Press Report June 10th 2023 from Nick Budd

A busy first week of June for the Harriers

It was another large turnout from the Congleton Harriers at the second race in the South Moorlands Summer Series with 23 Harriers in amongst the 193 taking on the 5.8 mile Roaches route. This one was a lot hillier than the 1^st race of the series with 753ft of ascent along a mixed trail and road terrain. The task was made harder by the rising June temperatures which had only slightly abated by the time the race set off in the evening.

Our first runner back was Stuart Rider who is in blistering form (he set a new Parkrun PB two days later in even hotter conditions) and finished 18^th overall in 43:01 (3^rd in the M40 category). Dean Windsor, was 74^th in 51:08, Danny Jackson, was 76^th in 51:27, Colin Watret, was 87^th in 53:07, Ellie Dick, was 95^th in 53:40, Graham Cooper, was 96^th in 53:41, Iain Thacker, was 100^th in 54:13, Sarah-Louise Proudmore, was 108^th in 54:43, Linda Fairbrother, was 113^th in 55:38, Will Roberts, was 114^th in 55:41, Rob McDermott, was 121^st in 56:09, Nigel Poole, was 122^nd in 56:15, Georgie Budd, was 123^rd in 56:18, Stephen Canning, was 145^th in 61:06, Jackie Moss, was 156^th in 64:54, Donna Charlesworth-Simpson, was 162^nd in 66:01, Ella Lyman, was 167^th in 67:13, Hannah Coates, was 176^th in 69:59, Trish Ryan, was 181^st in 72:27, Nicola Glover, was 184^th in 73:31, Andrea Whiteley, was 187^th in 75:44, Sarah Richards, was 190^th in 77:52, Petra Thacker, was 191^st in 78:37.

On Saturday, there were eight Harriers at the popular Wincle Trout race. Temperatures were even higher, with the 6.5 mile race setting off mid afternoon under searing heat. Everyone running agreed that conditions were extremely challenging and any hope of emulating times from previous races were out the window, with most runners just concentrating on trying to get round and not even the two cooling dips in the River Dane were sufficient to get body temperatures down (at least one of the Harriers needed a good ½ hour and 3 pints of water before he felt able to stand back up after the race). Results are still to be published, but well done to Chris Moss (who finished 20^th), Debbie Hill (who got 2^nd in the F60 category), Nick Budd, Louise Roberts, Chris Roberts, Beth Ambler, Nigel Poole and Ross Oldroyd for gritting it out. Kudos goes to Nigel Poole who also decided that a 5k parkrun in the morning was the ideal preparation for the afternoon race.

Temperatures were no better on the Sunday where there were two further races taking place, thankfully starting in the morning before temperatures reached their peak.

There were five Harriers at the Potters ‘Alf, which is a grueling half marathon around Stoke with plenty of killer hills. Andy Critchlow, was 235^th in 1:50:14, Nick Wilkins, was 356^th in 1:57:14, Lucinda Brown, was 384^th in 1:58:16, Dean Windsor, was 494^th in 2:04:27 and Rob Parkin, was 717^th in 2:17:40

Just outside Knutsford there were 15 Harriers participating in the undulating Colshaw 10k. Out of the 551 runners Melanie Worthington, was 98^th in 45:46 and also 3^rd on the F50 Category, Colin Watret, was 111^th in 46:34, Michael Stanley, was 118^th in 47:03, Graham Cooper, was 172^nd in 50:02,

Ellie Dick, was 182^nd in 50:53, David Gowin, was 229^th in 54:12, Donna Charlesworth-Simpson, was 263^rd in 56:24, David Bloor, was 294^th and 3^rd in the M70 category in 58:30, Paul Crean, was 311^th in 59:10, Mark Bowyer, was 315^th in 59:43, Andrea Whiteley, was 356^th in 62:26, Trish Ryan, was 357^th in 62:26, Ella Lyman, was 360^th in 62:46 and Elaine Statham, was 443^rd and 1^st in the F75 category in 70:13.

Special congratulations also go to Elain Statham who has again been selected to run for England against Wales in a 5k at the end of August.

If interested in joining us, there are club runs on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday with most runs setting off from the Congleton Tennis Club. The club is always keen to see new members whether you are a speedy racer or more of a social runner. So, if you are thinking of thinking of joining then just come along to one of the regular/ club runs for a few weeks and try us out for size; you will be made to feel more than welcome with no obligation to join. You can find full details on our Congleton Harriers website: Congleton-harriers.co.uk. You can also connect with the club on Facebook where details of club activities are posted regularly.