lanes closed to traffic and out towards Mobberley before winding back to Wilmslow. With more than one eye on the Manchester Marathon on the 3rd April Mark viewed this event as ideal preparation. He said “Wilmslow Half is a great race, really love the setting in the Cheshire country side. It was a sunny day, no wind and not too hot. Perfect race conditions. I started at a steady pace knowing the 2nd half being undulating with a cheeky incline before the finish line. Happy I managed to take 6 mins off last years time in 1 hour 46 mins”.
Sunday 20th March saw coach Gwylim Jones take his young charges to a fun event ‘Over The Bales’ – put on to give the younger athletes a taste of the thrills and spills of cross country. Held at the Crossford Bridge facility in Sale the course was on grass and over straw bales as the name suggests.
Gwylim reported “we went to Sale Harriers Over the Bales with a small quad of eight athletes: Under 9 girls Jasmine Greenhalgh 40th 9 min 06 sec Under 9 boys Matthew Wood 6th 5 min 22 sec Edward Jones 15th 5 min 48 sec Daniel Toole 27th 6 min 11 sec Under 11 girls Emily Wood 7th 7 min 12 sec Under 11 boys Ted Ratcliffe 27th 7 min 41 sec Tyler Kizikay 39th 10 min 05 sec Under 13 girls Cerys Jones 14th 13 min 54 sec. Notably Emily Wood was excellent and also her brother Matthew put in another good performance. Special mention also to Daniel Toole as it was his debut competition for Bolton Harriers”.
As always the club would like to thank Gwylim and all the participating athletes.
Tony Valentine and John Knowles have both ran with distinction over the years for Bolton Harriers. Their sons Marcus Valentine and Nathaniel Knowles now look set to follow in their footsteps.
A fine dry morning greeted youngsters from North West schools to the Abbey Village Daffodil Doddle on Sunday 13th March. From Abbey Village School an out and back scenic trails course taking in Roddlesworth Reservoir beckoned the young athletes.
Marcus led from start to finish and came home in a brilliant time of 6 mins 58 secs and said “I really enjoyed the flattish out and back course. It was a fast start and I managed to set off in front and held my position throughout. The training at Bolton is helping greatly and I feel I am improving a lot compared to my school mates because of my Harriers membership. I am now on a par with some members I was well behind when I first joined. I have been doing Parkrun with my dad and he has helped me a lot. I think I can go even faster than my dad though in a couple of years or so ! I have entered the Bolton 5k this coming weekend and then will be testing myself against some good runners in the Northern Championships”.
Nathaniel Knowles was 5th in this race in 2020 and came home runner up this time a full minute quicker in a time of 7 mins 30 secs. Delighted with his showing he said “it was a really good race and I could see Marcus leading and had two more runners in front of me in the first half of the course. I managed to pick those two off on my way back to the line. Training is great at Bolton Harriers and my dad also helps me a lot. We even did a recce of the course together before the event. My dad was a good runner with the club and I want to follow in his footsteps. I particularly like cross country races and will be entering as many of those as I can this season”.
Alex Preston was third harrier back in overall 8th position and is another making great improvement. He recorded a time of 8 mins 7 secs and was a minute and 20 secs quicker than 2020.
Coach Gwylim Jones was proud of the way all the Blue Vest youngsters ran but also pointed out the club had Emily Wood as 2nd girl in the race and 13th overall. He also wanted to mention Rosie Prendergast as the club’s youngest entrant at the age of 7.
Bolton United Harriers would like to congratulate and thank the following 23 athletes for their efforts: 1st Marcus Valentine 2nd Nathaniel Knowles 8th Alex Preston 13th Emily Wood 14th James Lombard 16th Mathew Wood 23rd Max Preston 24th Edward Jones 25th Elliott Molineux 27th Mike Ndlovu 30th Charley Marsden 31st Freya Lombard 39th Abigail Mcshane 42nd Frankie Wood 44th Daniel Mcshane 46th Isabella Whittle 47th Rose Blaney 54th Cerys Jones 60th Aoife Waldron 61st Olivia Coker 62nd Tyler Kizilkaya 71st Rosie Prendergast 92nd Jasmine Greenhalgh.
