WRITE UP 1 from club men’s captain, Marcel Darling:
Marcel
Well after laying low all year and shirking my duties as captain I finally made my way to the first XC of the season, it was uncannily rather warm for October. So, with 10 minutes to go I was getting nervous. The girls had turned up early and en mass but there were only 4 men, so no team. Well it must have been the queue at the carpark ticket machine and abracadabra we had a team. Quick photo shoot and they were off.
Apologies if have got names mixed up, I am still getting up to speed. So, the results can be seen below but special shutout to:
* Bethany Dye & Katie Orman who have completed their first XC, so well done for making it round alive … its sounds worse than it is & hopefully you will be at the next event.
* Simon Hackett for scoring in the men’s team, I know he was very pleased.
* Ester Broughton & Charlotte Dye who were 1st & 2nd in their age group.
* Jan Forester for 1st place in her age group.
* Jo Sutton 3rd in age group
You do know there are prizes for each age group at the end of the season!!
And everyone without a mention for turning up . Also, thanks to Ant & Richard for being pack horses and helping to putting the tent up & down, oh and Adrian too.
It would be great to have an even better turn out on 12th November at Chaddesden Park for race 2 of 5.
| Place | Name |
| 3 | Jo Sutton |
| 10 | Margret Mason |
| 12 | Esther Broughton |
| 13 | Ruth Keeley |
| 18 | Joanne Howett |
| 19 | Charlotte Dye |
| 26 | Bethany Dye |
| 37 | Rossiana Mee |
| 48 | Jan Forrester |
| 60 | Katie Orman |
| Place | Name |
| 16 | Shaun Bott |
| 46 | James Hart |
| 72 | Ben Goodwood |
| 76 | Ed Godber |
| 103 | Simon Hackett |
| 105 | Adrian Fowler |
| 124 | Anthony Marchant |
| 141 | Richard Hickling |
WRITE UP 2 from James Hart, returning to some form himself…
The welcome return of the cross-country season commenced at Shipley Country Park on Sunday 1st October. It was perhaps a surprise to most that despite a fairly grim outlook the temperature was warm and the weather was ideal for muddy fun. Eighteen Harriers were not disappointed by the undulating combination of soggy fields and muddy woodlands that the ever-enjoyable Shipley XC brings. Thanks to Marcel (men’s captain) the club tent was not only standing proudly in the middle of the start field but also furnished with a luxurious tarpaulin floor and a catering choice to entertain kings (mainly coffee and cake)!
Despite a slightly depleted representation from the club some superb performances gave the modest crowd reason to cheer.
For the ladies’ team the ten runners present provided some excellent results. First in for the women was Jo Sutton (Clarkson), 3rd overall in the Ladies’ category and 3rd Harrier over the line with a time of 38:14 just eight days after giving birth (disclaimer; it may be a little longer than this).
Margaret Mason came in at position 10 in the Ladies’ overall category and an impressive 3rd in the F50 Category. Close behind in overall position 12 was Esther Broughton in 41:58 with a fantastic F45 category win.
Ruth Keeley was next in position 13th overall making a good return to race running. Ruth finished in a F40 category position of 3rd, showing the strength in depth of the Ladies’ team again this year. Closely following in overall position 18 was Joanne Howett in 43:08, finishing 4th in her age category. Just behind Joanne was Charlotte Dye in overall position 19th with a great time of 43:42 and completing a dominant Harriers 1-2 placing for the F45 category with Esther.
Chasing down Charlotte was Bethany Dye, 5th in the Junior Category with an aesthetically pleasing time of 44:44. Rossiana Mee was the next Harrier lady to cross the line in 37th overall, arriving just before Jan Forrester who records another category win with an impressive time of 50:08. Katie Orman was 60th overall with a 9th position in her category and a brilliant time of 53:10 meaning all the ladies’ team comfortably came in under the hour mark.
For the Men, first over the line was the evergreen Shaun Bott coming in at position 16th overall and 4th in his first year representing in the M40 category. Some distance back but second Harrier to finish was James Hart after a lengthy injury lay-off of nearly two years, coming in at position 46 and 7th in category M40.
Next home for the Harriers in position 72 was Ben Godwood with a time of 40:45 and a 7th place finish in the M50 category. Ed Godber followed Ben in with a position 76 finish showing how much representing the Harriers meant to him with an all-out sterling effort to cross the line despite a self-confessed lack of running confidence and a series of injuries.
Just missing out on a top 100 position was Simon Hackett in position 103 with a great time of 43:48 and 12th position in his category. A mere 12 seconds later in came Adrian Fowler to keep Simon company on the leaderboard of the M50 category. Anthony Marchant completed the ‘M50 Holy Trinity’ closely behind in position 124 overall. Our final F50 was Richard Hickling competing after a period of injury, came in with a time of 55:08 and a position of 141st helping to push the Harriers up the leaderboard in the team categories.
Another good showing for the men but to see the club in the top half of the table we will need a few more gents in attendance next time out. Remember you are letting everyone down if you don’t come!
Although some forgot to tell their faces it was clear that the cross-country season was welcomed back by all those who attended. Nothing beats getting utterly covered from head to foot in mud whilst trying to remember why you voluntarily dragged yourself around a damp field on a Sunday morning.
Keep your eyes open for the next instalment at Chaddesden Park on the 12th of November which has multiple river crossings and a suspicious smelling bog! Why would you miss it?
James Hart