McCready, steady, Joe!

Joe McCready stole the show for the Harriers with a brilliant third place in a time of 35.01.

Other placings: Jack Mason 24th, 38.55; Hon Lee 57th, 41.54; Peter Laverick 79th, 43.38; Dave Weston 46.23, Shirley Gibson making her debut for the club 174th, 49.31; John Brant making his first race since a disastrous London Marathon, 230th, 53.01; Steve Dauber 254th, 54.57; Harry Prince 257th, 55.20; Brian Burden 281st, 57.55; Jez Shaw 282nd, 57,57; Annette Hubery 341st, 64.57.

The Melmerby 10km near Ripon was another Harriers success with Martin Grainger finishing second in 33.32 and first Vet Male. Ben Wilson 11th, 36.15 and Graham Bell 18th, 37.43 made sure of the Male Team prize. Alison raw finished second female in 34th position, 39.15.

The second Youth Athletes League match took place on Sunday, June at Stadium 2000 Shildon.

After some excellent performances by younger athletes the Harriers finished in second place on 419 points just 12 points behind a strong Birtley team.

Results: U13 girls: shot: Leah Kennedy 5.45, Rebecca Noble 4.90. U15 girls high jump: Tara Kennedy 1.40, Verity Pratt 1.35. U13 girls 75m: G Taylor 11.3. U13 boys 100m: 1 Paul Jefferson A race, 1 Robert Fox B race 14.9. U15 girls 100m Emma Shakeshaft 14.0, Sian Taylor 14.8. U15 boys 100m, James Moohan 14.7, Andrew Clifford 15.9. U17 men 100m, Neil Best 11.7. U15 girls shot, Sian Taylor 6.91, Judith Grant 6.29. U13 boys 800m, 1 Paul Clifford A race 2:32.2; 1 Robert Fox B race 2:45.1. U15 girls 800m, Emma Clifford 2:45.9, Tara Kennedy 2:58.3. U15 boys 800m, Ian Smirthwaite 2:28.9. U13 girls 70m hurdles, Leah Kennedy 14.2, 1 Rebecca Noble B race 15.5. U15 girls 75m hurdles, Emma Clifford 13.9. U15 girls javelin, 1 Judith Grant 23.21. U15 boys long jump, Andrew Clifford 3.08. U15 boys 80m hurdles, Dexter Bogle 13.00, Bradley Woods 14.3. U15 boys javelin, Jamie Rutherford 17.21. U13 girls high jump, 1 Leah Kennedy 1.25, 1 J Taylor B 1.20. U13 boys long jump, Robert Fox 3.65, Liam Smith 3.28. U17 men 100m hurdles, 1 Daniel Ghundoo 14.2. National Standard U15 boys 400m Ian Smirthwaite 65.3, James Moohan 70.9. U15 girls 150m, G Taylor 22.1. U13 boys 200m, 1 Paul Jefferson A race 29.8, 1 Paul Clifford B race 30.3. U15 girls 200m, Verity Pratt 28.7, Emma Shakeshaft 29.9. U15 boys 200m, Dexter Bogle 26.8, Andrew Clifford 34.8. U17 men 200m, Neil Best 25.0. U15 girls long jump, 1 Tara Kennedy 4.57, Emma Shakeshaft 3.31. U13 boys shot, 1 Paul Jefferson 6.66, Liam Smith 6.55. U15 girls 1500m, Verity Pratt 5:55.9. U15 boys 1500, Jamie Rutherford 5:91.6. U15 boys high jump, 1 Bradley Woods 1.50, Dexter Bogle 1.45. U17 men shot, Neil Best 10.20. U17 men triple jump, 1 Daniel Ghundoo 11.81. U17 men 1500 steeplechase, 1 Daniel Ghundoo 5:22.4, Graeme Stevens 6:33.7.

The next meeting is at Chester-le-Street on Sunday, June 27.