The club would also like to thank Coach Gwylim Jones and his daughter Lindsay for their attendance and all the other parents and family members for getting the kids to the race and their support.
Sunday 27th February saw Rachel Bailey make her comeback to fell racing . After a few years out Rachel made the journey over the Pennines to Dewsbury for the Hoppits Hill Fell race and 689 feet of ascent. She completed the race in 27mins 10 secs over the challenging 5k course and was comfortably in the top third of runners.
“Had forgotten how tough Fell racing is and how different it is. Was very happy to get back onto different terrain and enjoyed it immensely.”
Some may say Beka Millington is barking mad and bitten off more than she can chew but more likely is that she is one gutsy lady up for a challenge !
She has been training her young Sheepdog Gary the sport of Canicross since she got him as a pup and boy would he have enjoyed running with her over Saddleworth Moors. This was a race just for humans though and poor Gary had to stay at home but she advised he was there with her in spirit. Nominee for Bolton Harriers Female Distance Track Athlete of the Year Beka has proved she is a much more versatile athlete and at home on all surfaces and terrain.
Beka talked about her new goals “After a rocky road to the London Marathon I decided to switch my focus from times and try a new challenge for 2022. My first ultra marathon! I’m running Race to the Castle (100km nonstop) at the end of May, and Saddleworth 10 Reservoirs was the first of 2 training races I have in the build-up”.
The Saddleworth Ten Reservoir’s is described as a high level moorland challenge visiting 10 local reservoirs along the way. Due to the time of year full winter kit was required including full waterproof cover, hat and gloves, map and compass, spare clothing and food. Not for the faint hearted it’s 26 miles with 4400 ft of ascent. Starting from the Dysart Arms and past Dovestones and Yeoman Hey Reservoirs heading 2 miles up to the crags of Ravenstones. More ascent then over White Moss to Blackmoss Reservoir and eastwards along the Pennine Way before descending into Wessenden Valley. More ascent then to the ‘Isle of Skye’ road. A journey then across more of the Pennine Way to Chew Reservoir. Through the woods and back to the Dysart Arms.
After a slog of more than 5 hours and enough to break the will of many runners Beka made it back to the welcome of her proud partner Josh and beaming parents Mike and Karen, who had travelled all the way up from Southampton.
After a short recovery and some sustenance a delighted Beka said “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had at marathon distance, it was amazing ! Very very tough in parts, with going into a bog over my knees being one of the hardest parts, but absolutely beautiful. I’m bloody chuffed with myself !
Saturday 26th February saw Katie Percival make her marathon debut at Bingley.
Calm conditions greeted Katie and her partner Rob as they travelled over the Pennines. Starting and finishing from The Fishermans Pub next to Bradford and Bingley Rugby Club the race ventured out on the canal towpath towards Skipton. By and large flat with the small challenges of the 3 and five rise locks.
Looking relaxed at the start she said “I have had a block of 18 weeks training and a good few 3 hour runs in the Lake District hills. I am looking forward to seeing the 20 mile mark and then going for it. It’s a lovely environment and I will just keep taking it in to forget about the pain.”
Katie absolutely thundered round in an amazing time of 3 hours 18 minutes which was way under her target of 3 hours 30 minutes.
After she got her breath back and some sustenance she couldn’t hide her delight. “ I wanted to rinse myself and I think I succeeded in that. At half way I knew I was going a little too fast but I couldn’t slow down ! It was just a case after the turn that I entered pain cave and I just had to treat it as 1 mile reps. I eventually saw the bridges which I knew were close to the finish and I put the burners on. What’s next ? I don’t know but maybe some fell racing – I will have to take some time out to think about that one.
It was the Sports Hall Championships at The Etihad Manchester last Sunday and delighted team manager Gwylim Jones has reported there was a lot of medals won.
Athletes taking part were Under 11girls Jasmine Greenhalgh Amelie Hodgkiss Mabel lwelu Isabella Whittle Charley Marsden Emily Wood Aoife Waldron first time Rose Blaney first time Freya Lombard Kittie Beca Under 13 girls Cerys Jones Matilda Hall Alyssia May Ellie Deavall Molly Wood Eve Blaney first time Iris Beca Under 15 girls Alice Yoxall Under 11 boys Joshua Grundy Benjamin Davies Matthew Wood Ted Ratcliffe first time Jack Hughes Emmanuel Hassan first time Noah Tulin Elliott Molineux Under 13 boys Jamie Greenhalgh Alfie Dodds Curtis Hornsby Chris Franks Jacob Kelly.
