Harriers of the Month and Chair’s Blog – July 2024

Summer’s finally arrived and HPH has been very busy in the sunshine (and occasional showers…)!

Firstly, huge congratulations to our four (yes, four!) Harriers of the Month for July 2024:

  • Chloe Brooks (multiple nominations):
    • For finishing Western States 100 mile, frankly something most people can’t even fathom even entering. 
    • For obvious reasons! I know Chloe makes a chilled holiday habit of these things, but Western States is extra bad-ass.
    • Western states – ’nuff said, mental race, epic performance!!
  • Coralie Bell (multiple nominations):
    • 1st lady at Ilkley Half Marathon. A new 5km PB and club record of 17:39 at York 5k.
    • Coralie has been absolutely smashing it of late – several club records within a short space of time as well as 1st lady at Ilkley half. Inspirational stuff! 
    • We’re running out of superlatives… Coralie smashed her own 5K club record at the York 5K series, taking nearly 30 seconds off the time she set in June!
    • Seriously, we’re running out of superlatives… Coralie stormed through the Ilkley Half Marathon, finishing first woman with a fantastic new PB!
  • Jon Coade (multiple nominations):
    • Kudos to JC for being a guide for a VI runner at Woodhouse Moor (and quite a few miles beforehand). Further proof (not that we needed it) of Jon being a top chap!
    • To start with, he’s an all-round super runner and encouragement/inspiration to us lesser runners. But what prompted this nomination is the way he responded to our parkrun appeal for a guide runner to take a blind runner on 14-mile run, including parkrun, despite never having done it before. It was definitely a learning curve! Bravo, Jonny!
  • Lee Taylor (multiple nominations):
    • Lee’s brilliant form continues! He smashed his PB at the Ilkley Half Marathon – not an easy course in anyone’s book. Well done sir!
    • Lee smashed his Mile PB by an enormous margin. (sorry Lee I can’t remember the exact number… It was around 30/40seconds!?) Getting round well under that silver medal time in 5:20-ish!!! So nice to see after such dedication and quiet consistency!

Well done to all our nominees, copied below:

  • Adam Lomas – Another month, another nomination for Mr Lomas – this time for an incredible run at the Sale Sizzler, where Adam matched the longstanding club men’s 5K record of 15:57!
  • Ciaran Tracey – Ciaran completed the national three peaks (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon) within the 24 hour limit – incredibly impressive, well done mate!
  • Colin Tranter – For consistently showing up at fell races and putting in great performances even when nursing a dodgy hamstring. Colin has turned in great performances at Skiddaw, Beamsley Beacon, and Ingleborough.
  • Ellie Shipp – Huge congratulations to Ellie on her PB at Ilkley half – brilliant to see on a hilly course!
  • Flick Burton (multiple nominations):
    • 2nd female at Eccup 10 and a new 10 mile PB of 01:03:54. A new 5km PB of 17:51 at the Sri Chinmoy 5k
    • Well done to Flick for a great run at the Eccup 10 Mile, finishing second woman overall!
  • Frazer Carr – Frazer ran a brilliant new PB at the Newport Pagnell 5K, building on his PB at the Summer Mile. Keep it up mate!
  • George Anderson (multiple nominations):
    • An incredible 5km PB of 16:27 at Sale Sizzler on a hot evening.
    • A fantastic second leg at Golden Acre Relay to move up through the field and help his team to second place overall.
  • Grace Roberts – Amazing performance by Grace at the York 5K series, going sub24 for the first time! Well done Grace!
  • Jane Prust – Congratulations Jane – great work to finish second in the F65 category at the Eccup 10!
  • Jonathan Spain – Jonny epitomises what a Harrier should be in many ways and he demonstrated it once again this month. We met up for a social run but, on setting off, Jonny noticed a member of the public who appeared to be unconscious on the pavement. Jonny then gave up his run to call 999 and stay with the person for half an hour until the ambulance arrived. A great example of Jonny’s kindness and selflessness – bravo mate!
  • Lauren Prestwich, Chrissy Donnelly and Steve Prust – Lauren, Chrissy and Steve exemplified HPH values in looking after an injured runner during a club session this month – very much appreciated by all involved and the committee, thank you all!
  • Michael Godsall – Michael completed his furthest ever run at the Ilkley Half Marathon and he did so with a massive smile on his face – really great to see, well done mate!
  • Naomi Miles – Huge congratulations to Naomi for a brilliant performance at the Ripon Sprint Triathlon – 4th lady at her first race for nearly two years. Great to see!
  • Nick Shakhlevich – Nick completed his 100th parkrun this month and did so in style with a WHM course PB! Great stuff, especially after dealing with some injury niggles recently.
  • Oliver Clarkin – Huge congrats to Oli on completing the Snowdonia Trail Ultra – nigh-on 60km, including Yr Wyddfa itself!
  • Phil Lindsay – Despite a frustrating few months under doctor’s orders not to run, Phil has been out and about walking wherever he can. He’s been volunteering at Woodhouse Moor and offering a walking group option on Tuesdays – really inspiring to see, and we’re really glad and grateful for Phil’s contributions to the running community whilst he’s been injured.
  • Ruth Draisey – Ruth continued her excellent race performances with second in the F35 category at Eccup 10 – well done Ruth!
  • The Fell Trip organisers – A huge thank you on behalf of the club to everyone who contributed to the organisation of the club trip – great to see lots of people offering ideas (and then implementing them) to make the trip inclusive and fun for all!

THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to all our leaders this month – Adam L, Anne A, Ben H, Caite B, Cat M, Charlotte E, Chloe W, Chris H, Clare E, Curtis B, Daisy W, Ed S, Ellie W, Honor B, Jane P, Joe L, Jon C, Jonathan S, Kevin L, Laura G, Lisa B, Lucy R, Mark H, Megan F, Naomi A, Richard G, Steve P and Victoria S.

Thanks also to those who led the North Running Club runs from Springwell!

If you’d like to give leading a go, speak to any of our existing leaders or committee members and we’ll give you all the support and help you need.

HIGHLIGHTS OF JULY 2024

  • Congratulations to Chloe Brooks, HPH’s resident superwoman, who completed the Western States Endurance Run – 100 miles of incredibly tough terrain in California!
  • Well done to everyone who completed the Danefield Relay race – great to see several teams take on a tough little course!
  • Steve Brown and Phil Hammond took on the Punk Panther Dales Highway and both managed to make a great fist of it. Both eventually retired from the race, but we’re super proud of them regardless! 
  • Well done to Colin, Cara and James Tarbit who ran the Skiddaw fell race – fantastic training for the Billy Bland relay next year.
  • More than a dozen Harriers raced the Eccup 10 – some fantastic results despite the inclement weather, including Flick as second woman, Ruth as second V35 woman and Jane as serving V65 woman!
  • The fell champs are heating up (when they’re not being rained on…) – Beamsley Beacon saw a squad of Harriers take on the brutal climb from Addingham to the top and back.
  • There were some cracking performances at the York 5K series this month (check out the HotM nominations above for more details)!
  • Ilkley Half Marathon was a tad rainy, but it made for some pretty perfect running conditions! Congratulations to Coralie, who finished first woman, and some brilliant runs all round, including PBs for Ellie and Lee and a first ever half marathon for Michael!
  • Well done to Joe and Richard, who took on the Bramham 10K, including the Bramham Beast – nice work chaps!
  • The Tri club had a few participants at the Ripon Triathlon – well done folks!
  • We sent three teams to the Golden Acre Relay, always a great evening! Congratulations to One Classy Gent and Two Louts, who finished second overall!
  • The weather behaved itself for the HPH social to the T20 at Headingley – sadly Yorkshire lost, but a good time was had by all! We’ll be doing similar trips for seasonal sports in coming months, so watch this space!
  • We had a couple of Harriers at the St Aidan’s 10K – well done to Sharron and Amber!
  • Another hot fell race towards the end of the month saw many Harriers taking on the steep climb up Ingleborough, and then back down! Gravity and humidity were tough foes, but everyone did splendidly!
  • The month was rounded off with a trip up the Lakes – looks like everyone had great fun with parkruns, camping, beers and the Blisco Dash fell race. A fantastic trip – huge thanks to everyone who organised or participated in making it a success!

Well done everyone – what a brilliant and varied month for the club! As ever, if I’ve overlooked something or someone, please accept my apologies – there’s been so much going on it’s hard to keep track!

August will involve several fun HPH-led events, including the Track Day on Sunday 11 August, and the Canal Canter on Friday 23 August. Keep an eye on the round-up email and the FB page for more details.