The Thirsk 10-mile took place on a hot Sunday afternoon and it was the seniors' turn with Joe McCready finishing seventh in 58.03, Paul Kelly 24th 62.18, Jack Mason 41st 64.31, Alison Raw 46th 65.10 first female 40 and Graham Bell finishing conditions tough 174th 79.18.

* The Harriers train at Eastbourne Complex on Tuesday and Thursday from 6.15pm and will be holding its own Pitstop race at Croft Circuit on Wednesday, July 14. contact John Brant on (01325) 257672 for details.

Shildon

At the Young Athletes league track and field meeting at Shildon on Sunday Shildon Athletes produced some excellent results.

Most notable performances were from Alex Todd in the U17 mens 100m winning by five metres in a time of 11.1secs. He also won the 200mtrs comfortably in a creditable 23.7secs. Alex Snook ran well in her first U17 girls 800 mtrs race of the season finishing 14 secs in front of her nearest rival in a PB time of 2mins 29secs with her teammate Natalie Cross winning the B race in a time of 2 mins 40secs.

Warren Roberts produced two fine runs in the U17 800mtrs and 400mtrs to win the events. His 2mins 04.2 secs in the 800m gave him another seasons best time and a PB of 56.5 in the 400m rounded off a good day for him. In the U15 800m and 400m.

Khalil Thompson also won both events with a time of 2mins 11.6 secs and 58.2 secs respectively. Khalil was also second in the high jump with 1 mtr.40.

In the U13 girls 1200m Kate Avery stormed home to a PB in a time of 3mins59secs, 16 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

Other results: U17 Boys: L.J. Alex Todd 2nd 5.26m; 800m A. Greenwood 1st B. Race 2mins32.8secs.

U17 Girls: Shot Put K. McAleese 3rd 6.00m; 300m Alex Snook 2nd 46.4secs.; 200m Natalie Cross 2nd 30.4 secs.

U15 Boys: 100m N. Pennock 4th 13.1 secs; 100m B Race W Todd 5th 16.9 secs; L.J. N. Pennock 4th 4.33m; Javelin Edward Johnson 3rd 10.91m; Shot Edward Johnson 3rd 6.85m; Shot 'B' W. Todd 1st 4.82m; 400m 'B' N. Pennock 1st 62.1secs; 1500m. Craig Grainger 3rd 5mins23.

U15 Girls: 100m Elizabeth Cain 6th 14.6 secs; 800m Natasha Heslop 5th 2mins57.1; Javelin Natasha Heslop 5th 10.95m; Javelin B Abby Suffield 2nd 10.87m; L.J. Elizabeth Cain 5th 3.51m; 1500 Abby Suffield 2nd 5,27.6.

U13 Boys: 100m D. Hardy 4th 16.1secs; 200m D. Hardy 4th 34.00secs; Shot D. Hardy 5th 4.25m.

U13 Girls: 75m Laura Hewitson 3rd 11.3secs; H.J. Kate Avery 3rd 1.20m; H.J.'B' Laura Hewitson 2nd 1.15m; 1200m 'B' Laura Hewitson 1st 4m33.2secs.

Clubs competing at the meeting were Shildon, Birtley, Durham, Sunderland, Darlington, Jarrow and Blackhill.

* Anyone interested in joining Shildon R & Athletic Club or wants to join in with the training, come to the stadium on Monday and Wednesday nights.

Richmond and Zetland Harriers

Three athletes from Richmond and Zetland Harriers were at Robin Park, Wigan on Saturday 29th May for the NoEAA Junior T&F Championships and, considering the sunshine east of the Pennines, were surprised by the cool and damp conditions. The Northerns are another step-up-in-class and always attract good fields, both in quantity and quality. Edd Richards ran in the Under-20 Men's 1500m; he was 10th his heat in 4:26.76. Sophie Broadway ran in both sprints for Under 15 Girls; she was 6th in the 100m in 13.39 and 4th in the 200m in 27.73, missing the final by less than 0.7 second. Georgina Zissler ran in the Under 17 Women's 300m; she was 4th in her heat in 43.49 and made the final where she finished 7th in 43.77.