Medal winners: U 11 girls Emily Wood speed bounce silver , Mabel Iwelu bronze 1 lap, gold 3 lap
U 13 girls Matilda Hall Standing long jump bronze Alyssia May Standing triple jump silver Ellie Deavall speed bounce silver Molly Wood 4lap silver u13 girls Princess lwelu 4 lap bronze U15 girls Alice Yoxall Standing long jump silver U11 boys Joshua Grundy 1 lap silver 3 lap gold Benjamin Davies1 lap bronze Speed bounce gold, Jack Hughes bronze speed bounce U13 boys Chris Franks 4 lap bronze Speed bounce silver Jamie Greenhalgh Shot put gold Alfie Dodds 2 lap bronze Shot put bronze Vertical jump bronze Relays U11 girls 4th U13 girls gold U11 boys silver U13 boys gold
Gwylim commented “all the kids put their heart and soul into it but I thought an outstanding performance was in the u13 girls by Molly Wood in 4lap – I was not expecting her to get a medal with such tough competition. Joshua Grundy and Benjamin Davies also put in great performances”.
Bolton Harriers would like to thank all the competitors and Team Manager Gwylim Jones and his daughter Lindsay for their efforts as always.
Sunday 27th March saw one of the oldest UK road races in the form of the Lostock 6. A fine day greeted a decent contingent of Bolton Harriers for the undulating course starting and finishing in Lostock Industrial Estate.
Turbo Tommy Harrison was first Blue vest back in a time of 32 mins 42 secs. A previous podium finisher when Harriers occupied the first 3 spots Tommy was not in his best shape but still put in a typical gutsy effort for overall 7th place justifying his nomination for Senior Male Athlete of the year. He said after the race “it was a struggle in parts due to a lack of fitness and a couple of recent illnesses. I was happy with the time I ran though for the start of the season. It was a decent enough run to start off a new training block. In the immediate future I have a target of a PB in the Mid Cheshire 5k and I want to put in a really good performance for the club in the Northern Road relays”.
Second Harrier back was rising star Callum Brooks. A young man, and new member, who has exploded into the Harriers Endurance Group and has been setting PB’s galore in various races and park runs in the last few months. Callum grabbed a top 20 finish in 34 mis 41 secs justifying his recent selection by the club in the forthcoming Northern Road Relays. He even received a message of congratulations from Team Manager Dave Shaw after the event – a very rare thing !
Veteran and epitome of consistency Mark Wolstencroft was third Harrier home in a time of 36 mins 14 secs. Showing why he is a nominee for Harriers Veteran Male Athlete of the Year he said after “I was put under severe pressure all the way round from one of the team”. He was referring to another rising star in first Harriers Lady home Heather Brown. Heather was a new addition to Dave Shaw’s group last year and has won several races at various distances and is a nominee for Harriers Senior Female Athlete of the year. Heather finished in 36 mins 32 secs.
Next in was the quietly spoken but a very strong and determined Matt Atkinson. Last years club London Marathon entrant and this years nominee for Most Improved Senior Male Athlete of the Year ran a great 37 mins 21 secs.
Three very consistent and regular faces at Endurance Group training sessions all came in together. Gary Porteous and Dominic Sohor both came in with massive pb’s for the race along with a Blue Vest regular in Thomas Gore. Gary and Tom 40 mins 21 secs and Dom 40 mins 25 secs.
Scott Sunderland is another new member and now a regular to training. He is improving as rapidly as his waistline is shrinking and came back with a commendable 41 mins 20 secs.
Club veteran stalwarts James Rideout and Gary Jones ran with smiles on their faces in their usual strong and steady manner in times of 42 mins 8 secs and 43 mins 54 sec.
Mark Garner wears the Blue Vest in all manner of Fell Races, Cross Country and Road races and didn’t disappoint again with a good showing at 46 mins and 9 secs.