The Teesdale AC website read "congratulations to Jon Orange of Richmond & Zetland who won the main race (the Raby Castle 10K on Sunday 30th) in a time of 33.08" and Jon in turn was quoted as praising the course, the organisers and the competition.

The Melmerby 10K, the latest race in the Black Sheep Brewery Series was on the same day and three Harriers toed the line. A fine day and some fine running from Paul Scott who finished 75th in a time of 42:07 and from Colin Sewell who was 85th in 42:49, but Sarah Gregory said "it was definitely one to be chalked-off to experience; a hot day, I still had the remains of a summer cold and, after training at a faster pace than my normal 10K pace on the track, I went off too fast, but I'll know next time" - Sarah finished 147th in 47:42 from 296 finishers.

The third race in the Northern Runner Summer Fell Race Series was Clay Bank West on Tuesday 1st June and again there were three Harriers in competition. First home, in 26th place was Dan Brooks in 37:38, 10th Senior on the night and, having run all three races to date, he is in the overall prize list. Six places and 48 seconds behind, having strained a calf muscle whilst navigating the Wainstones (the wrong-way-round) and made matters worse by taking the direct route down a steep scree slope, Mike Brooks was 32nd and 2nd M50 on the night. Ian Hepworth made a welcome return to racing and to the fells; his knees survived the night and he finished in 69th place, 9th M50 in 45:32.

This Saturday the North Yorkshire Schools T&F Championships take place at Huntington Stadium, York from 12 noon and it is day one of the AAA Multi-Events Championships for Junior and Senior athletes at Bedford Athletic Stadium. On Sunday there is day two of the AAA Multi-Events plus three Road Race events - the 3M/Newton Aycliffe 10K and 3K Fun Run from Greenfield College, Newton Aycliffe at 10 am, the Leyburn Leisure Club 6 mile and 3 mile Fun Run from Leyburn Town Square, also at 10am and at 11am, the Ripon Midsummer 10 mile from Ripon Cricket Club. The Club hosts the third fixture in the NYSD T&F League on Tuesday 15 at Catterick Garrison Stadium with registration from 6pm and with events, on both track and field, from 6.30 pm - it is hoped that all members, Mums and Dads will lend a hand!

The Club is well into the summer season of road racing, fell racing and track and field and the Coaches are pleased with the way their athletes are turning-up for training, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with successful outcome all round.

* www.rzh.org.uk

Thirsk and Sowerby Harriers

More than 360 people completed the 26th running of the Thirsk 10 mile Road Race, on a day which was really too hot for running. The Wheelchair Race attracted five entries and the Fun Run almost 200 . It was pleasing to have Olympic athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson among the starters, and Tracey Morris, who will be competing in Athens later this year.

Durham Fell Runners

Over recent years the number of runners participating in off-road events, whether fell or trail has steadily increased. The numbers are still relatively small and participants are scattered among the athletic clubs within the county, with possibly only one or two fell/trail runners per club.

The idea of Durham Fell Runners is to provide a county wide club that is dedicated purely to fell running and no other discipline. It is hoped that this will provide an opportunity to run together for all of those like minded runners who train and compete on the fells - irrespective of the club that they belong to. The club has been formed from a core group of members from all discipline clubs such as Crook, Quakers and Sunderland Strollers, but is open to all fell, hill and mountain runners, whether as first choice or second claim. Club membership is increasing steadily and we have new members from previously unattached runners as well as runners from many of the North-Eastern clubs.

* The club holds weekly training sessions in Hamsterly Forest on Thursday evenings, meeting between 6.45- 7pm at the visitor centre. These sessions are developed in conjunction with the only fell running coach in the north east. The sessions are suitable for all abilities. If you are interested come along or visit website www.angelfire.com/rock3/durhamfellrunners.